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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
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The duels came non-stop, and each one blurred into the other: cast spell, block spell, repeat. She encountered Aurors she recognized from her previous life, ones she had seen walking the cobble stones of Diagon Alley or the Departments of the Ministry. Only few did she recognize were from Hogwarts, most of which were from Slytherin and they treated her like equals. For once.
And she won. Each and every time.
She was booed and she was cheered. But, the strangest thing, the latter seemed to increase over time. After she dueled one particular bloke who was quick to use the Unforgivable curses, a man approached her when she left stage and shook her hand. He neither smiled nor sneered, but said one thing before walking away.
"You're what we call a lenient dueler; you always respect your opponent by letting them go first. It is a rarity to see such esteem."
It was true. She still waited until her competitor cast first, except in special cases like the Death Eaters. Several more times she encountered witches and wizards who refused to duel with her; they only bowed and let her win. This was what caused most of the booing. Other competitors in the crowd thought it was unfair she could progress in the tournament without even fighting. But no one disqualified her, because—of course—there were no rules on the dueling stage. So she progressed throughout the night and the competition increased.
Mag had just won another duel and Harmony had to duel one more until they would need to compete each other. To have some relief from the busy crowd, she escaped into the solitude of the dueler's tent to wait for her next opponent. Resting on one of the benches near the entrance, she watched as a woman walked in and she instantly disliked her. The tall woman had black short-cropped hair and gray eyes. Her thin lips twisted into a mocking smile when she saw Harmony.
While she strutted over, she said in an annoying soprano voice, "I've been looking forward to finally meeting you. You don't know who I am, do you? No, I didn't think so. Well, anyway, I'm one of your boyfriend's babysitters." Her thin lips tightened and she giggled. The tall woman dropped down on the bench across from Harmony who looked at her quizzically.
"My boyfriend?" Harmony asked.
"You-Know-Who, Nutcase, Loony, He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named-Because-No-One-Cares."
Harmony narrowed her eyes at this woman and her hate doubled like dried tinder thrown into a blazing fire. She swallowed back her anger and said as calm as possible, "You mean Voldemort? So you work at Menkar insane asylum?"
"I'm one of many that work there. When he first arrived, there were hundreds of us to look after him. But I'm telling you, that man is pathetic; he can't even speak." She laughed shrilly. "Me and my coworkers were temporarily laid off because Menkar figured they didn't need so many people to look after one useless has-been. So we came here to have some fun until Menkar called us back for his execution. That's right, sweetheart, when your dear lover gets the Dementor's Kiss I'm going to have prime seats. My friends are already taking bets on how long it'll take him to keel over. Given he hardly has a soul, it shouldn't take long at all. Oh, I'm going to let you win this duel, because I sowant the Ministry to capture you; that way we can get a double execution." The woman squealed like a little girl, twiddling her fingers together. "How would you like that, Mudblood? To die at the side of your lover?" She snorted, and then screamed when Harmony launched and tackled her to the ground.
Harmony wrapped her fingers around the pesky woman's neck and shook her. The woman screamed at the top of her lungs, more out of shock than pain. At the sounds of struggle, several people rushed into the dueler's tent. A couple men hurried to them, wrapping their arms around Harmony and pulling them apart.
"Get that lunatic off me!" the woman shouted in a tone that was greatly irritating.
Harmony suddenly found herself shouting back, "He won't die!" They hauled her off to the opposite end of the tent. "He won't die, because he can't die! I won't let him!"
"Look at her," the woman said in disbelief. "She's absolutely mad!"
"You are ignorant and-"
"Calm down, miss," said one of the men who held her down.
"No," spoke up another. "They're about to duel each other. Just throw them on stage and let them deal with it."
The others agreed and they directed both woman to the stage and backed off once they made it up the flight of stairs. Harmony was boiling and the woman now looked more unsettled than before as she stood at the opposite end. They didn't bow. The woman had said she was going to let Harmony win, and now Harmony was more than willing to take advantage of that. In one swift motion she went straight from dueling stance to sending a curse at the woman, aiming straight for her cold gray eyes. When it satisfyingly reached its mark, the woman's head snapped back, and her short-cropped hair flipped into her face. She let loose an unnecessarily loud yell.
"My eyes, my eyes!" she cried. She covered her face with her hands, rubbing and scratching. She stumbled about the stage and screamed when she tipped over the edge. It took the crowd by surprise, but she was caught just before she hit the floor.
Harmony ignored her name as it exploded over their heads. She exited the stage, fists balled, wanting to run over to the woman and punch her right between those cold eyes. But the faces of the cheering fans pacified her.
She didn't want to think about what the woman had said about the execution. But what if she was captured and the two of them were killed together? She wondered if when it happened—as the Dementors flew above them—if Voldemort would look at her and finally know who she was. Would a small glint of recognition brighten his piercing blue eyes before his soul left his body? The thought was painful to comprehend, but if he could remember her in their dreams, then there had to be some wayto make him remember in the waking world. He wasn't completely lost. There had to be some way to bring him back.
Ideas consumed her as she was pushed back to the stage and put before Magnus Crotchet. Mag's dark eyes glinted as he looked at her, like he constantly had dangerous thoughts flying through his mind. They walked towards each other and when they bowed he said respectfully, "My Lady," before turning away. Harmony had expected something from Mag—some kind of curse or spell, no matter how simple or complex. But when they faced one another after their steps, he bowed like all the other Death Eaters.
Harmony was with the crowd when they booed. The Death Eaters faithfully giving in was becoming embarrassing. It made her look weak and pompous. She just wished they put in some effort to make it look less like she had ordered them to stand down.
Feeling agitated, she stalked off stage and met with her group. She went straight to Marek and grasped the front of his robes, pulling him close.
"Promise me that when we duel, you will not give in like all the others. You will fight me, understand?"
He advert her gaze, hesitant.
She tugged him closer and he was forced to meet her eyes. "Promise me," she hissed.
They stared at each other for a moment before he took hold of her hand and uncurled her fingers from his cloak. He released her and merely walked away.
As the night progressed, the crowd steadily became more unsettled like a busy beehive. They hungered for more action. They wanted blood. Several times already, Harmony witnessed lives lost.
Time quickly passed. She watched as Marek flew through his competitors like they were bothersome ants that needed to be squished with his thumb. He presented no air of self-importance, just acceptance that he could fight well and win. Harmony began to understand what made him so good: he showed no fear. He wasn't afraid to die and that set him apart from every other person in the vast room.
Harmony had just finished a duel when the dueling organizer informed her she was now in the quarter finals. She needed to duel two more people before she won the tournament. This news overfilled her with joy. She always loved to come out on top in whatever she strived to achieve. And at dueling! Defense Against the Dark Arts was the only class—besides Divination—that she didn't get an Outstanding in. If only Harry and Ron could see her now. They would be so proud.
The final four gathered in the dueler's tent. Harmony was to fight some elderly wizard in long green robes and Marek was to face off with a wizard from Romania. Harmony was up first. When she walked out of the tent to the stage, the first thing she noticed was the silence. The music from the dance floor was gone and everyone was now gathered around. When she stepped onto the stage, some people called out bits of encouragement like "Long live our Lady." Harsh words were also heard, but they were muttered under people's breath as though they were less confident in their meaning.
Harmony and her opponent bowed to each other.
"I'm going to burn you," he said, just loud enough so only she could hear. The second he turned, he waved his wand.
"Incendio!"
Harmony saw a blazing flash at the tip of his wand, and suddenly she was burning. Her corset was set aflame. She called out in alarm and quickly doused the fire. The flames had burned through her corset, revealing the whale bone supports in the waist. The crowd waited breathlessly for her reaction.
Harmony cast several Stupefy's, but the old man blocked one after the other. She produced a blinding flash of light; even with her eyes closed the light seared her eyeballs. The crowd groaned painfully when they had to avert their gaze. She opened her eyes, but a red and white blotch clouded her sight, momentarily blinding her. But even though she couldn't see, she had to make her move before her opponent did.
"Incarcerous!" Harmony shouted and ropes flew from her wand. With satisfaction, she heard the elderly man cry out. There was a loud thump as his body landed on the stage. She blinked away the last of the red and white blotches over her eyes. At the opposite end, the old man in green robes was tied up and wiggling furiously on the floor of the stage. But her success was short-lived.
"Diffindo!" the man shouted and the ropes severed cleanly down his front. He shook them off and jumped quickly to his feet.
They cast back and forth with a torrent of fire. There were blasts of light shooting out of their wands and explosions of shield charms. Just looking at the crowd, it would have been thought they were enjoying a fireworks show. Harmony was only able to gain the upper hand after doing a Confundus charm when he released his shield to send a spell at her. Her Confundo hit him directly in the head and he staggered back a couple steps. Everything had become quiet as the dueling came to a standstill. A look of confusion came on the old man's face; he furrowed his bushy white eyebrows and glanced around as though he wasn't sure where he was. He mumbled something like, "The muffins should be ready," and he tumbled off stage.
Her name exploded overhead and the crowd broke out into cheers. She left the stage and was met with a mass of arms and smiles. Death Eaters and average witches and wizards alike embraced her and sang with congratulations. She grinned and returned their encouragement and affection with thanks. Snape grasped her shoulder, Mag gave her a bear hug, Narcissa nodded with a small smile, and Draco rolled his eyes.
She was pushed back to the dueler's tent and entered the same moment Marek and his competitor from Romania walked out. He glanced at her and she saw a small glimmer of pride in his eyes. She was alone in the large tent and chose a seat at the very center. Closing her eyes, she grasped the wood beneath her and took a deep breath. She felt some relief knowing the night was nearly over, but her stomach was in knots for what she was about to face. Not only will she have to battle her last competitor, but she will have to fight through the crowd of people that weren't cheering at her success.
Harmony brought a hand up and rubbed her ruined corset, parts of her skin were an unnerving pink. When she touched the burn, she hissed with pain and quickly pulled away. She would need to put some salve on the wounds later. Perhaps Snape would be able to help her with that.
By coincidence, the potions professor flew in through the tent flap and rushed over to her.
"We have this tournament already won," he said, looking down at her. "Marek will give in—as it is his duty as a Death Eater not to cause you harm—and the prize money will be ours."
Harmony shook her head. "I specifically told him not to give in."
He frowned. "Why would you do that?"
"Because it isn't fair."
"Fair?" he said, raising his voice. "It is his duty! He will not fight you because you are the Dark Lord's chosen one. None of the Death Eaters would dare raise a wand against you."
"But he must do as I say, mustn't he?" she said. "Wasn't that my purpose, to take control and give orders? So I will order him to fight and must do as I say."
Snape's mouth hung open slightly in mute fury. When Harmony only stared back with unwavering directness, he gnashed his teeth and turned away. He groaned with exasperation and strode out of the tent grumbling, "Infuriating woman."
Harmony waited alone, left to listen and guess at what was going on outside of her enclosure. Like before, the crowd was silent as they waited hungrily for the action. She jumped when the first spell was cast; lights burst from behind the tent fabric, but she couldn't see who the owners of the spells were. There was a familiar burst of blue light and the crowd groaned.
A bloodcurdling shriek echoed throughout the room. It was closely followed by another call of pain and she could imagine seeing the owner of the voice writhing on the stage. Slowly, just like what happened when she dueled Draco, the crowd started to chant, "Finish him. Finish him."
Another wail of pain, long and drawn out. Then suddenly there was a burst of light and the yell was cut short. The lights exploded the name of the winner, and there was scattered applause. Either people weren't impressed or they were too shocked at what they just witnessed. Harmony feared it was the latter. She looked up when the tent flap was pushed aside and her final opponent walked in.
Marek found her sitting at the center of the tent and they looked at each other for a moment. She nodded in congratulations. He let the tent flap fall behind him as he came over to sit next to her on the bench, silent as usual. They sat shoulder-to-shoulder and knee-to-knee, saying nothing in a companionable silence.
Snape burst in and he stomped over to Marek. The professor glared down at the Death Eater with cold eyes. "You will let her win, do you understand me? If you care about the life of the chosen one,then you will give in. We need the prize money more than you."
"Sir, please," Harmony said, standing up. "I've already told him what I wanted and now it's his decision."
"I don't care," he replied. Then he pointed a finger in her face. "And you best stay out of this. I am only doing what is best."
She stepped in front of Marek, pushing Snape aside. "You know what I want."
Marek looked up at her and nodded.
"It's time," said the dueling organizer.
Snape left, leaving Marek and Harmony alone. He stood up from the bench and they shook hands.
The dueling organizer held the tent flap open for them, and side-by-side they stepped out to face the crowd. Harmony swallowed, feeling sweat trickle down her back as she returned the gaze of the hundred pairs of eyes watching her every move. She and Marek ascended to the stage together. Once in position, Harmony pretended it was only them in the entire room. The others faded into the background, disappearing into the walls.
Harmony took a deep breath and she took her first step. Marek mirrored her exactly. They bowed deeply to one another and turned away at the same moment. As Harmony took her ten steps away, she tried to put all other thoughts aside. Instead, she focused on the present, on which spells and charms she knew. When she turned on her heel to face the Death Eater, the crowd held their breath for the first spell to be cast for the final duel.
Harmony swooped down into her stance, watching her opponent closely. She waited, as well as everyone else, for him to move. She saw him clenching and unclenching his wand into a fist; he was irritated and indecisive. She could see the battle raging in his eyes.
Then, in a dramatic swoop, he bowed low and submissive.
The crowd broke out into a rage. Everyone booed and shouted, yelling insults at Marek. People pushed in on them from all sides. The stage was like an island in a tumultuous sea. Harmony made sure to remain in her dueling stance, but Marek stood out of his bow and beheld the anger surrounding them.
Her name hadn't appeared in the air, so the Underground dueling competition hosts were still deciding whether to let her win. Hands reached up from the ground floor and snatched at Marek's legs. He kicked them away.
"Marek!" she shouted.
His head snapped to her.
She looked at him in desperation. "Please, Marek."
He looked away.
"Please."
More hands reached for him, and there were even a few daring wizards that waved their wands threateningly at the Death Eater. He looked down at them, their faces screwed up with hatred, then to Harmony and her pleading eyes. He gripped his wand and faced her.
Out of respect, he bowed. Then he moved into a dueling stance.
The jeers ceased and were replaced by enthusiastic applause. Harmony restrained her grateful smile. She nodded and Marek cast the first spell.
He was fast, but he kept his power light and Harmony knew he was holding back. This annoyed her at first, but then she began to enjoy just bantering spells back and forth. It was rather enjoyable. They used Stupefy's andExpelliarmus' most often, but to spice things up, they resorted to more imaginative casts. She thought of the spells Voldemort had taught her in their lessons. She remembered them as though it was yesterday.
They went on and on as though they could have fought late into the morning, but Harmony finally decided to end it, and with a nod from Marek, he agreed. He waved his wand about in a flourish, pretending to wind up for a dramatic cast, and Harmony quickly shot a Petrificus Totalusat his chest. His arms snapped to his sides and his heels clicked together. He wavered a bit on stage, but then he fell back and the thick crowd behind caught him in their arms.
Harmony's name exploded into a torrent of gold and silver sparks, showering from the sky and sprinkling the tops of people's heads. The shouts and applause nearly brought Harmony to deafness. She closed her eyes and smiled, absorbing the moment so she could remember it forever. The exaltation from the people below lifted her spirits and her soul soared over the hundreds of bodies surrounding her. People jumped on the stage and picked her up. They lifted her on their shoulders and carried her away. She received pats on the back and shook hands with everyone who reached for her. After she was passed around, they carried her back to the stage where a couple wizards were waiting. She spotted one who was holding a very large bag with what had to be the prize galleons and she laughed aloud with excitement. The hosts made her award ceremony short and sweet by announcing her name and handing over her prize. She held it over her head and the crowd went wild.
Her group made their way over to her and she jumped down to meet them. Immediately she handed Snape the galleons and he quickly hid the bag in his cloak. Narcissa shook her hand, but when Harmony saw Marek approach them she pulled away and wrapped her arms around his neck in hug. Snape's and Mag's eyes grew wide with surprise at this spontaneous show of affection.
"Thank you," she said in his ear.
In reply, he tightened embrace her but was hasty to let go. Snape leaned in close to speak in her ear.
"We must leave straight away."
She nodded and began to lead the way back to the elevators. She received congratulations as she wove between the witches and wizards. Some shook her hand, while others only left themselves to glare at her with mistrust. One person slammed into her shoulder unnecessarily rough. She glanced behind her and saw with a sickening feeling that people were following her, and they didn't look happy. Surely, there was going to be more unhappy people outside the warehouse to meet her. She bit her lip and tried to pretend she didn't notice them, when she turned back around and accidentally walked right into a man.
"Whoa!" he said theatrically in a familiar voice.
Harmony jumped away and looked up into the wizard's face.
Zeth grinned down at her as though he already had her locked behind bars. She tried to jump away from his reach, but he shot his hands out like snakes and grabbed her in an iron grip.
"Where are you going so fast?" he asked.
She winced as his fingers cut off the circulation in her hands. "Zeth?" she said nonchalantly, "How's the trading business treating you?"
He pursed his lips. "Hm, not that well. I've been spending my precious time hunting you down, of course."
"I've heard. Sounds overly ambitious."
"I wouldn't say that. After all, I've got my hands on you now, don't I? I've been waiting a long time for you. With you turned in, I'll finally get the reward I deserve."
"I'm not going anywhere with you," she said coldly.
He tightened his grip on her. "You're beaten, my dear. Take a look around you. Everyone hates you. They want you dead. They're not going to stop me. It's you against the hundreds of us."
Harmony cast her eyes around them, becoming even more aware of the cheering faces turning sour. She returned her gaze to the trader and whispered, "Please don't do this."
Zeth laughed aloud. "So she's begging now!" Laughter scattered from the people around them. "It's too late for that now, traitor. It's over." He tugged on her wrists, bringing her closer to him, and he began dragging her away to the elevators.
"No!" she called out, trying to pull away. "I don't want to hurt you! But I will if you don't let go right now!"
Zeth's laugh was harsh. "You wouldn't dare. You would just be kicked out and thrown outside the warehouse, right where we want you."
She fought him furiously. When he almost lost his grip on her, he brought a hand back and brought it down on her face with a stomach-turning slap. Harmony groaned and staggered; the right side of her face burned where he hit her and stars danced before her eyes. Zeth tugged her along and she couldn't help but give in.
Where was Snape? Where was Mag? Where were all the Death Eaters that were supposed to keep her from harm?
Harmony looked over her shoulder as Zeth pushed the button on the elevator to go up. There was a large group of people slowly following them, and they stopped and stared as she and Zeth waited to get out of there. But then she saw a figure moving through the group, swift and sure. Marek—his large brown eyes dangerously zeroed on Zeth—strode between the people and approached them. Without blinking, he raised his wand and pointed the tip at her capture's chest. A horrifyingly familiar emerald green light illuminated their corner of the room and the pressure on her wrist eased. When the green light dispersed, Zeth was on the ground motionless.
Harmony gasped in horror. "Y-you," she stammered, "You killed him!" She tried to find some trace of human regret in Marek's eyes but saw none.
Shouts of protest filled the air. People were severely upset by Marek's breaking the rules, and out of nowhere appeared two burly wizards. They grasped his shoulders and pulled him away. Marek didn't fight them, only gave Harmony one last look before being forced into the other elevator. The crowd seemed to suddenly turn on her. People's attention had returned to her full force, and she saw nothing but furious looks, as though they blamed her for the reason Zeth was killed.
She moved away, and her back hit the elevator bars. With a twinge of hope, she saw her group rushing over to her with Snape in the lead.
"I told you!" he shouted, reaching a hand into his cloak. "I told you, you have to leave now!" He pulled out the large bag of galleons and tossed it to her. She caught it, hearing the gold jangle together. Snape looked behind him and spotted Draco. He grabbed the young wizard by the collar and tugged him forward. He threw Draco at Harmony and yelled, "Leave! Now!"
They nodded, both their eyes filled with fear. As if to answer Snape's call, the ding of the elevator went off and the golden bars opened. Draco and Harmony ran inside, retreating as far away from the doors as possible. Angry people hurried forward to catch them but Snape, Mag, and Narcissa fought them off until the doors closed. Harmony could only stare at their enraged faces as the elevator began to move upward. If everyone down here was so infuriated, she couldn't even imagine what horrors resided for her up above.
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Serpentine Series