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Two Steps From Hell	By : Ssserpensssotia Category: Harry Potter > Het - Male/Female > Hermione/Voldemort Views: 30375 -:- Recommendations : 1 -:- Currently Reading : 1
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. No profit is being made. No copyright infringement is intended. Everything Harry Potter related belongs to J.K.Rowling.

Chapter List
- 37
- 38
- 39
CosmosQueen121, thank you. That is a lot to read in one day, but then it's better, more real. Right? :)
Sherlocked17- yeah, well...looks sheepishly...I had to.
Anon- well, i think that after reading this chapter you'll want to change the song ;)
Sorry for the long wait—by my standards—however, this chapter was so complicated that I had to take the time. Just to shock you, I am going to share a little detail. This is the last chapter. XD
Seriously :) However, it's not the complete end of the story, as I still have an epilogue to write. I know many of you will hate me for this chapter, but it's the most logical and real ending that I could think of. The world I have created is dark, and I find that every character should be given an ending that could be real.
The last chapter showed that I don't shy away from killing my favourite characters, brutally and how they deserve it.
Those of you who participated in the guessing game, thank you. You're more than awesome. And really smart ;)
Thank you to everyone who reviewed. If you have questions or you need to clarify something, let me know and I'll see what I can do. Often what one person asks about, needs to be clarified for many, and therefore I add the explanation to the story.
So, the last chapter before the epilogue.
Enjoy.
Beta: Julie. Fjad (Thank you so, so much!)
Mudblood
Chapter Thirty Eight
Cracking one eye open, she tried to make the second eye also open, and with difficulty, she focused her vision.
Tall, stone statues of snakes and marble.
Definitely not Disneyland.
Her head felt like it weighed at least a ton, and as if a horde of bulls had been having a wild party inside her skull.
'Ugh.'
She heard the painful moan from somewhere inside her mind, and with difficulty, she located Dracula, lying on his back, between the mental shelves, his black cloak partially thrown over his closed eyes.
'Wakey, wakey!'
It took a lot of effort to lift her mental foot and kick him, and Hermione did not even want to try to move her real leg.
Which was stuck between…
Legs?
The hell?!
Whipping her head to the right— ouch!—and making Dracula roll like a rag doll on the floor of her mental library before coming to a stop near the shelf called "Transfiguration", Hermione's dry mouth opened and she gawked at the sleeping figure next to her.
She was naked and she was in bed with Tom Marvolo Riddle.
She felt something stink and with a wince, she realised it was her mouth.
If she leaned forwards a bit and blew air—polluted gases—into Tom's face, he'd die from poisoning.
Yuck.
Blinking a few times and finally closing her dry, stinky mouth, Hermione looked around and saw at least six bottles— empty—of alcohol that were lying on the floor, next to one bone-white wand and one 10¾" long, made of vine wood, with a dragon heartstring core.
It looked like not only bulls in her head had a party last night, and before looking closely at Tom, a thought appeared in her mind.
At least they hadn't broken their wands.
Now that would have been a catastrophe.
xxx
He looked so peaceful.
The hangover did not reach him yet, Hermione thought while fighting nausea that was brewing in her stomach and going up her throat.
Everything hurt, and she didn't even question what they had been doing all night.
She would have blushed had she been a virgin.
Judging by the pain in her genitals, she either rode a horse from Portugal to China, or…
Judging by the still wet sheets, Hermione guessed the horse was called Tom.
She knew she didn't piss herself. Talking about fluids…
She needed a glass of water.
Like, yesterday.
With a frown that made her head hurt even more, Hermione tried to understand if it was the hangover that made her so sarcastic and carefree, or it was something else.
She felt light, like a heavy weight had been lifted from her shoulders, and she felt good.
She should drink more often.
'Ugh.'
Oh yes, they had a threesome.
A flashback of the night before suddenly appeared before her eyes as she kept looking at Tom's sleeping face.
She remembered their almost brutal fucking on the floor, Tom not holding back and giving in fully. She remembered her lips around his cock, making him moan in pleasure. She remembered how he pleasured her with his mouth and tongue, while she had been leaning over the tall, stone statue.
It would be hard to forget it.
'Morning, sleeping beauty.' Hermione sneered— mentally, as it hurt to move her face— at Dracula, who was sitting on his knees, his hands leaning on the shelves, supporting his weight.
Dracula was a Dark Lord, and Hermione knew that Voldemort had never gotten drunk. Never.
Never say never, she decided and bit back a laugh when the Horcrux moaned again.
'Don't drink and drive,' she muttered with a sadistic joy as she observed Dracula, in his majestic black robes, trying to get up, still holding onto the shelves.
She was still in bed, thank you very much.
'Drunkard,' she added, not sure if she was talking about herself, or him.
Who drank?
Hermione saw Dracula's red eyes—had they been blue, they would have been bloodshot, but now the whole eyeball looked red, like a Gryffindor banner—try and focus, and she knew he wanted to give her a nasty reply. His head with dishevelled black hair shot up and a sneer almost made it to his face when suddenly, he started to barf.
'Not onto my Transfiguration shelves!' Hermione cried mentally before she had to lean over the bed, and accompanied by the retching sounds from inside her mind, she emptied her stomach's contents onto the wands.
Ah, shit.
xxx
He died.
He tried to lick his lips, but he had sandpaper instead of a tongue, and it was burning.
Just like his cock was.
A sudden "Baaah" was heard to his left, and his head rolled to the side, making sharp, merciless pain shoot through his dead brain.
"Baaaaaaaaaah."
He will was stronger than his eyelids, and his pale eyes saw a naked bum in the air, leaning over the bed.
He remembered that shapely ass well.
"Baaah."
Ah…
Hermione.
He remembered some parts of the night, and he had to admit his choice of a wife couldn't have been a better one.
He lost his virginity to her, and would have kissed her now, had she not been busy, and had his breath not smelled like Abraxas' armpits after a Quidditch match.
He did not smell them on purpose, and the pain he had inflicted on the blond idiot after, was immense.
Tom's stomach was now in his throat and the retching noises did not help his problem.
He would not be vomiting in the Chamber of Secrets!
"Baaaaaah."
Ah, shit.
xxx
After she drank the liquid— it would be sacrilege to the real water to call this stale liquid "water"—from the pond around the snake statues— who changed the water and how often?—Hermione's bloodshot, brown eyes took in Tom's still naked body that was lying in the same water, with his head under the surface.
Idiot.
With a loud breath, he finally re-emerged and dropped his head onto the marble floor.
"My name is Lord Voldemort."
No shit.
"And I'm in this stale pond, naked and I'm still drunk."
See, the water was bad.
Tom was worse off than her, as she had some experience with alcohol while Tom was still legally underage, and this was his first real experience.
If you are okay with killing people at this age, then drinking was also not a problem.
Her tainted morality sounded twisted even to her.
Dracula was still silent, lying in his dark, sad corner, in a heap of black robes. If there was one time when Voldemort was ready to kill himself, it was now.
'Ugh.'
xxx
He somehow made it to Slughorn's office, and wincing at the pain in his head, he knocked.
It was better to get the potion from this idiot than give his lackeys a reason to see him in his not-so-good shape.
He needed a hangover potion now, as his brain was too slow for his liking. He, the future ruler of Magical Union, had bathed in a stale pond instead of transfiguring a swimming pool and using his wand to produce water.
He felt and behaved like a retard.
No more alcohol.
Never.
xxx
After Tom had left—crawled out of— the Chamber of Secrets, Hermione fell back onto the bed and tried to remember how they ended up drunk.
The last thing she remembered was the game of spells.
A flash of purple eyes and a blue cloak were accompanied by a feeling of grandeur, a feeling of power and confidence, and Hermione smiled through the raging pain in her head.
She had a goal.
She would be her own person, and she would be great.
She didn't know what happened to her, but she felt like she had woken up from a deep, long sleep.
She wouldn't be just there anymore.
When she returned to her own timeline, she knew what she would do.
It was time to move on.
xxx
Don't drink and drive.
He heard Hermione say it to his Horcrux, and then to him, when he had attempted to leave the Chamber.
Drive.
You can fly, Apparate, walk…
The only ones who used word 'drive' were muggles.
The phrase had been stuck in his head ever since, and Tom tried to ignore it, only to have his brilliant mind catch it and play it over and over again.
Was Hermione really a pureblood, or he was being fooled by both his wife and a part of his soul?
"Hermione," he started slowly, his eyes not leaving her face for a second. "What is the motto of your house?"
He saw surprise, and then he saw her trying to find an appropriate answer.
A pureblood would never hesitate.
Half-blood then.
"That's for me to know, and for you to find out." She was smiling at him, but he could see the uneasiness seep through the mask of confidence.
He'd attack then.
"Is it your mother or your father?" Her eyes were alert now, and Tom almost closed his eyes at the pain in his chest.
He had been lied to.
When he left her alone, she must have laughed out loud at his stupidity.
Those pretty tears she had cried for him were tears of laughter. She had been laughing at him, at the idiot that he was.
He was blind.
And she played him like the fool that he had been.
"I don't understand your question. Would you mind specifying, unless you want me to read your mind?"
She was trying to find a way out of the situation, and a horrible realisation spread over him.
"Which one of your parents is a filthy, disgusting Muggle?"
He saw her eyes widen in shock before rage replaced the surprise.
"Both."
What?
What did she say?
"I beg your pardon?" He had to ask, and he had to hear it with his own ears.
It couldn't be, it simply couldn't be.
Hermione, his wife, could not be a…
"I am a Mudblood, husband dear."
No.
NO!
He drew his wand even before he could realise it, and saw Hermione's wand appear in her hand.
A Mudblood.
"Crucio!"
She managed to block the curse by throwing a wall between them, and then he felt pain.
"Crucio!"
Horrible, mind-blowing pain.
A scream was torn from his mouth, and Tom did not know if he screamed from physical pain only.
It all had been a lie.
He had had sex with the Mudblood. He had licked and sucker her. He allowed her to ride him. He allowed her to be with him. And now, a Mudblood had him under the Cruciatus.
Never let down your walls.
Never lower your defences.
The curse was lifted and Tom gulped in some needed air.
"And to clear it all up, we're not even married."
A lie again.
Everything was a lie.
Trust no one, himself included.
xxx
Hermione knew that something was eating up Tom, and since he refused to share, she could only guess what was brewing in that brilliant, evil mind of his.
Three days had passed since their drinking night, and those days had been filled with laughter and a lot of sexual activities.
Tom had let go completely, joking and smiling so often that Hermione had a feeling she never knew him in the first place. However, from time to time, she would notice an icy, calculating glint in his pale eyes; a glint that made her feel apprehensive.
Dracula also did not know what Tom was thinking, and if they tried to use Legilimency, Tom would know. He wasn't that advanced in duelling, however, the Mind Arts he already knew enough of to be able to feel a Legilimency attack, even from his future self.
And then, he just attacked her with his questions.
Tom knew.
Something gave her away, and now, she could either continue to lie, or just admit it.
Mom…
Dad…
They weren't filthy, disgusting Muggles.
Fuck you, Tom.
If Voldemort did not have that many problems with her being a Muggleborn, then Tom shouldn't either.
A soon as the word 'Mudblood' had left her mouth, she knew nothing would ever be the same.
Rage, psychotic fury replaced all other emotions in those smart, unforgiving pale eyes, and Hermione raised her wand.
Dracula was shaking his head in silent disapproval, but he allowed her to do and say as she wanted.
She knew Voldemort, and Tom was future Voldemort, so when he raised his wand, she was prepared.
It could have been an Avada Kedavra, but she was betting on Crucio.
Dracula was also ready to react in case the curse that would leave Tom's wand would be green, and when Tom shot a Cruciatus at her, Hermione blocked the curse using a transfigured wall, and then she—and Dracula—fired their own.
"Crucio!"
An eye for an eye.
Just like she had promised.
xxx
"I hate you. I will wipe out the whole world from filth like you!"
Tom was screaming at her, and Hermione could only swallow the tears that she refused to let out.
You will not make me cry.
"And I hate you! You are a bigoted, hypocritical fool! You're a half-blood yourself!"
What pissed Tom more than she was a Mudblood, was the fact that he could not overpower said Mudblood.
He did not have his full magic yet, and she knew more than him.
And she had Dracula, who for some miraculous reason, was on her side.
Tom wanted to murder her, and Hermione saw the moment his wand lit green.
"Ade Secura!"
Dracula's curse had left her wand and Hermione saw the moment when it reached Tom, slamming into him and then she heard his scream.
A bone-chilling scream that even Cruciatus did not manage to get from him.
'What have you done?'
'Nightmare Curse. You should know it by now. Second year of Dark Arts. He was ready to fire a Killing Curse, and I cannot have that. That brat needs a lesson.'
"But the Nightmare curse is foremost a Legilimency control. You control what Tom sees, and he cannot stop you. You make him do whatever you want. Fifty five years make all the difference, don't they?"
"He is still sixteen, and his magic isn't full yet. He is a normal Hogwarts student who lives in a muggle Orphanage. While powerful, he's nothing compared to me, the Master of Death. Don't forget who I am, Hermione."
Hermione took a deep breath and tried to relax, when she heard a bell ringing.
"Legilimency!" Hermione heard her voice, but again, it was Dracula who had cast it, entering Tom's mind to modify the memories, not removing the Nightmare curse yet.
When they entered Tom's mind, she felt a chill spread over her, and tingle in her spine.
It was so magnificent that she had no words.
It was eerie.
So many shelves.
Purple light in the dimmed shelves illuminated the silent images of what Tom was seeing, and Hermione turned away when she felt and understood one image and feelings.
Nothingness and terror.
When he had blown himself away with a back bounced Avada Kedavra at Harry, he was thrown into nothingness and he had felt such terror that it was hard to describe.
Hermione felt shaken like never before.
It was horrible.
She would do anything to not get into this place as well, had she been Voldemort.
'Correct.'
She didn't want to lie. How did it matter which blood she had? Now, that she was a Mudblood, was she dummer? Or uglier? Or less powerful? How was a Mudblood different from Purebloods?
It was her that mattered, and not that crazy blood-status. She wanted Tom to see her for who she was, and not who he wanted her to be. She was a Mudblood and there was nothing to do but accept this fact. There were times when she had wished she had been a pureblood, those secret, hidden wishes. How many opportunities would be missed in her life just because she was a Granger. Not a Malfoy, or Weasley. But that was before she had gotten her scar, thanks to none other than Bellatrix Lestrange. Now, the hidden scar on her arm was visible for everyone to see.
She was proud of it.
xxx
He really did not know how his younger self had cracked the puzzle, and found out about their lie. Hermione wished from the very beginning not to lie, and it had been him who had convinced her to say she was a pureblood.
He knew how his younger self would react to the news while Hermione believed Tom to just roll his eyes and swallow the bitter pill.
Voldemort remembered his younger days, and he had been a much worse blood-purity fanatic when he was a teenager than later in his life.
Tom had suffered from the hands of muggles, and those memories were still fresh in his 16 year old self's memory.
Too bad for Hermione— and him, as they were one—he would be able to hide and change memories, but not the emotions that came together with experience.
Legilimency would remove all traces of this week, however, the emotional part would stay untouched, hidden in plain view.
Tom would hate Mudbloods even more.
Tom would not trust anyone at all.
Hermione didn't change him, but she did give him a more intensified edge that was made of hurt, betrayal and rage.
He remembered how after he had finished his 6th year, he went ahead and killed his filthy muggle relatives, and how he had enjoyed it.
It was meant to be this way.
However, there was one big minus for him.
Tom would never forgive Hermione for lying to him.
Shit.
He just hoped the main carrier of the soul, the Dark Lord, was in a good mood when they returned.
He would understand.
With a sigh, Voldemort looked at the silent Hermione as she observed him remove and replace the memories. She had heard the bell, and considering she was once again blaming herself for screwing up everything, he tried not to listen to her inner monologue.
Why did everything have to go so wrong?
The bell became louder, and Voldemort removed the curse from Tom, to see his pale eyes burn with hate and humiliation.
He shouldn't have had fired such a brutal curse at his younger self, however, no one was allowed to threaten him, and therefore, Hermione.
Voldemort could feel the pain and hate radiate from those eyes he knew so well.
Oh well…
Hermione's wand made one more move and then Tom fell asleep on the stone floor of the Chamber of Secrets.
He would not remember anything about the week he had spent with Hermione.
When he saw the Dark Lord next time, he would have Tom's memories already.
What a trip it had been.
xxx
He didn't even bother to catch her.
It wasn't a very nice thing to do, but he wanted to see it with his own eyes.
To reconfirm the fact that immortality wasn't only for the Dark Lord now.
After getting hit by an Avada Kedavra for the third time in his life, and then having the whole bloody manor drop on him, Harry wasn't easily impressed.
With a sigh, he watched Hermione materialize from the air and speed towards the ground, before plummeting through the marble floor, creating a crater in the ground.
Nice.
'It is, isn't it?' The voice in his head added his two cents and Harry's green eyes flashed red.
Yes.
xxx
"Ha- Harry!"
She was sitting in the crater, wide, disbelieving eyes looking around her before focusing on him.
"Heya, Hermione! Had a nice trip?"
xxx
"What are you doing here?" It was a dumb question, but this was the Chamber of Secrets.
And why was there a crater in the ground?
And Harry—dressed in a dark green cloak with high collar and dragon-skin boots—was sitting leisurely in a transfigured chair, his dark wand moving like a pendulum.
"Nice flight," Harry remarked with a wink and stood up, helping her climb out of the hole.
"I…I don't remember it. How did I appear here?" The bell ringing was the last thing she could remember. And Tom's hate-filled eyes.
And then rainbow of colours.
"Yeah, well…" Harry started before frowning and scratching his forehead.
What the?!
"Why is your scar so deep now? What have you done now, Harry Potter?"
"Yeah, well…"
"Cut it out!"
"Well…You fell, sort of."
"I fell and what, the crater appeared in greeting?"
"You fell really hard, Hermione. Like vuuum!" Harry made a motion to show how something fell from the ceiling. "Like a jet."
"Like a jet," Hermione repeated.
"A very fast jet," Harry helped out before putting his hands in front of him, at the raised wand.
"Whoa, wait!"
"Legilimency!"
She saw her own body fall down— plummet from the ceiling— and the cracked skull with broken bones became visible before they started to mend, and she saw her own eyes open when Harry had managed to push her out of his head.
She would have given a thought to the fact that Harry knew Occlumency now, had she not been busy with the other detail.
She had risen from the dead.
xxx
She had to breathe, she knew it, but it was hard.
I am immortal.
Jumping around her was Harry, who kept asking if she was ok.
"No, I am not ok! I am immortal, Harry! I cannot die!" Hermione screamed only to stop at the raised eyebrows. "And you don't look surprised. You knew?"
It hurt that Voldemort would share something like that with Harry, but not with her.
That had been before the trip.
'And you knew too.' Hermione thought with anger and hurt towards one shady figure in the black cloak and eerie red eyes. 'Traitor.'
"Well, after you find yourself in the ruins of a manor, you won't also be surprised."
What was Harry saying?
"What manor?"
"The Malfoy one."
"Ruins?"
"Yeah, it collapsed."
"It did what?! And why did it collapse?"
"Because the wards gave up and the magic was too strong."
'AND?'
Dracula.
"Why did the wards give up?"
"Because Lucius decided to die."
"WHAT?"
'WHAT?!'
"Well, Ginny really helped him in that, to be honest…"
"WHAT?"
'No.'
"And the Killing Curse couldn't reach him, so…"
"Are you on drugs?!" Hermione screamed in horror.
"Hey! I was not the one to shoot three Killing Curses in a row and hit all the wrong people!"
"WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?!"
She didn't know who screamed. Her, or Dracula.
"Bellatrix is dead too, though." That made Hermione pause. "Dead?"
"Yeah, the roof fell onto her, and I severed the head later, after digging her body out of the ruins. Just in case, you know. Here, I'll show you." Harry made a motion with his hand and an aquarium appeared before her eyes.
Fucking hell!
Bellatrix's head was in aquarium, filled with beautiful corals and small, colourful fishes. And in the middle, was Bellatrix's head, her crazy black eyes opened and a painful grimace on her face.
Her mouth was a cave with illumination, coming from the charmed stones that had once been teeth.
Harry wasn't exactly what she would call sane.
"Harry... Why was she out of Azkaban?"
"Well, she wanted the Horcrux—" Harry halted as he saw rage-filled expression on Hermione's face, "— and we were fighting, and then Draco jumped in front of the Dark Lord's Killing curse meant for Lucius, and—"
"WHAT?"
'WHAT?!'
"And Lucius was still on the floor, with Ginny near him—"
"Why was Ginny near Malfoy?"
"She was holding the knife that was sticking out of his back. It must have really hurt, with all the blood..." Harry tailed off when Hermione sat onto the floor.
"Yeah, and then Ron thought that Voldemort wanted to kill Ginny when he actually just tried to put a Horcrux into Lucius, and Ron jumped in between and—"
'ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME?!'
Dracula was close to hyperventilating.
"HARRY POTTER, what have you taken?"
"A Horcrux."
xxx
She was crazy.
Totally, and utterly bonkers.
Worse off was only Dracula, who did not take the news well.
The only person who could explain everything was Voldemort, and she needed to get to him. Now.
Harry was rambling something about jumping ferrets and Hermione slapped him to make him stop.
"Where is he?"
There was no need to specify whom she was talking about.
"Well, he's pretty pissed now, and considering that he had lost two Ministers and the Headmaster…"
She could only stare at him, her mouth open.
"Two?"
"Yeah, Cara is dead too. And Rabastan."
'Cara...'
'Rabastan!'
"Where is Voldemort?"
"In Slytherin Manor."
"Is he sane?"
"Compared to whom?"
Indeed.
xxx
Harry was now standing with his back to her and Hermione licked her lips, trying to swallow the panic down.
If what Harry had managed to tell her was true…
Voldemort had five Horcruxes now.
'Fuck.'
Yeah, indeed.
xxx
He had planned on meeting her in the Chamber, however, that was before the nightmare that had changed his perfectly built world.
He would have caught her, had it happened three days ago. Now, however, he didn't care if she found out that she was immortal.
His whole world was in shambles anyway.
Three days had passed.
Three long, sleepless days.
The Ministries were barely holding up and the only thing that held down a riot was the fact that he did not joke around.
He would execute everyone who even dared to raise their heads.
He had lost both Lucius and Rabastan, and while Cara had been an idiot, she had been a good Minister. And she was dead also.
Instead, he got a moron by the name of Draco Malfoy, an even bigger dimwit in the form of Ronald Weasley, and one of the nutcases, called Harry Potter.
While Harry didn't make his blood boil from the very sight of him, he still pissed him off.
It was a nightmare.
xxx
He wasn't at the Manor.
She had looked everywhere she could before casting her spell.
xxx
She found him with her own invention.
It was a breach of privacy, but she had a good reason.
Occulus Porta brought her to this cave, and Hermione wasn't sure anymore if it had been a good idea.
Upon lightning her beloved wand, she saw the floor and she had to stiff her scream with a tight hand.
Dear god!
Red.
Everything was red.
Blood.
There was so much blood on the floor that her shoes were already soaked in it.
Human blood.
And it was flowing like a river.
A human heart swam by her leather boots, and Hermione could feel her stomach lurch.
Keep it in. Keep it in. Don't vomit. Don't make a sound.
Get it together, Hermione Granger!
She willed her foot to move, and as the sole of the best quality leather boot rose from the floor, she heard the most disgusting and horrible splash, like when you walk in shallow waters.
The splash was heard by her ears only, as her movements were silenced by magic.
'What have you done?'
She didn't even want to know.
'Do you want details?'
A sob almost escaped her lips and a tear slid down her cheek, falling into the blood, when she finally saw him.
Marvolo was sitting on an elevated stone, one leg bent at the knee and the other twirling on the ground, his expensive shoe fully underwater.
Under blood.
He had a cloak on, and its ends were drenched in the red liquid.
His head was held in one hand, palm on the black, shiny hair, and he wasn't looking at her.
He didn't notice.
A basin was standing on a raised tribune, and blood kept surging from it, in slow, but steady waves.
Her vision shifted to the left, and her breath caught.
Ron.
Ron was lying on the floor, in the middle of flowing blood, face down.
She moved to rush to him, only to be stopped by Dracula.
'Stay here.'
Hermione swallowed hard when she heard Dracula's explanation.
He was actually afraid for their safety, and Ron was also immortal.
He thought Voldemort would kill her.
The fountain closed and the blood stopped surging from it.
The head with styled hair turned to her and she had to hold back a scream at seeing slit, snake-like pupils in the pale eyes. The eerie eyes closed and when they opened again, they were red in colour.
"Welcome home, my sweet."
xxx
He remembered everything, she knew it from the moment their gazes met.
The Dark Lord before her was also Tom with his memories and emotions from a week full of madness.
And he was enraged.
For the first time in almost two years, Hermione felt real fear when looking at Lord Voldemort.
"What have you done?"
His smile was small before he burst out laughing.
Oh my God.
He is crazy.
The laughing stopped and Hermione felt a chill in the air before it became very hot.
And his magic is crazy.
"Crucio!"
xxx
Magic is divine, therefore it cannot be crazy. It was an insult to his essence and such insults must be punished.
Even from Hermione.
Who, speaking of it, deserved a good Crucio for making him feel the pain he had. He knew whose idea it had been to begin with—the Pureblood part and the Nightmare curse—, and with that thought, Lord Voldemort added more power to the Torture curse.
Dracula, as Hermione called him, was on a way too light leash and he would have changed it, if he could.
But he couldn't.
He was told his dream of reassembling the Horcruxes could not be fulfilled.
It was not possible to reassemble the soul pieces, unlike he had thought.
He could kill Ronald Weasley, but the Horcrux would be gone with him as well.
Her screams were making him want to hold the curse forever, just to enjoy the sound.
What am I doing?
He released the curse and got onto his feet.
How long did he torture her?
He was losing his mind, just like he had anticipated.
Five Horcruxes was just a little bit better than seven. And definitely worse than two.
And if he killed a Horcrux, it would be taken by Death.
He would not be able to reassemble his Horcruxes no matter what.
Death itself had confirmed that he couldn't swap the souls of Lucius with Ronald Weasley. He had offered a trade and it had been denied.
He couldn't do anything.
Without Lucius the financial empire was crumbling down and there was nothing he could do to stop it.
Draco was an idiot, Weasley was crazy and Harry was simply insane.
He should have acted sooner, but didn't want to break his soul prematurely. And it hurt.
xxx
She watched the memories that Voldemort had pushed into her mind.
Lucius Malfoy, bloody with a knife sticking out of his back, Ginny near him, on the floor.
She saw the charged with 'Ut Morta' Killing Curse fly towards Lucius only to be intercepted by Draco, who had jumped in front of his father, willing to give his life, not knowing that the Killing Curse would have saved the elder Malfoy.
She saw the next charged Killing Curse being fired off at Lucius, and with horror, she saw Ron jump in between, thinking the curse had been meant for Ginny.
'Ut Morta' was silent, and did not affect the colour of the Killing Curse, thus only Voldemort knew that the Avada Kedavra was not meant to kill, but to create a Horcrux.
Again.
And again, but this time she saw Harry's figure suddenly appear on the path of the green light, thrown by Bellatrix Lestrange.
She saw a head roll.
Rabastan Lestrange.
She saw Cara fall, dead.
And then the whole manor crashed down, killing everyone who did not have a Horcrux.
Ginny…
He had broken his soul way too many times, and now she understood why his eyes flickered between blue and red, both with snake-like pupils.
He would have turned into the monster he had been, had he not been the Master of Death.
His body was immortal, and would not change, even if he managed to mangle his soul beyond repair.
Again.
IDIOT!
"Don't piss me off, Hermione. I am seriously warning you." He got up and was walking around, splashing water.
Blood.
"You're immortal but my Killing Curse will kill you both."
She didn't want to die when she could live, but she had to ask.
She had to, because that was her choice.
It was all about the choice, wasn't it?
You can choose which shoes to wear today, you can choose which burger to order, you can choose between doing something good, or something bad. You can choose your style, and favourite clothes, you can choose to save someone's life, or to kill. You can choose to serve your country, or to become a traitor. You choose to be a spy, or you choose to be a household teacher. You can choose, if you go to work and pay taxes, or you become mafia and take without permission. You can choose, with whom to be friends, and whom with not. You can choose between good and evil, even if the borders have become vague and grey.
But you cannot choose who your parents are. You cannot choose your roots and you cannot lie to yourself if you what to know what you want in your life. You cannot choose to do nothing.
You have to do something to achieve anything.
You cannot choose who you love. You cannot stop your heart from fluttering when you see him, when you look for every little emotion in his face, when you know that your body belongs to him, willingly and with much fever. You cannot choose who arouses you, neither can you choose whom you lust after. You cannot help if you love a man, however, you can choose whether to stay with him and tolerate everything, or to leave him, trying to move on, do anything, but to stay back and cry in helplessness.
You cannot choose many things, but there is always a choice otherwise.
As long as you choose to live, you choose to choose.
And she was choosing life.
"Ask what you want to ask, Hermione." Voldemort was looking at her, his voice tired and solemn.
His eyes were flickering between red and pale blue.
He was fighting for his sanity, she understood.
She had to ask.
Ask.
"Let me go."
It hurt to say those words, especially after meeting Tom.
They could have been such a wonderful pair, had it been either for her, or his morals. She couldn't fully accept him for what he was. Maybe it was her upbringing, maybe it was her personal trait. She couldn't pretend that black was white and everything was allright. He was simply horrible.
He didn't accept her, and she didn't accept him.
They were doomed.
Their relationship wasn't healthy.
There was no point in screaming at him for hiding the fact about her immortality. He wouldn't get it anyway, and Cruciate her for another few minutes instead.
They couldn't be together, and she was asking him to let her go.
To do what she wanted, when she wanted and whom she wanted with.
He was silent for a minute already.
He was pensive, his eyes closed, and then he nodded.
With a shaking hand, she reached to touch him, and then her hand was in his.
His fingers were cold as he reached for the ring on her index finger, and then he pulled the ring off.
He was no longer her guardian in any form, and the oath between them was broken.
It hurt because she felt as if she was ripping her own heart out, but it couldn't be any other way.
Harry and Ron were now his Horcruxes, and Ginny and Cara were dead.
She had no one at all.
Freedom.
She was free, and she couldn't believe it. She didn't want it, but she needed it.
"Go."
With a sob, she pulled him to her and her lips were ravishing his in a mad but tender kiss that tasted salty because of the tears that rolled down her cheeks.
She loved him, but she couldn't stay with him.
She needed to become her own person, she needed to see the world without the shadow of a Dark Lord looming over her, she needed to make her own decisions and grow.
He had let her go.
He cared.
It was time to move on.
She was walking out of the cave towards the Apparition point, and every step was hard, tears flowing down her cheeks, her heart heavy, but light at the same time.
"Should you need my assistance, you know how to find me."
She heard his voice and the tears began to flow even harder.
I love you. I hate you.
"I won't need anything." She turned around, to look at him through the tears. "I'll manage on my own."
"I know you will." He gave her a small, sincere smile.
"Farewell, Marvolo."
"Farewell, Hermione."
xxx
The rain was pouring from the grey, heavy clouds, and it felt wonderful.
Hermione lifted her head and allowed the raindrops to mend with her tears and clean her.
Her face, her body and her soul.
She had made a decision and for the first time, Marvolo truly respected that, allowing her to leave and live a normal life, without the madness that he would have undoubtedly brought upon her.
She had to leave Harry and Ron behind, as they were now Horcruxes, and fully under Lord Voldemort's control.
The wind was twirling her long hair, blowing almost reassuringly.
I am free.
'We are free.'
Yes, we are.
Looking back, Hermione saw a figure run towards her.
For a millisecond she wished it to be Marvolo, but she knew better.
He would never run to anybody.
"Hermione!" Harry appeared near her and stopped, looking at her with his green eyes that had red rings on the irises.
"Will you come with me?"
She knew his answer even before he shook his head.
"I belong here, with him. I think it's time for me to face the music instead of running away."
"Am I running away?"
"You are different, Hermione. Out of us three, you have always been the strongest one. We'll be fine, don't worry."
"And Ron…"
"He'll be fine."
Oh Harry…
"Take care of yourself, and if you ever need anything, I'll be there."
Tears started to roll again, this time from Harry's sincere words.
"And I'll be there if you need me, Harry."
They smiled at each other before Harry hugged her really hard, and then he pushed her a bit, making her take a step back.
"Go before he changes his mind. Go and live, my friend."
She didn't know if she would be able to say anything without breaking into tears, so Hermione just nodded and taking a deep breath, she smiled at Harry and prepared to apparate away.
It was her choice.
"See you around, Harry Potter."
"See you around, Hermione Granger."
xxx
It was end of May, and a new millennium had started almost six months ago, bringing the fresh air to breathe.
Clutching her diploma— with Outstandings only— close to her chest, Hermione smiled at the setting sun that shone with red and purple colours.
She had not seen Marvolo since that day in the cave, and even though she knew better, she had hoped he would show up for her graduation.
He didn't.
Her belongings were packed, and Hermione looked around the Venice apartment that had been her home for the last two years.
Two years full with madness she knew she would never experience again.
'Don't be so dramatic. You have me.'
She was leaving Italy, going to explore the world, and she wasn't leaving alone.
Dracula would forever be with her.
'Did I take my hairbrush with me?'
'Yes.'
'And tampons?'
'Yes.'
'Anything else?'
'Don't forget a pack of tissues. I have no intention of drowning in your tears.'
Asshole.
xxx
A young woman was standing on the deck of a ship, her long hair twirling before her face as the wind gently played with it.
A wind of changes was blowing from all sides, and it gave her hope.
The necklace on her neck felt reassuring, her vine wand safely tucked in its holster and her bags with books and clothes were in her cabin.
She was going to see the world, and maybe, she will learn how to fly.
With a sad smile, she watched the shore become smaller and smaller.
She thought that for a second she saw someone on the shore, his cloak billowing in the wind, but when she blinked, he was already gone.
She had hoped, secretly, that Marvolo would ask her to stay, that he would go after her, that he would stop her from leaving.
But he didn't.
He was busy restoring his empire, and she had no place in it.
She knew she was crazy for loving him, but she couldn't stop it, even when she knew what kind of monster Marvolo really was.
Marvolo is the Dark Lord.
Hood is the Dark Lord.
Tom is the Dark Lord.
There were no different people. He was one.
Throwing the empty shore a last look, Hermione turned away and leaning on the railings, she watched the waters before her.
She was Hermione Granger, and she was free.
xxx
He had seen her graduate, seen her move out of the apartment he had given her.
He had seen her leave him for good.
The Dark Lord cast the white ship one more look before turning around and addressing the person who stood near him.
"Keep an eye on her, Harry."
A head with styled black hair—Harry finally looked appropriate—nodded and green eyes shone with life.
The fire was returning.
"I will, my Lord."
Maybe, one day, they would meet again.
But now, she was free.
He would have killed her had he not let her go. His sanity would stabilize with time, but not yet. Three consecutive Horcruxes had really made him lose his wits, and now, all he could do was wait.
Draco and Ronald were starting to take over their duties, and Harry…
And Harry would fulfil his destiny, serving the Dark like he should have done from the very beginning.
Viscal Pare had committed suicide upon finding out that his Cara was dead, and Draco was a Horcrux, and now he, Lord Voldemort, had a Necromancer's soul, shattered in tiny bits and implanted into the undead creatures.
An army of undead wizards was waiting for his command to rise from the dark, rich soil, and soon...
He had a world to conquer.
xxx
A/n The end. Kidding ;)
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Two Steps From Hell