Disclaimer: JK Rowling owns Harry Potter, I do not profit from anything remotely related to it.
The Bond Servant
Chapter Fourteen (this chapter is a bit… intense and gross. Consider yourself warned.)
Hermione walked into the headmaster's office with a pleased smile on her face. Ricky had asked her no less than five times if there was any way that she could reschedule her meeting. She was pleased he was so eager to spend time with her, and she was quite honestly eager to get back to him.
When he had told her he loved her, she felt her heart burst with happiness. She had been surprised to find that she felt the same. How silly Antonin would find that. "Women have to attach emotions to sex," was one of his more vocal complaints about the fairer sex, and she had practically confirmed it the night before. And this morning. And this afternoon.
She didn't even realize she was humming as she flopped down in the desk across from the headmaster. The headmaster smiled back at her, obviously pleased to see her in such a good mood.
"Miss Elias, while I am pleased to see you in such good spirits, I am stupefied as to the cause. You have been gaining a reputation as a bit of a grouch recently amongst the students," he said, raising a silvery eyebrow in her direction.
She shrugged. "Oh, everything is fine. I'm afraid I can't stay long, though, headmaster. I promised Ricky that I would be back by six, and I want to look my best for our date tonight."
The headmaster looked surprised, and Hermione smiled. She didn't get to see that expression very often from the man, and it was interesting to witness it again.
"I was under the impression that you were ending things with Mr. Nott last night… you have changed your mind?"
She sighed, dreamily. "Yes. I don't know why I was fighting it so hard. We won't be married right away, of course, but I definitely see it happening in the future."
A look of suspicion and a dash of fear flashed through the headmaster's eyes, but Hermione didn't see it.
"Surely you are still concerned about Mr. Nott, though? You said he was an eager follower of the Dark Lord, and that you didn't see him as being redeemable. He is a Death Eater, my dear."
She rolled up her sleeve and pointed to her own disgusting dark mark. "Technically, I am one, too. I am positive I have misjudged him, Headmaster. I can't think of a reason why he would not be able to be an asset to us as well as a wonderful husband and father. Surely you know I would not make a foolhardy decision regarding something so serious. Really, I'll bring him by and show you. He's perfect…"
The headmaster cleared his throat. "I am surprised you are here after such a wondrous realization. Surely Mr. Nott would have rather you spent the day with him?"
She nodded. "Of course! He practically begged me to stay, but I told him that our meeting was necessary and had been arranged weeks ago. I said it was just a formality, and that I wouldn't be here long. So, if you don't mind, could we go ahead and look over the contract together so I can sign? Maybe I can get back to him earlier than he expects and surprise him." The idea of being with him again was making her antsy, and she sat up straight in her chair, looking for a quill on the headmaster's desk.
Albus nodded, summoning the parchment. "I would suggest we put this off, but I think you will be rather… eager to take care of some things…"
For the next few minutes, they looked over the contract together, and Hermione asked a few questions. Finally, she signed the paper at the bottom before standing.
"Perfect! Now, if you will excuse me, I am sure Ricky will be happy to see me."
She walked to the door and went to open it, but found that it would not budge. She turned, looking at the headmaster in confusion. "Headmaster?"
Albus looked at her sadly. "Hera, I'm afraid I need you to stay for a little while longer. You may owl Mr. Nott if you wish to tell him you will be late, but I can't let you go right now."
Hermione felt her hand twitch for her wand. "Headmaster, surely you know that I can get out of here if I truly wish to."
The headmaster nodded, "I do. That is why I must apologize for what I am about to do."
With speed that greatly belied his age, the headmaster disarmed her. While she was still looking at him in shock, she found herself forcibly moved into a chair and bound there.
"Headmaster! What is going on?" she said, angrily.
Albus looked at her sadly. "Hera, child, you are acting very out of character. I believe Mr. Nott might have given you a potion of some kind."
Hermione scoffed, "That's preposterous, headmaster! He would never! He loves me!"
Albus sat back down at his desk. "Be that as it may, I would request the time to merely find out. What time did you see Mr. Nott last night? Did you drink anything with him?"
She nodded, feeling tears come to her eyes. Why was the headmaster so eager to demonize Ricky?! It was infuriating and embarrassing. "Around seven, but he would not give me anything to insure my feelings for him! He doesn't need to do that!"
The headmaster sighed before he levitated a book on the history of wizard and centaur relations into her lap. "Your hands are free enough to read. It will help distract you from the time that passes. I will send a note to Mr. Nott."
Despite her protests, the headmaster stood and wrote a quick missive before handing it off to Fawkes. The phoenix disappeared in a burst of flames, and Albus looked back at her once more. "It's okay. He knows to expect you to be late now. I am sure that, as much as he loves you, he will not be upset with you."
Hermione glared but nodded. The headmaster was correct that Ricky would understand, especially when she told him how the headmaster had forcibly kept her from going anywhere. "Do you wish to talk while we wait? Perhaps I can update you on what is going on with the ministry operatives?"
Hermione glared and pointedly looked down at her book. She certainly did not want to talk to the headmaster at the moment. He was being an arsehole and keeping her from the man she loved for ridiculous reasons.
He nodded at her bowed head. "It is probably for the best. If you become belligerent, I might silence you later. Purely because sometimes we don't need to know what people think of us in the midst of anger…"
She read, occasionally glancing up at the clock. Fortunately, the book was rather interesting. She had not known that Helga Hufflepuff was responsible for helping the centaurs build their hidden colony in the Forbidden Forest. As time passed, growing closer and closer to the time she was supposed to meet Roderick, she found herself growing more angry and indignant. How dare the headmaster judge Ricky!
At a quarter after six, she had had enough. She shoved the book off of her lap and to the floor as she started to yell at the old man. He looked at her calmly.
"It won't be long now, my dear. Everything will be okay, eventually. I promise."
His pacifications did nothing for her, and she shouted obscenities at him. After a moment, he held to his word, silencing her.
After a furious few moments of screaming at the top of her lungs and growing more and more frustrated that no sound would come out, she found herself looking at her wand. It rested on his desk, only a few feet away. If she could wandlessly summon it, she could free herself and curse him.
She would kill him for this! How dare he keep her away from her beloved?! She would murder the old man for this! How she had ever thought she could trust him was beyond her understanding! Perhaps Roderick would want to help her? He deserved the opportunity to get his revenge for Dumbledore's slander! Perhaps Voldemort could even help her… it would certainly solidify hers and Roderick's positions within his ranks. He would not dare question their loyalties if they allowed him the opportunity to kill the bumbling old fool!
Dumbledore's eyes shot to her wand the first time it twitched, and she screamed loudly in frustration as he grabbed it quickly and put it in a desk drawer. He looked at her sadly as she started to thrash in her chair, desperate for release.
A few minutes later, a strange heat came over her. It was as if she had suddenly found herself in a desert with no water. She needed something to drink! Roderick would help her if he were here. He would give her something to drink. He would have helped her! And the headmaster sat there, watching as she visibly panted and sucked on her tongue for whatever moisture it retained.
She started to feel sick, then. What was wrong with her? She needed to get to St. Mungo's and quickly. Unable to hold it back anymore, she started to throw up.
As she heaved, she felt the binds holding her release and fell to the floor on her hands and knees, heaving onto the headmaster's carpet.
The nausea slowly started to abate, and as it did she saw the headmaster vanish the vomit off of the floor. The anger had dissipated along with the churning of her stomach, and she felt a hand run through her hair. "Miss Elias?" the headmaster half whispered.
She looked up, and upon seeing his blue eyes, she felt as if her reason was slowly returning to her. She said nothing as she leaned back to sit on the floor, looking up at him.
"You will be okay, Hera," he said, putting a comforting hand on her shoulder.
She felt it then. Anger. Anger stronger than anything she had ever felt before. She could feel her skin growing hot once more, burning her from the inside out. Her nose started to twitch compulsively in the likeness of a snarl, and she could feel her hands start to shake.
"Give me my wand," she hissed, lowly.
"Hera, perhaps we should speak first… before you do something you will regret."
She jerked up from the floor, feeling her hair crackling around her as she walked around his desk. Wandless magic didn't give her an issue as she commanded the drawer her wand was in to open with her hand. She pulled her wand out, staring at the headmaster.
"Excuse me, headmaster. We will speak later. I have some business to deal with."
"Hera! I must insist that you –" he started, but she interrupted him.
"NO! I will deal with this and there will be no regrets. Good day!" She brushed past him and out of the office with ease.
She was practically shaking with rage as she passed through Hogwarts' gates. She jabbed her wand into the Dark Mark and felt the pull of apparition. Her wrath would be appreciated by some, at least…
She felt the slight pause in apparition before she was accepted through, cracking into existence in the Dark Lord's office. Trembling with rage, she caught the eyes of Lord Voldemort. His own eyes widened before a hint of a smile appeared.
"Hera, what can I do for you?"
She could still feel her nose twitching, and her hand was white as it gripped her wand. "My Lord, I have encountered a gross disrespect from one of your followers. They need to be dealt with, and I would ask that you call a full meeting so that everyone can see."
A single eyebrow raised as the smirk blossomed on his face. "Why if I did not know any better, I would say you are looking forward to dealing with whatever problem this is…"
She stepped forward and braced both hands on the ornate wooden desk, staring at him across from it. "My Lord, I will defer to your judgement, but I ask that you let me handle this once you hear what has happened."
He looked pleased as he stood. "If this is to be a full meeting, I think we should meet in the drawing room. It is much larger. Is that acceptable?"
"If you don't might blood on your carpet," she growled.
He smiled pleasantly and walked around the desk, taking her shaking arm in his. "Oh, my dear, for what other purpose would I have elves?"
They walked to the room together, and Hermione immediately held her arm out. The Dark Lord pressed his wand against it, and she felt the familiar burn that signaled a meeting was to occur. The Dark Lord then walked to his favorite chair in the room, an antique Louis XVI draped in gold brocade, before sitting.
She went to stand next to him and slightly behind his chair, putting her hand on the back of it with her Dark Mark plain to see.
Moments later, the Death Eaters started to arrive. When Bellatrix and Rodolphus arrived, they both bowed dramatically before Bellatrix met Hermione's eyes. She looked as if she was struggling not to visibly cower.
Antonin seemed to show the first hint of real emotion he had had in months upon seeing her rage and the Dark Lord's pleasure. A moment of fear passed through his eyes, and she would have thought more on it if she hadn't been so damned angry.
And then, the subject of her malice appeared. Roderick and Niall Nott arrived as one, and she watched as they bowed. Roderick was pale and shaky, and Niall didn't seem to be much better. Roderick didn't meet her eyes as he stepped back to stand between his father and Sterling Parkinson.
Abraxas was one of the last to arrive, and she glanced at him briefly. He looked passive for the most part, but she thought she had seen a glimpse of something approaching nervousness before he looked away from her.
When everyone was assembled, the Dark Lord looked around. "Miss Elias arrived here shortly before you all with a grievance she wishes to take care of regarding one of our fellows. Is there anything anyone here would like to say before she brings the subject to the floor?"
Bellatrix looked at her nervously, but seemed to relax slightly when she saw that Hermione was not looking at her.
Roderick Nott said nothing but got down on his knees and crawled forward slightly. "My Lord, I have disrespected Miss Elias. I am prepared for my punishment and ask for your mercy."
"We shall see, young Nott," Lord Voldemort said in response, glancing at the groveling man in pleasure.
Nial also knelt down. "My son has made a foolish mistake and will take his stripes. I would also plead for mercy upon him. He is the only heir to our house, and it will die out with him if he leaves behind no heir. Our pureblood ideals –"
"-FUCK your pureblood ideals, you bastard," Hermione said, venomously.
Her words drew a gasp from several in the room, and Hermione aimed her wand at Niall, stepping forward.
"My Lord, I wish to tell the room of his son's crimes against me. Then, I will defer to your judgement."
The Dark Lord inclined his head toward her, and she changed the aim of her wand. Sneering at Roderick, she pulled her eyes away to meet the glinting ones of her dark master.
"I informed Mr. Nott when I met him earlier this week that I had no intention of furthering a relationship with him. I do not wish to settle down with someone I am not sure of at this time and doubted a marriage with him would bring me satisfaction. Per the courtship laws and his request, I was still required to meet him for dinner for the last time yesterday evening. Before I could formally end the courtship, Mr. Nott drugged me with a love potion…"
The room murmured, and Hermione dragged her molten eyes off of the Dark Lord to see that Abraxas was looked at Roderick in disgust, his wand hand twitching at his side.
"Last night and this morning, against my rational thought, I slept with Mr. Nott. It is my belief he dosed me again using a drink this morning. I was only saved by a meeting I could not reschedule with the headmaster. He noticed that I was out of character and held me there, at the time much against my will, until the potion could wear off."
Lord Voldemort looked at Roderick with disgust. Hermione briefly wondered if the circumstances brought to memory the knowledge of his own mother, conceiving him under the use of a love potion.
"Mr. Nott, do you wish to refute any of Miss Elias's words?" he asked, dangerously.
Roderick did not raise his head as he responded, and his voice shook on every word. "I cannot refute her words, but I can offer my reasoning in hopes of understanding, my Lord."
"This should be interesting," the Dark Lord commented.
Roderick took a rattling breath in before looking up. "I care deeply for Miss Elias. After offering her all I have, more than anyone else would surely be willing to offer, I was very hurt that she rejected me. I felt as if a relationship with me would serve all of us, including you, better than if she had a relationship with someone not committed to our cause. I believed that if she gave me just a small amount of time to show her what a life with me would truly be like that she would agree to marry me. I did not intend to keep her under the influence of the potion for long. My father can attest to that."
Hermione's eyes whipped to Niall's, and she saw the man look at his son in shock and anger. Apparently, he had not counted on being outed.
"Niall?" the Dark Lord asked, voice level.
"My Lord, I knew my son was brewing the potion. He only brewed enough for a week. It would need to be ingested every twelve hours."
Voldemort looked at him seriously. "Twelve hours? Hmm…"
Voldemort smiled, then, and cleared his throat, causing the room to all turn their eyes to him.
"Miss Elias, what punishment do you intend to give Roderick?" he asked.
She glanced at Roderick, trying to contain the fury that was still rocking her body like waves. "Death," she said, voice even. She saw Abraxas shuffle slightly out of the corner of her eye but ignored him.
"Are you sure? Death is quite a serious punishment after all."
Roderick was shaking on the floor at this point, and she was trying her best not to curse him before she was given permission.
"My Lord, you say that my position is worthy of respect within your ranks. Roderick completely disrespected me. He raped me, he deceived me, and he took away my free will. What respect could he have possibly been showing for me? Can you possible expect that I could ever hope to work with him amicably? Until he is dead, I will know no peace."
The Dark Lord looked at her silently for a moment before speaking. "Niall Nott is technically still young enough to have another heir if he can find a bride, so his argument to save his son's life is not valid. Niall will find his punishment as well in just a few moments. Until then, Miss Elias, you are free to do with Roderick as you please."
The entire time she had been waiting, the curses she had learned in the various dark texts she had read crawled through her head. "Thank you, my Lord," she whispered, reverently. She tried to tell herself she was not pleased with the Dark Lord in that moment, but it would be a lie.
He understood and encouraged her to get the revenge she so sorely needed and craved in that moment. She walked the few steps to Roderick under the watchful gazes of the other Death Eaters and put her shoe under his chin, urging him to look up at her. The fear in his eyes made her feel a surge of power. "You will not enjoy this… Ricky," she hissed.
She then looked up and met Abraxas's worried eyes. She spoke coldly to him. "Abraxas Malfoy, I desire the use of your knife. Will you allow it?"
She could see that he wanted to refuse, but she was pleased that he couldn't. Not without expecting punishment and suspicion. He pulled it from his waist band and walked toward her, handing it to her handle first. "Hera," he murmured. She turned before he could begin to say anything else and approached her victim.
"Sua Peribunt!" she said, aiming her wand at Roderick. His clothes seemed to melt away, and he looked at her in surprise. She glared in response. She stopped a foot in front of him and bent down, putting the knife on the ground in front of him.
"Your efforts to win me over not only hurt me but also House Malfoy. I wished to marry the Malfoy heir, and you stripped that choice from me. I could have brought them happiness and good fortune, but you stole that along with my peace, my free will, and my self-respect. It is for that reason that you will be using this blade and that I will take away any choice you have in the matter…"
He looked at the knife, nervously, before looking up at her. "Hera, please," he begged, reaching out to her with one hand. She heard Niall in the background, still on his knees as he echoed his son's pleas.
"IMPERIO!" she said, angrily. Pick up the knife, Roderick. Pick up the knife.
He seemed to struggle for a moment before he followed the order, reaching forward and grasping the knife in slightly shaking hands.
"Cut it off," she hissed, glaring at him. Cut your useless cock off, Roderick. It will do you no good where you are going. Cut it off, now.
He screamed as he took the knife to himself. The pain did not seem to be lessened at all by the Imperius, and she was happy to see that he did not falter in his motions despite his cries. She saw that many in the room were looking away, especially if they had the vantage point that she did. She thought she could also hear someone throwing up.
He dropped the knife when he finished, and a part of her was shocked that she herself did not feel the need to look away as the blood pooled between his legs and the bloodied knife hit the floor. She released the curse to see him hunch over on himself, crying out in pain and fear. "Sit up, Roderick!"
He didn't listen, and she growled loudly before levitating him up into the air. With a flick of her wand, she flung him into the wall and pinned him there roughly. Several people had to dive out of the way so that he did not hit them as he flew by. After that, she cast a quick healing charm on him, cauterizing the wound. He howled at the smell of his burning flesh, and she crossed the room to him. Death Eaters parted for her, none daring to look her in the eye.
She walked up to Roderick, looking up his body and into his eyes. He looked as if he might pass out soon.
"Vires!" A rush of adrenalin would run through him, making sure he was not unconscious before the end.
He cried pathetically, and she smiled at him in a way that made several people around take a step back.
"Only one more, Ricky," she said, taunting him. She walked up to him and grabbed one of his bare feet with her left hand, placing her wand tip against the sole of the other.
"Fraendo Carnis!" His screams reached an unearthy pitch as from the feet up his skin and bone started to grind and mash, causing his body to start to fall in heaps to the floor like grotesque ground beef with chunks of bone. The screaming quickly stopped shortly above the knee as the femoral artery was obliterated, causing him to quickly bleed out.
When he was dead, she dropped the spell and turned, walking back through the crowd as the upper portion of his body hit the lower below. The squelching sound caused someone else to start throwing up from the sound of it.
She walked back to Lord Voldemort and stood in front of him. "Thank you, my Lord," she said, feeling her rage start to finally recede.
He looked at her with an expression she had never seen from him before. It was a mixture of pleasure and… affection? Any other day, she was sure having that look directed at her from him would have sent her running from the room in disgust in shame. Currently, she felt nothing.
"Of course. Would you like to further address the room?"
She shook her head. "I believe my actions speak loudly as to my feelings about betrayal."
He inclined his head in acceptance. "Very well. And Mister Nott's father?"
She turned and looked at Niall, glaring coldly. "Mr. Nott, I kindly left the upper half of your son's body if you wish for an open casket. I regret to inform you that I will not be in attendance at the funeral. Other obligations. I am sure you understand."
She looked back at the Dark Lord, ignoring Niall's anguish. "Do with him as you will," she said.
Voldemort nodded. "I do not think we really need him, and I'm not sure if he would be of any use after watching that." A flash of green light flew from Voldemort's wand, and Hermione didn't bother to turn around as Niall's body hit the floor completely.
"Might I be excused, my Lord?"
"Of course, my dear."
She went home, sure that Abraxas would make sure that Dumbledore found out. She briefly wondered how detailed her partner would be, but found she wasn't very concerned at the moment. This time, there were no tears of regret or pain, only numbness.
She wondered if Antonin felt this way when he had killed that muggle man.
She quickly stripped herself of her clothes and crawled into her bed. Pulling the covers over herself, she relaxed fully. Then, she fell asleep.
Author's Note: So, that was interesting to write. I worry that by the end of this all, I will have run out of creative ways to kill people via magic. Or perhaps I will just get tired of thinking about it. I think if I get around to writing that other independent piece I will make an effort to keep it much less brutal. Considering most of my writing takes place right before bedtime, I've had some nasty dreams. I feel like Freud would have something to say about my writing of Roderick's deal. Rest assured, my husband is wonderful, he has never been in danger at my hand, and I do not hate men.
Thanks for all of the awesome reviews on the last chapter! The poured in and the mixture of anticipation and anger was lovely. Please review with your thoughts.