Chapter 10

She knew he was reading the cover and would figure things out immediately. She flinched as Voldemort's grip on her hand tightened.

"I think I need a word with your parents about your behavior,"

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Hermione's breath caught in her throat and she turned around to face Lord Voldemort. He was so close that Hermione was forced to press her back against the bookshelf to get some distance between them. Her eyes showed just how terrified she was and Voldemort's pale lips curled into a cruel smile. Hermione finally found her voice and shook her head lightly.

"Y-y-you can't," she stuttered weakly.

"Oh but I can Hermione, I warned you...didn't I warn you?" He asked condescendingly. Hermione struggled and suddenly found herself jerked backwards into Voldemort's body and he wrapped his arms around her body in a more threatening form of bear hug. Hermione fought, but she had no hope of getting away. He moved one hand; keeping one arm wrapped firmly across her chest, and tucked her hair behind her ear.

"Hermione," He whispered in a playful voice. "Did I or did I not warn you?" Hermione said nothing, but grabbed Voldemort's arm and tried to pull it off.

"Stay away from my parents," she said through clenched teeth.

"Why might you be reading a book about Dark Spells?" he whispered, sounding quite amused.

"Bedtime reading," Hermione snapped.

"I've had enough of this Hermione," he said softly. He put the book back on the shelf and Hermione felt the tip of his wand pressed into her lower back. "I have tried coaxing you gently, I have even tried intimidation but now I know there is only one thing you will respond to...force,"

"Try me," Hermione hissed.

"That was my intention," He whispered a spell behind her and everything suddenly went black and Hermione went limp in Voldemort's arms. He looked down at her delicate shape and couldn't help but grin. "You'll make the perfect Dark Lady,"

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Sirius, Snape and Kingsley had returned with Professor Dumbledore and a surprisingly large group of witches and wizards who were willing to help. Remus greeted them all, some he had never met before. After saying hello to everyone, Remus wandered over to Professor Dumbledore.

"Sir...may I ask a question about the help you brought?" he whispered.

"I suppose you are wondering why many of them are strangers to you," Dumbledore smiled.

"Yes actually," Remus laughed.

"Let me put it this way...Sometimes it isn't love for someone that rallies help, but hatred for another,"

"Lucky for me," Remus grinned at the old wizard and made his way over to James and Sirius.

"Looks like we might have a chance," Sirius said, patting Remus on the back.

"Either way, we're going to try," Remus sighed. James hadn't said much since he and Remus spoke earlier that night. Sirius seemed to have noticed and frowned at Remus questioningly. Remus shrugged and turned to James.

"Are you alright?" he asked softly. James looked up and seemed to consider his friends for a second.

"I...I just had a question," he said in an oddly quite voice.

"Okay...," Sirius urged him on.

"It's about Lily," James shifted on the spot and Remus and Sirius exchanged awkward glances.

"You want to know if we can bring her back," Remus said softly.

"Yeah,"

"No...We can't," he said gently. James nodded, not looking up. Both Remus and Sirius knew he would want to know why.

"We can't bring her back, because she would also need revenge on her murderer and since you were both killed by Lord Voldemort, only one of you can truly get revenge," Sirius explained.

"I'd rather she got her revenge," James mumbled.

"So get revenge for the both of you when you see him," Remus said, grinning weakly.

"I plan to," James smiled.

"That's my boy," Sirius ruffled James's hair, not that you could see much of a change when Sirius let go.

"So what now?" James asked, running his fingers through his messy hair in an attempt to flatten it and turning to Remus.

"Master," Sirius added with a snicker.

"Well we can't just barge into the Riddle Mansion and hope to god they are all out to dinner," Remus said, sighing.

"Well at least six of us know our way around the Manor," Sirius said pointing to Snape, Kingsley and Dumbledore.

"Yeah, but there's no guarantee he has Hermione in the same place, or even that he has her at the Manor," James said. Remus was about to respond when a small, grey haired witch with a crooked nose tapped him on the shoulder.

"There is someone wishing to speak with you, in the entrance hall," she said in a shockingly deep voice.

"Oh thank you," Remus watched the witch go and turned back to the two boys, who were laughing at the witches' voice. "I wonder who that is,"

"You're not going out there by yourself," Sirius said, pulling out his wand. "Let's go," Before Remus could argue he was being steered out of Dumbledore's office by James and down the stairs to the entrance hall. Remus held out his hand and James and Sirius paused.

"Wands out," he said, pulling his own pale brown wand from his robes. They stepped off the last flight of stairs, just as it began to move to the right. They stopped just short of the entrance hall and looked at each other.

"Oh c'mon," Remus said in an irritated voice. "What are the chances of Voldemort turning up at Hogwarts in the middle of the night?"

"I don't know, but knowing our luck he just went out for a midnight stroll with thirty or so Death Eaters, got lost and thought 'Oh look there's a castle let's go murder everyone inside for a laugh,'," Sirius said as James held back giggles next to him. Remus just shook his head and turned the last corner and walked into the entrance hall. The doorway, silhouetted by the moonlight was the clear outline of a centaur. Remus squinted to try and see him better.

"Who's there?" he called out in a steady voice.

"I bring word from your fiancée Master Lupin," Firenze called back.

"Firenze?" Remus, James and Sirius walked closer and the dignified, pale features of the young centaur came into clear view. "You...you've seen Hermione?"

"Yes, she is on the other side of the Forbidden Forest," Firenze said, looking at the three boys.

"Other side?" James asked, looking from Sirius to Remus to see if they understood.

"What's on the other side Firenze?" Remus asked calmly, but his voice had a hint of desperation.

"The Forest of the Riddle Manor," the centaur said patiently. "She asked me to deliver a message to you," Remus's eyes lit up immediately and both James and Sirius listened intently.

"What did she say?"

"She said to tell you that she loves you and she misses you Master Lupin," Firenze said, his pale blue eyes welling with tears. "She is in a bad way young sir,"

"Bad way?" Remus asked quickly. "How do you mean? Is she hurt?"

"She looked as though she had been hurt, but take my word for it Master Lupin, she is suffering from far more than physical pain,"

"Why didn't you just bring her back through the forest?" Sirius asked what everyone was thinking.

"Lord Voldemort had put a barrier charm on his side of the forest for prevent Hermione's escape," Firenze answered, looking slightly offended.

"Of course he did," James smirked bitterly.

"Firenze do you think you could give Hermione a message without it being intercepted?" Remus asked, regaining his composed attitude.

"I will most certainly try Master Lupin," Firenze said proudly.

"Tell Hermione that tomorrow night we will be coming for her, so she needs to get to the front of the Manor at 8 sharp," Lupin said in a very business like tone.

"Front of the Riddle Manor at 8 o'clock," Firenze recited.

"Yes, tell her to wait for Kingsley, if anyone else turns up and tells her to go with them she is to curse them on the spot," he said.

"Wait for Master Kingsley,"

"Firenze, just...just tell her that I am coming for her and I will save her," Remus added, his voice loosing it sharp tone.

"Of course," Firenze bowed and bore his ice pale eyes into Remus'. "My wishes go with you Master Lupin, and with young Miss Hermione," Remus bowed back and watched as Firenze galloped off into the ebony shadowed forest. Remus was silent for a few minutes and neither James nor Sirius wanted to intrude on his thoughts too soon. James watched as the cool night breeze whipped around Remus's robes and flitted his pale hazelnut hair around gently. He admired to look of complete serenity and calm Remus had. Even Sirius noted how serene he was considering the circumstances.

"At least we know she's alright," James broke the silence softly.

"I think you mean alive," Remus corrected forebodingly. "She sounds far from alright," James didn't say another word as Remus walked past him and back up the stairs to Dumbledore's office. Sirius watched him leave and turned to James.

"Well that went well," Sirius sighed.

"What went well?" Kingsley and Snape came down the stairs. "We just saw Remus going back up the stairs...he didn't look happy," Kingsley said, standing next to James.

"Firenze knows where Hermione is," James said bluntly. Both Snape and Kingsley's eyes went as wide as saucers.

"He what? Where is she?" Snape demanded.

"Other side of the Forbidden Forest, at the Riddle Manor," Sirius said.

"The Riddle Manor is on the other side of the Forbidden Forest?" Kingsley's eyes still hadn't shrunk back to their normal size.

"Apparently...C'mon we should go check on Remus," James said, leading the other three back to the headmasters' office.

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The smell of mould, stone and dust flooded Hermione as she groggily awoke, lying on a cold stone floor. She slowly pushed herself up and looked around. The room was so dark she couldn't see the walls and the only source of light was coming from a small barred window on the far left wall. There was a dripping somewhere in the distance and several scurrying sounds, which Hermione was sure belonged to rats or mice. She sat up and pushed her curls from her face. Despite herself, Hermione grinned.

"The Belmont I assume," she mused. Smiling at herself, Hermione got to her feet and brushed herself off. She walked forward with her hands outstretched until she felt them make contact with the cold, hard wall. She ran her fingertips along the stone as she walked around and mentally traced the perimeters of the room. She stopped at the small window; it was about the size of a shoe box. She gripped the bars and stood on her tiptoes. She could see the lake and the edge of the forest where she had met Firenze. Hermione dropped back down and continued around the room until her accidentally collided with a small wooden bed.

"Definitely the Belmont," she said to herself as she moved around the bed and finally felt a wooden door beneath her fingers. She fumbled around and found a heavy iron handle. She pulled on it with all the strength she could muster, but it was of course locked.

"The service here sucks," she said, sitting down on the uncomfortable bed and dropping her head into her hands. Her eyes shot up though as she heard approaching footsteps. She watched as a shadow appeared under the door and keys clattered in the keyhole. The door swung open to reveal her tall, pale, evil captor.

"Aaaand you must be the concierge," Hermione said standing up and smiling.

"I see your wit hasn't left," Voldemort sneered

"No...No it was reluctant to follow your sanity," she said sweetly. She couldn't tell if Voldemort was smiling or getting ready to strangle her. Either way Hermione didn't care, not anymore. She hadn't heard back from Firenze and there had been no other word of Remus. She had started to worry about him and whether or not he was still alive. She had let go of her hope of being rescued and decided to just grin and bear it and give Voldemort hell while she was at it. She heard him step closer and she didn't move, just continued to smile.

"You haven't asked me about your parents," he said softly.

"Why would I? I know them better than you," Hermione feigned confusion, but Voldemort just ignored it.

"Tell me Hermione, how does it feel to be an orphan?"

"You should know," Hermione said coolly. She was sure she heard an irritated hiss coming from Lord Voldemort's direction.

"No tears, no pleading?" he asked, a hint of laughter in his voice. "How cold we have become,"

"You're mistaking indifference for acceptance," Hermione corrected calmly. "I knew you would kill them and I have made my peace with that,"

"I don't believe you,"

"Your problem, not mine," Hermione shrugged and sat back down, staring up at where she could see two glowing red orbs in the shadows.

"I'll leave you to grieve," Voldemort sneered and left in a flash of black robes. Hermione held her self-righteous grin right up until she heard the footsteps fade completely. As soon as silence surrounded her, Hermione slid off the bed and onto her knees, tears flooding her eyes and running in streams down her face. She shook as she clutched her shirt and watched her tears splash in remorseful puddles on the dirty stone beneath her.

"Oh god it's all my fault," she sobbed. "I'm so sorry Mum and Dad," She grabbed her own arms and hung her head. "I---I---I'm so sorry...I love you both so much...Oh god I'm so sorry," Hermione broke down in her dingy cell, while a smirking Dark Lord listened at the door only a few feet away.

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Kingsley, Snape, James and Sirius all arrived at the headmasters' office to find all of the witches and wizards gone except for Remus. He was sitting at the headmasters' desk with head in his hands. The four boys looked at each other and crept forward. Sirius rested a hand on Remus's shoulder.

"Moony," he said softly.

"I can't," Remus whispered from in his hands.

"You can't what?" Kingsley asked, sitting on the desk with Snape.

"I can't ask you to do this," Remus said and looked up, his normally passive eyes full of pain.

"Do what?"

"I can't ask any of you to come with me tomorrow night," he said, getting out of the chair and pacing in front of the desk. Each of the boys watched him in a stunned silence for a few minutes.

"What are you talking about?" Snape finally demanded. "That's why we're here. That's why we rescued Sirius from Azkaban...that's why we brought James back from the dead!"

"I know...I know and I'm sorry that I've put you all through so much, but I can't ask you to come...I can't ask you to go to your deaths," Remus muttered in a hushed voice.

"Who says it will be our deaths?" Kingsley jumped in. "And even if it is, we go by our own free will Remus,"

"Kingsley's right," Sirius said, moving in front of the desk. "You aren't holding a wand to any of our heads,"

"The hell I'm not," Remus spat bitterly. "James, Sirius I know both of you feel obligated to help me, but you're not. Snape and Kingsley you have both felt the need to fill in for James and Sirius ever since they left,"

"We hav---," Kingsley started indignantly.

"Don't patronize me," Remus stopped and fixed Kingsley with a stern glare.

"Okay so maybe we have, but what's wrong with that?" Snape asked.

"Nothing, until it goes this far," Remus resumed his pacing.

"Remus we do owe you," James spoke finally and Remus stopped, watching his messy haired friend walk closer. "Not just for breaking Sirius free or bringing me back. All four of us owe you for a lifetime of things," Sirius, Kingsley and Snape all nodded.

"The hell you do," Remus shook his head.

"We do, I can't count the number of times you have saved our lives, literally or metaphorically," James insisted. "For god sake Remus in and out of school the four of us would have been killed long ago if it hadn't been for you and we all know it!"

"Well you were killed...," Kingsley said, earning a glare from Sirius's direction.

"Okay fair enough we might die tomorrow night," James continued, ignoring Kingsley. "But we will die fighting for something we care about...for someone we care about. I cant speak for the other three, but Remus if I die helping you, defending you or just beside you tomorrow night then I don't want you to bring me back because I will die exactly how I've always wanted to,"

"I can't think of a better cause to die for," Sirius said, standing next to Remus. There was no way Remus could ignore the sincerity in their voices. He looked up at Snape and Kingsley, as though begging them to say they wouldn't go tomorrow.

"Sorry Moony," Snape shrugged. "You're stuck with me,"

"If word gets around that I backed away from a fight," Kingsley grinned. "I'll never be able to show my face in the Leaky Cauldron again," Remus looked at all four of his determined friends and couldn't fight back the grateful smile that played across his lips.

"I hate you all," he said, laughing.

"We hate you too," James said, patting Remus on the shoulder.

"It's getting a bit too mushy in here," Sirius said, stepping away with his hands up.

"Oh c'mon Siri-poo," Kingsley said, opening his arms to Sirius. "You know you want to hug me,"