A/N: Heyy everyone!

I'm really proud of myself for updating so frequently, and I hope everyone is really enjoying this story. :) I really love the reviews, and thanks to each and every one of you for reviewing:):):) It makes my day!

This chapter was originally going to be titled "Loving Hades" but I changed it to "Red Thread" because earlier to day I read something very interesting about an East-Asian cultural belief that the gods tie an invisible red string around the ankles of men and women who are destined to be soulmates. I really liked the idea and decided to change the title, specially since this chapter really focuses on...well, you'll see ;)

Enjoy!:):):)

Disclaimer: This wonderful world belongs to my idol, J.K Rowling:)


Chapter Eight:

Red Thread

Who do you think you are?

Running round leaving scars

Collecting your jar of hearts

And tearing love apart

You're going to catch a cold

From the ice inside your soul

So don't come back for me

Who do you think you are?

~Christina Perri; Jar of Hearts

It was late and Hermione sat alone, perched on the kitchen counter, thoughtfully chewing on a bagel. Lucius, Narcissa and Draco had gone out, and she had no idea where Bella, Rodolphus, Snape, or Voldemort were. In fact, they had been gone all day, and she had been stuck in the large, lonely house all by herself with nothing to do. Their plans to show her the rest of the memories had obviously been cancelled and she had spent most of the day in the Malfoy's massive library.

Reckon this'd be a bloody brilliant time to put snakes in their beds.

Shove off, Duerre.

And now she had voices in her head.

Well, they weren't really voices so much as her annoying alter ego that could never cease to make her snide little comments or cunning little plans of sabotage and trickery.

Oh hush. You're just grouchy because you miss your Tommy.

He's NOT Tommy. He's some freaky, snake version of my Tommy. I—I meant YOUR Tommy.

Suuure.

"I'm going to kill her," Hermione muttered, hopping off the counter and going to dig through the pantry for the fifth time. "I'm going to murder her."

"Only twelve hours and she's already gone round the bend." Hermione looked up to see Rodolphus, Bellatrix, and the Dark Lord himself striding into the room, the latter looking very smug.

"I wasn't talking to myself," Hermione spat, angrily biting a cracker in half. "I was referring to that evil little brat inside my head."

Rodolphus blinked dubiously at her before bursting into a fit of laughter. Bellatrix rolled her eyes, shoving past him to address Hermione. "Your personalities are conflicting. Now that you're aware of her, you're more in tune with her thoughts, and what she would do in certain situations."

"Great," Hermione grumbled under her breath. "Where were you all, by the way?"

"Worried?" Rodolphus teased, and Hermione hid her fleeting grin. "Out on business, little lassie. Nothing you need to concern your pretty little head about. Besides, we're in no rush. We'll do the memories tomorrow, or the next day."

"No rush?" Hermione said, her voice taking the shrill note that it did when she was agitated. "Hardly! I'm supposed to go stay with Harry and Ronald in two days, and I haven't even owled them back! We have to go to Diagon Alley, get our course books. Of course, I know N.E.W.T's are seventh year, but I hear preparation is dreadfully draining, and I'd want to have read ahead before even beginning to start my studies."

Bellatrix and Rodolphus shared an uneasy glance. "Uh, Miss Granger, you do know you probably won't be heading over to the Weasel's in two days, yeah?"

Hermione froze, suddenly feeling cautious as she took a step back. "What do you mean?"

"Think of how illogical it would be!" Bellatrix said reasonably. "Here, you've been here for two days, what if they were suspicious? For all they know, you could've turned spy! You could've been helping us capture Mudbloods."

Quite suddenly, the whole force of who she was speaking to hit her so fully that she collapsed into her chair, her stomach turning with a mixture of nausea and self-hatred. She straightened her back, jutting her chin out defiantly.

Who'd ya learn that from, I wonder?

"I do not wish to speak with you." Hermione said coldly, not looking at either Bellatrix or Rodolphus. The former looked affronted, and she stuck her nose in the air and stomped out of the room with a little "humph!" Rodolphus following behind quickly. Voldemort was studying her callously, his blood red eyes narrowed to a thinning point. "Yes?" she snapped after a moment.

Quicker than she could follow, Voldemort had drawn his wand and it was pressed into the skin from his wand onto the surface of her skin, leaving an uncomfortable tingly feeling. "Hermione Duerre quickly learned not to forget her place, and so shall you. Guest in this house you may be, but you respect and serve me, and me alone. Treat the others how you wish, but I am not to be trifled with."

And then his wand was gone and she was able to breathe again. She glared up at him, her ears ringing at the pulse of the electricity on her skin. "I am not that submissive little rat." She snarled. "And I will not be compared to her. You people are monsters, and the fact that I've spent two days in this house without trying to do in every single one of you makes me sick with myself. I. Do not. Trust you."

He cocked his head, studying her, and an image of Tom doing the very same thing flashed to the forefront of her mind. "How different and alike you two are. Nature versus Nurture as they say."

Hermione scowled, but said nothing, brushing past him and retiring to her room, attempting to actually get a fitful night of sleep.


Granger Gone Missing

By Rita Skeeter

After nearly two months of summer vacation, the Golden Boy and his faithful sidekick were eager to see their friend and the third member of the Golden Trio, Hermione Granger, again. But when they turned up at her house on August 18th, they were horrified to find her parents in similar states of petrification, and absolutely no sign of Granger.

"It's terrifying," says one the faithful sidekick, Ron Weasley, 16. "I mean, 'Mione's a Muggleborn, and normally it wouldn't matter, but with You-Know-Who back, the chances of her being safe reallyslim."

The three teens have been good friends since their first year in Hogwarts, and it isn't just friends and family who are worried.

"Hermione's really nice," says fellow Gryffindor, Demelza Robins, 14. "She helped me with my Herbology homework once."

"We're all dreadfully worried," says Terry Boot of Ravenclaw, 16. "But Granger's ruddy brilliant, and I think everyone knows that wherever she is, she'll think herself out of it, and she'll turn up alright."

"I reckon I have to have faith in Hermione." The Boy-Who-Lived himself seemed to be very emotional on the subject, stating that Granger is much like a sister to him. "She always proves us wrong when we think she can't do something. She's the smartest person I've ever met in my life, and I know that if she can, she will get herself out of whatever trouble she's in, and Ron and I will do all we can to help. She's come to our rescue more times than I can count, and I reckon we should return the favor. She's honestly the most wonderful person you could ever hope to know, and if something really bad has happened to her, I can't…..I can't….Either way, I'm not losing hope."

No word yet on whether or not healers have been able to cure the lost girl's parents-

Hermione slammed her fist down on the table, flinging the newspaper clipping across the room. "You have to let me go back!" The inner-circle Death Eaters that were in the room that had been watching her as she read the clipping immediately started to protest, their convictions overlapping one another.

"That isn't an option, Hermione," Voldemort's voice rose above the others, who immediately silenced. "This is your destiny, now. You embrace it openly, or be forced to. There is no alternative."

"I don't want this!" Hermione declared. "I want to go back to Harry and Ron! They're worried! It's in the Daily Prophet for Merlin's sake!" Hermione ignored the twinge of curiosity in her mind when she thought about the rest of the memories and all of the questions that had yet to be answered.

"It isn't up for debate, Hermione." Voldemort's voice was cold now and a thick tension settled over the room. Hermione knew that if she were to argue again she would more likely than not get hurt.

"Why does it matter to you?" she asked honestly. "Why do you care if I know about this or not? It makes no difference to you." So he wanted her to be aware that she had been friends with his younger self? That she had been a Death Eater? A Knight of Walpurgis?

That which does not kill you makes you stronger.

Hermione blinked.

Oh.

Bingo, genius.

"Out," Voldemort told them as he saw the comprehension dawn on her face. When they hesitated to comply, he snapped, "Out!" Bellatrix, Rodolphus, Narcissa and Lucius immediately scrambled to their feet and hurried out of the room. The moment the door snapped shut behind them, Hermione exploded with questions.

"That's why you want me, isn't it? If I had stayed in the past, you would have succeeded the first time around! You wouldn't have made any of the mistakes you made! Trying to kill Harry! Failing to possess Quirrell, the diary in second year, you wouldn't have had to get your body back, you—you—" Hermione froze, horror replacing the elation of finally figuring it out. "If Dumbledore had never brought me into the future, I would've been your—"

"Dark Lady, essentially, yes," Lord Voldemort said, his lip curling at the irony. "He understood what my full potential would come to with someone as intelligent as you by my side, and he knew he had to cut off the connection."

"How did he know though? Even in the future he couldn't have possibly known that I was the reason for the strength."

Lord Voldemort froze, his gaze icing over as he glared at her with a look that chilled her to the bone. "Know now Miss Granger, that you were hardly the reason for my strength. My strength, as you called it, came from within."

"Really?" Hermione replied calmly with a very un-Hermione-ish smirk. "Then why did Dumbledore know exactly what to take away from you to make you weaker?"

He continued to seethe at her but said nothing, and when she continued to smirk at her , he hissed, but continued. "He searched and searched for an answer, while all the while, the world around him was being torn to shreds."

"Where was Harry?"

It was Voldemort's turn to smirk "Why, fighting with us, of course."

Hermione's jaw dropped. "What?"

"While I originally had planned to go into the Potter's home and murder their family, ensuring my complete control over the wizarding world, you suggested a better idea. You suggested that instead I kill the boy's parents, kidnap him, and raise him as my own heir."

Hermione's face turned stony with disgust. "I would never suggest such a thing."

"Ah, but you did," Voldemort said with amusement. "So, well Potter was fighting for our cause, Dumbledore searched and searched for some way to fix this mess, some way to save the wizarding world, and, alas, he found it."

"What?" Hermione asked, bewildered. "That's it? What do you mean 'he found it?' He can't have just 'found' it."

Voldemort observed her keenly. "Do you know what lies in the Department of Mysteries, Miss Granger?"

Hermione frowned. "A great deal of things lie in the Department of Mysteries. We came in contact with a great deal of them just a few months ago. None of which that I can think have anything to do with—"

She saw Voldemort watch her face eagerly as it dawned on her. Her mouth gaped to form a rather unattractive 'o' and she stared at him in disbelief. "No….it….it can't have been. But, yes…that really is the only plausible idea, isn't' it?" He waited for her to continue. "There was a…..prophecy, wasn't there? About….about me?"

"Cassandra Trelawney was a very strange old woman. Brilliant. Gifted. But very strange. She sensed your presence that day in the woods, all those years ago. She made the prophecy when her very eyes befell upon you."

This one, so pure and untainted

To be corrupted by the touch of darkness

Cities will fall

Bridges will burn

At the hand of these

Only she with the power to tame him

Or to unleash him upon the world

To have and to hold

In sickness and in health

For all of their immortal lives

It is your destiny.


A/N: Okay, so I'm really sorry, cuz I said next chapter would get back to the memories, but I'm having a lot of fun with Hermione-Voldemort interaction, and I really wanted to end it here, because I really like this part:) The idea of the prophecy and Cassandra Trelawney just kinda smacked me in the face tonight, but I love it more than any idea I've ever had in my entire life:)

You'll learn more about the prophecy and such if you keep you reading:):):)

Please review! No flames! I love each and every one of you!:):):)

Thanks!