Disclaimer: obviously not mine. Why would it be on a fan fiction site?

QUEEN HERMIONE

Chapter two

"Hermione, what's wrong?" he asked, touching her shoulder.

"What are you talking about?" she asked, giving him a puzzled look.

"You looked like you were in pain"

"Don't be silly! I'm fine! Now, if your finished worrying, I'm going to check and make sure Shia made it safely to her room…"

But before she could leave, a black owl swooped into the hall, landing neatly Draco's shoulder and offering out a white envelope with gold writing.

"It's from my mother's doctor," he said with a frown before ripping it open. As he read silently through the letter his frown increased.

"She's taken a turn for the worst," he said finally. Hermione gave him a sympathetic look and stepped closer. Draco sighed and dropped the letter on the floor. It was immediately attacked by an enchanted broom.

"I'll have to go back"

"Would you like Shia and I to come with you?"

"I would but you shouldn't… what if Shia caught it?"

"Ok" Hermione's eyes dropped to the floor. Draco took her in his arms and rocked her gently.

"I'll be gone no more than three days, ok? You'll be fine"

"I know… look after yourself, ok?"

"I will"

And then he was gone. Hermione squeezed the bridge of her nose and made her way up the stairs, intent on a mid-morning nap.

"Watch Shia for me please, Kel" Hermione said grouchily, passing the maid on the stairs.

Kellie nodded and continued on her way to the laundry with an armful of sheets.

Hermione flopped down on top of her bed and was almost instantly asleep.

"Well, well, well" said a cold voice in her mind. "A little baby, is it? Shia is going to be jealous…"

The voice faded then suddenly she was standing in the great hall of Hogwarts, wearing a wedding dress and surrounded by terrified guests and death eaters. Standing before her was Dumbledore and Voldemort, bravely sizing each other up.

"Though I have patiently been awaiting a visit from you, Tom, tonight is not the best night to drop in"

"Shut up, Dumbledore" Voldemort hissed. But then, instead of firing a curse at Dumbledore, like he had at the real wedding, Voldemort turned to face Hermione.

"Can you believe this guy?" he asked and smiled. Suddenly he was no longer the skeletal man that everyone feared but a young handsome man that people had once admired. Voldemort, (though now appropriate to call him Tom) strode towards Hermione, still smiling. When he reached her he put out his hand.

"Don't touch me," she hissed, trying to back away. Unfortunately she found a solid brick wall behind her.

Tom's hand came to a rest on her cheek and she was surprised to find that it wasn't cold as she expected, but warm and seductive.

Dumbledore, Draco, Harry and the other guests vanished from the hall leaving Hermione, now in white combat robes, pressing herself against the wall.

"Dance with me" Tom whispered, pulled Hermione, against her will, into his arms.

The room fell dark and soft music cued as the duo began dancing in neat circles.

They danced around and around, the room becoming a blur of swirling colours, until Hermione could feel the dizziness literally compressing her brain. She was finding hard to keep her eyes open, let alone breathe.

"Lean on me" Tom's voice came waltzing into her mind, offering her ease and comfort. Without thinking she let her head droop to his shoulder.

"Hermione? Wake up! It's time to get up, girl!" Mark suddenly appeared on the dance floor, striding purposefully towards them.

"Mark?" Hermione whispered, lifting her head so she could see him.

Mark, in his true Australian fashion, barged Tom out of the way without even looking at him and began shaking Hermione by the shoulders.

"Wake up, girl!"

And she did. Hermione was no longer in the great hall but lying on her bed, staring at Mark.

"'Bout time!" he said in mock gruffness. "Kel has lunch ready, we would be honoured if you would grace us with your presence…"

"Alright, alright" Hermione let him tug her off the bed and out of the room.

Hundreds of miles away in drizzly London, a skeletal man sat back in his chair, fingers steepled, staring intently into the magical purple fire. As he stared the flames turned from purple to deathly black.

"I almost had her, Peter," he said quietly, though not angrily. A content smile curled at his lips and he looked to the left where a wimp of a man was cowering beside the throne. The cowering was enough to make him shudder in disgust… yes, he should have killed Peter Pettigrew long ago…

"What… what happened, my lord?"

"I had her defences down… oh they were very low, almost non existent… I am surprised she caved so easily… though she is pregnant… and her husband has left her alone for quite some time…"

"Do you mean young Malfoy, sir?"

"Of course I mean young Malfoy, Peter" Voldemort spat. "What other husband does she have?"

"S-s-sorry, my lord, I was a fool to say it but please, what stopped you from bringing her here?"

"A man… foreign… but with such strength that he was able to pull her away"

"Another love, my lord?"

"Perhaps… but I doubt it… never the less, he must be eliminated, along with the child"

At that moment a sharp rap sounded at the door.

"Enter" Voldemort said lazily. The door opened and Bellatrix and Fenrir Greyback strode in, looking cloudy.

"We didn't get the child," Bellatrix said apologetically, dipping her head to her master. Fenrir, on the other hand, stared at Voldemort reproachfully.

"I know you didn't get her" Voldemort replied coolly. "Do you really think I wouldn't miss a thing like that, Bella?"

"No m'lord"

"And Fenrir… I expected better of you…"

Fenrir said nothing; instead he bared his teeth in a wolfish sneer.

"I did my best my lord… if you hadn't made me take her…" he jabbed a thumb at Bellatrix.

"You know very well why I sent Bellatrix, Fenrir… it was to stop you eating the child on the return journey!"

"Well she stopped me getting the child all together, didn't she!"

"You are to go out there again, both of you, and get that little girl! And I don't want to see you back here until you have her or I'll have no choice but to discard you…"

Bellatrix nodded and scampered from the room, followed closely by the tempered werewolf.

Voldemort waited until the door had snapped shut before turning to Peter with an unusual smirk on his face.

"Make sure they do the job right, Peter… I want you to follow them."

"Me, sir?"

"Yes you…" Voldemort's smile vanished at his servant's stupidity. "Or I'll kill you too…"

Peter yelped and ran.

Hermione was first to finish her lunch and she sat quietly at the table listening to Mark explain the tenderness of goanna meat to Kelly and Charlie. (Anik and Bruce had gone with Draco)

"But I heard it was really tough" Kelly said, wrinkling her nose in disgust.

"Nah, nah… that's Kangaroo meat… anyways… you gotta catch your goanna's fat… not good getting a skinny bludger… they got no meat on 'em!"

Shia turned to Hermione at that moment, her grey-blue eyes wide and said; "mummy, I want a Kangaroo!"

"Maybe next time, baby" Hermione replied automatically, not paying attention to her daughter at all. Shia pouted and turned back to the table to continue poking at her sandwich.

"Hermione, do you want to talk?" Charlie asked quietly. Hermione shrugged but Charlie escorted her from the room anyway.

They sat on the bottom step of the grand staircase in the entrance hall and Hermione told Charlie about the dream she had had.

"… And I just gave in to him… I don't know why but I felt so weak… and he was my strong point…"

Charlie's lip twitched. "I didn't think Voldemort was your type, Herm…"

"Oh shut up" Hermione smiled and pushed him playfully.

A loud chime at the door startled her and she looked at Charlie in confusion.

"Were you expecting someone today?" he asked, pulling out his wand.

"No… were you?"

"Nope"

Hermione took out her own wand and together they walked to the door. It opened automatically and Hermione braced herself before gasping in shock.

Standing, side by side on the front stoop, were two almost identical German shepherds.

"What the…?" but before Charlie could curse, the dog on the left began to transform into a man.

Hermione's shock increased dramatically.

"Ron?"

"How are you, Herm?" the redhead replied sheepishly. Hermione simply continued to stare.

"What are you doing here, Ron?" she said, still in shock… and she had a right to be shocked; she hadn't seen or heard from Ron in a year (except for a letter about a month or two ago, telling her that he had become an auror) and now he showed up on her doorstep, out of the blue, as a dog!

"The ministry sent me and Roger here-" he gestured at the other dog who blinked up at him "-To keep an eye on you while Malfoy's gone… god knows why he'd leave you at a time like this… after the intrusions and all…"

"How- how did you know about the intrusions… or how Draco has left? He only left this morning!"

"I wouldn't know, Herm… I just walked into my office this morning to find a little yellow envelope waiting for me… when I opened it, all it said was-"

"Ok, ok I get it" Hermione threw up her hands as if to surrender but at the same time turned her eyes on the dog who was watching her curiously.

"Why isn't he transforming?" she asked. Ron looked down at the dog with a strange smile.

"He's not transforming because he's a dog, Herm… they cant do that…"

Hermione stared at the Roger a moment longer before turning her gaze to Ron.

Harry's abrupt and disturbing disappearance two years ago had taking its toll on those close to him. His girlfriend, Parvati, had been two months pregnant at the time and had lost the child due to grief. She now lived alone in a shabby apartment in London.

Ginny and the order of the phoenix had always remained deliriously hopeful that he would one day return.

Ron, on the other hand, had never mentioned Harry or even acknowledged his disappearance though his appearance had become very deranged and he didn't seem right in the mind anymore.

His head of flaming hair was now long and unruly, tied back in a tangled ponytail. He also had about three weeks worth of stubble on his cheeks and chin. His face was pasty and hollow and his already thin frame had become even more malnourished.

"Come in" she said eventually and Ron stepped over the threshold, followed closely by Roger.

C'mon, sing with me, sing, sing for the years
Sing it, sing for the laughter, sing for the tears, c'mon)
Sing it with me, just for today, maybe tomorrow the good Lord will take you
away...

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