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A Tangle of Webs	By : serpentinred Category: Harry Potter > Het - Male/Female > Hermione/Voldemort Views: 10517 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 2
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter and I don't make any money from these writings.

Chapter List
- 2
- 3
Chapter 3
December, 2009
Hermione Granger had no idea how long she stood in front of what should've been the Leaky Cauldron. For all she knew, it could've been simply minutes. However, somehow, she could not make herself move. The bitter cold had numbed her feet and hands many minutes ago, but it was nothing in comparison to what was happening to her heart and mind.
Occasionally, people dressed in non-Muggle attire would bow their heads to her in greeting—they probably wondered why she was standing there—but she could not bring herself to ask them anything. The thought of asking for help to get into the Leaky Cauldron was both depressing and horrifying.
She just couldn't do it. If not for the pride, then because she didn't want to know what would happen the next morning. She could already see her dilemma appearing on the front page of each and every wizarding newspapers.
So, the passersby continued on their way, disappearing in a blink of an eye, while she continued standing there.
What seemed like an eternity later, a hand landed on her shoulder. Stiffly—from both staying in the same position for too long and devastating emotions—she turned around until she saw the familiar, forest green eyes of Harry Potter.
She wanted to open her mouth to say something, to tell him that everything would be alright. She wanted to believe that everything would be alright. However, somehow, her lips wouldn't move, and her throat felt abnormally dry.
The sadness in his eyes was overwhelming, but what nearly made her cry was when he tugged his lips upwards into an encouraging smile. Biting down on her lips hard, she leaned forward, placed her head on his shoulder, and hugged him.

~-0-~
Steam rolled upwards from the two mugs sitting on the table. Candlelight provided the much needed lighting; it was nearing suppertime after all, but hunger was the least of Hermione's problems right now. She stared at the mug in front of her, though her mind was blank.
"Drink a little. It'll make you feel better," Harry said quietly, taking a sip out of his hot chocolate.
The comment registered in her mind just as slowly as her reaction, and before she could stop herself, she said in a monotonous voice, "But it won't make our magic come back."
Harry's hand stopped in midair, and a haunted look appeared on his face as he gazed at Hermione without saying a word. The distraught in his eyes would have caused her to blanch if she wasn't feeling as if the whole world had come to an end for them. In a way, it had, since magic was not only a part of them—it identified them.
Ginny placed her mug on the table, sat down next to Harry, and eyed them quietly.
They were still standing outside of the Leaky Cauldron when she had found them. Though she had no idea what happened to them at that time, she knew something terrible must have happened, based on the panic-stricken expressions on both of their faces. She had suggested for them to go to her house to chat, and Harry told her then and there that she might need to Apparate them there. A look of alarm had flashed over her face, but she did as she was suggested. Once they've arrived, Harry told Ginny their whole dilemma, and Hermione had remained silent throughout.
"There must be some way to get your magic back. Perhaps … it's in some other books. Or perhaps we could go to some other countries. Just because we haven't heard about it here, it doesn't mean that other wizarding cultures hadn't," Ginny said.
"I'd gone to Tibet," Hermione said, her voice detached, as if she were talking about someone else rather than herself. "They'd had a case like this before, four hundred years ago. But they'd never found a way to cure it."
Harry stared at her. "You'd never told me."
"How was I supposed to tell you, Harry? It was the only clue I could find, and I'd gone through countless books. I'd even gotten books from other countries: Norway, Sweden, Mexico, China, Egypt—you name it. However, the only incident that I've heard about came from Tibet. That was the only occurrence that I'd heard that was similar to what was happening to you—to us. How could I let you know that … we might never get our magic back again?"
She had closed her eyes while she told him this. She couldn't bear to look at him, though in her mind's eye, she could already see the expression that would be on his face now.
After a long time, she heard a sigh from Harry.
"I guess … that means we'll have to get used to being Muggles again," he said, trying to sound upbeat but failing miserably. "Think of it the good way, at least we'd gotten rid of Voldemort while we had our magic. Perhaps that was the purpose we had. Perhaps that was what we needed to achieve with our magic."
"Harry …" she murmured softly, shaking her head.
"Perhaps we can look for more clues in Tibet then," Ginny said, a look of deep thought on her face.
"It's … pointless. It happened four hundred years ago, and the only person who knows about this is dead," Hermione replied.
"It doesn't hurt to try again," Ginny said. "Harry and I had gone there a year and a half ago, and I remember passing by an old wizarding village. I can go there and check for you."
"Ginny—" Hermione started to say.
Ginny held up her hand. "Look, Hermione. You're one of my best friends and Harry is my husband. You can't expect me to sit around and look at the two of you break down without doing anything. It'll take at most a day or two, and I'll immediately owl you two if I find anything about it."
Though it pained Hermione to let others do the work for her, in the end, she had to agree. After all, she had no idea if there were any magic left inside her. Therefore, moments later, she was left alone in the kitchen with Harry while Ginny went to prepare the things she would be taking with her.
"Maybe Ginny would find something," Harry said, still attempting to sound hopeful and optimistic.
"Hopefully," Hermione said. With a sigh, she stood up from her chair. "I guess I better go home then. I haven't told Todd that I might be home late, so I don't want him to be worried about me."
Harry nodded before a frown creased his forehead. "Perhaps … you should wait until Ginny … well …"
At first, she was confused by what he was saying, but then, she understood: Without magic, it was impossible to leave Diagon Alley.
"Oh … right," she muttered before sitting down again.
They waited in silence for Ginny to return, each immersed in their own thoughts and mutually hoped that their nightmare would soon be over.

~-0-~
The next few days were extremely hard for Hermione to get through. Although she hadn't expected Ginny to have positive answers for her, she still became nervous as time went by. The Floo network, thankfully, still worked for Hermione and Harry, and she had contacted the Ministry with that method, letting them know that she would be on vacation for the next couple of days.
She knew she probably should've told them about her problem, or perhaps resigned from her post, but she couldn't get herself to do that. There was still a small part of her that wished this nightmare would be over soon.
It was nearly sunset when Ginny Apparated in with a soft "pop," startling Hermione.
"Ginny!" she scolded. "What if Todd was home?"
"So … you haven't told him about … magic yet?" Ginny asked, a smile lingering on her lips.
"No … I … I couldn't tell him. I don't know how to explain it to him with—without magic. I mean … if I can't show magic to him, it's pointless telling him that I know magic, and if I can't show him, why would he believe that I know magic? That there's really a wizarding world? And … and …" Hermione trailed off.
She tried to calm down, but it was easier said than done.
A sympathetic expression appeared on Ginny's face, and she nodded. "Sorry about asking, Hermione. I was just … curious."
"No, I understand," said Hermione. She glanced at Ginny tentatively. "Have you … did you find anything about the loss of magic?"
Ginny lowered her gaze and sighed. "I did, but … I think you'd found everything that I could find. And … and I'm sorry, Hermione. I don't think there's a way for you to get your magic back."
Hermione closed her eyes. She numbly stood in the living room; she didn't even notice that Ginny had stopped talking and was now looking at her observantly. It was if time had stopped for her. She didn't realize until this moment that she had been counting on Ginny's results, more than she had thought she did.
The seconds ticked by until Ginny patted her on the shoulder, urging her to sit down on the sofa. Ginny then went into the kitchen, presumably to make tea. Hermione didn't know what to think now. Her mind was in chaos in regards to what to do now. She'd already reached dead ends in regards to how to get her magic back—which meant that she might never get her magic back. That meant that she would have to resign from her post at the Ministry … and learn how to live like a Muggle again … and …
Her eyes stung, and she felt tears threatening to fall, but she held them back. She wouldn't let them fall now.
The sounds of the front door opening reached her ears, alerting her that Todd was home. Seconds later, he walked into the living room.
"Is something wrong?" he asked, peering at her face with a faint smile on his face.
For a short moment, she stared at him until something cracked inside her. She stood up, walked over to him, and wrapped her arms around him.
"Hermione?" he asked softly.
She clung onto him as if he were the only thing connecting her to reality. It was strange, really, since he was a Muggle and the one thing that would make her feel even more detached from the real world—her world, the world of magic.
"What's the matter?" he asked.
His soft baritone soothed her, and momentarily, she calmed down a bit.
"Nothing. Just … just please hold me for a while," she whispered.
"Are you sure?"
"Yes," she answered.
"Are you sure you don't want something? You seem awfully unsettled," he said, his fingers working their way through her hair.
She shook her head and buried her head into his shoulder, trying to seek out a safe place. She should get some sleep. Yes, that might cause this nightmare to end. Or maybe she would think of some way after she'd gotten enough rest. Solutions often came to her after a while. Maybe she just wasn't getting the answers because she was too worried. She should—
"Perhaps a Calming Draught might help?" he asked.
She froze, and a numbing feeling shot down from her brain all the way down her spine.
"Or perhaps a Dreamless Sleep Potion?" he suggested, his voice as soothing and soft as usual.
His words unfroze her, but her body started to shake as something connected in her brain, something that thoroughly frightened her.
"Wha—what are you talking about?" she asked.
Her hands were still clinging onto him; somehow, she couldn't get them to budge.
"Do you need a potion to help calm you down, Hermione?" he asked.
The tint of sarcasm in his voice finally made the rest of her body move, and she pulled away from him. She stared at him as she slowly stepped backwards, both yearning his embrace and wanting to be as far away from him as possible.
Especially when she saw that expression on his face.
His smile had never scared her so much; it had always been warm and welcoming. Right now, however, she wondered how she could've ever thought of him as pleasant because cruelness fitted seamlessly with him.
"Oh, hello, Todd," Ginny said from the kitchen.
"Hello … Ginny," Todd said, his eyes never leaving Hermione's face.
"Who are you?" Hermione asked, her voice nearly a whisper.
Somewhere, deep inside her heart, she already knew the answer, but she wanted to hear it from him.
"Oh, have you told her already?" Ginny asked mildly.
Hermione felt as if a bomb had been dropped on her. No … her ears must be playing tricks on her. Ever so slowly, she turned around, staring at Ginny with disbelief in her eyes. The redhead in question was looking back at her with a cup of tea in her hand, but the concern on her face suddenly seemed so fake, so … rehearsedthat it sickened Hermione.
"Not exactly, but I do believe that the little Mudblood might have worked most of it out already," Todd said, amusement apparent in his voice.
"What a pity," Ginny said with an exaggerated sigh, "and to think that I've taken the time to make a cup of tea for her."
"Ginny … I thought … I thought you loved Harry," Hermione said, her voice close to a whisper.
She didn't understand. She'd always thought that Ginny fancied Harry … or had it all been an act?
"Oh." A look of genuine surprise appeared on Ginny's face before it turned into hilarity. "I'd thought that the little Mudblood would've been much more intelligent than this, but I suppose I can't hold it against her." Her brown eyes flickered over to the clock hanging on the wall. "And look at the time. I should be going home to dear Potter now. Some things need to be finished. Perhaps you and the little Mudblood can drop by in a few minutes, so I wouldn't need to explain things twice?"
With that said, she Disapparated, leaving a thoroughly confused and hurt Hermione behind.
So many theories were going through Hermione's head right now, but she didn't know which one was correct and which ones were wrong. She didn't have enough information. She didn't understand how and why Ginny would turn out like this. She didn't understand why Ginny would betray the person she loved and her family for him.
"Why? Ginny's not that kind of a person," Hermione said quietly, "and she'd always hated you."
He laughed softly. "You still haven't figured it out, dear? I'm thoroughly surprised. I've been told so many times about how terribly intelligent you are, especially after the supposed downfall of Lord Voldemort—"
"But you never really died, did you?" she asked, anger surfacing above her sorrow and shock.
"I admit that I thought it might've been foolish and rash of me to take on this identity, so close to the … cleverest witch to walk the hallways of Hogwarts," he said tauntingly. "I was so surprised how it all worked out. I suppose this face does have its usefulness, doesn't it, Hermione? It's so incredibly easy for witches to fall under the spell of someone who has charming looks. I mean, really, do I really need to spell this out for every single Gryffindor?"
Pulling out a wand—for a moment, Hermione wondered if it was the same yew wand that Lord Voldemort had used before—he spelled "Todd Oliver Lammor" in the air before slashing his wand through the air. The letters immediately rearranged itself to "I am Lord Voldemort," reminding Hermione very much of what happened to Harry in the Chamber of Secrets so many years ago.
"Do you think I have nothing else better to do than to rearrange names around to make sure they're not an anagram of your name?" she seethed.
"I'm sure, such as snogging Todd behind Harry Potter's back," he said smugly.
She urged to hex that conceited look on his face, but that reminded her of her loss of magic.
"You were the one behind my loss of magic … and Harry's," she said as calmly as she could.
"Well, I can't say that I'm not, can I? But you were the one who'd given me the chance, dear," he said. "But I can't take all the credit for Potter's loss of magic. Well, I can, but it wasn't exactly me who'd done it—at least, not me in this body."
She stared at him, trying to figure what he meant, and then, an idea popped into her head. No … it couldn't be …
"You understand now? Perhaps you are as intelligent as you were rumored to be," he mused. "But we ought to continue this conversation at Potter's place. I don't particularly enjoy explaining things twice."
She nearly snorted derisively at his words. Nearly everyone knew how much he loved hearing himself speak. Explaining things twice would merely be another reason to let him talk nonstop, so she doubted he wouldn't enjoy it. However, before she could say anything, he had already closed the distance between them, grabbed her, and Apparated.

~-0-~
Once they arrived at Harry and Ginny's house, Voldemort shoved her towards Harry, who was on the floor glaring at Ginny with hatred, pain, and sadness in his eyes. Nonetheless, he still caught Hermione when she fell towards him.
"Harry … Harry, are you alright?" Hermione asked frantically in a low voice, when she pushed herself off Harry's body.
"She's not Ginny, Hermione," he said, breathing hard.
Hermione had guessed that much—from what Voldemort had said, and now with Harry's confirmation, she was positive that Ginny was no longer Ginny. Riddle had somehow fully possessed her, and Hermione was pretty sure that this happened in the Chamber of Secrets so many years ago.
But how could this have happened?
"I know … but I thought your scar always hurt when he was near. Why didn't it hurt throughout those years while we were at Hogwarts?" Hermione asked, keeping her eyes on Voldemort and Ginny.
"Thankfully, you were just in time, so I wouldn't need to explain this twice," Ginny spoke up.
Voldemort sauntered over to one of the armchairs and sat down, resting his chin on one hand and lazily twirling the pale, white wand in the other. All the while, he kept his eyes on Hermione, presumably enjoying the myriad of expressions that appeared on her face.
"Ginny" sighed exaggeratedly. "It's just so uncomfortable to be in such a tiny body, and with Potter's magic, I can easily break out of this filthy blood-traitor's body—"
"No!" Harry protested, sitting up straight.
Hermione grabbed onto Harry's arm, afraid that he would do something rash and get himself hurt. They were without magic now, and she had no idea how much magic Voldemort and Ginny had stolen. Were Harry and she the only people they had stolen magic from? Or were there more victims? Hermione didn't know for sure, and the implications frightened her.
"Tsk, tsk, tsk, so … touching. Ginerva's already gone, Harry Potter. She's been gone for quite a while already because you had been too late to save her. Again."
Hermione felt sick in the stomach, watching Riddle speak with Ginny's voice and through Ginny's mouth. It was obviously an even harder blow towards Harry—the mixture of horror and pain on his face was enough to tell.
"I knew it wouldn't have been possible to trick you with my Horcrux inside of you and your scar acting like a constant fire alarm," she continued to speak, tapping Ginny's wand rhythmically in her hand. "As convenient and ironic as it was to let you be the reason for my continued existence on Earth, I knew that I had to deal with that little problem before I got the chance to harm you, let alone kill you. So I waited, all those years, inside little Ginerva's body. She didn't even know I was there, biding my time, until her sixth year at Hogwarts."
So that was why Harry's scar hadn't been able to detect him. He hadn't exactly taken over Ginny's body, so to speak. It was sort of like Harry's situation, where the soul piece was dormant, yet "awake" enough to make conscious decisions and plans.
"Imagine my surprise when you never even suspected that there was something wrong with me when I went back to Hogwarts. As if Lord Voldemort would've allowed a small detail like the Weasleys being friends of Harry Potter slip by him. But of course Lord Voldemort wouldn't harm Ginerva Weasley—because a piece of his soul was living inside the little blood traitor. It was so invigorating to finally take over this body. Well, I sure it won't be as exhilarating as when I get my own body back again, but compared to all those years of listening to her think about how wonderful Harry Potter is, how attractive the great Harry Potter is … you can imagine my relief." Ginny's brown eyes gazed at Harry with mock innocence. "Did you know, Harry, that she pleaded me to let her go? Oh, she pleaded me so many times with that annoying little voice of hers to release her, to leave her body. 'Please, Tom, let me go. Please, Tom, I'm begging you. Please, Tom, don't hurt Harry. Please, Tom, hurt me instead. Please, Tom, I'll do anything, Tom. Just don't hurt Harry, Tom..' It all became so very boring and repetitive after a while."
"Shut up, Riddle," Harry whispered, tears shining in his eyes. Then in a stronger voice, he said, "Shut up. I know Ginny. She's not like that. She would've fought against you till the last breath she had."
Ginny looked at Harry observantly before a broad smile appeared on her face.
"So she did," said Ginny softly. "She tried so desperately, albeit unsuccessfully, against me, trying to regain her body. She tried so hard to reach out to you, to show you some sign that she wasn't herself, but you never once noticed them, did you?"
A flash of realization flashed over Harry's face—he must have remembered something from the past that corresponded to what Riddle was saying. Hermione held onto his hand, praying that Harry wouldn't take Riddle's words seriously. Riddle was obviously trying to hurt Harry like this, and Hermione hoped against hope that Harry wouldn't let him succeed.
"You were too late, Potter, and poor little Ginny had to suffer for you incompetence. It makes me wonder what that old fool Dumbledore saw in you. Tell me, Potter, and let's be honest here: Did you really think that you would've gotten through first year of Hogwarts without the help of that little Mudblood beside you? The Chosen One … really? I wonder if Longbottom would've done a better job. Then again, maybe not. If it were Hermione up against me, I daresay, my road to victory might have been slightly more exciting."
"Harry's much better than you can ever be, Riddle. At least he'd never use such underhand ways to claim a victory," Hermione said angrily.
Ginny gazed at her, so calmly that it became slightly unnerving to Hermione.
"Didn't see you complaining about it while you were rolling around in bed with my counterpart," she said with a sneer.
A furious blush appeared on Hermione's cheeks, though she had no idea if it were from anger or from embarrassment.
"You tricked me. If I'd known that he was Voldemort—"
"—you still would've fallen for him," she said arrogantly. "You can't really tell me that you never once suspected that there was something wrong with 'Todd,' can you? Though I suppose I, or rather, the other I did his job rather magnificently."
"You're getting ahead of yourself," Voldemort spoke up coldly.
"Ah, my apologies. I suppose I should leave that part of the explanation to you. Now, let's get back to Ginny and Potter, shall we?" Ginny asked rhetorically.
"You were the one who did something to Harry. You wiped his memory of how Tom Riddle looked like which was why Harry didn't recognize him," said Hermione, nodding towards Voldemort, "when they supposedly first met."
She didn't bother looking at Voldemort; she knew he had his eyes on her, but at the moment, she couldn't bear to even glance at him, let alone glare at him. Looking at him would remind her of everything that had happened and everything that she could've prevented—it would remind of her ultimate failure.
Ginny looked at her, a pleasant smile on her face. "Ten points to Gryffindor. I see that I've made the right decision in letting my basilisk Petrify you first, or else Harry here might've been quite a bit more successful in saving little Ginerva." Ginny's eyes scrutinized her from head to toe and then back again. "Tsk … such a pity. I would've welcomed you into my ranks."
A derisive snort left Hermione's lips. "As if I'm interested. Does it look like I'm mental? Perhaps you'd forgotten, but I'll gladly remind you, I'm a Muggle-born witch. My parents are Muggles. My family members areMuggles. I'm not about to join you on a rampage against everything that I am."
"It doesn't have to be that way, Hermione," Voldemort finally spoke up, his voice as warm and soothing as usual.
Hearing his voice—specifically, hearing him speak with that tone of voice that "Todd" had used with her wounded her. When he spoke coldly or viciously, she could almost pretend that he wasn't the person she'd loved and perhaps still loved.
"Don't …" she said quietly, closing her eyes and shaking her head. "Don't speak to me."
"Everything can be different, Hermione. It's just a matter of choice right now—your choice, to be exact," Voldemort said evenly. "I can even promise you to spare Potter his life. After all, he's no longer a threat to me. If you swear your loyalty to me, I can be the merciful Lord and give you back your magic. I can even—"
She started laughing, almost hysterically. She'd tried to convince herself to remain calm and not break down in front of him, but what he was saying was too much for her to handle.
"I said, don't speak to me, Voldemort. I'm not interested. I'll never be interested, do you hear me? I don't care what you're offering, and I'll never join you. How dare you say these offers as if they're gifts for you to grant? You owe Harry a life. You stole away his whole childhood by murdering his parents. You ripped his chance at being a normal teenager out of his hands by being a constant threat to his life. You ruined his relationship with Ginny by taking over her body," Hermione said, her voice eerily calm. "Does it look like I want anything to do with you?"
A cold smile appeared on Voldemort's face. "Perhaps not. Yet. But when the wizarding world followed by the Muggle world falls into my hands, do you think you can still speak so confidently?"
"You'll never take over the world. The other people will stop you," Harry spoke up angrily.
"Oh, do you really believe so, Harry dearest?" Ginny asked. "So utterly naïve. Did you think that I—we—" She indicated Voldemort and her. "—are not the same person you'd known. Without you in the equation, do you really think there are enough people to stand up to us? No … after an … enlightening conversation with one another, we've decided that your death isn't of much importance to us any longer." She leaned forward. "After all, hadn't your favorite Headmaster always gone on and on about things that are worse than death? After seeing your current conditions, I daresay that I would have to agree with him. Without your magic, you're hardly any threat to us."
"Surrender yourself, swear your loyalty to me, and I can be persuaded to reconsider your fate," Voldemort spoke up quietly.
"You know, we can be merciful Lord and masters if you serve us well," Ginny said. A lazy smile appeared on her face. "If you are a good boy, I might even be convinced to give you back your little freckled-face blood-traitor."
For a moment, hope flashed over Harry's eyes before they hardened again. "You liar."
"Tsk, tsk, tsk," Ginny clicked her tongue disapprovingly. "I'd thought you were so adamant about saving this body merely minutes ago."
"You're lying. I know you, Riddle. You lie for a living. You've lied to everyone years ago, you've lied to all your followers, you've lied to every and anyone you come across. I didn't believe you during my first year at Hogwarts, do you really think I'll believe you now?" Harry said.
For a moment, Hermione couldn't help but admire Harry. It was easy to see that he had been tempted by Riddle's offer. Harry loved Ginny. So, so much, and secretly, Hermione wouldn't blame Harry if he'd tried to save Ginny, but no. Harry still managed to stay strong even after being assaulted with some of the worst emotional attacks within the last hour.
Ginny grinned again. "Suit yourself."
"How did you steal our magic?" Hermione asked quietly.
"You haven't figured it out yet?" Ginny questioned, a faux innocent expression on her face. "I suppose I can give you hint, or else you might pull out all that frizzy hair of yours. When was the first time you've experienced magic loss?"
Tibet. But that didn't explain …
Hermione's eyes widened in realization. "You … the Knights of Silence had been taken over—"
"—by Lord Voldemort," Voldemort said quietly while a victorious smirk appeared on Ginny's face.
Hermione couldn't help but looked towards the man she'd thought she'd fallen in love with.
"I suppose I can't blame you for not noticing something off about the incense there. You'd never been there before after all. It was one of the best ways to 'feed' the potion into your system, so to speak. That, and of course, some dark spells. It was all made awfully easy when your victim had no idea what was being cast on them," Voldemort said, his dark eyes sliding from Harry and then back to Hermione. "The first time I felt your power entering my system …" He closed his eyes in euphoria before he opened them again, mockery dancing merrily in his eyes. "I must confess that I'm surprised that I hadn't heard about you earlier. True, some of my followers had warned me that Potter had help, but I had been, unfortunately, overly … occupied by the prophecy. It had been … much more difficult than I had anticipated to get you to trust me. However, I'd chosen my alibi correctly, hadn't I? By pretending to be a Muggle, you didn't see the dangers of being with handsome, charming 'Todd Oliver Lammor', did you? I have to say that I was extremely lucky that your relative was marrying into such a large family, or else it might've been harder for me to slip into the family without you becoming suspicious."
A tinge of pride entered his eyes, and it made Hermione feel torn. On the one hand, Lord Voldemort was inadvertently praising her. Her! A Muggle-born witch! On the other hand, why should she care about what he thought about her? Even if she did love him and still, to some extent, loved him, it didn't change the fact that what he had done was vile and downright wrong.
Also, why did she lose her magic more quickly than Harry?
As if he'd read her mind, and perhaps he did, Voldemort leaned forward, his eyes never wavering from her face. "I'm afraid your intelligence was precisely what lead to my decision to … absorb your magic more quickly. You see, after Harry came to you with his problem, I'm certain that you would eventually try to find out more about it. You might even eventually come up with a solution to your little problem. No, I knew I had to stop you before you could find out more about it."
But he wasn't the one who'd sent her to Tibet; he didn't even know she was going to Tibet, neither did Ginny. Unless …
"Healer Nerys is a Death Eater," Hermione whispered, almost to herself.
"One of my very best," Voldemort replied, his beautiful lips curving upwards into a smirk.
"So that means that …"
"Yes," he answered. "Paulina Marcus is also one of my most faithful followers." He chuckled. "Sorry I haven't sent you a memo with a list of my Death Eaters. It would've made your job so much easier, wouldn't it?"
Hermione closed her eyes, anger as well as defeat battling inside her mind. Voldemort's lackeys had managed to infiltrate positions of importance; how that had been allowed to happen baffled and frightened her. WIth Harry and her indisposed and unable to contact anyone, Voldemort's plan to take over the world was not a possibility; it was tomorrow's headlines.
"It's your call now, Hermione," Voldemort said softly. "Your fate lies in my hands now. Of course I can easily kill you, or I can even Obliviate you and let you live out the rest of your life, never knowing that there's another world out there until the Muggle world succumbs to me." He paused, giving her mind enough time to envision how awful a life that would be. "However, Lord Voldemort always rewards those who serve him well. Swear your loyalty to me, and I promise no harm will be done to you, your family … and perhaps even your friends, on top of returning you your magic."
"You have no other option, Harry, Hermione," Ginny said. "Join us, and we'll rebuild the world together. I don't even have to target Muggle-borns, if that was what you were worried about."
Voldemort stood up from his chair, walked over to Ginny, and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Let them think about it for a while." His eyes slid over to Hermione. "It's not as if they have the power to escape right now. We still have other plans to set in motion."
A bright smile appeared on Ginny's face. "Oh yes."
Hermione had an idea that she probably didn't want to know what those two Voldemorts were planning right now. Anything that made him smile as if Christmas had come early was never a good idea.
Ginny looked at Hermione and Harry again. "Hopefully, you two won't choose the rash, idiotic decisions that Gryffindors always make. We are giving you quite a good deal right now, despite the many times you've thwarted us."
With that said, she Disapparated, leaving only Harry, Hermione and Voldemort in the house.
Waving his wand around, Voldemort placed several wards around the apartment before turning towards Harry and Hermione.
"I suggest the two of you think over our proposal. Though we can be tolerant, our patience do not last forever."
Casting one last possessive look towards Hermione, he then Disapparated, too.
Hermione let out a deep sigh, recalling what Voldemort had said. He'd mentioned that she might find a solution to their problem which meant that there was a possibility that she and Harry might get their magic back. However, how would she get out of here? Voldemort had placed wards all over the apartment. Even if he had erected the most basic of wards, they couldn't get out without their magic.
"What are we going to do?" Harry asked.
"I don't know," Hermione admitted, slumping against the couch behind her. "We … we don't have any other option."
Harry peered at her. "Do you … are you planning to join him?"
"No!" Hermione nearly shrieked. In a calmer voice, she repeated, "No. I can't." She shook her head. "I can't, not after all of this. It's wrong. It's …"
"But we might never get our magic back," Harry said quietly. "And I don't think he was jesting when he said that we might get Obliviated and sent to live as regular Muggles."
Suddenly, he laughed bitterly, causing Hermione to look at him strangely.
He shook his head. "If only I still had that bottle of Felix Felicis with me now, eh?"
Hermione didn't know how to answer, so she kept silent.
Harry sighed and looked towards the ceiling. "I guess we're trapped here, huh?"
"I guess," Hermione answered sadly. "I mean, I don't think we'd be able to leave via the Floo network; he's bound to have done something to it, and I doubt owls can fly through the wards he'd set up. We're cut off from the rest of the world."
All of a sudden, Harry grabbed Hermione, his eyes alight with renewed hope.

~-0-~
Voldemort stared at the remains of Potter's apartment in suppressed rage.
The whole front side of the apartment was completely obliterated, as if someone had taken a flamethrower and burnt down that wall. The furniture inside were covered in soot, and the prisoners that were supposed to be kept inside were nowhere to be seen.
Seconds later, Ginny Apparated beside him.
"Found anything?" Voldemort asked, his voice harsh.
Ginny thrusted her hand under Voldemort's nose. His eyes narrowed when he saw the single Galleon coin. Carved on it was a crude but clear word: Help.
"Protean Charm," Ginny spat out. "It was given to members of Dumbledore's Army by Hermione in their fifth year. Unfortunately, I'd forgotten that most of the members still liked to keep it around, so that they could show off. Such as Neville Longbottom."
Upon hearing this, Voldemort could no longer hold back his anger. He pointed his wand at the nearest tree and blew it up. People who'd been standing by it started screaming and running in different directions, though nobody seemed to suspect where the spell had come from.
Ginny stepped towards Voldemort, lowering his arm in the process. "Get a hold of yourself. You can't let that little Mudblood get to you now."
No, he could not let Granger get to him now, not when things were finally settling into place, and he was more than prepared to take over the Ministry once again. It didn't matter if Granger and Potter did tell the whole world that Lord Voldemort was back. It wouldn't change the fact that they were both without magic now. The rest of the riffraffs were negligible, and once the world was under Lord Voldemort's thumb, he could comb through the population and find the two of them.
Make no mistake about that, Hermione Granger. Lord Voldemort will find you one day, and you'd better be ready to pay the debts you owe me.

~-0-~

Fin.

~-0-~
A/N: So ... the last chapter of this fic is finally up (and another ongoing fic finished *pumps fist in the air happily*). Sorry for the long wait, and especially sorry to Nerys and Lady Miya, since this was supposed to be their birthday present ... many eons ago.
Special thanks to my wonderful beta, Nerys. Many thanks to those of you who've read, faved, and/or added to alert.
Huge, huge thanks to those of you who've reviewed: Alassea Riddle, LadyMiya, Relatela, Sia the Alchemist, a.k, and Stella Purple!
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A Tangle of Webs