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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
- 36
- 37
- 38
Harmony wasn't sure how long she'd slept for. She just remembered waking up from a dreamless sleep to listen to the ebb and flow of the waves that crashed against the cliff face outside. At times, the roaring of the waves matched the sound of Voldemort's breathing beside her. While she slept, he had rolled off her to his own side of the bed. She looked over to find him still with his eyes closed.
The blanket came up to his waist, revealing his bare chest. She took the chance to observe him without being noticed. Never before had she seen a completely naked man before, and she had no objection to what she saw. His muscles were well-toned but not burly, and there was only just a little hair on his chest.
When she turned over on her side to face him, she felt that he had a hand on her beneath the covers. At her stirring, his eyes opened a sliver and he took a deep, shaky breath, the skin on his chest going taut as he stretched. When he exhaled, he stared blankly up at the ceiling above him and put his hands under his head while Harmony watched. For that moment they lay beside each other like they always had. She closed her eyes and listened to the steady interval of his breaths.
It's funny, she thought, now that I'm used to the sound of another presence in bed beside me, I think it would be difficult to sleep without it.
At this thought, he spoke, breaking the early morning silence.
"Harmony," he said in a thoughtful voice.
After a second she replied quietly, "Yes?"
Master cleared his throat before he said anything more. "Do you remember that room you found deep within the mansion? The one that shows you glimpses of the future?"
"Mm-hmm," she answered, wondering why he would bring it up now.
Master paused before he said, "I, too, went to that room."
"Why did you do that?" she asked curiously. The only way she came upon that room was by becoming painfully lost. It was dangerous to even try finding it.
"When you told me you'd found a lost woman there, I thought it would be a good idea to make sure one of the followers hadn't wandered down there besides you," he said. "But when I found the room, there was no one there. All I found in the place was a piece of my own future instead."
"Yes?" Harmony asked, her curiosity building now.
Master took a moment to collect his thoughts. "I saw a graveyard. It was ominous, with fog spilling out over my heels, and an old willow tree swaying slightly in the wind not too far ahead of me. And right before me was a grave. It wasn't my own." He frowned deeply, his eyes glazing over as he visualized the scene. "It was the grave of Lucius Malfoy."
Harmony frowned at him.
He continued, "I walked closer to the gravestone, which was carved from marble and had an etching of a snake wrapped around a blooming rose. But it was what was written on the stone that I can't get out of my mind. Beneath Lucius' name was etched the words, 'Here lies a man wives dream to have and sons dream to be.'"
Harmony smiled at this. Despite Lucius Malfoy's hostile behavior towards her personally, the words told her that he still had a family who cared about him. It was the one thing in his life that the man had actually done right.
"But I don't understand," Voldemort told her with a baffled voice. "The grave said nothing about his Wizarding abilities, or about his pureblood name, or about his having been one of my most loyal followers." His confused expression darkened. "And do you know what? For some reason—a reason which I don't completely understand myself—I envied him."
He looked over at Harmony and searched her face as though he'd find the answers there. She gave him a thoughtful look, and he shrugged. "I don't know, maybe it was the way the words struck me, but they made me feel like I needed to leave there that very instant, like I never should have come there at all."
When Voldemort stopped talking, Harmony wasn't sure what to say. It was certainly strange that out of all the moments in his future, the room had chosen to show him a grave that was not his own.
"How did you escape from the room?" Harmony asked. "I never would've left if it weren't for Claudia, the little witch in the paintings."
"Claudia," he said with a bemused smile. "She's the one who told me about the room in the first place."
"I thought I did," Harmony said.
"When you turned up missing again, she thought that might be where you had gone," Master explained. "But I did not look for it until you mentioned the woman. As for why I left, I heard a man's voice calling out to me. He said, 'Who's that? Who's out there?', and I thought he must be outside the room. I went out to look for him but I didn't see anyone—not a soul. And when I turned back around the door slammed shut and locked."
"That's the same thing that happened to me," said Harmony with interest. "I mean the part about the door closing and not being able to open it again."
Voldemort turned his head so a side of his face rested on the pillow as he silently regarded her. "You have never told me exactly what you saw in the room. What was it?"
Harmony was not sure how much of the vision she should tell him. If she told him everything, including the part about her being very pregnant, she didn't know how he was likely to take it.
Of course, after what they had just been doing, the thought had already occurred to her that he may very well have accomplished the deed already. But what if he wasn't the father of the baby she was supposed to have? There could always be another man in her life in the future.
The very idea of anyone but Lord Voldemort touching her that way sickened Harmony. Somehow in the very depths of her being she knew that she would never want anyone but this man who lied beside her right now for her lover. The child had to be his.
"Well?" he prompted when she hadn't answered.
"Hm?" she asked, even though she had heard him perfectly well.
"When you went into the future room, what did you see?" he repeated.
"Oh, er, I saw the woman—she was me—standing in a darkened bedroom in the middle of the night," she said as she recollected the memory. "I was standing at an open window gazing out at a full moon that filled the whole place with blue light."
"Why were you at the window?"
"I'm not really sure. I looked a little sad, but also hopeful in a way. It was like I was just watching and waiting for something." Harmony decided not to mention the part about her being extremely pregnant at the time.
"Interesting," he said as he lay on his back again. "I wonder what you wanted so much."
His words hung in the air, and she let them fade into the silence. Then nothing more was said on the matter.
Harmony sighed and stretched when Voldemort sat up in the bed. She wondered what he was thinking about as he stared out the window on the wall opposite them. The sky was growing from purple to pink. Morning already, she thought, and we've hardly slept at all.
Unexpectedly, Voldemort threw off his side of the blanket and stepped out of the bed. Harmony averted her eyes with modesty until he put his pants on. But her eyes returned to watch while he slipped his arms through his black shirt and strode across the room.
The door swung open magically, and he walked outside in his bare feet and an unbuttoned shirt. Harmony leaned up on her elbow and frowned curiously when she saw him pass by the window.
For a few moments, Harmony wasn't certain what to do. She waited to see if he would return. The sky grew into a sure pink and he still had not come back. After another second of indecision, Harmony slipped out of the bed, one leg at a time, and quickly snatched her black shirt off the floor. It was usually held in place by her corset, but now the black material hung loosely, leaving her shoulders bare while the hem reached the tops of her thighs. With her bare feet slapping against the hard floor, Harmony went into the cool salty breeze outside.
Not too far down the short path, she spotted Voldemort by the cliff-side sitting on a big rock. Walking in her bare feet through the cool grass, she went and stood behind him.
The golden rays of the rising sun illuminated Voldemort's head like a halo; the tips of his black hair were set aflame. His unbuttoned shirt flapped behind him like a pair of black wings.
Although he had heard Harmony approaching through the grass behind him, he did not look away from the image before him. "The last time I saw a sunrise like this one was while I was still in a Muggle orphanage," he told her. "But I've never seen one overlooking the ocean like this before." He took a deep breath, filling his lungs to their full capacity.
Harmony smiled at his words. She closed her eyes and took a breath as well, allowing the cold, salty air to fill her lungs as she listened to the pounding waves below. Fond memories of going to the beach as a child filled her mind as she licked her lips. She could taste salt on her tongue.
When she exhaled, she asked, "What are you going to do?"
The magic of the scenery seemed to diminish at bit at her words.
"I have to leave," he said, and she felt her heart droop. "I need to find whoever I can and regroup."
Harmony fought down the urge to remind him yet again that all of his followers were dead. She didn't want to start that argument again. Instead she said, "You're taking me with you."
Voldemort glanced back at her over his shoulder, "Yes, you and I stay together."
When they gazed at each other in that moment, Harmony realized that her feelings for him had increase dramatically since last night. With their eyes alone they could exchange knowing thoughts with just the slightest movement of the irises.
Harmony's stomach gurgled, and both of their eyes widened. Harmony smiled as she said, "We haven't eaten in a whole day. I'm sure we can find something in those cupboards to eat."
He nodded, looked one last time at the rising sun, and followed Harmony back to the cottage. Harmony felt a bit nostalgic as they looked through the kitchen. She remembered the feasts of food that was served for every meal at Hogwarts.
She was fairly certain she would never be able to return to school now. Everyone had seen her face last night, and they all knew she and the Dark Lord were on intimate terms. Why would anyone at Hogwarts possibly welcome her with open arms after they'd seen her embraced in his? After aiding the escape of the world's most wanted criminal, that would have to make her the world's second most wanted, wouldn't it?
Harmony felt a sudden and overwhelming sadness at the thought that she may never be able to officially finish her education at Hogwarts. Not only that, but she may never be able to see all the people she'd come to love at that school, teachers included.
"Ah, here we are," said Voldemort as he pulled some food from a cupboard. "This will do."
He set a partially eaten loaf of bread and a full jar of honey on the small table, and the honey caught a ray of sun as it came through the window, casting a sweet golden light on the wall. He sat down with a contented sigh and assembled his ingredients into two serviceable sandwiches.
Thoughts and questions still raced through Harmony's mind. She hadn't moved a muscle since the thought of Hogwarts came up. She just realized that now school was no longer a part of her life; she was stuck here with this dangerous man who had no idea who she really was. He had caused all the trouble she was in now—he had sent Snape to find a follower, and Snape had told Dumbledore, and Dumbledore had chosen her.
Of course, Voldemort didn't have the slightest idea that she had been sent there to keep an eye on him. Sure, he knew she was a Mudblood, but he clearly didn't care about that as much as he did about her abilities. But what if he knew the truth about Dumbledore being the one who had sent her there? Surely, his opinion of her would change, then.
There's no way he'll react well to that news, Harmony thought. So then she would just have to try as hard as she could to keep him from the truth, right? But how long would she be able to keep that up? How long would she have to keep lying to him before it became too difficult?
If she did that, she would be no better than Merope who had tricked her husband into loving her—loving someone she wasn't. Harmony thought about the pounding of his heart against her chest, the taste of his lips on hers, and she knew that neither of them would be able to survive that kind of betrayal.
If she was foolish enough to wait to tell him, any trust that they had built until that moment would come crashing down. Waiting was only likely to cause more pain and resentment.
But…if she told him now, she knew it would be just as difficult. Yet, because of what happened between them last night, she had a small hope that his heart would be a little more softened and merciful than usual.
Harmony's throat constricted painfully. She needed to tell him now or he was sure to find out some time. It would be best if he heard it from her first.
She watched as Voldemort took a bite of his honey-glazed bread. He looked content, as she had never seen him look before. It was unfortunate that she had to shatter that happiness to the ground in one great big burning heap.
"There's something I need to tell you," she said in a voice that was husky with emotion. "I just need to say it, so we can put it behind us." She took a deep breath to calm herself. "Albus Dumbledore is the one who picked me to come to you."
The bread in Voldemort's hand stopped halfway to his mouth. The cottage was so quiet that a drop of honey from his upraised bread hit the table with a loud thud. His food slipped from his hands, landing in a sticky heap on the table, and he very slowly turned to look at her.
"What?" was all he said, his fierce blue eyes flashing.
Harmony knew he'd heard her perfectly well, but after a painful swallow she confirmed the statement. "Dumbledore sent me to you."
Voldemort glared at her as he shook his head. "You are fooling with me. I sent Snape to find me someone at Hogwarts and he came back with you the very next night." He gave a short, humorless laugh, but his eyes stared back at her daringly.
"The night you told Snape," she said slowly, "he came straight to Dumbledore. I was asked to go to the Headmaster's office, and Snape was there with him when I arrived. Dumbledore wanted me to go, but Snape clearly disagreed with his choice."
"No!" he shouted vehemently with a violent shake of the head. He curled his hands up into fists. "No, no, no!" He jumped up from the table and stabbed a finger at her. "You are lying! Severus would not betray me!"
"I wouldn't know, my Lord, I did not ask him his reasons," said Harmony as she tried to keep her voice sure and steady. "All I know is Dumbledore originally picked me. He sent me to keep an eye on you—"
"To spy on me!" he exploded as he sent the jar of honey flying with one angry swing of his hand.
"But that's not what happened," Harmony protested, her voice cracking. "I never spoke to Dumbledore again once I was with you. They asked me to follow your orders—and when have I not? I have truly been your servant. I have done everything you've asked. I have been at your every whim. I have not betrayed you."
"Like bloody hell!" he spat. "So you don't think conspiring with Dumbledore behind my back counts as a betrayal? Don't try to tell me that the thought never once crossed your mind that you could reveal my every plan to the Ministry and have me stopped!"
"Of course not!" Harmony replied quickly, but her voice faltered. She remembered when she went to Knockturn Alley the first time to retrieve the Vanishing cabinet. She'd had exactly that very thought, that she could have him stopped, but Snape had told her they needed to wait for the proper time.
Then there was last night, when she found out about the planned attack on Hogwarts. She had wished about all else that there was something she could do, someone she could tell so she could stop him.
But that was just a part of who she was; she didn't want to see anyone get hurt, and that included Voldemort. She cared too much about his life now.
- 36
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- 38
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Serpentine Series