Adult-FanFiction.org : Harry Potter

Precious Mudblood	By : magentasouth Category: Harry Potter > Het - Male/Female > Hermione/Voldemort Views: 79307 -:- Recommendations : 3 -:- Currently Reading : 6
Disclaimer: I neither own nor profit from any part of the Harry Potter universe

Chapter List
- 1-Precious Mudblood
- 2-Ch 2
- 3-Ch 3
- 4-Ch 4
- 5-Ch 5
- 6-Ch 6
- 7-Ch 7
- 8-ch 8
- 9-Ch 9
- 10-Ch 10
- 11-Ch 11
- 12-Ch 12
- 13-Ch 13
- 14-Ch 14
- 15-Ch 15
- 16-Ch 16
- 17-Ch 17
- 18-Ch 18
- 19-Ch 19
- 20-Ch 20
- 21-Ch 21
- 22-Ch 22
- 23-Ch 23
- 24-Ch 24
- 25-Ch 25
- 26-Ch 26
- 27-Ch 27
- 28-Ch 28
- 29-Ch 29
- 30-Ch 30
- 31-Ch 31
- 32-Ch 32
- 33-Ch 33
- 34-Ch 34
- 35-Ch 35
- 36-Ch 36
- 37-Ch 37
- 38-Ch 38
- 39-Ch 39
- 40-Ch 40
- 41-Ch 41
- 42-Ch 42 (edited. longer)
- 43-Ch 43
- 44-Ch 44
- 45-Ch 45
- 46-Ch 46
- 47-Ch 47
- 48-Ch 48
- 49-Ch 49
- 50-Ch 50
- 51-Ch 51
- 52-Ch 52
- 53-Ch 53
- 54-Ch 54
- 55-Ch 55
- 56-Ch 56
- 57-Ch 57
- 58-Ch 58
- 59-Ch 59
- 60-Ch 60
- 61-Ch 61
- 62-Ch 62
- 63-Ch 63
- 64-Ch 64
- 65-Ch 65
- 66-Ch 67
- 67-Ch 67
- 68-Ch 68
- 69-Ch 69
- 70-Ch 70
- 71-Ch 71
- 72-Ch 72
- 73-Ch 73
- 74-Ch 74
- 75-Ch 75
- 76-Chapter 76
- 77-Ch 77
- 78-Ch 78
- 79-Ch 79
- 80-Ch 80
- 1
- 2
- 3
She did not know what she had been expecting

� perhaps a dim and chilled crypt-like cavern where row upon row of black robed
and masked death eaters stood staring toward her or perhaps staring diligently
toward a stage where the snake lord himself stood in state upon a raised dais,
watching her dragged implacably down a central aisle toward him.�

What she had not expected was a ball.�

As the doors opened, music spilled out and the bright yellow
light cut a path through the black foyer.�

Men and women in dazzling finery danced� in the central area of the ballroom
while groups of others mingled and conversed.�

She could hear laughter and clinking of glasses.� Elves wandered around with trays of various
delicacies and refreshments.�

The scene fairly sparkled and everyone seemed to be having a
jolly old time.� There was a bright,
almost Christmas-like atmosphere.�

It jarred against her mind sharply, as if she had stepped
into an alternate universe suddenly, or been transported back to the Yule ball
at Hogwarts.

These people did not look like death eaters at all, they looked like..well.. people.� Respectable people.�
There were couples; there were even some small children in their best
party dresses and suits trying to behave next to their parents.�

It was otherworldly to her.

She was suddenly painfully aware of her own current
appearance.� Doused in mud and gore and
partially exposed.�

She wished more than anything that she could bring her arm up to cover her
nakedness � a sudden modesty returning that only minutes before had seemed no
longer necessary, in light of her present position.

But her arms were bound behind her and her breast, with its raised pink line of
burnt skin tracking across it downward, was plainly on display to all.�

As the guests nearest the door turned to notice them
standing there, the room slowly began to stop its activity as the news of their
presence spread like a wave, attracting more and more attention.�

Hermione blushed bright red,
hearing the sound of derisive laughter and low discussion in the crowd. �

A man who looked faintly familiar, perhaps she�d seen him in Hogsmeade, looked
her up and down and leered at her openly as he sipped his champagne. Looking
around she could see more than a few others reacting similarly.� �

Then her guide stepped forward with her, the groups parting
before them as he half marched, half dragged her through the room, moving
across the now frozen dance floor and, progressing to the end of the room
where, indeed, there was a raised stone dais with four shallow steps leading up
to it, upon which stood a black carved throne.�

In the throne (she swallowed with difficulty, feeling like
her throat was closing up) lounged Voldemort.

�Lord Voldemort� she corrected herself quickly.�

He scrutinized her with an unreadable expression as they
moved ever closer.�

He was..�

..she had known how he looked.�

She had seen him very briefly at the final battle - hardly long enough to make
out much, but Harry had, in the room of requirement, shown Ron and herself a
memory of the events in the cemetery after the Triwizard
Tournament.�

She had seen his face � that disturbing flatness where a nose should be, those
red slitted eyes like no creature on earth, seen the unnatural pallor of his
skin, even seen the frighteningly graceful way he
moved, as if gravity did not quite hold him.�

But she was not prepared for his presence.�

He exuded power.�

It washed off him in dark intoxicating waves, like a kind of
heat.�

She felt suddenly, shocked, that she could understand
perhaps a little of what motivated his minions to follow him, to offer their
skin up to his mark.

He was overwhelming.�

He sat in the throne splayed in lazy majesty, his mastery of this domain
unmistakeable.�

His voluminous black robes held a sheen beyond silk, a
quality like that of oil or liquid onyx. They were dazzling.

His skin stood out against them like marble.�

He rested his chin lightly upon one hand, his finger
stroking his thin lips pensively, elbow resting upon the arm of the throne.� His other arm draped elegantly across the
other arm of the throne, long slender fingers slightly curled.� �

They had reached the floor a couple of metres from the bottom
step of the dais and the death eater next to her tugged her to a halt.�

She stared, mesmerized, up at Lord Voldemort, unable to drag her eyes
away.�

In her head the words ran around and around in circles. �don�t look at him don�t look at him, rude to look at him.
Look down. Bow or something.� ..he�s going to kill
me.. everyone�s dead. If there�s nobody left then
maybe it�s better if he does kill me.�
But the pain!� He�s going to hurt
me and keep hurting me. Merlin I�m still looking at him. Stop!! Look down! kneel!!! Stop looking at him!��

the thoughts raced around in circles in abject
terror.� She couldn�t quite tear her eyes
away from him.�

He watched her obviously struggling with herself and for a
fraction of a second he appeared amused, then his gaze
shifted from her to the death eater at her side.�

The hand on her arm tightened and threw her down to the ground to land upon her
knees on the marble floor.�

She yelped at the shock and, recovering, bent, folding herself down upon her
thighs, her toes pointed behind her and laying her forehead upon the cool stone;
her arms uncomfortable at her back, stretching the burnt skin across her chest.
�

She tried to stop shaking.�

Her brain was confused, now shunting between the images of a
circle of death eaters in the cemetery with Voldemort crucioing
Harry and images of dancing with Viktor at the Yule ball. �

It seemed to be trying to construct a scene where a Voldemort was crucioing someone at the Yule ball, trying to remind her of
the immediate and extreme danger she was currently in, irrespective of the fine
ornamentation of her surroundings.

�Hermione Granger� Lord Voldemort�s voice was high and reedy
with peculiar little harmonics in it that she had not noticed in the pensieve memory.�

She shuddered and wasn�t sure whether to remain as she was
or direct her gaze toward him.�

�look at me� he spoke and there was
the sound of quiet footfalls as he descended the steps slowly.�

She raised herself up onto her knees cautiously, raising her
head finally to look up at him as he approached her.�

He stopped a metre and a half before her, looking down upon
her. He seemed impossibly tall and imposing.�

His eyes fairly glowed.�

She saw that he held his pale sharp misshapen wand in hand and could not stop
herself from shaking like a leaf.�

He smiled thinly, a knife blade at her terror.�

The death eater that had brought her stood still at her side
and Voldemort turned his attention to him momentarily and spoke, surprisingly
deferentially to him

�Excellent, my servant, I am pleased.� You may withdraw.��

The man bowed sharply, then stepped back, turned and stalked
away into the crowd.�

She wondered briefly, confusedly, why he left and didn�t stay to watch.�

It was unnatural that she was bothered by his departure, wasn�t it?� He bloody molested her after all!�

It occurred to her that she had no idea what his name
was.� Judging by the number of people in
the room, if even half of them were death eaters it was possible she�d never
cross paths with him again.

That is, unless Voldemort � Lord Voldemort (right, right) � actually threw him
in her path for whatever reason.�

She jumped at this and turned her attention back to the
outside world where Lord Voldemort fixated her with something between amusement
and irritation.�

�now that I have your attention
once more mudblood�

His voice was frosty.

She cowered slightly, hating herself for her weakness. If it
was true and the light had lost then this wasn�t a world she really wanted to be
a part of � she should at least stand up and show some Gryffindor backbone and
spit in his eye before she died.�

But she didn�t.�

As close as he was now it was like bathing in the heat emanating from a dark
sun.�

The magic radiated from him.�

She both wanted to veer back away out of it in terror and to lean in still
closer to take in more of it.�

Her eyes slipped closed momentarily and she swayed, feeling
almost drunk on the sensation of his proximity.�

And then, as if he knew it, he moved even nearer and she felt she might
actually faint from the power washing through her, reacting off her own magic.

�I find that I am in a most generous mood this night,
mudblood.� I have achieved so many of the
things i have wanted already.� I have destroyed my enemy,
I have liberated Hogwarts and the magical community.� I have many new toys to play with..�

At this her eyes flickered open once more and her eyes darted to his wondering
who his �toys� might be, whether any of her friends or fellow order members
might still live

�and the party is not yet tedious�

A few faint polite titters echoed through the room.� Voldemort briefly smiled indulgently at the
crowd before his attention focused back down upon her.�

� I had not planned on doing so but
I believe I am going to offer you the choice that none of your friends and
compatriots had.� I will allow you,
within a certain range of options, to decide your own fate.� In fact I will even show you precisely what
is entailed by each ..option, in order that you might
be fully informed in your decision.��

�Despite your ..unfortunate birth.. Miss Granger, I
would be remiss not to acknowledge your usefulness � something which I happen
to value highly.��

�Thank you Lord Voldemort� she replied softly.� It was the best she could do.�

She had a feeling that she should call him �my Lord� but she just couldn�t do
it.�

Thanking him at all made her feel sick and confused.� She saw Harry�s face in her mind.�

Voldemort looked at her consideringly.
�come now my dear, I think a little more graciousness
than that is required, don�t you? Show me that you appreciate the boundless generosity
that I am bestowing upon you��

She flinched.� What
did he want?! A sonnet?� He was offering her some choice that would
probably amount to horrid death, horrible fate worse than death and horrible fate
marginally preferable to death.� It was
hardly as if he had said �oh i�m feeling generous,
here � have your friends back and here�s a portkey �
feel free to go back to your little life and there�s no need for any more
nightmares!.

Her thoughts were interrupted when Lord Voldemort flicked
his wand impatiently and she felt her hands unbound from her back.� She pulled them to her chest, working her
wrists in circles to relieve the ache.��

He was looking at her..��

�do something, do something� her mind prompted.�

An idea occurred to her.�

It was repugnant.

She suddenly knew without any doubt that it was what he wanted. �- It was why he had released her.

The strange certainty filled her mind like lead.� She could refuse.. but then she might as well stand up and spit in his eye
after all.� This was the moment that
decided her fate. �

She discovered she still wanted to live. �

Shuddering she inched forward on her knees, the force of his
magic now nearly overpowering.� With
shaking hand she reached for the hem of his robes haltingly, forcing herself to
continue.� She grasped the silky fabric and
bent low to the ground, pressing her lips to it once swiftly before scooting
backwards a pace or two, her eyes lowered, sickened at herself.�

Murmuring flashed around the crowd gathered behind her.� She squeezed her eyes shut, hot bitter little
tears escaping and flashing down her cheeks silently.�

She felt a hand on her head stroke her filthy matted hair gently.�

�Oh Merlin.� The
Dark Lord is petting me� she thought

�Much better, Miss Granger� she heard him say above
her.� �now you
are showing the proper.. attitude�.�

As if she were switched off, he turned and walked back up
the steps, standing before his throne.� �Severus!
Lucius! Rodolphus!� he
barked. She recognised Professor Snape and Lucius Malfoy
as they separated themselves from the throng.�
She did not see the third man who emerged from the other side of the
room.

Her eyes narrowed as she looked at her former
Professor.�

He was elegantly clothed and appeared considerably more relaxed than he had in
the entire time she had known him.

No trace of a scowl at all, in fact he appeared energized by the surroundings.� His hair was glossy and healthy, his skin
pale but by no means sallow. �

�traitor� she thought venomously.
�We all trusted you!�

Bitterly she conceded that what she meant was �I trusted you, professor� and she felt a
small place inside she had locked away ache just a little.�

She had had the most unreasonable crush on Professor Snape all throughout her
fourth and fifth years.�

Finally at the beginning of last year she had forced herself to be sensible and
stop thinking about him as it was stupid and childish to worship a teacher in
this way.

Logically � if he ever gave her what she so desperately
wished of him, he would have endangered his position in the school � more than
that he would have endangered his position with the order � and thereby
endangered the entire wizarding community.�

The future of the world was a little bit more important than her ridiculous
hormones � or even her ridiculous heart.�

She told herself this in her firmest inner voice and after a while she did stop
thinking about him, throwing herself more than ever into her work and into
helping Harry prepare himself.�

Seeing how well he looked here..now..
after everything..

after killing headmaster Dumbledore and running
away like a lying cheating traitorous coward!!, her mind hissed..

it was shocking.�

Of course, she had always found him attractive.� It was his dark eyes, she thought.� They were so deep and they seemed to see
right inside you.

Oh and his hands.. and the
way he moved.� The grace and skill he
exhibited in everything he did and his sheer blinding brilliance in potions and
dark arts.

She wished that she might have had a chance to learn more about the area he was
rumoured to be most passionate about, but Hogwarts had particular ideas about the place of dark arts in a
school � i.e. firmly restricted to defense-against it,
preferably with all knowledge safely abridged and fit for �innocent� minds.�

She appreciated his rather cruel sense of humour too,
although that she felt slightly
guilty about in light of the fact that many times the butt of his jibes would
be one of her best friends or herself.

She didn�t mind his insults really. Or at least.. she was used to them.�
They were normal.

No.. that was a cop out.. He could say anything
in that voice..it was dark and rich like bitter
chocolate, it seemed to promise forbidden pleasures.

It was even better when he was saying something awful. She enjoyed his cruelty and his unapproachable dominance.��

But a large part of his appeal to her had been, she had to
admit, knowing that despite his apparent cruelty and coldness he was a hero �
that he was a spy who risked himself for the good of all, that he was shunned
and suspected by those he fought to protect.

She had lost track of how often she had berated Harry and Ron to show him the
respect due a professor when they ridiculed him in spite for some cruel thing
or other he had done to them in class.�

Now it seemed that that had all been a lie.� He was the worst kind of traitor and now Harry
was almost certainly dead if all these horrible people were celebrating and she
couldn�t even tell him she was sorry for making him call Snape by his proper
title. ��

Voldemort addressed the three he had summoned from the crowd
�Join me in my chambers.� He then fixed his blood red gaze upon her once more �Miss
Granger.� rise
and come to me.� ��

She looked up at him and found that actually what she most
wanted to do was to curl into a tight little ball right here and have someone
administer a quick pain free Avada.�
Instead she found herself raising one creaking knee and shakily pulling
herself to her feet.�

She could feel the weight of the stares behind her and she
could feel the air across her unclothed breast perversely, her nipple still hardened from the touches in the
dungeons.

She curled her arms protectively over her chest, hiding her nakedness.�

Her legs were unsteady as she climbed the steps toward the
waiting Dark Lord, stopping beside him, keeping her eyes fixed upon the
floor.�

�Miss Granger� he said quietly, these words clearly meant only
for her. �perhaps in time you will come to know Severus
somewhat better, should you live long enough, and then you might better
interpret his motivations and his actions.�
Until that time you will show him the respect you would show my own
person. Do you understand?��

�Severus is worth more to me than any other here and I will not allow him to be
insulted and accused by a mudblood slave.�
You will modify your attitude
toward him.� If I catch you thinking ill of him again, I will lose
all patience with you...�

His eyes burned at her like coals and she blanched.�

She whispered �I have tried!�
I just can�t control my thoughts.�
I want to!� Please!� How can I do that if its beyond my
control...� she trailed off, trying not to cry again.�

There was no way she would be able to give him what he wanted.� The feelings of disappointment, anger and betrayal
were too fresh.

She actually felt his disapproving glare upon her without needing to raise her
eyes.� It was like a pressure upon
her.� She wondered if she would be cursed
and trembled, waiting .� Finally Voldemort turned, hissing at her
�follow me mudblood� and stalking off.�

She skittered to keep up with him as they passed through a
black panel door in the rear wall and into beautifully appointed silver and
black corridors hung in black and white portraits and landscapes.� Doors entirely without handles interrupted
the walls.

They reached a door indistinguishable from any of the others
and Voldemort placed his hand upon its surface. �

It flared gold momentarily, clicked and swung inward at his touch.�

She followed him into a study, walls lined in bookshelves
full of thick ancient leather tomes.

It was wonderfully warm, far warmer than the ballroom and the corridor leading
here and she wondered whether it might be a reptile thing, then kicked herself
for thinking it.

�it is� Lord Voldemort stated
shortly, moving further into the room to seat himself in a dark green leather
wingback chair near the fire.

�Come here Miss Granger� He spoke softly.

She hesitated for only a fraction of a second fearfully
before padding over and standing before him.�

�I wish you to sit at my feet.� he instructed mildly, gazing
up at her, his expression indecipherable.

She tried not to react with horror. She hoped her face didn�t
look as appalled as she suddenly felt.� She
tried not to think at all but the
idea of sitting at the Dark Lords feet and looking up at him just made
everything so real. The little obediences she�d shown
thus far � obedience not in response to pain but obedience in response to the
mere veiled supposition of possible pain.�

He had not made her do anything.

Had not required her or punished her in any way so far.� She was simply a coward.�

Harry and Ron would despise her if they could see.

Emotions flashed across her face.� Shock, anger, shame, dread.�

�Miss Granger� Voldemort drew her attention from the place
she had gone to in her mind where all the order stood watching as she betrayed
them all.�

�What do you think I might do if you refuse to obey me?� His
eerie high voice was neutral, not admonishing or threatening, merely
enquiring.�

The answer flashed across her mind in letters ten miles
high. �hurt me.�
Force me to do it anyway. Find someone i care
about and hurt them too. ..kill me.�� She bit her lip.� He spoke again

�And what do you think will happen to you if you choose to
sit at my feet?�� Her eyes flashed to his
face stunned.�

�choose��

He had said choose.�

He wanted her to acknowledge that she did it of her own free will.� She couldn�t do that.� It was one thing for him to force her to do
it but another thing entirely if she just decided to do it.� NO.� No
no no no.� She would never do that.�

Where were the others??� She wanted to be
with Harry and Ron.� Even if they were
dead, she wanted to be where they were. They would never forgive her if she did
this.� She would never forgive herself if
she did this.� She�d always know. �

Voldemort smirked and observed quietly.� �Such a small thing I ask of you and you make
this degree of unreasonable fuss.� What
would you do if I required you to kill one of your little friends?!�

She was almost certain that this was not a rhetorical
question.�

She weighed up the outcomes of sitting at his feet versus
refusing to sit at his feet and decided that feeling bad about herself was
preferable to feeling blinding agony or being forced to harm others.� She lowered herself to the floor and sat crosslegged in front of his chair.�

�Closer� he gestured to the space directly next to his
legs.�

Reluctantly she shuffled forward, facing his legs and
leaning her side against his chair, looking up at him warily.�

�Well done, Miss Granger.�
Now there, that wasn�t so hard, was it?� he smirked again.� �She
felt his hand come down gently upon her head, stroking her hair again and she
flinched.�

�Now then, we must fix you up.� You are
looking quite a sight� he waved his wand hand vaguely and effortlessly
transfigured her ruined clothing into a plain black woollen robe. It was a
relief. She no longer felt quite as exposed and vulnerable.� Thankfulness warred with shame.

A scourgify rippled over her hair and then she felt
his thin cold fingers scratching lightly against her scalp again and was jarred
by the entire situation.�

She was not a..a.. cat. Or a pet of
some kind.� Did he have to keep touching her?!� Was it just to show her he could?�

Did he enjoy it?� What the hell was going
on here?

The Dark Lord removed his hand from her head, looking at her
evenly, tilting his head as if in internal debate

�What am I going to do with you, Miss
Granger?� You appear so compliant but I
have the feeling you are going to be difficult�� He sighed.�

Sighed!! �

�Alas, it cannot be helped �� Come, I�ll tell you about the
wonderful choice I am going to give you between horrible options, as you say. ��As you have correctly guessed � you do have
the right to die, if you feel there is nothing at all worth living for � not even the avoidance of a truly
horrible death � and I assure you � it will
be horrible.� Terrible
beyond your wildest imagining in fact.�

She couldn�t prevent a shiver racing up her spine. �His voice was colder than it had been.

�You are a popular girl, Miss Granger, although you have
likely never realised it.� There are many
dozens of death eaters who would most eagerly take part in your untimely
demise. �It would be unfair of me to
leave any out when they are so very hopeful. Imagine cancelling Christmas!�

�Many have already offered me quite considerable boons for
the right to participate more actively in the great event. �Oh it would be a glorious thing � a tribute to
the depth and breadth of dark knowledge my death eaters possess, and of course
to the considerable skill in healing my healers are wont to employ in order to
prolong their enjoyment for as long as possible.��

�I do believe, if I were judicious in monitoring the proceedings and ensuring
that nobody gets too carried away too early, I could manage to preserve you for
many days in near continuous exquisite torment�
- There are so very many things we could do; so many delightful ways to
explore you, Miss Granger.��

Hermione watched the Dark Lord�s face in terror.� His eyes were hooded in lust, gazing into the
fire with a faraway wistful expression, his mouth twisted into a cruel little
smile.� It was obvious he was imagining
her suffering in some detail and deriving pleasure from the notion.�

His eyes slid back to her slowly, taking in her horror and dismay.��

�Do you know that Lucius Malfoy
actually created a curse specifically
with you in mind, Miss Granger.� That is almost a form of flattery, you
know.��

She couldn�t help herself.�
Heard herself asking in morbid fascination as if she
were listening to someone else in the room. �wh� her voice cracked. �what
does it do?��

His smile widened and he reached out to stroke her hair once
again, resting his hand there as if upon a faithful hound.�

�its actually
a rather benign.. even generous.. gift,
I thought.� Hardly what
I would expect from Lucius.� He is quite sadistic you know.� I throw away more pretty young things on his extreme
appetites than on almost any other death eater.�

He just doesn�t stop, you see.� When the
average child realises their toy might break, they pull back in order to save
what they have, but Lucius � I went to school with his
father, as you no doubt have learned, and I have to say, i
believe that Abraxas ruined Lucius.� Lucius has always
known that no toy was irreplaceable.� He
would destroy his things just to spite other children who desired them.� ...And so it is with his playthings here, i suspect.��

�So you can imagine I was quite shocked when he told me of
his curse created specifically for you, Miss Granger.�

It is a form of transfer spell.� The
individual upon which it is cast is forced to
experience the amplified emotions and physical sensations of the caster.��

He broke off and watched her put the implications of such a
spell together.�

�Oh god� she whispered in unfurling horror.� �He wants to destroy me and he wants me to
enjoy it?� Oh my god!��

The Dark Lord�s face showed his pleasure at the reaction she
was obviously broadcasting, his hand upon her head scratching lightly and
winding itself in her hair.� She shivered
and tried to move away from the feeling.

His hand suddenly tightened, gripping her hair in place.� It stung and she winced very softly and
stopped moving. ��

�Yes, my dear.� Exactly.� And if you
are unwilling to concede that it is not entirely unpleasant to be stroked and
petted by myself, in a private and, if i may say,
quite comfortable room, where no one will know it but we two, how much more wonderful
will it be for your..pride.. to
moan and climax and beg for more when Lucius is
peeling the flesh from your frame in a packed amphitheatre.�

I assure you � to that show ... I could sell tickets.� There are so very many desirous of attending.�

She closed her eyes, trying to force them to stop burning
and filling with tears.�

�No no,�
do not hold back on my account, Miss Granger.� Cry if you want to.� I enjoy your tears. You have been a thorn in
my side for so long now and I had almost begun to despair that I would ever
have you...here...at my feet...where
you so rightly belong.�

�I thought you might escape me into death in the final
battle. I thought you might suffer some kind of mental break and emerge from
your little stasis a shell of the girl you once were.��

He paused and she kept her eyes closed, steeling herself and
remaining still against the sharp pull in her hair.�

When he continued his voice was softer.� Almost haunted. Eerie.� �

�I felt it, you know, when you destroyed my horcruxes.� When you ..killed.. parts of my very
soul!� I felt whose hand cast those curses.
...��

�Were Harry and Ron unable to cast it, I began to wonder..
Were they unwilling?� Did they lack the
resolve... the darkness.. to
carry out such a vile act as to knowingly destroy part of a human soul
utterly?�

She shuddered and now tears actually did begin to fall. She
had begged Harry and Ron to help her.. to do more.. but Ron had refused to
say the spell after he had seen the book she had taken it from.� Harry had tried but the spell had apparently not
worked for him.�

She had wondered whether there was something wrong with her that she could do
it when they couldn�t or wouldn�t.

They didn�t discuss it.�

After she had succeeded the first time the boys avoided her eyes and went off
together to talk. When they came back, they seemed back to normal and no further
comment was made.�

After that, they had just silently and unanimously decided that Harry and Ron
would hold the containment spell while she handled the horcrux.�

She tried to always phrase it that way in her mind.� As if it were just an object she were
breaking and discarding.� Like shredding
paper or crushing aluminium cans before recycling.�

She didn�t want to acknowledge to herself too often that
what she was doing was casting a spell originally created by a very dark and
evil wizard in order to destroy a person�s living soul within their body and
thereby doom them to an unthinkable fate, an eternal unredeemable suffering
that went beyond physical pain, that she was actually killing a person
piecewise in a way that was far deeper than even death could ever be.�

It was worse than torture or murder; worse than blood magic
or the unforgiveables.� It was the
blackest kind of magic that existed: a little known branch of an area generally
referred to as necromancy. Soul magic.�

Being found with the book in question would have landed her immediately in
Azkaban for an indefinite period certainly spanning decades rather than years. �

That was irrelevant.� It was suited to
their purposes.�

There was no other way.�

She tried to remind herself of the goals they were following.�

They had to rid
the world of this dangerous man who was torturing and killing so many and
threatening the destruction of all
muggle borns, threatening the halls of government of
the entire wizarding world�
- threatening them for ever. �

An empire of the Dark Lord Forever, for he was immortal.

The man who had killed Harry�s parents and her own, who had killed Ron�s
brother and, indirectly through professor Snape - her heart twinged
again - the man who had killed their much beloved Headmaster and the leader of
the light, Professor Dumbledore.

This same man, whose fingers had released the tight pinching grip upon her hair
now and returned to lazily stroking and scratching her head in a manner she
refused to acknowledge was quite relaxing, calming
even.�

She resisted with all her withering strength the urge to tip her head forward
and offer the back of her neck up to his soothing fingertips.�

�get a grip!� This is the Dark Lord. He is fucking around
with you here and you�re letting him! �What is wrong with you?!� Wake up!�
Get a backbone!!�

�Yes..�� quite the little
thorn� he murmured.�� But now I have you� his voice seemed to brighten
�and the war is over.� I have time to
repair all that you destroyed, little mudblood necromancer.�

There was a note of dark humour in his words.�
And now his fingers really were slipping down the back of her neck
further, tilting her head gently, brushing against the
bones of her neck and crux of her shoulders, massaging the tightness
there.�

She fought to remain still and not arch her shoulders into
it.� Fought a losing
battle to hold herself unaffected by his touch.� Wondered suddenly how she could stand his
hand upon her when outside in the ballroom his mere proximity had been almost
suffocating.�

�Mmm..�� I�m restraining my magic at present, little
one.� You appeared so..
affected.. earlier.� I felt it wise, considering the conversation
I wished to have with you�

At these words that thick choking power returned suddenly
and she gasped at it flaring out at her.�

It was like curling up in the centre of a roaring forest
fire.�

It shut down all thought almost immediately and she could
only whimper, falling limply against the chair and trying to breathe.

His hand upon her was like a hot knife against butter, like a magnetic bar
against metal filings. The faint soothing pleasure she had been feeling was
suddenly cranked up to a level of intensity where it was indistinguishable from
pain. She felt like someone had removed the string from her spine.�

Lord Voldemort laughed softly.� The power receded and she returned to full
awareness slowly.� �you
see my point, hm?��
she nodded silently against his hand.�

She wondered suddenly if it affected everyone this way.� Did everyone know?� Again he responded to
her thoughts, sighing

�no, little one.� Not everyone is affected so strongly by my
magic.� Certainly, every wizard, and even
every muggle, is affected, to varying extents, but you experience it more
...intensely.. than most
others, it seems.� Perhaps we shall
explore that in greater depth another time.�

His hand withdrew from her head and she told herself that
she was relieved.� She was relieved, in a way.� It had been confusing and increasingly
difficult to ignore her own responses and she hated herself for it.� Her guilt returned.� She wondered yet again what had happened to Harry
and Ron.� Were they dead?� How had they died?� What had happened
at the final battle?!�

�My dear, your incessant questions are beginning to tax my
patience� the Dark Lord muttered above her.�
She opened her eyes and looked up at him hesitatingly, trying not to think
anything else and failing. �Again this order not to think.� How am I supposed to not think?!� It happens by
itself.� It�s not like i�m actually asking them.�
The polite thing to do would be to ignore another person�s private
thoughts, even if you do hear them.�

She stopped, shocked at herself, wanting to bite her tongue but she hadn�t
spoken.

The Dark Lord seemed faintly amused once again and she
relaxed fractionally.� �you will learn to either guide or to guard your thoughts,
Miss Granger.� You have no understanding
at present, of the boundless tolerance I am showing you at this moment. It is
almost without precedent. You should be writhing in pain at the end of my wand.
That is your place.� If you prove unable
to learn any other way, I have no doubt that is where you will indeed be.� But at present I am willing to consider.. other methods.� You have not bored me yet.��

She was appalled.

�Returning to the matter at hand.�
He stated with an air of distraction,� �You may choose a �horrible death�, if
you wish.� Although it would be a waste,
it would still benefit me, as i have explained.��

�Failing that � you will serve me in some capacity.��

She dropped her eyes immediately, her shoulders tightening
protectively. �serve Lord Voldemort?!� He must be mad.� I won�t serve him!� I can�t.�
Even death is preferable to that. I�m not like them.� I won�t be a death eater.�

His response was cold. ��Correct, Miss Granger, you will not be a
Death Eater.� I was not offering you that
great privilege.� My death eaters come to
me of their own free will and request the honour of serving me.� Not every request is accepted.� Only those I consider worthy receive my mark.�
At present you do not number among the worthy.� You are merely ...entertaining.�

She glanced up at him briefly.� His face showed no traced of amusement.

�No... Little mudblood, there are many other ways of serving
Me and you are graciously being offered your pick of them.
I shall have my most faithful servants show you exactly what your life would
consist of in each capacity.� How much
more can you possibly ask, Miss Granger?�
Your good fortune is unheard of in my dealings with my enemies and more
than rare in my treatment of my most valued servants.� But ...after all... it is an extraordinarily
auspicious day today. I believe I can afford to be a little charitable.�

She snorted at this under her breath,
the concept of a charitable Lord Voldemort was an oxymoron.�

The Dark Lord shifted and began to rise from the chair.� Hermione scooted backward to make room and
craned her neck up at him, expecting to stand and follow but thinking it better
not to tax his, apparently, very good mood.

�See Miss, Granger, You are learning already� he intoned and
motioned with one hand for her to rise.

�Come along.� We shall
introduce you to your ..tour guides.. for those portions of my domain which may come to pertain to
you.�
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Precious Mudblood