Adult-FanFiction.org : Harry Potter

Precious Mudblood	By : magentasouth Category: Harry Potter > Het - Male/Female > Hermione/Voldemort Views: 79302 -:- Recommendations : 3 -:- Currently Reading : 6
Disclaimer: I neither own nor profit from any part of the Harry Potter universe

Chapter List
- 1-Precious Mudblood
- 2-Ch 2
- 3-Ch 3
- 4-Ch 4
- 5-Ch 5
- 6-Ch 6
- 7-Ch 7
- 8-ch 8
- 9-Ch 9
- 10-Ch 10
- 11-Ch 11
- 12-Ch 12
- 13-Ch 13
- 14-Ch 14
- 15-Ch 15
- 16-Ch 16
- 17-Ch 17
- 18-Ch 18
- 19-Ch 19
- 20-Ch 20
- 21-Ch 21
- 22-Ch 22
- 23-Ch 23
- 24-Ch 24
- 25-Ch 25
- 26-Ch 26
- 27-Ch 27
- 28-Ch 28
- 29-Ch 29
- 30-Ch 30
- 31-Ch 31
- 32-Ch 32
- 33-Ch 33
- 34-Ch 34
- 35-Ch 35
- 36-Ch 36
- 37-Ch 37
- 38-Ch 38
- 39-Ch 39
- 40-Ch 40
- 41-Ch 41
- 42-Ch 42 (edited. longer)
- 43-Ch 43
- 44-Ch 44
- 45-Ch 45
- 46-Ch 46
- 47-Ch 47
- 48-Ch 48
- 49-Ch 49
- 50-Ch 50
- 51-Ch 51
- 52-Ch 52
- 53-Ch 53
- 54-Ch 54
- 55-Ch 55
- 56-Ch 56
- 57-Ch 57
- 58-Ch 58
- 59-Ch 59
- 60-Ch 60
- 61-Ch 61
- 62-Ch 62
- 63-Ch 63
- 64-Ch 64
- 65-Ch 65
- 66-Ch 67
- 67-Ch 67
- 68-Ch 68
- 69-Ch 69
- 70-Ch 70
- 71-Ch 71
- 72-Ch 72
- 73-Ch 73
- 74-Ch 74
- 75-Ch 75
- 76-Chapter 76
- 77-Ch 77
- 78-Ch 78
- 79-Ch 79
- 80-Ch 80
- 71
- 72
- 73
She
barely drifted to a half wake state when Tom whispered in her ear that she
might like to sleep in while he went running.�

The gratitude was vast and she scrabbled to wrap her arms around him, eyes
still closed, kissing blindly at any skin she made contact with before falling
back onto her pillow and snuggling down deeper in the bed.�

She heard his soft amused snort.

�Don�t imagine that you have come to the end of morning exercise, Hermione� he
murmured, leaning over her again.� �This
is temporary.�
She
nodded against the pillow and dragged the blankets higher.�
Some time later she half woke when the bed dipped and a
warm body climbed in behind her.� She
grumbled mildly when she was pulled gently against his chest and soft kisses
were pressed to her shoulder.� A gentle
hand stroked her body, teasing at her breast; fingers plucking lightly at her
nipple.� She brushed it away irritably,
trying to go back to sleep.� It withdrew
slightly and wrapped around her.

She drifted off again, warm and comfortable.
The next
time she woke, the covers were being pulled down in front of her and someone was climbing into bed.�

She opened her eyes at this � there was already an arm around her abdomen.� Was Abraxas climbing into bed with them?!..�

She blinked up at the intruder, finding herself
looking into Tom�s blue eyes.�� He wore a
tight strange expression on his face.�

She startled.� If Tom
was in front of her...
�Abraxas?!�
she queried uncertainly.� The arm around
her tightened slightly for a moment and she felt the face behind her nuzzle her
in a manner that felt unconscious.� �Mmm?� the familiar voice mumbled sleepily.
Tom had
climbed into bed in front of her now and slid down, delving one arm under her
pillow and wrapping the other around her, pulling her against his chest and
away from the boy lying behind her.� She
noted he looked somewhat relieved suddenly.

�I take it you believed him to be me.��

She nodded, frowning slightly.� �I was
asleep.� Nothing happened.�

He kissed her forehead above one eyebrow, a pensive expression on his face.
Abraxas
shifted behind her in his sleep and pressed closer again, closing the gap.�
Tom
sighed.� There was an element of
irritation to it.�

�We will have to rise soon.� I wish to go
down for breakfast.

Abraxas � you can stop pretending to sleep now.�
I have decided that I will give you your revel.� If you can arrange it by
tomorrow... Maia will attend.� If you cannot...
�I can
have it prepared by this evening.�

The voice was collected and perfectly awake behind her.

Hermione scowled.� Bloody
deceptive Slytherins.�� She wondered whether Abraxas had been asleep
at all.� She felt the warm hand on her
abdomen stroke over her skin slowly.��

�Maia..will.. participate.. when she attends.. won�t she?!�� the conniving jerk asked quietly.
Tom�s
dark blue eyes examined her.�

�Yes.� he said finally.�

The Great
Hall was only half full that morning, which wasn�t all too surprising.� On Saturdays and Sundays breakfast tended to
be an under-attended occasion as students opted to catch a few more hours sleep
and have a larger lunch instead.

At the end of the Slytherin table, the atmosphere was subdued as she lowered herself
to the seat between Tom and Septimus, who it seemed had today returned to his previous preferential seat
beside her.� Clemens was banished to the
end of the table once again.� Opposite
her Abraxas smiled placidly and reached for a slice of toast.

�You are looking..well..this
morning.� Septimus observed pointedly to him.�
The
blonde flashed a brighter smile and helped himself to bacon.

�You know.. I feel
so much better this morning, Sep� he smirked. �I believe it was the excellent
night�s sleep I had.�
The black
eyes narrowed and Septimus stabbed his fork into a
piece of papaya with just slightly more force than was absolutely
necessary.� He didn�t dart a glance at
her but in that peculiar way that Severus had always had too, she could feel his attention shift to her even so.

Hermione noticed Sorrenson�s apparent delighted
fascination with the mandarin he was peeling over his porridge.� It seemed that it was an extraordinarily
inspiring mandarin � he looked quite optimistically at it.
�Seppy.. Do you think we might go
to Hogsmeade today?�
The voice
was like nails over a blackboard to Hermione this morning, she realised.� God.. why was she less and less capable of tolerating Amalthea these days?!�
It wasn�t as if the girl had become more
annoying.� She virtually ignored Hermione
now that Septimus was thought to be no longer at
risk.� Yet over the last weeks she had
just wanted to tear Amalthea�s hair out on a daily
basis.� Not having to see her in the dorm
room anymore was a relief.�

In her mind, Hermione imagined throwing Amalthea down
a very deep well.� A
well that flushed.

Antonia on the other hand didn�t seem to bother her much, she�d found.� She always sat down the end of the table next
to Palmer.� At some point the two had
seemingly begun to see one another more officially.� It had been vaguely registered but she�d
thought little about it.� Palmer Avery
was distasteful in the extreme.� If
dating Antonia Parkinson kept both nasty little irritants away at the end of
the table � more power to them both!
�I have
other things to do today, Amalthea.� Septimus gravelled politely enough. �Perhaps you could go
with Toni or Carmen.. Or..�
he looked up hopefully, scanning the rest of the table.

�I am certain Benjamin will be visiting Hogsmeade.� You might go with him.�
Benjamin
did not look immediately opposed to this.�
He seemed to mull the idea over and was about to nod when Amalthea responded snippily. �I don�t want to go with anyone else.. I want to go
with you... The Yule ball is coming
up.. we need to-..�

Septimus� groan and eye roll said it all, Hermione
thought.� The red haired vixen at his
side either didn�t notice or didn�t care as she went on with her explanation
for why it was imperative that she shop for her gown today, with Septimus present, while she
sliced a grapefruit in half carefully.
Hermione
barely registered the nasty little wish that flitted through her head before Amalthea�s hand slipped and there was a bang as she dropped
the knife and yelped.
�OH!!� Damn it!�
Ow!!!� Amalthea was
fussing, wrapping her finger in a napkin to staunch the blood; Septimus already turning to her to heal the wound that the
other girl obviously lacked the presence of mind or common sense to deal to.
Hermione
replaced her toast on the plate, swallowing the mouthful that had suddenly
turned to ash in her mouth.

What the hell was wrong with her?!� God.. she�d just..bloody
attacked.. Amalthea.. over nothing!� Over a minor
irritation that was more amusing than annoying really..
She�d just.. lashed out at
her without even thinking about it.

Crap.. crap crap crap � what was she
becoming?!� She glanced up surreptitiously
to see if anyone else had noticed.�

Tom was watching Amalthea with mild disapproval on
his face.� Abraxas had barely blinked
before he�d returned to breakfast.�

Sorrenson was looking at her with a thoughtful
expression.� Their eyes met for only a second
and then he returned to his porridge.�
The thoughtful look remained however.
�Septimus.. I would like to speak
with Abraxas and yourself after Breakfast.�
Amalthea�s face fell.�
Tom would not be contradicted.� It
seemed that Hogsmeade was out.� She
frowned prettily down at her bloodstained grapefruit.� Her somewhat harried boyfriend looked
relieved.

�Certainly -� I
shall meet you downstairs directly..� Septimus
responded agreeably, glancing at Hermione briefly and then back at their
fearless leader.�
�Sorrenson..� Tom began pensively..
When it
transpired that Sorry would be accompanying her
to the library while the other three spoke, it seemed that no one except Tom was satisfied anymore.. with the possible
exception of Sorrenson � although his pleased
expression was marred by slight worried unease.�
Hermione
was ticked off.� She wanted to go with
the other three.� Whatever they were
going to talk about, Tom had obviously decided
that she wasn�t to hear.� That was
unacceptable.� It would probably be something
about her � or about the Ravenclaws who had been
talking in the corridors.�

She had zero interest in going and studying bloody arithmancy or runes or transfig in the Library.�
It was unlikely that that was what she would end up doing, of course.� If Tom was
sending her off with Sorrenson � the message was
implicitly clear to her.� And that
somehow made it even worse.�

�I want to come with you!� she stated, hating how she sounded like Amalthea and resolutely ignoring the way Sorry�s face dropped in hurt disappointment.
�No.� You need to study.� Tom said with finality.
�We will speak later, Maia.� I have other
things to do this morning.�

At that, he laid his knife and fork down neatly and rose to leave the
table.�

She glared up at him, annoyed at being so easily brushed off � the very slight
tilt of his head at her convinced her to wipe that look off her face
however.�

He nodded, stroking a hand over her hair in a way she couldn�t help but find
mildly patronising, and then he stalked calmly out of the Great Hall without a
backward look.
There was
a snigger from Amalthea.
Hermione
hated her.�

Hated.

A little cut to her finger was FAR less than she deserved.

She shut that thought down quickly before it could get out of hand and turned
to her toast.
�Maia..� Sorrenson said
hesitantly.� She glanced up.� He looked deeply worried now.�

Sighing she tried to push down the irritation she was feeling in order to offer
him a thin smile.� �Sorry, Sorry � it�s not you � You know that, right?!�

He nodded after a moment but didn�t look greatly relieved.
Walking
through the corridor toward the library she found herself again preoccupied
with what Tom, Abraxas and Septimus might be
discussing and why Tom had refused to allow her to listen to it.� She was speculating that it might be
something to do with the Ravenclaws..
or perhaps Grindelwald..

...although Tom had allowed her to be present for every
discussion about him so far.�

At least.. as far as she was
aware..�

It was faintly possible that she might not have been aware that they were
meeting. �But then..
he�d have to have left while she was sleeping.� Tom or one of them was with her for most of
the rest of the time these days.

Although.. when he went to patrol..perhaps..��
She was
far off in her head when Sorrenson spoke and only
registered that he had asked something when he repeated her name
impatiently.�
�What?!� Uh.. that is.. pardon?�
The boy
walking by her side looked resentful. �You don�t want to be with me� he stated
softly, brushing the messy brown hair out of his eyes.� He looked painfully Rodolphuslike
again she realised and made a note to brew the blood bond satisfying potion
later.

She rolled her eyes.

�Sorry.. its
not that.. it�s just.. why
aren�t we with them?!� Why did he send-�
She got
no further because someone walked into her.�
Hard.�

Bouncing back she looked up in shock at an entirely unfamiliar face.� The boy in question was smiling
apologetically and reached out to steady her with a hand on her shoulder.
�Oh.. I�m sorry.� I wasn�t
looking where I was going.� Are you
alright?��
He was
tall with short dark brown hair trimmed into a rather preppy cut and dark grey
eyes.�

He was wearing a Ravenclaw uniform.

She blinked, readjusting her perspective and trying to calm her frantically
beating heart.�� She glanced to Sorry
but suddenly didn�t see him anywhere.�

Frowning she turned around completely, looking for him and found another three
boys approaching with polite concerned expressions.� Her pulse sped.�

Shit.� This was them.� Three of the four were Ravenclaws.
��The fourth was a Gryffindor.� She thought the Gryffindor might have been in
Defense with them.. maybe.�
Stepping
back to get some distance from the boy in front of her, she almost fell as she
stumbled over something on the ground.�
The Ravenclaw who had walked into her caught
her before she could fall and steadied her.�

She looked down.
Sorrenson.�
Only stunned,
she hoped.. He was lying on his back with one arm
stretched out.� his
wand gripped loosely in it.�

He looked peaceful.�� His dark messy hair
was strewn across his eyes.�

She looked up again quickly.� The polite
concern on the Ravenclaw�s face had morphed into a
predatory anticipation and he hadn�t let go of her yet.� His splayed hand on her back, stroked her
lightly as if touching something precious that had almost been damaged.�
�Just
stay calm� he said quietly.� �There are
more of us here than you see.� Lestrange has at least two wands on him right now.� You don�t want anything..permanent..
to happen to him, I�m sure.
She realised
she was gaping in horror and closed her mouth, trying to move to get him to
take his hands off her.� He didn�t
comply.� His grip, which probably looked
nothing but comforting to an onlooker, tightened slightly. �She flicked her wrist for her wand, only to
have it plucked out of her hand the second it appeared.� It disappeared into the Ravenclaw�s
inner pocket.
�You
should stop this now.� I don�t know
you.� If you leave immediately.. I won�t tell Tom about it.� Sorry probably didn�t see anything
either.� Just leave and no one will get
hurt.�
The tall
boy tilted his head slightly and smiled wider.�
�Don�t worry about him. All
you need to do is what we tell you and everything will be just fine.� Maia.. you�re an intelligent girl.�
I�ve seen you in classes.� And you
have demonstrated regard for Lestrange there.� Tell me.. how do you plan to disarm two or more unseen assailants at
once before one of the four that you do
see stuns you.
Her mind
did the math.� ��She didn�t like the way he told her not to
worry about Tom.

She probed lightly for the raw magic.� It
was there.� It was still strong enough to
reach.� She could perhaps just knock
everything down in a ten metre radius.

But that would be rather obvious.� Questions
would be asked.�

And while she could...possibly... use the magic to persuade all the Professors.. perhaps even aurors not to question her.. She couldn�t
use magic offensively against Tom and he
certainly would question, after she�d
been so magically weakened lately.�
On the
other hand.. if she gave them
an inch.. if she went along with them wherever they
were seeking to go, there was no way of knowing whether she might get another
chance.. and after all � they�d almost certainly leave
the two wizards there with their wands on Sorry � assuming of course that there
truly were others there and the Ravenclaw wasn�t
bluffing.�

THAT she could check.�

She used the raw magic to simulate the sensing spell they�d learned for
invisible assailants in defense and gasped out
loud.� There were a lot of others in the corridor with them.� Not just two.�
There had to be at least.. six
other shadows with drawn wands.

She heard the tall boy holding her chuckle.�

�Ah.. I see you�ve noticed now. �Wandless magic � I�m impressed! �Yes.. You are well and truly outnumbered.� If you say you�ll walk along with me calmly,
without making a fuss, nothing will happen to Lestrange
� nothing will happen to you either,
for that matter.� I promise!� None of us wish to harm you..� You can accompany us..somewhere..and spend some quality
time.. and then we�ll make certain you�re cleaned up
and comfortable.� No one will be the
wiser.�
Her blood
ran cold.�
�Please
don�t do this� she whispered.�

The Ravenclaw boy brushed aside her hair gently. ��Oh don�t be like that.� You�ll like
it. ��Everyone knows you�ve been carrying
on with half a dozen of the Slytherins.�

�I haven�t!� she protested urgently. �You�re wrong.� You�ve got your facts wrong.� Someone�s been lying to you � I�m only seeing
Tom.� When he finds out-�

The boy cut her off. �Last evening you were with Malfoy again. �He stayed all night and the satisfied grin on
his face this morning after he�s been mooning around like a lost lamb for weeks
was indicative enough that you�re friendly
with him again.. and with
Riddle�s knowledge and permission one must assume. �

But this isn�t the time or place for a discussion.� Come with me now or be stunned and carried�
She
swallowed.� They had been watching Tom�s door
then.� She should have considered that
when Septimus told Tom and herself about it.� They were Ravenclaws.� If they were planning any action at all they�d
collect as much information as they could before beginning.

A tiny traitorous voice in the back of her mind piped up �if I let this happen
it will probably recharge my magic.�� It
was immediately followed by the voice of reason.� �if however many of
these complete bloody strangers touch
me then I�ll be bleeding off magic to them
too constantly unless I sleep with them regularly.� I need to get the hell away from them and make
sure that no one else touches me.�
Whoever this damn Ravenclaw is will already be
affected.� ...I should probably kill him.��

She stumbled forward as she was nudged with the boy�s arm around her shoulders.

Think!� She had to do something.�� Something that wouldn�t look
too suspicious.�
She
reached for the raw magic and put up a shield around Sorry clumsily, then quickly
erected another around herself, close to her skin.� It took all of two seconds while they walked.��

The boy holding her felt the shield around her go up and lifted his wand to
stun her but she�d already twisted the magic again and he dropped unconscious
to the floor.�

She took off down the corridor running, dodging the two black shadows that were
in her way, trying to grab her.� The
hexes from the others bounced off her shield harmlessly as her shoes slapped
the stone floor and she careened around the corner.�
Tom!� She had to get to Tom.�
She could
hear the sound of pursuit.� Glancing
behind she saw three glowing blinding forms and a large group of shadows
chasing.� Red stunners sailed past
her.� One bounced off her shields.��

They were gaining on her.� She needed to
get to somewhere where there were other students.� But she�d run in the wrong direction
initially because there were less of them standing on that side, and there were
no more classes in these corridors.� Just
the Gryffindor common room and further on the shifting staircases.� They�d catch her there for sure!� The stairs were almost certain not to be in a
useful position.� The bloody minded
things were almost never where you wanted them to be when you were in a
hurry.� That would essentially be a dead
end.�

As if they realised it too, her pursuers sped up further.� She was suddenly painfully grateful to Tom
for forcing her to jog in the last weeks.�
A month ago she�d have been on the ground struggling for breath by
now.� She pulled out a bit more strength
she didn�t know she had and changed course, heading for the portrait of the fat
lady.�

She�d be safe in Gryffindor!� There�d be
other students.. at worst she
could hide up in the girls dorms.� They�d
never get up the stairs!�
She dropped
the sensing vision that rendered everything visible nothing but bright
silhouettes and puffed at the suspicious and disapproving looking portrait �Please
� let me in.. chasing me.. need
help.. please..��
�You are
a Slytherin� �The
fat lady responded with the same tone as she might have used to say �you are a
plague carrier� or �you a child molester� �I cannot possibly allow you passage.�
Whatever you have done to cause them to chase you-�
Blessedly,
the portrait opened in that moment.� A
small first year girl climbed out of the gap smiling back at her friend.�

Hermione glanced back over her shoulder briefly.� The three visible pursuers � two Ravenclaws and a Gryffindor rounded the corner a few metres
away at a flat run.� She seized the portrait
door, dragging it open against considerable resistance from the fat lady, and
pushed in through the portrait hole past the two horrified first years.�
The
entire room inside gaped at her and then erupted into furious chaos.�
She
caught out of the corner of her eye the Gryffindor among her assailants grin
widely and continue forward to the portrait hole while the Ravenclaws
held back.�
�What are
you DOING in here, Slytherin!� GET OUT!!�
Get the HELL out!� I�m summoning
the head of house!� You can�t just come
into another House�s common room!�
Someone take her out into the corridor and hold her there!� Milli � go and get Professor
Dumbledore!�
She watched
the oh-so-familiar pinched face rant at her.�
Of course it would be her.�� She
looked away from Minerva McGonagall and darted out of reach of the blonde boy
who had stepped through the portrait after her, racing around the edge of the
chaotic room toward the dormitory stairs.�
She was intercepted en route.�
Another highly familiar face stepped into her path and caught her,
pulling her close.�

�Let me go!� she demanded urgently � she didn�t want to be near him either!�

Worried brown eyes studied her own.�

�Not yet... What is going on, Maia?� What
are you doing here.. why are
you running?!�
The Gryffindor
who had been chasing her was at their side in the next second.� He looked flushed from running.� �Thanks Alex.�
I�ll take her outside.� He said hurriedly.�
Alex
looked at him with deep suspicion.�

�No.. I think i�ll look
after her, Edwin.� I�m not sure what
exactly is going on here.. but
I mean to find out.
Minerva
joined them.� Hermione, who had ceased
struggling in Alexander Potters grip now that her pursuer �Edwin� whoever had
turned up, took the opportunity to examine the girl in greater detail.

Her future head of house and transfiguration teacher was a rather prim and
straight laced looking girl even in her youth.�
Her uniform looked pressed, the folds sharp.� Her face
looked stretched and pinched due to the severe French plait that wound down the
centre of her skull and ended at mid shoulder.�
Blue eyes glared at her as if her very existence was objectionable.�

�I know exactly who you are!� What are you doing in here?!� she said
bitingly.
Hermione
hesitated.� How much did she want to
say?!

She couldn�t really think of a reason to have rushed in.� The only thing occurring to her was the
truth.� She never had been particularly
good at lying to Professor McGonagall.
�I�m
sorry!� I know that it�s completely
against the rules for me to be in here.�
I was being chased.� Some boys..� They attacked Sorrenson Lestrange and I when we were on our way to the Library.� I don�t know them.� I was running.� They would have caught me at the stairs..�
This
seemed to render Minerva thoughtful.� She
glanced at �Edwin� who had been attempting to drift back into the background
now that it appeared that she wouldn�t be
easily recovered into his custody.

�Do you know anything about this, Ed?� she asked neutrally.�

The blonde ran his hand through his hair nervously.� �No Min � I was just trying to take her out
into the corridor � you said to take her out there to wait for Professor Dumbledore.��
Minerva
looked dubious but turned back to Hermione. �How many boys were chasing you?� And why exactly?!� What did you
do?!�
Insulted,
Hermione frowned � �I didn�t do
anything.� I was walking down the
corridor with Sorrenson toward the library.� A boy walked into me and then someone stunned
Sorrenson and they tried to tell me to come with them
and not make a fuss�

Minerva�s eyebrows rose and she looked a lot more unsettled.
�Are you
making this up?!� she asked and Hermione could detect the faintest hint of hope
in her voice amid the suspicion.

�NO!!� And there were four visible and six I detected using the spell we
learned in Defense.�
I couldn�t see any of their
faces obviously.�

This evoked a snorting scoff from the other girl, although she noticed that Alex
looked concerned and was keeping very
quiet.�
�TEN.. you�re trying to tell me that TEN students attacked you in
an open corridor at midday and some of them were using invisibility potion?!� Are
you mad?!..�
Do you need attention that badly?!� I mean.. I had heard
the rumors about you but I never imagined you were
actually-�
�That boy
was one of them� Hermione pointed at Edwin who had almost successfully slunk
away.� The others that I could see were Ravenclaws.��
Minerva
exchanged a quick troubled glance with Alex potter, who had still not released Hermione
from his arms.

He swallowed and said uncertainly �Maybe you didn�t get a good look at them, Maia...
Are you sure this isn�t just a mix up.�
Perhaps you were just coming to visit me and I forgot..
Everyone overreacted when you came in..�

Hermione forced her hands to her hips indignantly. �I am not going to lie just so that a horrible boy who
deserves to be hexed into next week can get away with attempted abduction and
probably attempted rape!� I would be
hexing him now if they hadn�t taken my wand!!..�

Gasps went up around the room and a buzz of disturbed conversation among the
other Gryffindors present.� Minerva�s
face paled and she looked to Alex in shock.��

The boy in question didn�t meet her eyes.�

The entire room was watching them with various expressions of shock and
horror.�
�Perhaps.. we should call the Slytherin
head of house too.� This will have to go
to Dippet� Minerva said, sounding a little sick.
She felt Alex�s
arms tighten around her slightly.
�What is
going on here?� the calm voice broke the stillness, echoing across the room
from the portrait hole where Professor Dumbledore was standing, looking mildly
concerned.�

The auburn haired wizard was wearing muted purple and grey robes today and his
circular glasses hung low on his nose.�

Minerva seemed to have been placed on tenterhooks in the two second between his
absence and his appearance.� She shifted
nervously from foot to foot and Hermione detected a high blush on her cheekbones.� So the rumours there were probably true too then, she thought.� Whether or not the Professor McGonagall in
her own time was involved with Professor Dumbledore � it seemed the Minerva
McGonagall in this time had a mammoth crush on him.
�Miss
Schiller � I am informed you recently forced your way into the Gryffindor
common room.� He frowned slightly, irritably.�
�Mr Potter � please release her.��
�Yes Sir �
I suppose I did.� she admitted readily as Alexander Potter reluctantly unwound
his arms from around her.� She stepped
away from him quickly. �I was being chased by several students that seemed to
want to harm me.� I sought refuge.�
Dumbledore
processed this and nodded wearily.� �If
you would come with me...I think it would be best if we discussed this in my
office.�

She felt herself tense.
�Professor
� may I accompany you both� Alex�s polite voice enquired.� �I can verify what she tells you from the
time she entered the common room�

Dumbledore shook his head.

�No Mr Potter... I believe that will not be necessary.� Miss McGonagall � if you would restore order
here, I return the common room to your capable hands.� Miss Schiller � come with me please�
Hermione
followed.�

The intensely troubled expression on �Edwin�s� face didn�t escape her.� She realised suddenly that she was in great
danger right now.� She could expose her attackers.� She wasn�t sure exactly what would happen to
them if it was confirmed that they had tried to abduct and coerce a fellow
student.�

She didn�t know what else she could do.
�I don�t
remember any of their faces, Professor Dumbledore.� I didn�t know them.� She said loudly �
certain that Edwin would have heard it.
Professor
Dumbledore frowned at her with concern and, she thought, a tinge of disapproval.

�Yes.. well.. Come with me
now Miss Schiller and we shall see what you remember.�
�I won�t
remember who it was, Professor� she insisted sharply.
Minerva
stepped forward, her mouth open to protest.�
Hermione..or Maia.. had already said that Edwin was
among her attackers � But before she could speak, Alex had stepped in and
placed a hand on the straight-laced girl�s shoulder, looking at her with a
forbidding expression.� Minerva blinked,
shocked and wilted slightly as if unsure what to do now.�

Professor Dumbledore took all of this in and the look of disquiet about him
deepened.
�Very well.� Come
along, Miss Schiller.� He said wearily and turned about, heading toward the
portrait hole.

In the
familiar cluttered office, Hermione shifted uncomfortably on the blue chintz
armchair she had been given to sit in.� Professor
Dumbledore had asked her at least six times about who exactly had attacked
her.� She had recounted the circumstances
and he had sent someone to check on the well being of Sorrenson,
but she refused to admit that she remembered anything about the boys
involved.� She had recalled that several
were Ravenclaw but omitted that at least one was Gryffindor
� nevertheless she suspected that he had somehow guessed anyway from the
reactions of the Gryffindors in the common room.� He went over it again and again with
her.�
And you
say he took your wand...�
She
nodded.
�And afterward you cast the locus animi detection spell?�
Wandlessly?!�
She
froze, her eyes widening.� She hadn�t
thought that explanation through enough.�
Damn.�

�No.. I still had it when I cast it.� He took it just after I�d cast it� she tried.
�If that
is so � why would you use your wand, in the direst of circumstances, to cast that spell when a shield or perhaps even
an offensive spell.. or a klaxon...would be far more useful?!� After all � you are a most rational
girl...usually� he queried, with his auburn brows raised.
She
realised that it didn�t really matter what she answered � he had her bang to
rights and she hadn�t even considered an
alarm to draw attention!�

Any further lies now would only tangle her up further.

�Look.. it doesn�t matter�
she tried in frustration.� �I�ll just...
get a new wand.. or
something.. and it�ll be fine..�

A thought suddenly occurred to her and she leapt from the chair in horror� �Oh my God..
Has anyone checked on Tom?! They said
something about not worrying about him.�
He could be hurt!� We need to find
him!
Dumbledore
looked a little concerned too.� �You
believe that something has happened to the head boy too now?�� He frowned and then summoned a house
elf.�

�Bell � if you could please find Tom Riddle and report back
on his present state of well being.� He instructed it gently.

The little elf nodded quickly and popped away again.
Hermione
sat down again nervously but couldn�t stop fidgeting.� Dumbledore studied her with a look that she
interpreted as deep and abiding disappointment.
�Have you
thought any further on the matter we last discussed, Miss Schiller?�

His voice was soft and somehow reminded her of a clear and inviting pool which
hid jagged rocks beneath the surface.�

She thought back quickly and nearly groaned.�

Of course.�� He�d
suggested she should give herself to Grindelwald.� She�d said she would think about it.�

She honestly hadn�t.� At all.� She�d put it from her mind entirely.� The entire prospect was impossible.� She was incapable
of disobeying when Tom issued a direct order.
�um... I haven�t heard from him.. maybe he�s lost interest.� She said hopefully.
Dumbledore
looked at her intently, his gaze was intimidating in
its scrutiny.� �Yes..
I believe that you are telling the truth.. which is somewhat troubling.�

Miss Schiller � Gellert Grindelwald
has in fact sought to contact you,
more than once I imagine � I cannot explain how you have failed to receive his
messages, although I suspect our head boy may be able to throw some light on
the matter.�

This morning I received a most
disturbing communiqu� from him.� It was
obviously directed at you.� He has realised, it seems, that your.. or.. if
he is the one who intercepted the messages intended for you � Mr Riddle�s conscience is not susceptible
to the kind of emotional blackmail that most..decent..human beings cannot help
but fall prey to.� I assume he sent a
copy of the message to me in order to encourage me to..hurry
you along.. as it were.� And I must admit..I
am sorely inclined to do so.� For all
that I know the man is a monster � I cannot condone the present consequences of
ignoring his demands.
Hermione
reeled her jaw back in and kicked her mind to get it turning over again.� Ok.... ok.. Grindelwald had done..something..Something
horrible � probably along the lines of that other memory he�d sent last time.. and Tom had intercepted the message.�

How come she didn�t know anything about this?�
When did this happen?� They were
hardly ever outsi-...
...He
hadn�t insisted she jog this morning.
She
scowled inwardly cursing all Slytherins while
outwardly her surprised and anxious face blinked like a rabbit in the
headlights and waited for Dumbledore to elaborate on just what Grindelwald was threatening now.

Tom had lied.� He had kept
it from her.� Whatever it was.�
�Perhaps
it would be best if you watched the memory for yourself� Dumbledore said
quietly.
She had
the feeling that he was again expecting her to have some sudden impulse toward
selfless sacrifice and wondered whether Harry had ever felt this trapped.

...of course he had..�
He�d nearly had a mental breakdown toward the end with the weight of the
obligation that Dumbledore had placed upon him.�
The guilt.�
As if the entire wizarding world rested solely on his shoulders.

And now.. she was faced with
something not that far from that.� All of
Hogwarts... all of Britain.. apparently depended upon her
somehow breaking an unbreakable bond and becoming the plaything of a
psychopathic, megalomaniac Dark Lord.

Well.. another psychopathic, megalomaniac Dark Lord.. anyway.
Professor
Dumbledore had risen while she was internally preoccupied and was fussing about
with an object in the back of his office.�
She hadn�t even noticed it before and it was much too large to have
escaped notice.� It had to have had
notice me not charms all over it.�
�My dear �
have you ever heard of a �Pensieve�?�, Dumbledore asked kindly.

The
memory was worse than she could possibly have imagined. �

It started off quite harmlessly in a bright sunlit courtyard surrounded by
hedges and ornamental rose bushes.� She
turned around on the cobbled surface and located Grindelwald
pruning at a rose bush with his wand.�
His back was turned and blonde curls cascaded down, shining in the sun,
onto a light black cloak of a material that suggested the temperature in this
bright place was considerably higher than it had been in Russia or wherever it
was that Nurmengard had been located.�
He turned
while she was inspecting the surroundings, unable to determine by any flora or by
the architecture of the yellowish stone manor house in the distance where they
might be.�

The rose he held in his hand was white as he took a step toward her, eyes
turned in the right direction but unseeing.�

He couldn�t know exactly where the observer would be standing.�
�Ah Maia..again I must reach out to you.� I confess I am unsure whether to be disappointed
in your refusal or encouraged by the strength of your resolve that you would
consider endangering..so very many..at
the order of your current Master.��

His accent was less strong and his grammar more perfect than in the last memory
she had received, she noted, frowning.�
She wondered if he had actually been practicing.�

Had he engaged a tutor purely in order to come across as more eloquent?!
Grindelwald smiled and inspected the rose he held.� She observed to herself that the man seemed
strangely fascinated with herbology.� The garden..or
jungle.. or whatever area in the last memory he�d
shown her .. was pretty elaborate and demanding to
cultivate. �It was a very different
expression he wore then.. and
now.. than
when he was hurting the boy in the dungeon or when he was..um..
upstairs.�
�Do you
see this?� he asked the empty space a mere half metre to her right, with
subdued excitement.� She suppressed the
impulse to move into that space.�

�It is my own creation.� I am..somewhat proud of it.��
Curious
she stepped forward and did take a
careful look at the rose � it looked like a very nice but completely mundane
white rose � just beginning to open; its petals still furled.
�I think
many others are working on the same problem.�
A fellow in Greece is using stones
i�m told.� The
English want to make a potion...�
Hermione�s
mind made the leap and she frowned at the white rose with more intensity,
daring it to do something extraordinary.
�It is a
useful thing..� Grindelwald
observed and raised the flower, brushing it lightly against his bottom lip as
if in thought.� �It can differentiate
between what is true and what is deception.� His blue eyes flicked up again to
the place just to the right of where she was standing.�
�Perhaps
you do not believe.. I will show you.��
He held
the rose out as if offering it to her and his hand tightened around its
stem.� The barest flicker of his brows
betrayed pain and she noticed, as if for the first time that the stem of the
rose was covered in vicious looking thorns.�
A trickle of blood ran down the stem below his hand and dripped down
onto the cobblestones.

�Alas.. the truth hurts.. does it not?� he observed wryly.�

�Let�s see..�
The moon is made of green cheese� he said with a slight smile.�
She
gasped as black veins suddenly ran up the petals of the white rose, tainting
it.� The colour spread until the entire
bloom was black.��

Grindelwald looked at it with satisfaction and
brought it to his nose.
�Even its
scent changes.. a blind man
could use it.� He noted for her benefit.�
�It is..reminiscent of..tangerines..
now.. perhaps slightly sharper.�
She
conceded unwillingly that it was quite clever.�

However veritaserum was even more useful and didn�t require any pain at all.

Of course.. it could be
easily overdosed.� But then.. there were those little white
truth stones that the ministry used as well.��
She�d never heard of truth roses so Grindelwald
must not have told anyone about them.� Or
maybe no one else could grow them.�
Perhaps they would only grow in the soil wherever this place was.� That was probably not so useful.
She was
drawn back from her speculation on the possible reasons why she�d never heard
of this invention before in any history books by Grindelwald�s
low purr.

�Almost every night I dream of you�
The black
seeped slowly back out of the rose as if bleeding out.� It faded lighter and lighter until it was
white once more.

She swallowed and felt a momentary guilt.�

But it wasn�t her fault.� She didn�t want to plague the bloody man�s mind.� She�d only met him once.� It wasn�t fair!
�I will
do whatever is necessary to have you with me� �the man informed her with no
uncertainty.

The rose remained white.� She swallowed,
feeling an ominous heaviness descend upon the pretty courtyard.�

It was going to be like last time when he�d killed the boy polyjuiced
to look like Tom, she was sure.� First
something nice.. something interesting.. then
he�d start doing horrible things and threatening her if she didn�t come to
him.�

Obviously that part was about to
start now.
�If you
do not come to me, Maia, I will tear the British Isles asunder.� Hogwarts will be an ash pit..
a mass grave.� I
will salt the earth for miles around�
Perfect, pure, unblemished white.

She shivered.
�And you
will still come to me.� I will find you in the end..
I will turn over every stone and burn every house until you are found.. and then you will be mine.�
He tossed
the pristine white rose aside uncaring and displayed his bloodied hand.� Deep red welled in several deep punctures. ��And what good will your stubbornness
be?!� You will serve me so or so.. would you not rather all the
thousands of innocent lives be spared?��

Perhaps.. I will even spare your Master.� Perhaps I will allow him to continue
breathing.� If you ask it of me.. If you beg me for his life..�
Hermione
thought to herself cynically that he had thrown the rose away before he made that little offer.
�Enough.. let us continue with the chore
to which you are pressing me.� I would get
it over with sooner today, as it troubled my rest last night�
He used
his wand to heal and scourgify his injured hand and
then clicked his fingers impatiently.�

The sound wasn�t very loud and yet, a minute later, a large man dressed in a
brown uniform emerged at an opening in the tall hedge that surrounded the
courtyard.�

He paused only for a moment, but reading the expression on his Master�s face,
nodded and retreated, returning a few moments later leading a line of small
children dressed in adorable little outfits.�
Another soldier followed at the tail of the group.
Hermione
felt the temperature drop to arctic levels around her as adrenalin raced
through her veins.�
She
wanted to leave the memory now.� Whatever he was going to do, she didn�t want
to watch it.� She struggled, trying to will herself to leave the pensive, but apparently Dumbledore
had done something to prevent it.� She
would be stuck here until he released her � which he would hopefully do at the end of the memory.
She
turned away.� Perhaps if she didn�t
actually watch..�

She wished she didn�t have to hear either as the warm slightly accented voice
introduced her to the children as if she should recognise them already and then
proceeded to tell her little interesting facts about each.� Where they were from..
how old they were.. what
their interests were.. if they had brothers or
sisters.. pets..�
Finally he settled upon one.��

�I think I will choose Kaspar today� he said
softly.�
The
little sandy haired boy in black dungarees and bright white peasant shirt, Kaspar, was seven, Grindelwald
had informed her, and missed his mother.�
He had come from a small village on the German border of Holland.� He read well and preferred stories about war
heroes.� His parents still searched for
him, although chances were bleak during this troubled time, obviously.

If she were to relent and come to him.. the other children would be returned to their parents safe
and sound..� All she had to do was step
outside and call for Mencius.. all
it would take was for her to raise her hand and invite him..and
all of these beautiful little children would have a full life before them.�

...Alas not so for little Kaspar.� He would pay the price for her stubbornness
today..� Tomorrow.. perhaps Anja..
Piotr or
little Katya.�
She felt
sick as she listened.. realised
what was going to happen.�

It was a memory.. it had already happened.�

He had killed the little boy Kaspar.� She knew it. �This memory was complete when he sent it.� The seven year old Kaspar
was already dead.
Grindelwald spoke, and it was clear from his tone, that he
was not speaking to her but to the children.�
His voice had a faint reverberation and she could hear it echoed in
several languages.

A useful charm, she thought miserably.�
�Children
� Far away.. a beautiful
princess is held captive in a castle by an evil wizard.� She is my love.. and might escape him if she tried.. but
she refuses to try because she fears he will hurt her if he catches her. ��If she will not dare to try to return home to
me, then I will sadly have to kill you one by one until her heart breaks and
she cannot bear it any longer.�
Pitiful
cries of fright and fear went up from the children and several burst into
tears.
�So I ask
you to speak.. She will hear you..
Please little ones.. I do not wish to do this either.. So beg! �beg my love to return and save you.� Tell her how you want to go home to your
mothers and fathers.�
Hermione couldn�t
prevent herself from turning when she heard the first winsome little voice
start pleading.� The boy spoke in a
language she thought sounded a bit like Russian.� His words were refracted into english a half second after he
spoke them.

�Please miss!� Please I want to go
home!� Just try!� You have to!�
I�m scared!� Please don�t let him..� please..
please..�
She felt
like she couldn�t breathe for the sick hollow feeling inside choking her.�
The call
was taken up by several others and soon she had a cacophony of squeaky sobbing childrens� voices begging her to save them.�
She
couldn�t take it.� It was too much.�� She ran to the break in the hedge thinking
to get out of the courtyard but found that the limit of the memory ended there
and she could not escape.

She started to hyperventilate. �Professor Dumbledore� she whimpered, although
she had been trying to scream. �Please.. let me out.. I can�t watch this.. I
can�t.. I can�t do it ...just..
please let me go..�
Nothing
happened to release her from the pensieve.� But to her guilty relief, Grindelwald
silenced the children with a soft word a few moments later and then instructed
the soldiers to take them away again.�

She stepped aside for the staunch male face who barely displayed his own
disturbance at the task he had been given.�
The single-file line of sobbing, frightened children followed.�

She was a terrible person for feeling relieved when they had disappeared around
a bend and were no longer in view.
�Maia..Maia.. do
not hate me for what I must do� Grindelwald sounded
quite sad. ��You have forced me to this.�

Her eyes turned of their own accord toward the tall
wizard who had stepped up behind the shaking tearful seven year old Kaspar, placing a heavy hand on his shoulder.�
She
wanted to beg him not to do it.� Wanted to drop to her knees and crawl to him, pleading for the little
boy�s life.� But she wasn�t really
here.. he couldn�t see or
hear her.�
Grindelwald spoke to the shaking boy who had his arms
wrapped around himself and his eyes clenched shut as he cried in pitiful little
gasps.

�I regret.. that this will
hurt, Child.�� But it will be over
quickly.�

His words, translated into Dutch, loosed a wail from the boy who wrenched his
eyes open and tried to run.� Grindelwald allowed it, raising his wand in a leisurely
manner and hexing him when he had covered half the distance to the break in the
hedge, where Hermione leaned weakly.�
The boy
dropped like a stone, screaming in an unnaturally high voice and writhing,
twisting in agony.� She could see steam
pouring off him as his skin reddened and developed blisters.� His shrieks were piercing,
she raised her hands to cover her ears.

And then the screaming cut off.��

He stopped struggling, although his body still shook and his skin continued reddening
and searing.�� Kaspar
was dead.��
She knew
exactly what had killed him.� She recognised it - the blood boiling curse.� It was truly horrific.� It was small comfort that the victims didn�t
suffer long and died as soon as their brainstem reached a critical temperature..� It was monstrous
to boil someone alive from the inside out.�

Her mind was informing her, from the numerous dark texts she�d read, that
inside Kaspar�s chest, all of his internal organs,
particularly the heart, would be found to be cooked.� That his lungs would be shrivelled
like sponges.�

The victim of the curse didn�t suffer long.. but then.. time
under the cruciatus seemed to lengthen.�
The pain that was only applied for seconds could feel like minutes..� Minutes.. like hours..� Who knew what the blood boiling curse�s
victim experienced before their brain finally shut down?!
Grindelwald had walked over, his hands clasped behind his
back.� He stood opposite her, on the
other side of the poor lobster red Kaspar and looked
down at him with a sorrowful expression.
�Please Maia..�� he murmured in a low voice.�
Hermione looked up at him, blinking away the saltwater blurring her
vision.� �Please..see
reason and come to me.� Do not make me
kill them all.. I ..do not
want to do it.�
Sick grief
stabbed her in the chest.� She HADN�T
made him do anything.� She hadn�t killed
that boy.� THIS wasn�t fair!!..� He was an evil monster and he�d chosen to kill people just to hurt
her!� What kind of person could do that?!

A little voice in the back of her mind whispered �Tom could..�

He probably would if he thought
that it would stop her going to Grindelwald.� How could she possibly �relent� and go to
him?!�
But Tom
wouldn�t be able to destroy Britain if she denied him.
At least.. not yet.
�I hope
that I will see you soon� Grindelwald said softly.� �If I do not.. you will see me tomorrow..� Tomorrow I will use the spine twisting
curse.� I do not know if you have ever
seen the effects.. I shudder to think of a child
suffering in that way.�� Auf Wiedersehen, my Love..�
And she
knew with painful certainty that he would
curse a child in that manner tomorrow if she didn�t go to him before the
end of the day.�

God.. what was she supposed
to do?!�

She nearly sobbed in relief as the memory started to dissolve..the
world around her becoming misty like hanging smoke and she finally felt herself
drifting up and out of the pensieve.�

She had been terrified for a moment that Dumbledore would force her to watch
the whole thing over and over.
Nearly
collapsing to the floor when she was able to pull her face away from the pensieve, she clutched the rim of the thing with cramped
fingers and managed to pull herself upright enough to balance.

It was a struggle to compose herself.� She swiped at her wet eyes, trying to clean
her face before she turned around.
�You see
then, what he is doing?� What he will do?��

Dumbledore�s voice was soft and sorrowful.�
She could hear his sympathy
for her in it.�
�Where�s
Tom� she managed to say almost without quavering at all.
Dumbledore
sighed.

�Mr Riddle is in the Infirmary.� It seems
your fears were well founded.� Mr Prince
had already called an alarm and summoned help when Bell arrived.� The three boys are resting at present.� There should be no lasting damage.��
Hermione
whirled in shock � or tried to.� Sudden
dizziness forced her to fall back against the pensieve
and she tore her hands away in panic that she might accidentally dip them in
and be thrown into the memory again.

When she had recovered her balance she bit out �I want to see him!�
Dumbledore
was sitting back in his chair looking more than weary.� He looked like someone who had been debating
matters of life and death for hours.�

�I do not think that would be best at present.. and I would like to finish speaking with you.� Please Miss Schiller � Sit.� There are other
matters which we must discuss�
The blue
chintz chair sat like a crouching spider ready to bite her.� The very banality of the room felt like a
dangerous trap.� Dumbledore was going to
try to talk her into going to Grindelwald and with
the way she felt right now.. he
might succeed.� Her mind was struggling
to find reasons why her feelings.. or
Tom�s anger.. was more important than the whole of
Britain.� There really weren�t many.

�Are you going to force me to stay here then?� she asked, deliberately
provocatively.� �Or maybe you�ll deliver
me to Grindelwald if I don�t agree to go quietly?�
The Professor
looked even more despondent and bowed his head.

�I had rather hoped that I would not have to.. when you saw the pensieve memory..� But.. no.. For the moment I must speak with you about other things.�� Please
Miss Schiller.. if you would
sit..�
Hermione
glanced at the closed door.� She didn�t
need to even probe it to know it would be locked and warded.� She would be having a �friendly discussion�
with Dumbledore until he saw fit to
release her.. and from his
words.. he might be releasing her into Grindelwald�s custody if she wasn�t careful.

She paced unsteadily to the chair and lowered herself, her wary gaze on Professor
Dumbledore.��
He sat
forward and rested his forearms on the desk before him.

�Miss Schiller...I have been observing.. certain..irregularities.. in your behaviour and
the behaviour of the students around you � or rather, the male students around you � from the first moment of your arrival
here.��
Hermione
forced herself to remain calm against the panic that wanted to bubble up
inside.� Not that too?!!� Dumbledore couldn�t have worked it out!� He just couldn�t!
�She remained still and hoped to hell
that she was wrong.. that it
was something else.
�I have
noticed...unusual interest in you... from the male population.��

Dumbledore blushed.

Hermione thought that her jaw might actually dislodge from her skull and fall
to the floor.

oh god.

He seemed to realise it as his blue eyes hardened slightly before he went on. �I
do not wish to say that you are not an attractive and gifted young witch.. but you will forgive me if I
suggest that the attention you have received has been somewhat disproportionate
to your..graces. �

To begin with � the wizards in Slytherin who have been noted to be pursuing you
� and yes.. I use the plural intentionally Miss
Schiller.� Little that occurs within this
castle is unknown to me.� The wizards in question have all been rather
cruel in the past to those of mixed blood, whether male or female.� Yet they all embraced you unhesitatingly.� Tolerance, in light of Tom Riddle�s
demonstration of acceptance, might have been expected, however to attempt to woo you... that is rather odd..�

Furthermore - despite the fact that you are a student in the house of Slytherin
� and that Slytherins tend to be generally avoided by
the other houses, you have admirers across the full gamut of Hogwarts � indeed your
assailants today, as you mentioned,
were Ravenclaws!�
You surely cannot begin to imagine how unlikely that seems to those of
us who have spent many years among the four houses here.�
Dumbledore paused and steepled his hands, fixating
her over the top of them with a dark pensive expression. �In short, Miss
Schiller � I cannot ignore the unexplained phenomena surrounding you any
further.� I have known that your tale of
woe upon arriving was a lie, almost from the start � however until today I
chose to give you the benefit of the doubt.�
Now that four students are in the infirmary and Aurors have been called to
investigate their � and your attacks �
I will require the truth from you.�
Hermione
stared at him blankly.
The truth.
How the
hell could she possibly tell him the truth?!�
Which truth?!� All of it?!� They�d be here all day and she�d end up dead
or in Azkaban.� There was no way. ��Her truth incorporated Tom�s truth.. it held Dumbledore�s future.. Grindelwald�s end.. Voldemort�s
rise..
�It was a
potions accident.�� She said � repeating the
old lie that Tom had accepted. �

Dumbledore frowned, confused.
�The
effect I have on.. on males..� It was a potions accident a few years
ago.� Since then, it�s been this
way.� Its.. Its worse if they touch me.� If
they do.. then they aren�t satisfied
until..�� she
swallowed and lowered her eyes nervously.�
Lying to Dumbledore was somehow harder than lying to Tom.�

Not as hard as lying to Voldemort however.�
Dumbledore
seemed to be examining her, as if the tint of her skin, the lines of her face
might reveal whether she was telling the truth.
�I am
afraid... that I do not believe you.� He said finally.�

Her heart sank.

�However I do recognise that there is
something strange..which
leads males to become obsessively attracted to you, to neglect their health and
alter their habitual behaviours in favour of pursuing you. This matter has
therefore become more complicated � and it was already unpleasant when it was
an issue of sending a sixteen year old to a genocidal
Dark Wizard � I need to know, Miss Schiller, what...exactly..will
happen to the students who have become so obsessed with you if you are no
longer here?��
Her eyes
widened.� She had no idea, really �
surely they weren�t as affected as Tom and the others.�
Dumbledore�s
expression darkened further.

�As I thought.

And if I send them along with you to preserve their sanity..
no doubt I will be killing them as surely as by my own
hand.� Gellert
will never allow them to live.� His
actions with those children demonstrate as much.� He is a jealous
man, Miss Schiller.� He will never allow
Tom � who I assume is meant when he referred to your Master � to live.�
She
swallowed thickly. �You have to stop him.�
It�s you that has to � no one
else.� Please believe me Professor!!� You�ll win if you fight him..
he�ll be locked up for life!!�
The
transfigurations Professor looked at her as if she had gone mad before his
expression changed to one of suspicion.�

�You sound so certain Miss Schiller.. Just as you did the last time you mentioned that I might
intervene.� Why is that?!�
This was
really the key point, she thought, her mind operating in mild panic mode.� He might almost believe her right now.. but how did she know?! �She needed to make it explicable.

She obviously didn�t have second sight.�
There was no way she could possibly carry that off.� Just the thought of pretending to make a prophesy set her eyes to rolling sceptically.

So how then?!�

Perhaps the truth?...�

But it was incredibly dangerous to let anyone know that she wasn�t in the right
time.� The ministry of magic locked up
those who were from the future, on the basis that they could damage the time
line!

Would it be worse to risk Dumbledore turning her over to the ministry or risk
him deciding he couldn�t trust her and finding some spell..
or something like Grindelwald�s
truth rose to interrogate her with?!� If
he didn�t intervene with the Dark
Wizard � that would change the time
line.�

How the hell was she supposed to know
what had convinced him to do it in her timeline.� Maybe it was because she�d told him he
already had.� Who knew?!
�There
wasn�t just a potions accident..� she said
uneasily.� �There was..I
don�t know if you�ve heard of it.. a
time turner � it�s used to travel
back in time by a few hours or days usually.�
They�re very rare and ministry controlled.� I had one.�
There was an accident and I ended up here.� I ended up.. I ended
up at the Orphanage with Tom.� And then
it was really already too late.� He is
very hard to say no to.� He insisted I
come back to school with him.�

She praised herself that, with the exception of the potions accident part,
everything she had said was absolutely true.
Dumbledore
was nodding his head slowly, and although his eyes were wide, he wore the
expression of a man who had located the jigsaw puzzle piece he had been
searching for.

�And your correct time would be?...� he asked softly.
She shook
her head. �I can�t tell you.� My name isn�t
Schiller either, obviously.� Professor.. are you going to turn me over to
the ministry?!�
The time
dragged on while the auburn haired man across the desk from her gazed at her, seemingly lost in thought.
�What
have you told Tom Riddle about the future?� he asked finally, the slightly
dreamy, thoughtful, expression on his face giving way to ominous foreboding
again.�

She tried to think of everything she�d told Tom.
�I can�t
tell you.� Nothing important though.� Nothing that would change the future from the
way it was when I left.�
The brief
snort from the other man startled her.

�Foolish.. You have already changed your own future if you have told him anything at
all.� I do not see how I can possibly do
anything other than alert the Ministry to your true origin.�
�Professor!!�
she cried urgently, as he reached for his wand with an expression of almost
reluctance.. almost a guilty temptation..
�Listen to me � You have to Listen!!� I swear that
I AM from the future.. many decades in the future and you have to know that you were the one who stopped Grindelwald.� You
duelled with him and won.� He was locked
away in Nurmengard � it became his prison.�

You have to see that the only way to stop this mess is to fight him!.. the only person who can save
everyone without leaving a lot of students in St Mungo�s
raving, is YOU.�

The future will be changed if you don�t.�

...Whether or not the ministry sends me to Azkaban for an accident that wasn�t
my fault � it will come down to you
and Grindelwald.�
Dumbledore
looked alarmed and off kilter.� He opened
his mouth and she could see that he
was going to make some excuse why he couldn�t rely on her judgement of what the
situation called for.�

He didn�t get to however because the little house elf Bell popped in wide eyed
and panicking.
�Profess
profess � gone!� Mr Tom Riddle is gone!�
Bell was watching him like you
say but other student comes and asks bell for a cup of tea and when bell comes
back, the mr Riddle is gone
from the beds in the firmary.� Bell has looked
but he can�ts find him!!� Mr Riddle isn�t being on the grounds now!�
Dumbledore�s
face fell and she could almost hear
him cursing.� His face conveyed the words
�Merlin�s saggy balls � that too?!��

Eyes flicking to her on guard, he raised his wand, probably to prevent her
doing anything �unwise�, but circumstances
had changed and now TOM was in
danger.� He wouldn�t have been if bloody Dumbledore
had let her go to him before.� She was
afraid and VERY ticked off and she
didn�t even bother to speak.� She simply gripped
the wandless magic with everything she had and yanked, throwing it at the other man along with a
stupefy.�
Dumbledore
looked amusingly surprised in the fraction of a second before he dropped,
stunned to the floor.�
She
dissolved his wards a moment later and was out, running through the
corridors.�

Somewhere she could hear people yelling. It seemed that somewhere in Hogwarts
people were in chaos.� She ran in the
opposite direction to the sound, unwilling to risk ending up face to face with Aurors. �

Voices echoed as she approached the corridor she would have to turn down to
reach the stairs, so she continued straight ahead instead, turning at the
statue of Gerta Gable and pressing the block that
opened the passage that would take her to the fourth floor.�� Hopefully the Aurors
wouldn�t know about any of the passages.
The way
to the Astronomy tower was blocked.�
Several unknown wizards were talking in the corridor in worried
tones.� She crept back around the corner
and took a circuitous route up to the fifth floor.�

She would have to leave via the Room of Requirement then.�
Well.. that was probably best anyway,
she decided.� There were just two things she needed before she could
go.
She
walked back and forth in front of the wall impatiently and when she got inside she
found that the room had provided just as it always did.�

There was the book with the spell to soothe the blood bond..
there were her ingredients..

And there were the two doors she
would need.� The second, she knew, would open
to the location of the damned german bastard. who she had no doubt whatsoever had Tom in his grasp.

The other door..
opened to the location of wherever the blasted Ravenclaw had hidden her wand.
She
opened it.
Wonderful.

She looked at the Ravenclaw fireplace where a pile of
ash lay beneath the unlit logs.
Bastard.
Slamming
the door she required the book and ingredients into a bag and summoned it,
stalking quickly to the second door before her resolve could waver.
The
deafening Hogwarts-ward-breach alarms didn�t shock her this time when she
opened the door and Grindelwald did not look all too
surprised either as he glanced up at her from where he stood, smiling
triumphantly, his wand trained on Tom, who lay,
apparently unconscious, on a soft single bed.

He was alone.

Perfect!

She might have been overly pessimistic about coming here.� Perhaps there had been no need to worry about
the blood bond at all - With luck she could knock Grindelwald
out like she had Dumbledore and then grab Tom and get the hell out of here.

Gritting her teeth and preparing to destroy him she stomped over the threshold,
leaving the door open.�
The red flashes
came out of empty space on both sides.�
She didn�t even have the presence of mind to dodge, but it would have
been a waste of time anyway � there were at least eight racing toward her and
most of them found their target, tossing her down hard as dark, silent,
dreamless oblivion flooded up to drown her mind.
She awoke
slowly.� Something was wrong.
Unsure
what it was, she opened her eyes.

and screamed.
Scrabbling
back from the man who lay close..so very close, she
nearly fell off the bed.

�Maia� he purred, his expression redolent of a cat
that had gotten into the cream.� �Finally.. you are here with me.�
�WHERE IS
HE?!� she screeched, unable to stop herself from the violent panic assaulting
her now that she remembered where she was and why.
�He is
alive� Grindelwald answered reproachfully.� Something in his eye suggested that this
wouldn�t be the case for too much longer unless she started to play nicely.

�He is sleeping..elsewhere.. I have even engaged
healers to deal to his injuries�

�Oh they are not from my wand� he added
quickly, with a smile as fleeting as the sun shining through rainclouds. �As I
understand � there was some problem at Hogwarts?� Students fighting?� My little mouse there seemed to think it
might have something to do with you.�
�Who?� she breathed, her heartbeat moving out of the blinding panic
range now that he�d said Tom was ok.
�You may
find out later perhaps.� If you are a good girl.�
She
grimaced and swallowed, wondering what exactly being a good girl entailed.
�Now come
here.� Come back and lie as you were
before.� I will not harm you.�
She
wanted to ask where Tom was.� If she
could get to him.. maybe she
could still attack this blond prat, get Tom and get out of here.

Reluctantly, she edged back on the bed until she could lie,
perhaps a little bit further away than she had been when she had woken.

Grindelwald moved forward, closing the distance again
and smiled wanly.

�You are still nervous of me, sweet girl, so I will forgive that mild disobedience.�

I would like you to remain calm.� Your
dirty blooded Master is here.. hidden..
protected.� You
will not find him.. But if you find him � you will still be unable to penetrate the room in
which I have placed him.� It is in every
way imaginable warded specifically against you.� I
however can enter it at a thought.� If
you displease me.. I will, in most circumstances, not
punish you..
I do not wish to damage you.. I will punish him.�
You will watch the memory of
it afterward.�� Do you understand, little
flower?�
Hermione
nodded slowly.� The sick feeling in the
pit of her stomach she�d felt when she was watching Grindelwald
killing the Dutch boy was returning tenfold.

This was real.� She was here.� He had his claws in her.
�I will
be a good Master to you� the deep voice purred again. �and
in time.. when I feel I can trust you with it.. I will
allow you the use of your magic once again.�
Her eyes
flew to him, her mouth wide in horror as she suddenly realised just what had felt so wrong when she had awoken.� Her entire body rebelled at the thought of being weak again..
being at another wizard�s mercy again.� Involuntarily
she threw herself to the edge of the bed and emptied her stomach violently,
cramping and curling into a ball.�
Several more spasms rolled through her until she was dry heaving and
sobbing, shaking her head.

The wizard behind her was conspicuously silent and still.� He made no move to assist her but did not
berate her or punish her for soiling the floor and bedclothes either.�

When she turned back tearfully, her bottom lip trembling, she found him
watching her with as much interest as he watched the plants in his garden.�

She struggled to find words that would make him undo whatever he�d done.� She couldn�t take being without her magic
again.�
�I do not
know what you are feeling� he said softly, sounding almost compassionate. �I can not imagine the intolerable feeling of powerlessness it
must evoke for one so strong.�

I regret that I must take this measure
with you. �You were breathtaking when you
were duelling.� In time..
when you have proven your loyalty.. you
will possess it again.�

Until then.. I will protect you..
guide you.. and yes.. I will
love you.� You will see that it can be
much better than it was with your little schoolboy.�
Hermione
shook her head, tears tracking down her face again.

�please.. let us go!..� she
whispered, knowing it was futile.
�Grindelwald sighed
and lay back on the bed, his blue eyes turning and apparently inspecting the
ceiling.

�Do not ask me again, Maia.� The next
time.. I will show you that I mean what I say and you
will watch the boy suffer.�
She felt
a scourgify ripple over her, removing the taste of
bile in her mouth and the damp tears on her cheeks. Then the blonde man turned back
to her, his eyes softening as he looked up at her.

Perhaps you might like to bathe.. I have clothing
prepared.� Then we will take the evening
meal, if you are not too exhausted.�
It was disturbing
how the Grindelwald could be so cruel in one second
and then incongruently gentle in the next.�
Being this near to him had her nerves jumping.�

She kept seeing in her mind the way they had all been sitting at the table on
the balcony talking quite politely the second before Grindelwald
had hexed Tom over the edge.�

He gave no warning between his good mood and his violence.� At least Voldemort had displayed his anger or irritation before he�d done something
horrible.� Grindelwald
could just shift like the wind.. kill
or torture and then smile and go on with his conversation.. He�d killed the polyjuiced boy and then he�d gone upstairs and had sex with
some young girl.. and then he�d
sent her away in the next moment with
just as little warning.� Being in his
presence was like walking out over a frozen lake in springtime and watching the
icy water rushing below the clear layer, knowing that it could crack without
warning at any second.
The words
were sour in her mouth.� �Yes Master.�
Grindelwald smiled and reached out to stroke her cheek with
a finger.� She remained still although
she really wanted to turn her head and bloody well bite him.

�Good girl, Maia.. You see.. you will adapt to your new home.�� His finger brushed lightly over her bottom
lip and she watched as his eyes darkened.�

�You do not need to call me Master� he said, sounding preoccupied.� �I told you upon our first meeting that you
may call me Gellert.��

Her lip tickled.� She strained not to wet
it with her tongue.�
�Yes Gellert.� She said tonelessly and turned her head slightly.
�Where is the bathroom please?�

Author note.
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Precious Mudblood