Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or Disney's Beauty and the beast – this was written just for fun, and no profit is being made.
AN: Okay, so there will be one more chapter or so after this…Obviously, this is where the story will veer away a bit from Beauty and the Beast, since after what happened in the last chapter, they are supposed to live Happily ever after…but, when you Voldemort, Happily ever after doesn't come so easily. Please let me know what you think! xo
~~{0}~~
When Tom opened his eyes again, he was standing at the edge of his property, facing the large Manor that sat atop the hill. He threaded his fingers through Hermione's and they walked together down the hill towards the manor.
"How did you survive? I watched you die, and I know your horcruxes were all destroyed…" Hermione couldn't hold back the question that had been in the forefront of her mind since they were in the clearing.
"It seems that your potion was a success." He said looking over at her with a look of admiration in his eyes.
"My potion? You mean…" she started before he cut her off.
"Yes, the potions you brewed before I released you. I read your notes on all three, and it seems the one you brewed in the solid gold cauldron was the key. I did the ritual that night just before coming to Hogwart's. At first, I didn't think it had worked, because I woke looking the same as before, only there was one necessary thing that I hadn't known I needed." He explained.
"What's that?" she asked furrowing her brow in confusion.
"The power to restore my soul was granted during the ritual, however in order for it to happen, I needed to open my heart. When I was dying, you said that you loved me…" he said blushing and looking away from her.
She stepped up to him, and lifted her hand to his cheek so that he would look at her.
"I do, Tom. I'm not sure when it happened, but you let me in, and I fell in love with you. I understand if you don't feel the same." She said letting go of his cheek and turning away from him when she remembered how coldly he spoke of Pandora's feelings.
He caught her hand in his and turned her towards him again, "I've never felt this way about anyone before. I want you more than I've ever wanted anything in my life." He said pulling her to him as he clutched her desperately, capturing her lips in a searing kiss.
He picked her up and carried her into the manor, down the long hall to his bedroom.
"I'll have Satine draw you a bath." He said dropping a kiss on her forehead as he made to leave the room.
"Wait…will you stay with me?" she called after him, looking up at him from under her lashes.
Tom's eyes widened slightly, and he swallowed thickly, feeling himself become aroused at her suggestion. He never would have imagined that he would have been given a second chance at life, nevermind that she would love him and want him the way he wanted her.
He stepped towards her again, brushing his hand across her cheek with trembling fingers. She flicked her wand towards the bath, watching as it began to fill with warm lavender scented water. Even though he was restored in the aftermath of the battle, she was still quite sore and dirty from the fighting.
She bit her lip and smiled shyly at him, trying not to laugh at his nervousness. It struck her then, that he had probably never been intimate with anyone before.
"Have…have you ever?" she asked trailing off, not knowing exactly how to say it.
"I…no." he said blushing, and looking anywhere but at her.
She moved closer to him, and took his hands in hers.
"Neither have I." She said leaning up on her tiptoes so that she could kiss him.
His eyes fluttered shut, and he groaned into her mouth as she kissed him more deeply now, moving her hands up slowly to unbutton his robes. His skin was smooth and pale, though not overly so, and his body was lithe and lean. He reached down to the hem of her shirt, and pulled it off over her head, and she bit back a smirk as his hands traveled immediately to her breasts that were still hidden by her pink bra. She leaned in and kissed his chest enjoying the way he sucked his bottom lip between his teeth as she explored his body.
She unbuttoned her jeans and pushed them down over her hips, now only clad in her underthings as she looked up into his eyes for permission to remove his pants. He captured her lips again as her hands found the button of his pants and she slipped them down over his slim hips as she kissed him. His hands moved to her waist, pushing her knickers down as well, while she removed her bra. She broke the kiss and smiled at him pulling him towards the bath. They both stepped in and she moved over to him and he pulled her onto his lap as he continued to kiss her as if she were the most precious thing in the world. She could feel him hard against her thigh, and she moved a hand down between them to guide him into her. She gasped at the feeling of fullness when he entered her slowly, as he let out a shuddering breath. Once she had adjusted to him, she wrapped her arms around his neck, and began to move, their lips meeting once more. His heart was pounding in his chest, and she could feel that it was in sync with her own as she made love to him. It didn't take long before he was grasping her hips and groaning against her neck as he found his release inside of her. They stayed in each other's arms for some time, neither one of them wanting to move from the other's embrace. Eventually, Hermione moved to finish washing up while he climbed out, wrapping a towel around his waist.
When she climbed out of the bath, and wrapped herself in a towel, she made her way to his bedroom, to see that he had a tray of food brought for them.
"I thought you might be hungry." He said giving her a genuine smile. It nearly took her breath away, and she hoped she would see it more often.
"I'm starving." She admitted laughing and grabbing a sandwich off of the tray and sitting across from him at the small table.
"So what happens now?" he asked, feeling the weight of his situation coming down on him once more.
"In the morning, I'm going to St. Mungos to see Harry. I'll talk to him privately. You should stay here, since this location is unplottable. As long as you are here, you'll be safe." She said threading her fingers through his.
"They'll send me to Azkaban." He said looking away from her.
"I won't let that happen." She said squeezing his hand.
She could see that he didn't share her optimism, but he didn't protest. When she finished eating, she pulled him over to the bed, and let her towel fall to the floor as she climbed beneath the sheets beside him. She was afraid of what the morning would bring, but for now, she simply held him, as they made love again.
~~{0}~~
Hermione awoke with a pair of strong arms around her, and she stretched feeling more content and fulfilled than she could ever remember. She prayed that this would be the first of many such mornings, and not the last. She turned to face him and met his eyes.
"I should go." She said softly brushing a lock of his black hair away from his eyes.
He didn't say anything, but he nodded in understanding.
"I love you." She said leaning towards him, and kissing him one last time before she stood to get dressed.
He moved from the bed and pulled on a black robe and stood with his back to her looking out the window.
"I will be back." She promised before she gathered her courage and apparated to St. Mungos.
When she arrived at the hospital, it was busy. There had been an influx of patients at the end of the battle, many of which, which did not survive. For a moment, Hermione felt guilty that she had spent the night with Tom, not thinking at all about those who gave their life to fight the man she had fallen in love with.
She stepped up to the desk, and the witch behind it gasped in surprise when she recognized her.
"Miss Granger. You must be here for Mr. Potter. He's in room seventeen, just down the hall." She said pointing in the direction of Harry's room.
She nodded politely, and walked down the hall until she came to the room marked '17', and knocked lightly.
"Come in." She heard Harry's voice call from within the room.
"Hey." She said looking at him fro around the door before hesitantly stepping into the room. Thankfully, no one else was there visiting at the moment.
"How are you feeling?" she asked taking a seat by his bed.
"Considering I died, I guess I could be worse." He said chuckling.
"Do you…do you remember anything?" she asked biting her lip nervously.
"I…I thought I saw Voldemort…no that couldn't have been what I thought." He said waving his hand dismissively.
"What do you think you saw, Harry?" she asked hoping he would remember.
"It all happened so fast, but I heard Bellatrix yell 'mudblood', and both Voldemort and I stopped to look. She was throwing something at you, but then he…it looked like he threw himself in front of whatever it was. But that doesn't make any sense." Harry said pinching the bridge of his nose.
"He did, Harry. He saved my life." She said quietly, and Harry looked up at her sharply.
"What happened to you?" he asked, wanting to know about her time as his captive.
"It's a long story, Harry." She told him giving him a small smile.
"Voldemort, is he dead? No one would tell me. They said they hadn't located his body." Harry asked.
Hermione bit her lip and twisted her hands nervously in her lap.
"Harry, there's something I need to tell you." She said taking a deep breath.
"What is it?" he asked, his brow furrowed in concern from her nervousness.
"When I was his prisoner, I spent quite a bit of time with him. Not by choice, you understand, and at first, my only thought was of you, and not doing anything that would get me killed." She said pensively.
Harry nodded, urging her to continue.
"Well, during this time, he spoke to me quite a lot, and what I learned was quite surprising. He regretted making the horcruxes. As you can imagine, splitting your soul even once has drastic effects, nevermind seven times. He was almost incapable of feeling remorse for the lives he'd taken, and could torture and kill with complete apathy. For years, he was trying to find a way to undo the damage he'd done to himself and to restore his soul. Luna's mother was a student at the same time that he was and she spent many years of her life trying to find a way to restore his soul when she realized what he had done." Hermione explained.
"Luna's mother? Why would she do that?" Harry asked listening to what she was saying with rapt attention.
"Because she was in love with Tom Riddle, and had been since they were both students at Hogwarts. He didn't return her feelings, but it's possible that it was because he had already made a horcrux." Hermione told him.
"This is really fascinating, Hermione, but what does this have to do with you?" Harry asked in confusion.
"He took me with him to a private estate, and he asked me to do research picking up where Luna's mother, Pandora, left off. She was killed when Luna was nine, when one of the spells backfired on her. I read her journal, and I was able to brew a potion that when taken during a ritual, would have the power to restore his soul. At one point, we had an argument when I purposely defied his orders, and I thought for sure he would torture me or kill me, yet he didn't. I was frightened, so I fled, on foot into the forest. He had taken my wand, but I thought if I could reach a muggle village, somehow, I could find my way back. Instead, I ended up in the middle of an Acromantula's nest." Hermione said.
"How did you get out without a wand?" Harry asked, his brows raised I surprise.
"I wouldn't have been able to make it out, but Voldemort apparated to me, and saved my life."
"Well, of course he did, he didn't want to lose his prize researcher." Harry sneered.
"That was my assumption too, at first. He even said as much, but, he didn't punish me, even after I tried to escape. He even gave me back my wand. Then, he asked me to have dinner with him." She said looking anywhere but at Harry.
"Like…a date? And you agreed?" Harry said incredulously.
"Well, most of the time, it was expected that I would dine with him. I didn't have a choice. But on this particular occasion, he asked me. We talked about quite a lot of things, including why he pushes pureblood supremacy, and I told him my very strong opinions on that. Needless to say, during the time that I spent with him, I saw much more of Tom Riddle, and less and less of Voldemort."
"Hermione, you were a prisoner, you only saw what he wanted you to see-" Harry began
"He let me go, Harry." Hermione interrupted, shocking Harry into silence.
"I overheard him talking to Malfoy about going after the Elder wand. I was angry because I thought that he was trying to do the right thing for once by restoring his soul. In order to restore your soul, you must feel remorse. When I heard that he was still going after the wand, and that he still intended to face you, I lost it. We argued over it in the lab, and he explained to me about the prophecy. He said that he never asked for it, and that when it was made, he only went after you as a matter of self preservation. He didn't know you, or your family, but if you were going to someday kill him, he thought it best to take you out before you had the chance. Obviously, we all know how that turned out. But he was bound by it, the same as you. I accused him of not caring about anyone but himself, and he admitted that he cared for me…so I asked him to let me go. He did." Hermione said feeling her voice shake as she remembered the exchange.
"Just like that he let you go?" Harry asked dumbfounded.
" Yes, he did. That was when I found Neville. I went to Hogwarts, knowing that I had to destroy the Elder wand. When you showed up and began to duel, I had rolled to the ground out of the way, only one of your spells hit a large branch above me, and Voldemort used his magic to push me out of harm's way before it landed on me, while he was dueling you." Hermione told him.
"That's what happened? I thought he was trying to curse you." Harry said furrowing his brows.
"No Harry, he was trying to keep me safe. When I used my shield so that you could apparate, I ran into the forbidden forest, and once again found myself surrounded by hungry Acromantulas. Voldemort saved me again. He asked me not to interfere, and that the prophecy demanded only the two of you face eachother. I told him I couldn't promise that. He told me he had no desire to kill you, but that the prophecy was forcing his hand."
Harry looked skeptical, but allowed her to continue.
"In the clearing, when you were dueling, Bellatrix threw a dagger at me. Voldemort threw himself in front of it, believing that all of his horcruxes had been destroyed. He was willing to die to save me, Harry. When Bellatrix hit you with the killing curse, you survived because you were Voldemort's last horcrux, the one he never meant to make, and hadn't even known he'd made. It was the horcrux that was destroyed that night, not you. I held him in my arms as he took his final breath." She said wiping her eyes.
"So he is dead then?" Harry asked in confusion.
"Yes, and no, Harry." Hermione said cryptically biting her lip.
"Why do I get the feeling there is something very important that you aren't telling me." Harry asked looking at her suspiciously.
"He drank the potion and completed the ritual to restore his soul before the battle at Hogwart's. He didn't think it had worked, because he hadn't been physically restored, as he thought he would be. But it seemed that even though the ritual was successful, his soul was not actually restored until he opened his heart to someone, and they loved him in return." She explained looking at her feet.
"So what are you saying, Hermione?" Harry asked forcing her to look up at him.
She took a shuddering breath, "I love him, Harry." She said as a tear fell from her eye.
He recoiled from her as if she'd slapped him, which only caused her to cry harder.
"Neither of us asked for this to happen, but it did. I told him I loved him before he took his final breath. A few moments later, the wound on his back from Bellatrix's dagger began to glow, and heal, and I felt his heart was beating again, even though I had felt it stop. Before my eyes, he was transformed from Lord Voldemort back to a seventeen year old Tom Riddle. Lord Voldemort, who killed your parents, as well as countless others is dead. Tom is the seventeen year old who hasn't done any of those things, Harry."
Harry sat in silence staring at the wall, until he finally spoke, "How do you expect me to believe that he's not just waiting for some opportunity to do it all again?" he asked her venomously.
"Because his soul wouldn't have restored unless he truly felt remorse for everything he's done. He loves me, Harry, and I love him. I want you to view my memories in the pensieve to see that what I'm telling you is true." She said pleading with him.
What do you expect me to do, Hermione?" he asked her tiredly.
"I want you to accept that Lord Voldemort is dead. Tom can change his name, no one needs to know who he had once been." Hermione said clutching his hands.
"I'll know, Hermione." Harry said incredulously.
"We'll leave Britain then, and we won't ever return. Please, Harry, don't turn him over to the aurors. He's not the one who committed those crimes." Hermione pleaded.
"You'd be willing to do that for him? You'll give up your life in Britain?" Harry asked in surprise.
"I would, Harry, I love him." She said knowing that what she said was true.
I'm not agreeing to this, just so you know, but I'll view your memories, and then I'll make my decision." He said. More than anything, he was tired, and he just wanted it to be over. If what she said was true, it technically was. He needed to feel confident about that though, which at the moment, he was feeling anything but.
"Thank you, Harry. No matter what, I'll always love you." She said leaning down to plant a kiss on his forehead before she stood up to leave.
"Hermione…"Harry called after her.
"Yeah?" she asked turning to look at him before she walked out of the door
"I trust you." He said giving her a small smile.
With that, she felt a small spark of hope in her chest, as she walked out the door.