Adult-FanFiction.org : Harry Potter

The Bittersweet Taste of Victory	By : Nerys Category: Harry Potter > Het - Male/Female > Hermione/Voldemort Views: 37648 -:- Recommendations : 2 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, nor any of the characters from the books or movies. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 25
- 26
- 27
The Bittersweet Taste of Victory

I'm giving up the ghost of love

And a shadow is cast on devotion

She is the one that I adore

Queen of my silent suffocation

Break this bittersweet spell on me

Lost in the arms of destiny

Bittersweet

I won't give up

I'm possessed by her

I'm bearing a cross

She's turning into my curse

Break this bittersweet spell on me

Lost in the arms of destiny

Bittersweet

I want you

Oh how I wanted you

And I need you

Oh how I needed you

Break this bittersweet spell on me

Lost in the arms of destiny

Break this bittersweet spell on me

Lost in the arms of destiny

Bittersweet

Apocalyptica featuring Ville Valo & Lauri Ylönen; Bittersweet.

Chapter twenty-six

Absolute fury, that is what he feels when the pie-loving moron Apparates away to safety. Lord Voldemort swirls around and raises his wand at the only one remaining. He sees the Unspeakable's fear and his distinct motion to halt his punishment. Sloan's pleading thoughts, asking him to wait, hit his brain, but he casts the Cruciatus Curse just the same. Because, really, the nerve of that man to summon him when he had not succeeded!

Sloan twists and writhes on the floor without making a sound. But he can still hear the Unspeakable scream in his mind; delightful. He will never, ever make the mistake of summoning him for no reason at all again. After several wonderful minutes, his anger subsides, and he lifts the curse and undoes the Silencing Charm someone has obviously cast on the man.

'Care to explain yourself, Liam?' Voldemort says, twirling his wand around, waiting for the man to make another error, which would give him the pleasure of doing some more 'explaining' of his own.

'My Lord, those weren't the Grangers. I already have them in custody elsewhere,' Sloan replies panting.

Lord Voldemort narrows his eyes at the Unspeakable. 'You have them in custody elsewhere?' he repeats slowly.

'Yes, my Lord. I have personally brought them to a secure place.'

'Which is where?'

'The Ministry of Magic in the UK, Master. I asked Lucius Malfoy to make sure they are safe and they are secretly locked away, so…'

Lord Voldemort holds up his hand to interrupt the Unspeakable's speech. Malfoy may be a dolt at times, but he is certainly qualified to handle a couple of Muggles and he has no doubt that Malfoy won't be so foolish to harm them when he knows very well that the Grangers are wanted alive and unharmed by him. However, it does leave him with the daunting audacity of the Unspeakable to have him come all the way here, while the Grangers are elsewhere.

'Why have you summoned me here, if you brought the Grangers to the UK?' Voldemort enquires softly and a hint of danger lingers through his posture and tone of voice.

'My Lord, over the last couple of weeks, I have been constantly thwarted and hindered in my investigation. I have arrested several traitors and among them was one, who had a rather smug, big mouth and he informed me there was a large network in this country, which was opposing his Lordship's administration and he said that we couldn't win here. So I set up a fake public investigation and went on searching for the Grangers on my own. When I found them, I knew it would be the perfect opportunity to roll up this network of terrorists that opposes you, Master,' Sloan explains triumphant. 'So I Polyjuiced a couple of Muggles to look like the Grangers and I modified their memory, so that it would match the real Granger's the moment someone used a Memory Restoring Charm on them.'

Lord Voldemort merely glares at the Unspeakable, who obviously thinks he is of the hook now. Is the man daft or what?

'I see,' Voldemort says quietly. 'So you thought you could bother me with your petty problems?'

A surprised Liam Sloan shakes his head fearfully. 'No, no, my Lord. I just…'

'You thought you could summon me for something that is of no interest to me whatsoever. You think I care about what a bunch of bleeding Americans are doing, Liam?' he snarls. 'Do you!'

Sloan jerks when Lord Voldemort, suddenly, raises his voice in those last two words and he quickly starts explaining what happened. 'No, my Lord, no. I made a mistake by removing my memory of the false identity of the Muggles too and I summoned you thinking I found the real deal. I do apologise. It was not my intent to bother you with this, Master.'

'You modified your own memory?' Voldemort says, and he is somewhat amused when he sees the man is eyeing his wand apprehensively.

'Yes, yes,' Liam answers hastily. 'I knew there was a leak at the top and considering how many times they had been ahead of me, I was concerned it was someone who possessed the skill of Legilimency. I removed my own memory of the fake identity of the Muggles, so I could not give that away to any of them and my memory removal was set to return the moment someone cast the Memory Restoring Charm on the Polyjuice-Grangers. I summoned you before that. I truly am sorry it happened. I did not foresee this beforehand.'

'If you had no memory of the Grangers not being them, then how could you Polyjuice the Muggles who were posing as them? You only had one hour at best.'

'One of my most trusted informants was in the house with the Muggles and she had orders to Polyjuice them and leave the scene right before my arrival there. She did a wonderful job, as usual,' Sloan says, clarifying the issue. 'And now, we know the identities of those involved at the top of this cell. It turns out to be a former member of the Order of the Phoenix, Mrs Nymphadora Lupin-Tonks and this Knight of Silence.'

Lord Voldemort narrows his eyes. 'Lupin? So that shape-shifting wolf-lover is the one, who survived,' Voldemort sneers. 'Well, I guess you did Lucius' job for him too, Sloan. Unfortunately, you were unable in really apprehending…'

But Sloan recklessly interrupts him. 'I placed a tracking device on the Muggles, my Lord. Wherever those fools take them, we will know the location. You can still take out the Knight, Master,' Liam says, hopeful this information will prevent another round of torture.

Lord Voldemort sighs. As much as he hates to admit it, the concept of taking out the dwarf is very appealing to him. Perhaps he shall overlook Liam's little indiscretion, if he really has the Grangers and can take him to the location of the leave-loving nature dweller. The options this situation creates are kind of wonderful. If he can take out the Knight, it will show Hermione the weakness and utter uselessness of light magic. He is pretty sure that it is Yoda and his moronic teachings, which has kept her locked to the light side of magic all this time. Without him and the idiotic idea that light will conquer all, she will fall, and she will become the most powerful dark witch this earth has ever seen. There is no doubt in his mind that she will. For a second he allows himself to dwell on the fabulous picture of a dark Hermione in his head, before he turns his attention back to Liam Sloan.

'Crucio,' he casts happily.

He closes his eyes and savours the power he beholds. He feels the flow of magic that leaves his wand, while he curses Sloan effortlessly. Wonderful. There is nothing like a little torture to brighten his day and the man needs to understand that his actions simply were inexcusable. No matter how delightful the outcome may be. No matter if a stupid half-breed and some pathetic, undersized, Dumbledore impersonating figure comes within his grasp because of it. One simply does not act out these things without his explicit approval beforehand. He really thought Sloan was smart enough to understand this.

Casually, Lord Voldemort twists his wand slightly to improve the impact of the curse on the squirming, screaming and wriggling figure before him. And to think he had thought for a moment the man could have been a valid replacement for Severus. He jabs his wand in annoyance at Sloan, who yells out in pain. Weak and useless. If he can't swing Hermione quickly, he will go mind-blowing crazy from all the idiocy that surrounds him. He lifts his wand and smirks at the visual of his handiwork. Yes, the message has got across. He doubts the man will ever make the blunder of not informing him beforehand again.

'Take me to those traitors, Liam,' Voldemort drawls and he strolls away.

They Apparate to Liam's office and he assembles his team quickly, but pinpointing the exact location of the headquarters of the terrorists turns out to be a bit more trying than the Unspeakable had counted on. Sloan's entire team is working hard to overcome whatever ward is causing the reception of their tracking device to malfunction, while Lord Voldemort simply sits in a comfortable chair reading a magazine and drinking a nice cup of cappuccino. On occasions, the Dark Lord sees the apprehensive glares that are cast in his direction and it amuses him severely. He has no intention of leaving and giving them a breather. They will be much more motivated to do their best, if they are aware of his presence and of what he will do to them all should they fail him. Softly, he hums to himself. This truly is going to be a terrific day, one way or the other. He will have fun.

'Got them!' Sloan shouts out in triumph.

Lord Voldemort looks up from his reading. There is only one way to describe the present mood in the chamber, and that is total and utter relief.

'It's about time,' he replies condescendingly, while he lifts himself from his chair. 'I was worried I would have to spend the night here.'

A half hour later, the best way to describe the situation is an all out war scene. Sloan had the surroundings of the terrorists' headquarters firmly sealed of before they entered, but it still was a well protected base of operations, and unfortunately, it was also very well staffed. So they ran into a large amount of resistance upon entering. Lord Voldemort knows that if he hadn't been there, Sloan would have never got in at all. He can truly admire the efficiency in which the place was run, but it is going down now.

Casually, he strolls through the fighters. His imposing length, snakelike features and the sheer power of the magic that surrounds him is enough to make the majority of them dive out of the way when he approaches their position. He only has to kill a few fools, who thought they had what it takes to duel him. They were sadly mistaken. His magical power is unmatched. Well, there is this tiny, slip of a girl, who may be… He shakes the thought irritated. Why does that woman keep popping up in his mind all the time?

Curses fly everywhere, but none of them are able to penetrate through his formidable shield, naturally. Still, the people standing in the spacious hallway are of no interest to him. They are ants, bystanders. Sloan and his men can deal with them. Lord Voldemort has bigger fish to fry. He can sense the fool. This time he won't escape him. He is still here. Upstairs! He swirls to the staircase, but is surprised by a purple-haired woman, who is blocking his path. He tilts his head and a vile smile becomes visible on his face.

'If it isn't the wolf-lover,' he mocks, 'come to try and fail again, Dora Figg?'

'Avada Kedavra!' yells Tonks.

The Killing Curse hurtles toward him, but he diverts its path with a lazy wave of his wand and to his delight he sees the horror on Tonks' face when her curse kills one of their people.

'Thanks,' he grins, 'do you want to try again, Auror? You obviously can use the practise; that aim of yours definitely needs improving.'

Another lazy flick of his hand diverts the next curse that flies of Tonks' wand in the direction of her allies and it strikes down a man, who was about to take out Sloan. Lord Voldemort laughs. 'You are very helpful, Nymphadora,' he mocks. 'I wonder how helpful you will become when I punish your son and mother for your crimes. What was the cub's name…?'

Her hair turns as red as her face in fury, and now, curse after curse swirls in his direction. It doesn't take him much effort to block and ditch them, and his cold laugh fills the hall.

'You,' curse, 'will,' curse, 'leave,' curse, 'Teddy,' curse, 'alone,' Tonks hisses in between casting.

'I'd love to stay and chat some more, mommy,' he sneers, 'but you are of no importance to me.'

An abrupt jab of his wand, a purple flame erupts from it, and it heads straight for the former Auror.

'Protego!' Tonks casts wide-eyed.

But the flame whirls through her shield and strikes her in the chest harshly. Tonks flies through the air before tumbling down the stairs and landing at the bottom of it fully incapacitated.

'Filth,' Voldemort spits as he strolls past her, not caring about the mediocre curses that are flying all around him, because he is going upstairs to finish off his real target.

When he flings open the door, the scene before him takes him somewhat by surprise. Yoda is sitting on a rug on the ground and he is drinking his tea serenely, like there isn't a single care in the world. The monk looks up and smiles at him. 'Ah Tom, I thought you might come,' Yoda says calmly. 'Tea?' And he holds up the pot before him invitingly.

Lord Voldemort rolls his eyes at the thought and the monk puts down the teapot shrugging his shoulders. 'Your loss,' Yoda says and he takes another sip of his drink. 'Delicious,' he adds sighing.

The Dark Lord glances over his shoulder to the ruckus and fighting downstairs, and he raises his eyebrows, before he smirks condescendingly at the figure before him.

'So this is how the great Knights of Silence behave when their fellow men are under attack,' he sneers. 'The people downstairs must be thrilled to have you as their ally.'

'You know very well we do not fight,' Yoda responds. 'It is not our way.'

'How convenient,' Voldemort mocks, and he shuts the door behind him.

His action muffles the battle sounds completely and the room turns awfully silent. It obviously has a Sound Deadening Charm around it. Lord Voldemort takes his time to examine the medium size room around him. It is quite bare. The walls are empty. There is a bed present in one of the corners and there is the rug, which Yoda is sitting on accompanied by his usual tray of tea supplies. Frankly, there isn't much to look at.

'Wonderful accommodations you have here,' Voldemort says tauntingly. 'I see you have moved up in the world.'

'Possessions are ballast, which drag a man down from his true purpose in life.'

There we go again with the fortune cookie wisdom. Lord Voldemort sighs. 'Yes, I am sure a table and some chairs would have been a real abomination to the Force of Nature.'

'I take it you have the Grangers,' Yoda enquires, ignoring the observations.

A vile smile graces his face when he responds to the monk's enquiry. 'You figured that out already, Dobbydore? Yes, I have Hermione's parents. It seems you are quite unable to protect anyone. I daresay it won't be long now before she is mine completely.'

Yoda looks at him sadly and shakes his head. 'Destroy her and you will destroy yourself, Tom.'

'I don't plan to destroy her, you fool. I will show her the meaning of power and how to wield it. She needs to let go of the ballast that is holding her down from her true purpose in life,' he mimics the monk's words with a large amount of glee.

'You will never be able to turn Hermione to the dark side,' Yoda states quietly. 'The girl's destiny has been long foretold. Her light powers are unmatched by any of the others that came before her. You will not sway her.'

'Won't I? Then tell me monk, why are her eyes currently as black as they can become?' and he starts laughing.

'As black as yours, Tom?' Yoda says with a small smile. 'The Glamour you placed on your eyes to make them look crimson may fool others, but I can see right through it. I wonder why you feel the need to hide your true self.'

'This colour is my true self. The Glamour,' Voldemort says and he points to his eyes, 'is only a temporary situation. I can assure you I intent to make full use of your death. It must be nice to know you are going to assist me to regain my immortality.'

'So careless you are with something so valuable,' Yoda says sorrowful. 'Is this how you plan to repay Hermione for helping you heal it? By tearing your soul apart again?'

Lord Voldemort narrows his eyes at the monk and he smiles. 'Actually, Hermione will receive a very generous gift from me for her assistance.'

Yoda gazes at him and nods. 'I thought you might take that road. She must mean a lot to you then.'

'The girl is quite extraordinary,' Voldemort replies.

'Yes, her powers are far greater than Lily's or Sally's. The Force did you a tremendous favour by placing Hermione on your path, Tom. I recommend you do not squander it like you did with the others.'

'What are you talking about?' Voldemort snarls suspiciously.

'You wouldn't understand now,' Yoda replies serenely. 'Perhaps someday you will. I only hope it won't be too late for you then. Hermione is your last chance. The Force does not show me another. Fail her and you will be doomed for eternity.'

Lord Voldemort sniffs arrogantly. By Merlin, this is even a bigger bunch of bull than normally. He will do the world a tremendous favour by relieving it of the presence of this mumbling idiot. He should have done it ages ago. 'Serny!' Lord Voldemort calls.

The cracking sound of a House-elf Apparating reaches his ears and the small, bat-eared creature appears before him. 'How can Serny assist his Master,' the elf squeaks.

'Make sure Hermione Granger gets dressed quickly, and then, bring her to me at once,' Voldemort barks at the House-elf.

'Yes, Master,' Serny responds before disappearing again.

Lord Voldemort watches with amazement as Yoda calmly pours his tea and takes the cup in his hands. It irritates him thoroughly. Why isn't he opposing him? What is the meaning of this? Perhaps he is waiting with his attack, until Hermione gets here. Yes, that is what he would have done. Well, he is more than ready. The Knight will be in for a surprise if he thinks he will be able to ambush him and take Granger away.

'I have no intention to fight you, Tom,' Yoda says softly, 'or take Hermione away from you. On the contrary, you are the one who needs her presence, not me.'

'Is that so,' Voldemort snarls and he stares at the monk in disgust.

He would never have thought it was possible, and if someone would have told him this when he was still in his teens, he would have cursed them into oblivion, but this monk irks him more than Dumbledore ever did. At least Dumbledore would have raised his wand in an attempt to protect others. Still, they are both cowards. Even Albus Dumbledore allowed another to fight his battle, a teenage boy no less. Voldemort snorts condescendingly. Like Potter was ever a match for him. Yes, Albus Dumbledore and Yoda, cowards who drink their tea and eat their candy, proclaiming their greatness from the sideline. It makes him sick. And what was that absurd mentioning of Lily and Sally about? Lily? He never knew a …

Shocked, Lord Voldemort glares at the tranquil monk. 'What has Potter's mother to do with this?' he hisses.

Yoda looks at him thoughtfully before responding. 'Just another chance you casually threw away, Tom.'

Lord Voldemort's laugh fills the room. 'A chance for me?' he sneers mocking. 'Don't you mean a chance for that Mudblood? I gave it to her, and she failed to take it, her loss not mine.'

Yoda merely arches an eyebrow.

'Three times I offered that foolish Unspeakable a chance to join my ranks despite her despicable bloodline, but Saint Evans refused me, ME, the greatest wizard of all,' he spits. 'She could have lived, but she forgot the concept of stepping aside, so I ended her disgusting existence. And for what?' Another laugh roars through the room. 'Her itty bitty baby boy died anyway.'

Triumphant, Lord Voldemort smirks at the monk. However, Yoda is merely drinking his tea quietly. It makes him want to heave and blast the man into non-existence, but Granger still isn't here. What is keeping that blasted House-elf? If it isn't here with her within the next couple of minutes, it is going to be very, very sorry. He starts pacing the room to and fro, while sparks fly from the wand in his hand. He blasts the bed to smithereens to relieve his temper and the monk doesn't even have the decency to flinch. No, the coot has the nerve to open his mouth and question his assessments concerning the broads instead.

'So I suppose it was Sally's fault too?' Yoda asks knowingly. 'You do remember Sally Woodburn, don't you Tom?'

He freezes on the spot and swirls toward Yoda. His eyes flash dangerously and he almost makes the mistake of casting the Killing Curse there and then, but he halts just on time. 'No Muggle is of any concern of mine,' Voldemort hisses, towering over the monk.

Yoda smiles. 'I see … so that is why you warded her house and protected her from your own followers.'

Barely visible, Lord Voldemort flinches. 'What would you know about that?'

'I recognise your magic, Tom, it was visibly present all over the Farnon Estate.'

'And you were there, because…?'

'I needed to talk with Mrs Farnon about her granddaughter,' Yoda replies casually.

'I doubt very much Sal would have wanted to talk to the likes of you,' Voldemort states evenly.

'You are quite right about that,' Yoda says shrugging carefree. 'It was very unfortunate that Mrs Farnon didn't want to talk to me. But I suppose it was understandable.'

Lord Voldemort is about to respond to that when another Apparation crack interferes with his plans. He swirls around to the source of the noise and sees a fearful House-elf holding onto a dishevelled and furious Hermione. He smiles broadly at the witch, who has obviously been dragged here against her will by Serny. He dismisses the House-elf with a simple wave of his hand and the creature disappears immediately. But the Dark Lord inadvertently takes a step backwards when he sees Hermione's dark eyes sparkle ferociously at him. She is so angry that she doesn't even notice the other occupant in the room.

'You!' she hisses and she pricks him furiously in the chest. 'You!' she repeats.

'Very eloquently stated,' he says, while giving her a teasing wink.

'You, you… ARGH!' she growls, and she throws her hands in the air in clear frustration.

Lord Voldemort takes a step forward, and smirking, he cups Hermione's face. 'So you have already figured out what potion I gave you, despite that I mixed it with a Calming Draught. Pray tell, when did the contents of Secrets of the Darkest Art come back to your memory? Because I have to say you really are my clever, little witch for making that connection so soon,' he says proudly.

'I am not yours and you are not turning me into a Horcrux,' Hermione snaps, determined.

'Oh,' Lord Voldemort says in mock disappointment and he starts clicking his tongue, knowing it will infuriate her even more. But she is so cute when she is angry, he just can't resist the temptation. 'I am afraid that reply isn't up to your usual standards, dear, because you are wrong on both accounts. And you should be thankful…'

'Thankful! Thankful!' Hermione roars in resentment. 'For what?'

He grabs a hold of her around the waist and pulls her against him. His hand takes a hold of the Amulet of Aine that is hanging around her neck uselessly. He is just confirming his suspicions, checking it to be absolutely certain, and now, he is. The Amulet is no longer a sparkling, glowing, active emerald. The deed is done and he, Lord Voldemort, achieved it without having to deal with the despicable concept of remorse. Sure, there were a few minor incidents, but he overcame those. No Elfin trinket would beat him, the greatest wizard of all. Finally, he is ready to take the next step to immortality once again. A harsh shove against his chest makes him stumble backwards and it pulls him out of his reminiscence.

'Well? Are you ever going to answer me! Or are you just going to continue staring at the stupid stone like a mindless idiot?' Hermione sneers and she folds her arms over each other. 'Because I am so curious to hear what your delusional brain thinks I should be thankful for!'

Quickly, he glides back toward her, towering over her petite form, so she has to look up to face him. Not that it seems to impress or frighten her at the moment, because she is not backing away and is glaring at him angrily. It amuses him enormously. His life certainly became a lot more interesting when she entered it, his feisty magical counterpart.

'Because…,' he replies, halting briefly to enhance the impact, 'I was planning to transfer a part of my soul to you upon your father's death, but it seems I found a better patsy, so your daddy lucked out. Now, he will be declined the honour of assisting me in my quest for immortality.'

Hermione turns extremely pale upon the mere mention of her parents and he swirls her around to face the monk. She gasps when she sees Yoda, but it pleases the Dark Lord tremendously when he notices her eyes are still darting the room anxiously. She is obviously afraid her parents may be here somewhere too. He can't wait to see her expression when he confronts her with them. But he plans to wait until tomorrow, the nineteenth of September. After all, she is entitled to receive a birthday gift from him, isn't she? He chuckles internally at the deliciously, devious ploy he is setting his little dark witch up for, because that is exactly what she is; dark. He doesn't care what the fool on the floor says about it. Speaking of which, he can finally dispose of the monk. That fact alone is cause for a serious celebration.

'Yoda?' the girl in his arms asks concerned.

'Hello Hermione, it's always good to see you,' Yoda says cheerfully, and he puts down his teacup.

Lord Voldemort snorts. 'I wouldn't be expecting any assistance from him, my dear,' he whispers in Hermione's ear. 'He is allowing the others downstairs to be slaughtered as we speak.'

'What others?'

'Oh, just a couple of foolish people, who think they can oppose me.'

'Evil must be opposed,' Yoda states, nodding thoughtfully.

'As you are doing right now,' Voldemort sneers.

'There are many ways to oppose darkness. Not everything is about fighting battles and using magic as a tool of war and destruction.'

'Whatever,' Voldemort says tiresome, and he rolls his eyes. 'I will miss hearing those wondrous statements so much,' he mocks, while he raises his wand at the monk. 'Avada Kedavra!'

'NO!' yells Hermione, and she pushes his arm away.

The Killing Curse impacts on the wall to his right and blasts it out of the way permanently. A violent struggle follows between him and the wretched woman in his arms. 'Hold still or…' he hisses threatening.

She doubles over when his curse strikes her muscles. It's inflicting a cramp in every single one of them. So, in the end, he is able to subdue her and he adores how she feels in his arms, leaning against his chest, breathless and at his mercy. And he realises Yoda has monitored the exchange before him quietly. Lord Voldemort looks at the Knight of Silence with contempt. The man is just sitting there, doing nothing, when the person, who tried to save his pathetic life, is getting attacked before his eyes. He is utterly thrilled by the fact that Hermione will have to acknowledge this too. Her mentor did nothing, while she prevented certain death to hit the sorry-excuse-for-a-wizard. He kisses her on the cheek.

'So this is what you have tried to cling onto, dear,' he breathes against her skin. 'The famous light side; they sure are a lot of help to you now,' he sneers. 'Embrace your destiny, Hermione, embrace the darkness inside of you. Allow it to fill you up and become the most powerful witch this globe has ever seen.'

He watches her as she stares at Yoda in desperation. 'Leave, please leave,' she whispers to the monk.

The Knight smiles at her. 'I do not fear death, Hermione, as you know. I won't leave you, it is imperative that I stay.'

'See how the light fails you, Hermione, I promise you I won't,' Lord Voldemort says seductively. 'And you know it; your Patronus shows me you do.'

He sees how she closes her eyes at his words and how she barely visible shakes her head in a feeble attempt to convince herself. He tightens his embrace. He is swaying her now. Every fibre of his being is informing him of that. Just a little nudge in the right direction is all that is required here. So he pulls up the charm. 'Give in, my dear, follow your true instincts. I'll teach you everything I know, Hermione. I know you crave the knowledge. I know you want to learn for yourself what the Dark Arts are truly about. Let me teach you,' he insists.

Hermione bites her lip.

'There is no need to fear the Arts. I'll make sure you're safe, Hermione,' he adds persuasively. 'And you know I always live up to my end of the bargain. My word is my bond. And you want to become mine; your darkness draws you to me.'

'It's her light that draws her to you,' Yoda corrects, interrupting him abruptly.

Hermione's eyes snap open. Damn that monk for interrupting him. He was so close. But then, to his utter delight, Hermione shakes her head at Yoda. 'My eyes … I am not light,' she whispers fearfully.

Yes! Finally, she admits the truth. His mouth captures hers and he devours her thoroughly. He wants to take her right there and then, but in the back of his mind a little nagging voice reminds him he needs to take care of business first. Hermione responds to his kiss. Business? What business could be so important to leave her luscious mouth? Surely, it can wait. Oh yeah, immortality, his main goal. Their tongues circle around in a passionate dance and he moans in her mouth. Really, he needs to focus, priorities, priorities. She sucks on his tongue. Yes, his priorities are… to take Hermione and ravish her body, become immortal, create another Horcrux, and kill the bloody monk. Or was it the other way around? Her arms sneak around his waist and she pulls him even closer. No, he thinks he had the order quite right the first time. What is he doing? Is he going mental or what?

Abruptly, he breaks the kiss and stares at the woman in his arms. Damn, that obnoxious compatible magic thing is continuously making him forget to use his brain and not follow his dick around. Annoyed with himself, he twirls Hermione around roughly, and she crashes with her back into him. He captures her waist with his left arm and his magic immobilises her completely. This time she will not interfere. However, now the blasted monk opens his mouth. He smirks condescendingly. This is, undoubtedly, going to be entertaining.

'Darkness is everywhere and in everyone, but only those who know its true nature can contain it,' Yoda says to Hermione. 'To be or not to be, it is your choice.'

'Insightful,' Lord Voldemort mocks. 'Some epitaph. Want me to engrave it on your tombstone?'

Slowly, he raises his wand at the monk with a vicious smile on his face. He is going to enjoy every single moment of this kill. 'Avada Kedavra!'

The jet of green hits the serene smiling monk right in the chest and Yoda is thrown through the air violently before he plummets down as a limp puppet whose strings have finally been severed. Quickly, he points his wand at his chest and a sequence of ancient syllables leaves his mouth fluently. A familiar, tearing pain strikes Lord Voldemort's chest the very moment his Soul-Removal Curse is cast and he almost doubles over. He presses his wand in Hermione's ribcage. Holy Circe, he forgot how much the first time hurts, and … how long it took before reaching completion.

He is standing there, waiting impatiently for a part of his severed soul to leave his body and enter the witch in his arms. She has closed her eyes and is probably waiting for the impact. It surprises him that she isn't pleading with him to stop. But he supposes she is smart enough to know that nothing she says will change his mind. He has to do this. Otherwise she will become a serious threat to him the moment she embraces her dark side and learns to control it fully. He needs to be able to control her before she becomes so powerful she could destroy him. And she would do it … he has no doubt about that.

Still, after the Nagini debacle he isn't too keen on placing a part of his soul in a living being again, but Hermione's mortality is something that can be dealt with later. Besides, he has plenty of time to make the other five Horcruxes he needs. It's not like he is old or in danger of dying anyway.

His wand trembles briefly and he feels Hermione's body jerk in his arms as a part of his soul enters her. He releases his magical hold over her and she starts shivering relentlessly now she is no longer being immobilised. He caresses her face and kisses her neck. 'It's all right, Hermione,' he whispers, while lifting her chin to look her in the eye. 'From now on I will always be with you to guide and protect you on your path ahead.'

Lord Voldemort closes his eyes and concentrates. A split-second later he looks up to himself and he sees a smile erupt on his snakelike features. It's kind of unusual looking at yourself in such a manner. Satisfied, he opens his crimson eyes and sees two dark ones stare at him horrified.

'Yes, my dear, and this is only a mere fragment of the power I now behold over you,' he says smirking, while stroking her bushy hair. 'I suggest you behave and be a nice, obedient, little witch or you will find out exactly what else my presence inside of you can evoke on that delectable body of yours.'

Hermione glares at him. 'When I find a way to kick you out of me, you will never know what hit you,' she hisses.

'Granger, you may try to fool yourself, but you don't fool me for a minute. I know how you feel about me, darling. I've seen your thoughts, your emotions, your reactions to me, and let us not forget that beautiful snake you conjured,' he grins. 'You like, love, having me around. Well, think of it this way, now, I'll be with you always. Isn't it wonderful?'

'Yeah, like a dream come true,' Hermione sneers.

His laugh fills the room. 'Exactly,' he replies, and he winks at her. 'Now, why don't you get your cute arse home? I am sure there are still a lot of interesting volumes in my study you haven't read yet. And if you need help with the picking, I can always be of service,' he states cheerfully. 'I have to look into how things are going down here. But I know I can trust you to make it home alone with our combined magic, isn't that so, my sweet Horcrux?'

She narrows her eyes at him and he arches an eyebrow in response. 'Or do I need to assist you?' he asks deviously.

A crack sounds and she is gone from the premises. Triumphant, Lord Voldemort swirls away to the door. It's time to check on Sloan's progress and visit the Grangers. He is really looking forward to finally making acquaintance with Hermione's parents.

...
- 25
- 26
- 27
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

The Bittersweet Taste of Victory