EvilAngel-001: Sorry about the long wait, I've just swamped with paperwork over the past few days (anyone watch Family Guy? Anyone?) But in all seriousness, between schoolwork doctors' appointments and working on my original stories (which will be posted on my fictionpress account- a link of which can be found on my profile) I have had no time.
Chapter Three: The Man Behind the Mask
(Three Weeks Later)
"Tom!" Voldemort roared as he stepped beside the young man. He looked to him, his cold blue eyes indifferent.
"Yes?" he asked, quirking a single eyebrow.
"Have you played around with Granger enough? You've been pretending to be her boyfriend for three weeks and while I do enjoy mind games, I want you to simply kidnap her now," the Dark Lord directed of his younger self.
Tom nodded. "Yes."
Voldemort placed a cold hand on the man's shoulders, gripping tightly. "Many of my followers told me it was a bad idea for bringing my younger self into the future with me. Foolish, they even said. That I was putting him, and myself, in danger. But I followed my own instincts and have decided that they were the best instincts to follow.
"The whole point of bringing you here was so that I would have someone to take my place once I was gone. But now that I have my son to take on that path, you may feel free to return your time at any point once I have my son and that mudblood."
Tom looked up to him. "And if I don't want to leave?" he asked, almost daringly.
"That isn't an option," Voldemort told him as he turned around, his hands behind his back as he paced around the room.
"And why is that?" he questioned, folding his arms across his chest.
"Because I need you out of the way of danger. Keeping you here is putting myself at risk. Once my son arrives, there will be no need for you, so why even take the chance?" he told him as he poured himself a glass of wine.
"And what if you fail to turn this child evil? If he's anything like his mother -which he is- than he's a real fighter. Who would you have as an heir if you don't succeed?" he countered.
Voldemort set the goblet down and began rubbing his chin thoughtfully, pondering the question. It was true that he might not succeed. What would he do until then?
"Well," he said, an idea coming to mind. "I'll keep you here until the child starts to sway. Once the brainwashing takes effect, you are to leave. Is that clear?" Voldemort said, sitting down in a leather chair.
Tom thought about it for a moment, remaining quiet. Finally, he agreed.
xXx
"Joseph, stop," Hermione said playfully as the man trailed kisses down her neck, pushing her up against the wall. She giggled as she twisted her fingers into his dark locks, pulling him even closer to her body.
He pulled away for a quick moment, only to lead her down the hall and to a door, which he swiftly opened. It lead into Hermione's bedroom, which was neat and clean, made out of dark woods and purple fabric. Butterflies fluttered around in her stomach as he brought her over to her bed. Was it too early for this?
He pushed her down on the mattress and sat above her, trailing kisses once more down her neck. He ran his fingertips over her shirt, before sliding them underneath, feeling her smooth, soft skin. He raised himself away from her to pull off her shirt and then stopped to remove his own.
Hermione placed her hands on his chest, running them up and down his toned muscles.
Joseph began to bring his kisses down to her breasts, removing her bra swiftly in the process. He threw it aside as he started to trail the kisses down to her flat stomach, where an uneasy feeling was brewing. Something just didn't seem right about this. Something was…off. Normally, a person's instincts would tell them to go forward, as was their primal urges. But for some reason, her body wanted her to stop it. To end this before it was started.
She looked up at the ceiling where a giant collage was mounted above her. Payton had made it for her in Kindergarten and she loved it so much, that she decided to place the picture above her bed so it was the last thing she saw every night, and the first thing she saw every morning.
'I'll just stare at that this entire time,' she decided but her plan was dropped when Joseph reappeared, blocking the picture from view. He brought his head down to hers, placing firm kisses on her lips. She barely kissed back but when she felt his tongue glide over her lips, she willingly opened her mouth to allow him entrance.
'This isn't right. I shouldn't be doing this,' she told herself. She went to sit up but stopped, then she slowly lowered herself. Joseph smiled at her as he grabbed a lock of her hair and began twirling it in between his two fingers. She thought of nothing else as she and Tom Riddle began to make love.
xXx
She didn't know what had overcome her, not in the least bit, but something had caused her to let him continue. She sat up in the bed, only to discover that Joseph wasn't beside her. She jumped up from the bed and rushed to her closet where she quickly grabbed some underwear and clothes. 'You could at least take the time to match, Hermione,' she thought as she began putting the clothes on.
Once she was fully dressed, she left her room and began searching for her "boyfriend" in the halls. She stopped when she came to Payton's room, the door slightly ajar. She pressed a hand against the wood and slowly moved it open, deciding to check on her son before the man-hunt.
She opened the door to see her son hanging in mid-air, his body twisted at odd angles and his eyes were closed, as though sleeping. Joseph sat on the bed, his wand raised and pointed at the child, keeping him in the air.
"Joseph, what are you doing to Payton?" she asked with concerned laced on the words.
He smiled wryly and said, "Sweetie, I just wanted to make sure I completed my mission."
"What mission? Put my son down now!" she roared, feeling her anger rise.
"Ah, you mean, our son," he corrected.
She furrowed her brow. "What the hell are you talking about?" she questioned, wishing she had thought to bring her wand with her.
"I'm talking about what happened those few years ago, when my future self took your whole being," he said as he stood up and moved close to her.
"Future self?" she whispered. But if Voldemort was the one who fathered Payton, how could this man be his father? 'When my future self…' the words came rushing back to her as realization set in. This man was not Joseph, it was Tom Marvolo Riddle.
"You-you," she stuttered as she slowly backed away, covering her mouth in horror. Why had he come here? What did he want with her and Payton.
Reading her mind, he smiled and said, "I was ordered by Lord Voldemort to kidnap you two so that he may continue to raise this child for you. After all, he needs an heir."
"You will not lay a hand on him!" she yelled before pouncing on top of him, trying to grab the wand from his hand. Tom made a surprised sound as he fell back, struggling against her. Easily, he managed to grab hold of her wrists and flipped her over, standing over her. She whimpered as she fought against his restraint. She raised her legs, trying to kick at his feet, hoping to knock him down, but his stance remained strong and he only laughed at her feeble attempts at freedom.
In one swift movement, he turned around and threw her up against the wall. She fell back, blood dripping from her head as her eyes opened halfway, misted over by near-unconsciousness. She moaned as she tried to raise herself, grasping hold of anything she could that might help ease her up. But Tom stepped over to her and grasped hold of her chin, examining her closely.
Just as Hermione's vision blurred and everything went, he released Payton from the spell and left the house, in tow with the unconscious family.
xXx
"Good work, Tom," Voldemort said as Hermione and Payton were splayed out on the floor, their breathing finally returning back to normal as they slipped out of unconsciousness and into sleep. Tom smiled at the praise and bowed low to the Dark Lord.
"Now!" Voldemort claimed as he turned to face all of the Death Eaters present. "Let's see if we can wake my son!" He turned back around to the young boy, his honey-colored curls covering his face. Voldemort brought his wand to the boy's temple and a blue spark crossed between the tip and Payton's head. Suddenly, his eyes opened and he looked around, frightened by what he saw. He jerked up and looked to his mother, shaking her fiercely.
"Mummy!" He said, giving the laughing Death Eaters suspicious looks. When Hermione did not respond, he turned to "Joseph" and pleaded, "What happened to Mummy?! Where are we?!"
Tom looked at his son (still feeling slightly awkward with that term) with sad eyes, unsure of what to tell him. Or how to tell him. Why was this boy, a stupid five year old boy, able to invoke such empathetic feelings?
"My son," Voldemort said proudly as he extended his arms out, as if to give the boy a hug. Payton began to skitter away from the man, moving ever so close to the unconscious woman.
"Mummy!" he cried, shaking her once more, the pleading in his voice heart-wrenching.
Voldemort suddenly grew very furious as he grabbed the boy by the collar of his shirt and began shaking him violently. "Listen, she is no longer your mother! You belong to me now! You will do as I say!" he roared.
Ever the defiant one, Payton threw on a pout and countered with, "Why should I? You're not my father!"
The Death Eaters began to laugh causing Payton's face to heat up with anger and embarrassment. "Why are you laughing?!" he yelled to them, kicking his feet as Voldemort tightened his grip on him.
"They laugh because I am in fact your father," he told him.
Payton looked at him with an indiscernible expression before saying, "Prove it!"
He smiled wryly as he dropped the boy down to the ground with a thud and said in a bittersweet voice, "As you wish, son." He then reached over to Hermione and placed the tip of his wand to her temple. A blue spark passed between them and Hermione's eyes shot open. She looked around, clearly frightened at what she saw.
"Payton!" she yelled, relieved to see him safe. Just as she was about to jump up to hug her son, the Dark Lord grabbed a chunk of her brown curls and pulled her to him, causing her to cry out in pain. The audience to the atrocity simply laughed at this, as did Voldemort. He bent low so that his mouth was next to her ear and said, "Tell him who his father is." She didn't say anything at first, and instead looked from the wizard to her young son, hoping for some type of rescue to come. But none did and she was still left in her present situation.
"Tell him!" he roared again, thrusting her to and fro.
Gasping in pain, she muttered, "Your father is Lord Voldemort."
"What was that?" the man in question asked of her, discomforting her further.
"Lord Voldemort…is your father, Payton," she said once more, this time louder. Payton's expression visible changed from defiant and strong to tearful and sad.
"Why, Mummy? Why is he my daddy?" he asked, his voice filled with the tears.
Hermione looked up at him shamefully, unable to answer that question.
"Because I stole her," Voldemort said, with a triumphant smile that was disgusting when in pertinence to this.
"You monster!" Payton roared as he leapt from his perch and jumped onto the man. Shocked and unable to foresee this action, Voldemort toppled over, with Payton clawing at his gaunt face. Long scratches appeared, adding a color of red to his pale complexion. Voldemort yelled out in anger and threw the child from him. Tom appeared just in time to catch the five year old before he fell to the ground.
Rounding up on him, Voldemort looked at him with the utmost contempt. "You are to obey my every command! If not, then your precious mother will die!" he seethed, pausing in-between every word.
"Don't you dare hurt her!" he yelled back, struggling to free himself from Tom's grip so that he may attack the man once more.
"I wouldn't be the one to hurt her. You would." When Payton froze at these words, he continued to explain. "I am giving you the opportunity to save her. You can either take it, or not. It really makes no difference to me. Your mother's life is in your hands."
Payton fell quiet and his eyes casted down to the ground. He stared off for a moment, contemplating these words when suddenly, Hermione's voice broke through his reverie.
"Payton, don't listen to him!" she yelled in desperation. Voldemort turned to her.
"Shut up, Mudblood!" he barked in return as he kicked her in the cheek.
Tears came to Payton's eyes to see his mother being subdued by such a vile man. This prompted him to make his decision. "What do you want me to do?" he asked.
xXx
EvilAngel-001: It's short, but it's an update.