Adult-FanFiction.org : Harry Potter

Serpentine Series	By : HarmonyB Category: Harry Potter > Het - Male/Female > Hermione/Voldemort Views: 12060 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 1
Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN ANYTHING IN REGARDS TO THE HARRY POTTER FANDOM NOR DO I MAKE MONEY OFF OF THIS STORY.

Chapter List
- 1
- 2
- 3
Hermione was restless as she lay in her bed the rest of the night. Her nerves twisted and contorted in her stomach as though she had swallowed a pair of snakes that were trying to find their way out again. The sky turned pink from dawn and still she did not sleep, so she dressed and went down to the Great Hall early.
A few other students sat there as well, spread out among the four tables that represented the houses at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Hermione took her place at the Gryffindor table, and a large bowl of porridge appeared before her. She spent ten minutes pushing the food around with her spoon, but her stomach would not allow her to eat any of it.
As she prepared to leave, a barn owl screeched as it flew down to her with a large, brown paper package in its talons. The bird dropped its burden beside her, and with a powerful beat of the wings, it flew away. Hermione tore open the package, and inside she found a terse note quickly scrawled in a familiar hand along with a set of black clothes.
You are to wear these. We go at midnight. Meet by the entrance to the Forbidden Forest. Tell no one of your new position.—S
She decided that it would be unwise to attend classes that day, as she wanted to avoid her two best friends, Harry Potter and Ron Weasley. She usually told them everything, and the temptation to tell them about her upcoming journey would be far too great. The two young men would give their lives to stop her from going to work for Voldemort. But no, she quickly reminded herself, that wasn't exactly right. She would technically be working for Dumbledore. Not Voldemort.
She spent the day wandering through the dear old castle she had grown to love, and memorized every corridor as if she may never see them again. When she arrived at the library fresh, hot tears assailed her eyes. Books were her love in life and now she was about to leave all these books behind. She doubted there would be any of them where she was going.
Hermione returned to her room to spend time with some of her most favorite books, but as she lay on the bed she found herself reading the same line over and over, unable to concentrate. She slammed the book shut and surged to her feet as she tossed it aside. She wondered for a moment if she should write Harry and Ron a note, at least giving them some sort of reason why she was gone. But Snape's words echoed through her mind: tell no one. She decided that she could not take the risk.
When it was nearly time for Hermione to embark on her dark journey she pulled the clothes from their package. First she pulled out a dark head scarf meant to cover the lower half of her face and set it aside. The next item was a long-sleeved shirt that seemed several sizes too large. It fell slightly off her shoulders after she had pulled it on, and she was slightly annoyed until she saw what came out of the package next: a black corset, just her size and closed neatly around her waist. It held the longer shirt nicely in place. It laced up the front, so it would be easier to put on or take off. And the other two items, a tight-fitting pair black pants and a long black cloak, completed the dark ensemble.
But something was missing. She was about to step over to the mirror to see how she looked when she remembered the long, black silk gloves her grandmother had sent her as a birthday present. She pulled them on and stepped over to have a look.
The young woman who stared back at her seemed remarkably older than she felt, and a surge of excitement passed through her. Two eyes peered at her through the great mass of blackness, as if they were watching her from the shadows. Frightened at the thought, she removed the face scarf and planned not to wear it until they arrived at Voldemort's headquarters.
Hermione ducked and dodged her way through the corridors of the school and made it out to the grounds with no problem. She strode across the field between the castle and the looming Forbidden Forest under the pale blue moonlight. Her eyes darted here and there as she came to the entrance and looked for Snape.
Out of the corner of her eye, a tall, dark shadow seeped from the forest not one foot away from where she stood. Hermione nearly screamed, but swallowed the reaction with a loud gulp.
Snape formed out of the darkness. He wore his usual black teaching robes and the long black cloak from the night before. Long strands of black hair crept out at the edges of the hood, and his face looked like a pale moon hovering in the shadows. She shivered as she realized she must look the same.
"Do you have your wand?" he inquired.
She patted her left boot where she had hidden the long, slender vine wood wand with the dragon heartstring core.
"Good." He turned and walked into the forest and the darkness swallowed him up. Hermione reluctantly followed at his heels.
"While you are in his presence you must refer to him only as the Dark Lord," Snape began as they walked. "You are to bow to him only when meeting and parting; if you bow too often you will appear to him as though you are groveling, and he absolutely despises that."
"I don't blame him," Hermione interjected.
Snape glared over his shoulder at her. "Yes, groveling displeases the Dark Lord. He wishes his followers to honor him with pride." He quickly added, "And of course, no decision is ever made without his consent first—"
"But I thought you said I wouldn't even see the Dark Lord!"
"I made no promises, remember," he pointed out.
Hermione glared at him. That was a typical Snape answer if ever she had heard one. She nodded for him to continue his lesson.
The trees became taller and denser as they walked, and soon it was impossible to see the starlit sky beyond. The farther they traveled into the forest the chillier it became, and Hermione tightened her cloak about her shoulders as thick fog crept in around their ankles.
How much longer will we walk? she wondered. It seemed like they've been walking for hours, and each step they took was just one step closer to the most feared wizard in the world. She thought about stopping in her tracks, about apologizing to Snape and admitting that she just couldn't do something like this—this was something Harry might do, not her. But she was ashamed of thinking such a thing. Harry Potter was brave, yes. But so was she. If being a spy assured that Voldemort was defeated and Harry, along with everyone else, was kept safe, then it was more than worth the risk.
Snape stopped short and skimmed the area around them. "We're here," he announced.
Hermione looked around as well, but she saw nothing except the fog and the path that snaked through the giant trees. With a knowing smile she asked, "A portkey?"
Snape rushed off the path and motioned for her to follow. He knelt down on one knee and pushed back a large bush that was not truly rooted in the ground. The movement revealed a rather horrid-looking garden gnome with chipped paint.
Hermione hunkered down next to him and cast him an expectant glance. Then she remembered her face was uncovered, and tied the black scarf securely in place.
"We grab on three," Snape said, and Hermione jumped, not ready for the command. "One, two—"
Hermione's hand surged forward in a fit of adrenaline. Without thinking, she grabbed the tip of the gnome's red hat and the world blurred and spun around her. Dark hues of blues, greens and blacks assailed her eyes, and the force of the turn pushed her body outward. She closed her eyes when her stomach grew queasy from the motion. When the spinning stopped, she fell out of the black hole and landed hard on her backside.
It was still the dead of night where she landed, and she had to wait for her head to stop spinning before she could learn anything more. She stood and leaned against a nearby tree, and noticed she was at the mouth of a forest that opened up near a small village. A small sign along the side of the road read "Little Hangleton", but the last word was crudely scratched over with the word "Riddleton" in its place.
A loud crack behind her made her jump, and Snape stomped up to her with a grimace. "On three," he growled down at her.
"Sorry, my nerves got there before me," Hermione said. Snape strode past her and beckoned for her to follow. They walked along the main road of the village, past several small cottages with windows that glowed warm with light. It was too late for anyone to be outside, of course, but Hermione still had a strong sense that they were being watched.
"So, which of these gloomy houses is the one?" Hermione asked in a whisper.
"That one," Snape told her. He pointed far up the rise, to the largest mansion Hermione had ever seen. She was shocked that she hadn't noticed it until then, but begrudgingly had to admit it was quite beautiful. Unlike the village of newer cottages, its ancient splendor shone with an eerie green glow emanating from it. None of the windows glowed with warm light, or at least they did not appear to do so from where they stood.
"That green glow you see," Snape confirmed, as if reading her mind, "is a protective charm. It's meant to keep the villagers away."
"And doing a fine job of it too, no doubt," she answered with a shudder.
Snape strode confidently up the hill right to the front door as if it was his own home and casually tapped his wand on the knocker. A loud creak broke the silence as the door swung open in a slow, shaky arc. Snape indicated that Hermione should enter first with a wave of the hand that still held his wand.
Hermione stepped forward with a brave nod and pushed the heavy door open the rest of the way. With an effort, she forced her feet to move forward and willed her quaking body to be still.
The dark foyer was covered in a blanket of dust. Hermione cast about inquisitive eyes, taking in the statues and paintings covered in the filth. Cobwebs covered everything. It's meant to make the place look abandoned, she realized, and could not help but appreciate the brilliance of such a plan.
As she stepped forward onto the dusty mat just inside the door, the floorboards groaned in protest. For a moment she feared they would not support her weight, but she still moved forward into the room.
Snape stepped in behind her, and the floor moaned like a disgruntled monster as he wiped his feet on the dirty square of carpet she had overlooked. Hermione smirked and wondered why he bothered.
"Welcome to Riddle mansion," Snape said with amusement.
- 1
- 2
- 3
You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.
Report Story

Serpentine Series