Adult-FanFiction.org : Harry Potter

Captive Audience	By : magentasouth Category: Harry Potter > Het - Male/Female > Hermione/Voldemort Views: 44847 -:- Recommendations : 2 -:- Currently Reading : 4
Disclaimer: I neither own nor profit from any part of the Harry Potter universe.

Chapter List
- 1-Ch 1
- 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 (just edited - no addition)
- 16-Ch 16
- 17-Ch 17
- 8
- 9
- 10
It was sad that it felt like some kind of forbidden treat to walk through corridors.

Nevertheless, she couldn’t help feeling excitement of a level comparable with the night before Christmas..

Well – at least comparable with the night before Christmas before she began living in a box.

She surmised that they were in some kind of manor or estate from the appearance of the endless, extremely formal, dark and dour halls that she was led through.

The corridor they were currently walking down was long, wide and straight, however the light that seemed to emanate from nowhere and followed them as they walked, left the high ceiling and the way a few metres ahead in darkness. It felt eerie – like being in a bubble of light floating in a dark void. The walls were papered in silvery vines against a black background. They had pointed leaves that trembled and wavered slightly in a non existent breeze. Black lacquer panelling rose to waist height and had an almost mirror-like shine to it, although reflections were not seen in this half light. Intermittently there were tall narrow doors with ornate silvery handles. She wondered each time they passed one what might be behind it. Was the room she had seen in the memory somewhere behind one of those doors. She didn’t think so. The door in the memory had looked different.

The black marble flagstones on the floor were even shinier and more reflective than the lacquer panels and were arranged in a complex pattern. Silver cracks between the stone squares seemed to evoke the impression of angular spirals that she found vaguely hypnotic as she stepped over them, the dark faint reflection of her feet matching her movements as if she were walking on black mirrors.

They walked in silence. Nothing else in this place moved. It was all perfectly still and silent around them. The only sound was the faint silky swish of the Dark Lord’s robes and her bare feet padding half a step behind on the cold stone floor. He had transfigured a soft woollen robe for her but had neglected to give her shoes.

“What time is it?” she asked curiously.

“Almost two” came the preoccupied reply.

She thought back to the new year.. the night she'd killed Lavender.. He wanted her to kill again. Would it be worse to do it more than once?

Putting that worry out of her mind for the moment she wondered whether the year had turned while they had been sleeping together or while Voldemort had read to her.

Both were quite good..promising.. year turning activities, she thought.

Admittedly much better than the new year’s activities she’d found herself in over the last years. Last year she had stood around and felt a bit of a third wheel while Ron shoved his tongue down Lavender’s throat and Harry blushed and gave Ginny a chaste hug.

He’d given her a chaste hug too. The difference was that she’d known that he really wanted to be kissing Ginny. Perhaps not like Ron was kissing Lavender because that was really a bit much.. Harry would have kissed Ginny with a more tentative..emotional style.. he’d have-

She stopped.

What the hell was she doing?! Speculating on Harry’s bloody kissing style. And NOW?! While she was standing next to Voldemort?! Good god! Did she have a death wish?! She was being rewarded right now. She really, really wanted to see the garden that they were making their way toward. How Harry kissed was so unbelievably irrelevant in her world. Even if she were not here.. with..the particular man she was with – Harry’s kissing style would STILL be irrelevant since he would never kiss her!. She cursed herself for being so stupid.

No comment came from the tall figure she followed.

Perhaps he hadn’t been listening. He had seemed distant when she’d asked the time.   She tried to put Harry out of her mind altogether but it wasn’t so easy now that the idea of him had been called up. She wondered what he was doing tonight.. Was he with the Order? Was he still with Ron? Had they... found any?!

The idea that she shouldn’t think about the horcruxes had been examined and abandoned long ago when she’d realised that Voldemort could hear her thoughts constantly.. and that she’d been sitting in the cage thinking about them often enough.

She’d wondered what it felt like.. to have your soul in several different places at once. Did it hurt to split it? Could he sense the other pieces? What was that like?!

“Would you like to find out?” The Dark Lord sounded thoughtful, as if he were truly considering having her split her soul.

“No!” she responded quickly. “No.. I’d rather not.. please.” She hoped that her tone was polite and emphatic enough to get away from the prospect

“It is difficult to describe to another.” He said after a moment as he opened yet another large heavy door magically and let them both through. She breathed a sigh of relief. Thankfully, he was not continuing with the idea of her splitting her soul.

“I cannot explain the way it feels. Tearing one’s soul is painless. Binding the fragment to a target is, however, excruciatingly painful. A pain without parallel. I..am not able to sense their presence in anything more than the most peripheral manner. I feel their well being.. their state in a sense.. but I do not feel their location. I trust that answers your questions.”

He glanced at her with an unreadable expression which held, she wasn’t sure, elements of reproach.

“The garden.” he said softly then, gesturing and lighting a torch at the end of the corridor they were walking down. It illuminated a heavy wooden door with carved panelling depicting what, as they approached, revealed itself to be a tree with complex intertwining branches. The door swung outward slowly, leaving a rectangle of deep black space.

Oh yes. It was almost two am. The garden would be dark. She wished she had shoes.   Who knew what you might step on in the Dark Lord’s garden?! Probably there would be snakes and things. There could be poisonous plants..   She wondered suddenly why he had thought to bring her here.. and why now. It seemed rather abrupt and pointless. He didn’t tend to do things simply out of a well meaning desire.

There was a snort from the man leading her.

“It happened that I felt the desire to visit the garden. You, however, would have been left in your cage, had I anticipated you would be this unappreciative. Continue to try my patience and I shall apparate you back.

She swallowed and nodded although he wasn’t looking in her direction.

The closer they came to the door, the more she could feel a soft breeze and smell fresh air.. it was amazing. It smelled of trees and dew and there was a sweet note, like herbs or flowers..

The Dark Lord preceded her through the door, striding out impatiently as if he had a particular destination in mind.

She hesitated on the threshold, peering down at the dark ground, trying to see if there was anything that might hurt her feet.   Outside the door, beyond the range of the torchlight, the white of the serpentine man’s smooth head seemed to float disembodied as his silky black robes blended with the deeper darkness.

She swallowed and stepped out onto what turned out to be soft cool slightly damp grass.

“Why are you delaying?!” Voldemort demanded impatiently from several metres ahead.   She looked up, trying to find him in the dark but her eyes hadn’t yet fully adjusted after the warm pool of torchlight.

“I’m sorry – i’m just worried about stepping on something. I can’t see where i’m putting my feet and you didn’t give me any shoes.”

There was a soft huff and then it seemed that the dark wizard tossed his hand up and flung a handful of glowing turquoise shards into the air. Instead of falling, however, they seemed to hang in the air like tossed stars. They illuminated the garden with a soft greeny blue light. She gasped in wonder! It was extraordinarily pretty. Like a Grotto and a fairy wood at once.. She could see that there was a long way that extended between tall trees into the deeper darkness ahead. The branches of the trees on either side were overhanging, here and there intertwining overhead, explaining why she had not had starlight to navigate by. Now the branches were hung with the artificial blue green stars.. The grass which was short in the centre of the way became longer around the bases of the trees, and in the long grass some dandelion clocks were just begging to be blown. The occasional rock and treetrunk was cloaked in thick luxuriant moss. It was truly gorgeous.

She smiled in amazement at the impatient face of the serpentine man waiting for her to stop gawping and catch up.

Gingerly she tiptoed through the grass, peering down at it, alert for anything that might hurt.

“Oh for Merlin’s sake” the irritated hiss was swallowed by the night. It lacked the reverberation.. the gravity that his voice took on in the stone chambers within the manor.   She was still looking at the grass and yelped in surprise when she was lifted bodily and placed on his hip. She threw her arms around his shoulders quickly and tightened her legs around the slender body as he ceased holding her up, one hand moving to cup her behind lightly, the other falling to his side.

“And you are supposedly a fearless Gryffindor” he sniped disapprovingly.

Unsure whether to smile or look chastened she clamped herself tighter around him and dropped her head to his shoulder. “Thank you..” she mumbled against his robe.

“inconvenient little creature..” he muttered, looking away and stepping forward swiftly. “I should return you to your cage”

It felt very strange, she thought to herself as she clung through the rhythmic rocking of his walking.   She didn’t think she’d been carried like this since she was a very small child. It was.. calming in some peculiar way.   When his hand tightened beneath her and she felt his other hand assist, moving her, as he walked, from his hip to his front and then embracing her more tightly, she decided that it was somewhat different. Still comforting.. but not exactly childlike anymore. At least.. she could feel his groin brush her own every few steps and it didn’t make her feel innocent at all. Her face, which had been on his shoulder when she was braced on his hip, was now pressed into the side of his warm pale neck. She kissed it absently and the hand that was on her back stroked gently.

She felt the breeze in her hair and looked up, realising that they had left the long path through the trees. Stars twinkled overhead through dappled high midnight blue clouds. She sighed, unable to stop the trembling butterflies in her stomach. She didn’t think that the night sky had ever looked this beautiful before.   It was only a pity that there was no moon. She thought she would have loved to see the moon.

Lowering her eyes she looked back over the Dark Lord’s silken shoulder. There was the arch of the trees and now they were walking through low gardens.. There were a number of bushes and plants that she couldn’t make out much of with the exception of one, which seemed to have drooping white flowers that were glowing softly.   The plants and bushes were arranged in orderly lines with spaces in between. She recognised the very distinctive silhouette of the blooms of belladonna even in the dark and next to them was a small bush with jagged leaves that she suspected might be snapdragon

“Is this a potions garden?” she asked curiously. The pale face slightly above her own turned for a moment with a thoughtful expression.

“Yes. It belonged to Severus at one time” he answered “You are..observant” he said in a tone that did not betray whether this was intended as a compliment or whether he was irritated at her ‘powers of observation’.

She chose not to question further. Instead she put her chin on his shoulder and looked at the rows around her. They were ordered.. evenly spaced. No doubt if the garden belonged to Professor Snape, there was a reason for every single positioning – some plants, as they had learned in herbology, benefitted from the proximity of other plants.

A gap in the neat progression drew her eye. She could just make out a tidy round hole in the ground where the plant should be. Obviously something had been there previously but had been removed. Perhaps it had not prospered in the soil, she speculated idly, lulled by the gentle rocking movement of their passage through the garden. There was another missing plant in the second row over, she noted. And another on the other side .. actually.. there were quite a few missing over there! She wondered idly whether all these plants had died since professor Snape had been killed. Perhaps they’d been removed for that reason.

A tiny little irrational thought wandered through her head and was crushed immediately. Professor Snape was really dead. He was really a spy for the order and she had seen him really die right before her eyes. The Dark Lord had been furious. There was no reason whatsoever to think that he might not actually be dead and might have removed these plants himself.

The gate was only apparent to her as it receded behind them both. They had passed a high stone wall through a tall rounded archway which was gated with a heavy rounded topped and iron braced wooden gate. It closed silently behind them. She realised she had felt the hum of wards. This area was specially warded. Even within.. she could feel a slight scratchy thickness to the air. It was heavily and probably lethally warded. And it was warm.. Very warm in fact. She turned her head, glancing around. What was so special in here?! it was obviously their destination.

The Dark Lord was walking through a narrow path cut through dense tropical foliage. Hermione watched as ferns and massive heart shaped leaves of succulents passed her face. The Dark Lord walked on until they both reached a small round clearing that was completely surrounded by the thick jungle plants. Looking above, Hermione could see only slivers of the night sky. In the clearing a low wide seat that reminded Hermione of a poolside deckchair was positioned incongruously. It was cushioned in a black fabric. Apparently this was one of the places that her ‘master’ liked to frequent when he was not in the great hall or his room... or some other room shagging some horrible witch.

Voldemort made a beeline for the seat and turned, lowering himself carefully to sit upon it. She found herself sitting on his lap now. Although.. he didn’t seem to be hard, she noted – unsure whether she was relieved or disappointed.

He smirked at her mildly and shifted, keeping hold of her, until he was reclining on the seat and she was curled over his chest.

“There.. much better” he observed, and stroked her hair lightly. “You are an unwieldly burden after a while.

She barely managed to bite off the remark that if he’d transfigured her shoes she would have happily walked!

Crimson eyes met her own with a look of faint amusement.

“As I said.. after a time carrying you is burdensome. Obviously.. it was a self imposed burden. Your very presence is tolerated by choice my dear. You were specifically sought and captured upon my order.. Since you have resided here, I have been extraordinarily patient with you.   I chose you.. for my own..

Whether you truly chose your own fate is a matter which might be argued, Nevertheless I do believe you have warmed to me..”

His hand slid under her thick curls to cup the back of her neck, warm fingertips massaging gently.

She pondered this herself as she bent her neck for his talented fingers. He had ostensibly forced her to make the choice herself. He had freed her from the cage.. he had asked her if she wanted a bath.. later he’d asked her to give herself to him..and eventually she’d said yes.. Eventually she’d wanted him.

Admittedly she might have preferred to go home and be safe and far far away from Lord Voldemort.. and possibly she had a very slender choice between saying yes or likely being hurt.. but it was still a choice.

And..

Well.. he was right. However she got here.. she had warmed to him. He was exciting. His attention flattered her ego. The times he’d spoken with her about the material in the books he gave her to learn had convinced her that she was in the presence of someone whose mental capacities were so far beyond that of the average wizard as to be almost incomprehensible to most others.

There were times in which she hadn’t understood and he’d had to approach the issue he found interesting from a different angle in order to explain it to her. Those were the best conversations.

She felt awe. For the most part, he had been preternaturally patient when explaining those things to her. She assumed that he was quite used to not being understood.

And on occasion he could even be..almost..gentle. Considerate. Strange as that was.

True.. he had hurt her. He’d punished her and that had hurt a lot.. and he’d sometimes caused her pain during sex or foreplay – and that had hurt too.. but it had been..good..at the same time.

She’d enjoyed it.. Over the last weeks she’d even managed to stop feeling guilty for enjoying it. She liked what he did to her.. the things he forced her to feel..

Of course, it was entirely wrong and evil to say that she liked him.

Just because she tended to sleep through the time she was in the grand Hall these days and so hardly ever witnessed him cursing others, didn’t mean that it didn’t still happen. Of course it did.

And..he was going to kill Harry.

He couldn’t kill Harry! She loved Harry!

Somehow the alternative wasn’t particularly palatable either. If Harry killed Voldemort.. then she’d face a bland future in which the entire wizarding world would pressure her to date Ron and she’d have to watch while Harry married Ginny and probably became an Auror. They’d produce a mass of children in the shortest possible time and no doubt be sickeningly happy together.

And she’d be a pariah for refusing Ron and would possibly either end up a mad spinster with a lot of cats – or worse - cause a massive scandal when she sought a lover who might give her what Voldemort had showed her she liked.

The alternative was unthinkable. That she could be so pressured and so weak that she might actually relent and allow Ronald Weasley to date her.. propose to her.. marry her..impregnate her..

The horror of it. She would never be that weak, surely.   The thought of endless quiddich themed discussions.. oblivious selfish ignorance all around.. Ronald would never understand why Wolliers fourth law of mass and density was fundamentally flawed. He wouldn’t care either. He didn’t care about anything much unless he could play with it, fly it or eat it.

She wondered whether she could add shag it to that list. After all.. the way he carried on with Lavender.

She shuddered. The very thought of Ron in bed. God – she tried to bleach the impression from her mind and was brought back to the present by a hand stroking over her hair lightly.

“Your mind is thoroughly entertaining at times, Hermione.. I’m certain I have told you before..”

He sounded strangely tranquil.

“What do you believe might happen to you if I prevail?”

She blinked, her face against the hard warm silk covered shoulder.

It was incorrect to say that she hadn’t ever thought about that. She had.. she just didn’t have the remotest idea. Maybe he’d kill her.. in front of everyone.

She heard an incredulous sniff from the face above her own which was indescribably reassuring.

Perhaps he wouldn’t keep her in a cage anymore. Maybe she’d have a room. She hadn’t the slightest idea what she’d be. Maybe just what she was now, whatever that was, only in a room

She’d always be a captive.. a pet.. In the world in which Lord Voldemort ruled – she’d never have any rights..or at best, any right’s she’d have would be directly bestowed by him because he favoured her. Other muggleborns would probably be killed.. or enslaved.. or tossed from the wizarding world. Whatever the Dark Lord might privately think about power and skill versus blood – he would rise to power on the notion that blood was of the most fundamental importance. Trying to change that at this late stage would only lead to a coup.. they’d tear him apart!

He could.. free.. her..

But she didn’t think that at all likely.

Besides.. if she were free – even if he promised her safety – she’d still be in more danger than she would be in a cage kept by him. Some pureblood would take issue with her treatment and decide to teach her ‘her place’.

It didn’t seem like there was any good option left for her life. Publicised sexual deviant in Harry’s world or caged doll in Lord Voldemort’s.

“What would you like to do with your life?” he enquired softly. “If there were no war.. what course might you have pursued?”

She wondered herself.

“I suppose.. I might have asked Professor McGonagall whether she could recommend someone I might study under toward a Master of Transfiguration.. Or.. perhaps professor Vector.. I liked Arithmancy.. Or Runes..

I don’t think I would have liked to become a Healer.. or anything of that sort.. I could possibly have pursued training in ward design.

Then of course there’s the Ministry..”

“The Ministry?” he took up the point immediately. “What might you have liked to do there? What departments interest you?”

She hesitated for a moment and then sighed after a moment. It hardly mattered now..She wouldn’t be working in that department ever now. Not since she’d been studying dark magic under the present scourge of the wizarding world.

She felt his chest move beneath her as he chuckled at that thought.

“I...if I had achieved all O’s on my NEWT’s... maybe I might have tried to become an unspeakable..” she said softly. “I probably wouldn’t have made it in.. They don’t just want perfect grades.. no one knows exactly what they look for.” She continued hurriedly, embarrassed, “If not that department..perhaps the regulation of magical creatures. The way that werewolves are treated is shameful.”

The man beneath her was silent. She glanced up and found him staring thoughtfully at the wall of jungle plants..although he didn’t seem to register them. She waited patiently. Eventually he did speak.

“I do not believe you would be invited to become an unspeakable, Hermione. You have not shown the slightest talent for occlusion – which is among their prerequisites. And even were I to.. if I..” he faltered but continued a second later “In a world in which I did not prevail over Potter – the time you have spent with me would render you too great a security risk to pursue that particular career.   They insist upon knowing everything about their recruits. They would pick through your mind in minutes and you would end your days in Azkaban, despised by the Wizarding world for the things you have done here.

In the unlikely event that I do not destroy Harry Potter – I strongly recommend you stay far from the Department of Mysteries. Cling to Potter. The boy is imprudent. He would protect you from their interrogations if you seemed emotionally shattered. And assuming that he had bested me.. the wizarding world would refuse him nothing.

She frowned. He had never before entertained the possibility out loud that he might not win. He was in a strange mood tonight. She didn’t know what to think.

In that moment, something large, smooth, cold and slightly rounded touched her foot. She jumped, yanking her foot up and darting upright to look at what it was.

And then she jumped up further, almost climbing up onto the Dark Lord’s shoulder, yelping.

It was a snake.

A really.. really.. big.. snake. Its head was almost bigger than her own and when its mouth parted, it showed wicked curved fangs as long as her finger. Its body was black; scales shimmering in the shadowy starlight. Red eyes reminiscent of the Dark Lord glimmered in the dark. She heard its low threatening hiss as it poured up onto the seat. Shrieking, she climbed up even further, considering running but unable to think of anywhere to run to. The safest place would be behind the man who lay relaxed below her panicking form. He was looking up at her with a richly amused expression on his rather flat face.

“Please! Stop it!” she managed to get out halfway articulately. The snake continued approaching and now it was rearing its head up. Why wasn’t Voldemort stopping it?!. Did he bring her out here to feed her to the snake?! She whimpered and curled down into a ball by Voldemort’s shoulder, covering her head with her arms. Hopefully it’d choke on her if it tried to eat her!

She heard a series of hisses from the snake followed by a long stream of Parseltongue from the man against whom she was curling and cowering. He chuckled then.

“Hermione.. Nagini will not harm you. Do stop making a fuss.”

She peeked under her arm and squeaked, discovering the enormous head of the snake hanging pendulously mere inches away from her. It was looking at her.   She buried her head again, shaking violently. It didn’t matter if he said it wasn’t going to hurt her.. actually it didn’t even matter if it actually wasn’t going to hurt her. It was a massive snake. Just looking at it terrified her. It would have terrified her on the other side of a room in a cage. It was too big.. She didn’t even like normal sized snakes.

“Hermione.. Get down. I am finding your behaviour tedious now. You are in no immediate danger.”

His tone was hard. It was his ‘brook no argument’ voice. And clearly she would be in non-immediate danger from him if she didn’t obey. But the snake.. It would be right there.. she imagined she could almost feel its breath on her. She shook her head and curled tighter around her knees.

“Imperio”

Soft warm fog soothed her mind. She lifted her head. There was an enormous snake inspecting her with interest. That was fine. Just lovely in fact. EVERYTHING was lovely.. all smiles and rainbows.

She felt the sudden need to climb down off her perch and straddle the Dark Lord again. So she did. The snake moved back accommodatingly as she moved forward. When she had seated herself comfortably and wrapped her arms around the man beneath her, resting her head on his shoulder, the soft comfortable safe fog suddenly dissipated from her mind and she was reminded again of the huge snake that she had just turned her back to. She yelped and tried to jump up, but the arms around her were as implacable as steel bands.

“Stop that at once.” The high voice demanded. “You are insulting her and I will not tolerate it any further.

She looked up incredulously. Insulting her?! The SNAKE?! What the bloody HELL?! It was a massive snake – it probably saw people screaming and running away all the time. Who would be insane enough to remain where there was a snake like that there – the thing could probably swallow her whole!

The crimson eyes narrowed upon her disapprovingly.

“I have already told you that Nagini will not harm you. Do you disbelieve my word?!”

He hissed something to the snake and then the massive head was once again inches from her own. She froze in horror, imagining that wide mouth opening before it shot forward like a whip to bite her.

A black forked tongue protruded briefly from the creatures mouth, tasting the air. As she watched, the Dark Lord’s pale graceful hand came up and stroked its huge diamond head affectionately. The snake’s slitted red eye shifted away from her to him and it moved slowly forward till it butted gently against his cheek.

He smiled and curled his arm around it in much the same way that his other arm was curled around her.   She listened to them both hissing at one another. They seemed to be having a conversation.

A length of the thick black body was leaning on her back.

They ‘spoke’ for a long time.

“Nagini has been with me for many years now, Hermione. She is a loyal friend..

She started slightly at his words again to her. The back and forth hissing had been soporific. When she looked up she frowned slightly. He looked almost melancholy. Something around the eyes..

“I was telling her about you. How well you have been progressing..”

The black forked tongue tasted the air and she saw the snake’s red eye was fixed on her again.

Voldemort reached to his shoulder for her hand, gripping it firmly and lifting it. When he pulled it in the direction of the snake she struggled and panicked.

She was almost ok if she could just lie here and be quiet and ignore the fact that there was this monster hanging over her.. she didn’t want to put any part of her body closer to that wide mouth.

“Stop that.” He chastised mildly “you will trust me, Hermione.”

She looked into his blood red eyes. Trust Voldemort.. was it possible to do that? She sighed inwardly. Yes. It was. She did. At least.. she did to a completely unwise extent.

Against all of her body’s best judgement and survival instincts she allowed him to guide her hand to the head of the large snake, allowed her fingers to be pressed down upon the hard, cold, shiny scaled surface and moved so that she was stroking it gently.

The snake – Nagini – emitted a soft hiss and remained perfectly still. She was glad. If it had moved suddenly she thought she might have screamed and tried to escape again.

“You see.. she will not hurt you.” The Dark Lord soothed. “Is she not beautiful?”

Hermione shivered. When the hand around her own gently released her, she paused, swallowing and looking judiciously at the man’s face to determine whether she would be allowed to retract her hand to safety.

Something in his expression told her that that was not what he wanted so she forced herself to continue stroking the large cold head. The corrugations upon it from the large black rounded scales reminded her of beetle shells from potions.

When the creature turned suddenly and the black tongue shot out and slicked over her wrist, wrapping itself slightly around it before retreating again she eeped and yanked her hand back, breathing fast in panic. She inspected her wrist.

Voldemort laughed softly.

“It was.. a friendly gesture, Hermione” he told her. “She was..curious”

The snake hissed again and Voldemort nodded as if agreeing. He looked at her speculatively..and there was something in it that worried her. It was as if he was considering her degree of fit for a specific purpose.

After a moment he pressed her lightly, urging her to lie down upon him again.

“Sleep.. I would speak with Nagini for a while.. and I suspect the conversation will be rather uninteresting for you.

In a mix of relief and anxiety she allowed him to guide her down against his robed chest again and felt his arm come to rest warmly upon her back. It was not cold in this little jungle area but she pulled her body in slightly till she was curled around him, one hand on his chest next to her face and the other half burrowed underneath him at his ribs. She heard the soft hissing conversation begin again and, hesitantly closed her eyes, not feeling at all sleepy.

Nevertheless she must have slept because it seemed like only minutes later that she was waking inside her cage.

She actually felt disappointed that he had brought her back without waking her. It would have been lovely to be in the garden a little longer – without the great big snake –

Feeling the slight ache in her bones that she’d gotten used to from sleeping on the hard metal floor of the cage, she sat up gingerly.

She was wearing pale green gauzy layers today. The dress was strapless with a décolleté of flowers in the same material. It reached to her mid thighs. He must be in a good mood with her. She’d found she was only ever dressed in green when that was the case.

The room was quite dim this morning – or whatever time it was. Only two torches were lit at the far end. Still she made out the goblet and the small bowl toward the opposite corner of the cage. Crawling over, she retrieved it. It held a fresh fruit salad. He must be in a very good mood then, she decided, picking out a slice of pear.

It was glorious.

Normally she did not receive breakfast.   On the few occasions, except for Christmas, on which she had – it had invariably been some kind of cereal or porridge.

The goblet contained pumpkin juice. She drank it slowly – she hadn’t been given a water jug, therefore it had to last.   When she was finished, the bowl and goblet vanished. That, again, was unusual. Normally whatever was provided was there for a set period of time and then removed, whether she was halfway through consuming it or not.

She looked around the empty room and wondered just what she had done last night to please the man to this extent.

The thought recurred to her unpleasantly. It wasn’t what she’d done but what she’d agreed to do. He wanted her to kill again and she’d essentially said she would.

Hopefully that wouldn’t be happening today though..

Her stomach revolved. Of course it would. That was the reason for her generous breakfast and the dress – she’d already been rewarded for the agreement last night when he took her to the garden.

She leaned back against the silvery filigree and hit the back of her head against it lightly. Stupid. How did she get here?!

Remembering what he had said last night when she’d mentioned wanting to become an unspeakable – she groaned.

If he was beaten by Harry (if and when he turned up finally) – she’d be completely screwed. There was NO WAY that the ministry would just forgo interrogating her after she’d spent months here.

No matter what Voldemort said – Harry wouldn’t let her get away with not being interrogated and even if he somehow did – the ministry would never ever agree to it.

They’d look in her mind.. or give her veritaserum.. they’d see..Lavender..and..the other man.. and they’d see what she did with Voldemort in his room so often and they’d see...what she was probably going to have to do today. See her kill five more people on his whim, using dark magic.

And while she could argue with herself that she had no choice and that if she didn’t do it, he’d be furious and maybe throw her into a dark room alone for the rest of the time here.. maybe worse.. she didn’t think that that argument would mean anything to aurors or even to Harry himself. It was just..loneliness..it was just..boredom..it wasn’t actually physical torture.

After all.. He had barely harmed her since she’d been here. He kept her dressed like a perfect little doll..He fed her regularly and sufficiently with only few exceptions. He gave her books.. He hadn’t even.. really.. raped her..probably.. in their eyes. She’d said yes.

No one would understand. Least of all Harry or Ron.

She’d be thrown in Azkaban for the rest of her life!!

Even if she hadn’t killed anyone – even if she hadn’t used the unforgiveable – she knew for certain that at least three of the books she’d read so far were banned. Just having read them was a crime punishable with internment.

She was SO screwed.

When he walked through the door in the back of the Grand Hall some time later she was daydreaming aimlessly. Far from her earlier fantasies of being saved by Harry.. of kissing.. of being loved by Harry.. she was actually imagining a world in which Voldemort wasn’t a Dark Lord.. Maybe he had gone into academia instead of whatever he did to become what he was now. He was just an amazingly brilliant man and she had met at some kind of conference for ancient runes. He..could still be a little sadistic. Lots of people were, probably. That didn’t have to change..

Ok.. maybe he wouldn’t use unforgiveables on her..

But then again – as skilled as he was, he could probably easily find some way of shielding them from detection.

She wondered what he’d look like if he wasn’t bald, marble white and noseless.. what he’d look like if he had a normal human eye colour.. normal pupils.. Somehow she couldn’t quite imagine it.

Voldemort had moved to seat himself in his throne.

He didn’t look pleased at all this morning, which was strange – in light of what he was probably anticipating. She wondered vaguely whether the topic of her thoughts bothered him.

Perhaps he didn’t like her imagining what he looked like as a regular person. He had seemed very snippy about her concerns with getting pregnant a long time ago.. maybe her imagining him as a human looking wizard bothered him in the same way – like it was some kind of slur against his current appearance.

Really it wasn’t. She had kind of..gotten used to..the snakey looks. He had a fantastic body too... She hoped he wasn’t upset because she’d imagined him looking differently.

“No.” he spoke quietly.

Clearly he was listening then.

“I have..other things ..on my mind this afternoon, Hermione.”

He paused and looked away.

“I must hold several meetings... Afterward we will retire and you will study the curses. I will ...probably.. not test you tonight.

She brightened even as he rested his head back against the throne and closed his eyes with a tight expression.

The pops of multiple apparitions resounded a short time later.   She recognised two of the five men who had joined. One she recalled had once been referred to as Jonah by the Dark Lord. Another was Goyle senior. The other three ranged in age and appearance. She couldn’t remember having seen them before, but it was possible she had been sleeping.

It turned out that they were reporting on something like caches or storage vaults or perhaps even safe houses? Military depots?. They were very vague in their descriptions. ‘The things you asked for’ and ‘the items required’, ‘the site’, ‘the location’ and so forth. Voldemort seemed to comprehend perfectly nonetheless. She wondered if each of them knew of the tasks of the other. It was possible that they did not.   They each received equally vague and mysterious instructions before they departed. Voldemort instructed Goyle to use an expendible contact and have the second site made ready within the next two weeks.

After they left she could have sworn she heard him sigh.

She debated whether it would be wise to ask what was wrong. What other things he had on his mind. Although she hadn’t spoken, he shook his head slightly.

“No.. it is nothing of significance. I am...being foolish. It will pass.”

It was more than disturbing to hear the Dark Lord refer to himself as foolish. She felt more worried than ever now!

When the next group arrived he cast a muffling spell. It shocked her and underlined the fundamental wrongness of everything today!

He’d never bothered before whether she heard something or not!

She couldn’t make out what was said but recognised most of those reporting. It was something to do with the ministry. And.. if she remembered the face of the last man correctly – possibly also something to do with the order or with Harry. The fact that he’d muffled it was troubling. If he didn’t want her to know – surely there had to be some reason.

What exactly could she possibly do?! Was he concerned that she might speak out in protest while they were there or something?

She hadn’t before in all the times she’d sat and listened to his comings and goings.

Perhaps there was something about Harry that he preferred her not to know. Had he perhaps caught him? Or was he close to catching him? Or perhaps it was the other way around – what if he expected Harry might try to seek him out in person soon? What would that mean.. He’d destroyed all the horcruxes?

She felt her heart speed up.

No. No. She shouldn’t jump to conclusions. It could be something else.

After the men finished their discussion and were dismissed, Voldemort stood and informed her – although he had never done so before – that his next meeting would take place elsewhere and that she was to sleep.. or if she could not, she was to feign sleep convincingly.

He said he was confident that none of his servants would venture in here in his absence, however it would be wise if she were unresponsive.

Then he drew his wand and placed additional wards upon her cage.

She was starting to feel afraid now.

The days had developed a slow soothing routine and everything about today was breaking that routine in the most alarming way. She scooted to the bars closest to him

“What’s wrong?!” she demanded urgently. “Please... tell me.. I’m-...” She didn’t want to say she was scared. He probably knew anyway. She looked up at him through the filigree imploringly.

Surprisingly he relented and glided over to the cage, stopping on the other side of the mesh. He slipped his slender white fingers through a gap and she found herself leaning close to press her cheek to them, kissing them. It was automatic. Distantly, in the back of her mind she was aware suddenly of exactly how much she had altered since he first spoke to her, but it didn’t matter in the slightest.

She was afraid.. afraid for herself.. afraid for him. She realised that she didn’t want Harry to win.. She didn’t want anyone to harm him.

The red eyes looking down at her softened and he withdrew his fingers again.

“It is true.. we are moving closer to the end of this war..” he said quietly. “Soon he will come..”

She felt her heart skip a beat and then speed in panic.

“But not today.” Voldemort finished.

“Do not worry, Hermione – You will be quite safe. My business today concerns finances and resources primarily... and my malaise relates to the passing of a dear friend. There is no reason for you to be alarmed. Be a good girl and try to sleep in my absence.” He offered a wan smile.

She nodded. She would try. She didn’t quite believe him that that was all that was wrong today – but she would obey and trust that whatever it was – he knew best.

Moment’s later, he had turned on the spot and was gone.

The room, now that he was no longer in it, became a dismal empty void once again.   She sighed and moved away from the edge of the cage. Even the faint suggestion that someone else might come in here in the Dark Lord’s absence made her want to stay away from the filigree walls.

She doubted she’d be getting much sleep now. Her head was swirling with thoughts about what was going on. The muffled meeting.. He’d said that Harry would be here soon.

What exactly did ‘soon’ mean.

Not Today. So.. what? Tomorrow? The day after? Next week?

Author note.

Review replies can be found at http://www2.adult-fanfiction.org/forum/index.php/topic/18725-review-replies/
- 8
- 9
- 10
You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.
Report Story

Captive Audience