Adult-FanFiction.org : Harry Potter

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

Chapter List
- 4
- 5
- 6
Part Two:

Labyrinth

CHAPTER FIVE
Harmony woke with a splitting headache. She had slept on her right leg and when she tried to stand, it gave out beneath her and she collapsed to the ground.
"Damn!" she hissed as she massaged feeling back into the appendage.
How long was I out? she wondered as she looked around at the massive bookshelves that surrounded her. She gave it no thought when she tore off the face scarf so she could breathe easier. Grasping a shelf for support, Harmony was able to get to her feet. She didn't want to remain in there alone for long in case the Dark Lord returned. She picked up the books that had scattered on the cold floor and began to head for the double doors at the front of the massive room. But as she passed the shelves, her eyes strayed to one book, and then another, and finally to one she could not resist.
She exclaimed with excitement as yet another book caught her eye. She looked around and realized there must have been every book ever written for the Wizarding World contained within this room, from "The Animagus" to "How to Tame a Werewolf" and so many more that she couldn't begin to make a list of them all.
She pulled book after book into the growing pile in her arms, but her hand froze as she was about to pull down another. Her Master's words rang through her head: "Yes, I was told you were a bookworm."
Harmony pursed her lips, irritated by the memory, and put back the last book she had taken. She tied her scarf firmly in place, then took her heavy pile of books and headed out the door. She had never expected to feel eagerness well up inside her in a place like this, but now she found herself feeling anxious to return to her chamber so she could start reading.
After what seemed like hours of walking, a wearied Harmony flopped down on the dusty bed in her dusty chamber. She had been lost several times along the way back and the books had grown more and more heavy in her arms.
This place is like one big labyrinth, she thought as she watched the dust plumes settle back onto the velvet coverlet hidden underneath. Even if she wanted to escape, she would never be able to find her way out—she would be more likely to die of hunger or thirst first.
Harmony pulled herself up into a fetal position and wondered if she would ever be able to leave this place now that she was here. Rolling over with a sigh, she closed her eyes and drifted off with memories of meeting the Dark Lord fresh in her mind.
She was in a desolate Hogsmeade again, except this time when she came upon the couple she knew were her parents, they ignored her completely. A heavy hand on her shoulder did not make her turn around to look. She just continued to stare at the dirty ground with tears glistening in her eyes—real tears this time. Hopelessness surged within her, and she shut her eyes tight against it and hung her head, wishing it would all just go away.
An arm encircled her and pressed her against the man standing behind. She felt as though a snake had just taken her as its prey. He leaned in with his face against her ear and began to whisper. She couldn't hear all that he said, except one thing clearly: "I was told you were a bookworm."
Harmony bolted up in bed and jumped to her feet. She couldn't shake the sensation that Master still held her against him, and she felt queasy as she paced around and waited for the remnants of the dream to subside.
She sighed and wiped away the sweat on her forehead with her scarf. Her eyes fell on the large pile of books she had tossed down in the middle of the bed earlier, and a slow smile spread over her face.
She sat on the edge of the bed and opened the first book that came into her hands—one that the Dark Lord had selected. She groaned when she saw the title: "The Dark Arts and You, by Imelda Whishtaw." A green dragon wove in and out through the large golden letters on the cover.
She flipped through several pages to observe the spells. Some of the most gruesome curses she had ever seen met her eyes, and she skimmed past any pictures she encountered.
This book could make any wizard into a killing monster, she thought as she set it aside. She had had enough of murderous spells for the time being.
She picked up another book: Defense Against the Dark Arts for the Adept.
"Now that's more like it," she said, flipping through it with interest. It contained very difficult spells compared to her Hogwarts books. She spotted a spell to make the opponent hallucinate that they were being attacked by giants. With a wicked grin she went through all the steps and, on a whim, she cast the spell which hit the wall. Her wand emitted a turquoise light, and she gasped in surprise when the wall groaned and creaked in protest.
"Sorry," she muttered, and then turned red under her scarf. "Now I'm talking to a wall! I'm already going crazy!" She started pacing around the room again when another voice answered.
"Not yet, you're not," Snape said in a bored, nasal tone.
Harmony spun around. He was just outside the door, his arms folded over his chest. His face was full of impatience.
"Is there something wrong?"
"You're late," he replied curtly.
"Late?"
"The Dark Lord wishes to see you every morning at dawn. Remember that." he said. "The moment the sun appears, you must meet with the Dark Lord in the west wing so he can teach you. We must leave now."
"West wing?" she asked as she grabbed the books Voldemort had given her and prepared to follow.
Snape replied, "The room you met him in last night, with the library. I see you wasted no time taking advantage of that. Why am I not surprised?"
Harmony's eyes burned a hole in the back of his head as he guided her back to the lesson hall. Before he opened the large doors, he looked back at Harmony for a moment and adjusted her face scarf so that it was tight and secure.
"Thanks," she mumbled from beneath the fabric.
Snape didn't reply but said, "I won't be here to retrieve you again in the morning. Next time and the time after that you will need to take care of yourself. You cannot be late again, do you understand? The Dark Lord would be furious."
She nodded fervently and he left.
Harmony stepped inside the large, cathedral-like expanse of the room beyond the double doors and looked around with interest. It had been too dark to examine the place with much detail last night, if she'd even had the presence of mind to want to do so.
The room was now filled with colorful light filtering through the four large stained-glass windows and she saw their pictures were constantly changing from one scene to another, almost like a kaleidescope. The lights danced on the cold, black tiles of the floor, painting them with their designs.
Now that there was more light she was able to take in the sheer enormity of the place. The entire Hogwarts Great Hall would fit leaving room to spare. When she looked over to where she knew the bookshelves were, her eyes widened in surprise. She quickly counted forty rows—that's forty rows of books, from ceiling to floor. She wondered if anyone, even Voldemort himself, could have possibly read them all.
The Dark Lord, who was once again standing near the fireplace, looked over his shoulder in her general direction. He raised an arm and beckoned her to join him. The flames were a bloody red and she saw him waving his wand slowly at his side.
"My Lord," Harmony mumbled as she hesitantly stepped forward. Her voice echoed all through the room, as if several nervous young women had just greeted their daunting new Master. With a sudden start of surprise she realized Master was no longer wearing the black cloak from last night. It was warmer in there during the day, and he had no need of it.
His hair was dark and just long enough to be slicked back against his scalp—that much she could see—but his back was still to her. At last I will see the face of the most evil wizard known to mankind, she thought with anticipation. She knew few people have seen it and survived.
He turned around casually and glided over to the table between them. Harmony's breath caught in her throat, and she gripped the books in her hands tighter to try to hide their shaking.
His piercing eyes could drill holes into stone. They were a clear, icy blue that froze Harmony right where she stood. She almost whimpered and retreated into a corner, but used every amount of courage she could gather to keep her chin held high as she looked him straight in the eyes.
A small smile played about his lips as he watched her. He can see right through me, she thought miserably.
"You are one of few people to see me unmasked, Harmony Hangleton," he said in that disturbingly velvet voice of his, but with a hint of pride underneath. "Amuse me. Am I anything you expected?"
Harmony looked him over more fully. Handsome would have been a word to describe him if his presence wasn't so terrifying. He had a face that made her want to look and look away at the same time. A long, narrow nose and full lips. The body that came with it was lean, but she could see the curvature of the muscles in his shoulders and arms beneath his shirt that promised deceptive strength. He possessed an aura about him that could not be ignored, it demanded attention, it craved it.
She blurted out, "Actually, my Lord, you seem very familiar to me." The moment the words left her lips she realized they were true. She didn't know why, but she felt as though she had seen his face before.
"Familiar?" he repeated as he glared at her. His eyes took on a new look, as though they could physically pierce her through every centimeter of her being.
Harmony flinched and quickly added, "Please forgive me, Master, for being so outspoken. It's just that I feel as though I've seen you somewhere before."
Voldemort stared at her until she finally had to drop her eyes.
"I didn't demand an apology from you," he told her impatiently.
Harmony bobbed her head in a quick nod, still looking away as she said, "You're right." She looked up and saw expectation in his eyes, so she added, "my Lord."
Voldemort feigned disinterest as he took a closer look at his new pupil. He grunted once as he strode back to the fireplace, and Harmony thought she caught a glimpse of his lips curving upward at one corner before he had fully turned away.
He did not look at her as he spoke. "I trust you have not learned all of the spells in the books I lent you this time?"
"Not all, my Lord. They were more difficult than the spells I'm used to, but I did manage to conjure some of the defense spells on my own."
"I thought you might," he answered lowly, and she thought she heard a hint of satisfaction in his voice. Then he turned back to her and said more forcefully, "But defense spells are easier than offense spells. Defense spells offer a sense of need, and their power can come naturally. Offensive spells require a much stronger power—you have to want it more than anything else. Most times, offensive powers will only come when forced, provoked, or on a sudden impulse."
Harmony knew he spoke the truth. Only last summer she was walking home from the store on a late evening when a man had stepped out of the shadows and tried to grab her. He had looked quite strong, and before he managed to touch her her wand was in her hand. A bright green light shot out of the wand straight at the man's chest and he crumpled to the ground. She ran away without checking to see if he was still alive. There had been other such incidents in her life, and she had eventually accepted them for what they were: sudden impulses of magic that she could not control.
While Harmony was lost in thought, Voldemort had moved stealthily closer to her, watching the visions dance on her face. "You understand what I am talking about, don't you?"
Her heart leapt into her throat, and she just stood there gaping up at him.
"We will be learning the defensive spells first, since they are the easiest and can be accomplished sooner."
Harmony froze when he reached a pale hand out to take the books from her arms and set them down. He kept one of them, and leaned casually on the edge of the table as he looked for the page he was after. She could see the smirk he was trying to keep off his face in those icy blue eyes of his. Like a cat with a mouse, she decided. He wants to play with me first before he strikes.
"Today we will begin our first lesson," he announced as he closed the book over a thumb between the pages to keep his place. "The Disarmous spell. Do you know it?"
Harmony nodded. She had cast the spell often while training in Dumbledore's Army under Harry Potter's tutelage. She straightened with more confidence as she said, "Actually, I'm pretty good at it."
His gaze shot up to her. "Pretty good?" he repeated in a mocking tone.
Harmony silently cursed herself for being so boastful. She knew her "pretty good" was nothing compared to Lord Voldemort, and she was certain she had offended him. Her stomach flipped as he straightened up, setting the book aside, and walked towards her.
She was almost afraid he would touch her, like he had in her dreams, and she closed her eyes with the fear of feeling his hands on her.
But he didn't. He stepped around and went over to the large, open section of the room away from the table and bookshelves.
He stood in front of the colorful windows and brought out his wand, taking a duelling stance. One hand held his wand at the ready, while the other one beckoned her to join him. She took slow, measured steps as she came to stand opposite him, about five meters away.
What is wrong with me? she chided herself, her eyes never leaving his wand. Why did I have to go and open my big mouth? Was he going to punish me for assuming I had any power compared to his? He had wanted someone to be his perfect follower, and since she didn't seem to be one, maybe he would just kill her and ask for another.
- 4
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- 6
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Serpentine Series