Heeeey everybody! Here is another chapter! I am hoping to place the next one a bit sooner :) Leave me a review if you like the fic so far! Or leave me a review if you don't ^^
Enjoy the chapter :) XX
Barty was behaving as if he had to personally welcome the queen into his house. Obviously he wanted to invite his master in his own house, because he didn't want any other Death Eaters to be present. But as a result, everyone had to be ready and everything had to be perfect. Even Skye's grandparents had to be there, as Barty felt the need to introduce them to Voldemort. Harry and Ron were not allowed to move at all. They had to sit down at the large table in the living room and were ordered not to move a muscle. When Barty had finally informed everyone about what was going to happen and what everyone was supposed to do or not to do, he turned his attention to the two boys who were silently waiting at the table. First, he addressed Ron.
"You can leave. Now," he growled impatiently. "Apparate to somewhere far away from here and I shall pretend you were never here. It is the only lie I will tell today. If I see you again, I will make you regret the day you were born."
Ron glowered at Barty, but he was wise enough not to say anything. It was clear that he was having a hard time keeping his mouth shut, but he was smart enough not to provoke the only man in the room who had a wand on him. So he left quietly, leaving his best friends behind, unable to do anything about it.
"Now… For the rest of you. You will sit down and you will not speak unless you are spoken to. When the Dark Lord arrives, I expect you to kneel. And you will remain kneeled until the Dark Lord gives you permission to stand. Am I understood?"
Everyone nodded quickly. They sat down at the table, and Hermione could almost feel the nervousness of the others. Harry was staying strong, or pretending to be, but it was clear that he was afraid of what was coming. The Dawsons were especially frightened, even more than usual. And Hermione had the feeling that they were right to be frightened, Voldemort was not very accepting towards Muggles. Not towards Muggle borns either, now that she thought of it. Though she had the feeling that Barty would try to protect her.
When they all sat down, except for Barty, Barty rolled up his sleeve and held his underarm stretched out in front of him, his wand hovering above the Dark mark on his arm. He took a deep breath, and then he pressed his wand firmly against his arm. The next moment, a figure appeared, clouded in dark smoke. A figure with a skin as white as a sheet and red, evil, snake-like eyes that froze your heart when you looked at them. That was not the case for Barty, however. A smile of pure joy appeared on Barty's face, his eyes lit up in a way Hermione had never seen before on him. Almost immediately, Barty sank down on one knee and he bowed his head.
"My Lord," he said, his voice full of awe and glee.
The rest of the room, including Hermione, quickly stood up and followed Barty's example, kneeling down for the man who had just appeared. Everyone, except for Harry. He was not showing one sign of deference. Hermione understood why, he was most likely about to die, and he was not going to die a coward. Hermione, on the other hand, knew that she would get punished if she did not do what was expected from her. Either by the hand of Voldemort or by the hand of Barty. So she showed her respect, even though she had none.
"Arise, Barty, my faithful," Voldemort said softly.
Barty quickly stood up, muttering a polite welcome to his master.
"I see you have brought me Harry Potter. I must admit, I did not expect this. Though I should have known that you would be the one to deliver me Potter. Well done, Barty, well done," Voldemort praised his servant.
Barty grew even happier, if that was even possible.
"Thank you, my Lord," he said.
"How is your daughter? Is she not causing you any trouble?" Voldemort asked.
"No, my Lord. She is doing great. I am going to teach her everything I know. She will be useful to us. My Lord, may I introduce you, her grandparents," Barty said, gesturing towards the elderly couple that was still kneeling down.
"Ah, yes. You told me about them. A Muggle and a Halfblood, aren't they? Well, well… Are they obedient?"
"Yes, my Lord. Very much so. As they should be. They know their place."
"I doubt that, my dear Barty. I doubt that very much. Look at the Muggle, she is not nearly afraid enough. I don't see her trembling," Voldemort said, taking a few steps towards the old woman. "Tell me, Muggle, are you grateful for Barty's kindness?"
"Y-yes, my L-lord," she stammered, not daring to look up.
"Are you obedient?"
"Y-yes, my Lord," she repeated, audibly fighting back her tears.
"Good… Because a Muggle like you is beneath a Pureblood like Barty. You should thank him on your bare knees for allowing you inside his house. You can stay on the floor for now," Voldemort ordered.
Then he turned towards Hermione.
"If it isn't our dear Miss Granger," he said with a voice that made her skin crawl. "I hope she is obedient as well, Barty."
"She is, my Lord, she helped me capturing Potter, actually," Barty said. "She is quite a brave and loyal thing, and she is learning to be loyal to the right people. Ain't that right, Hermione?" Barty asked.
Hermione only nodded in response.
"Is that so? You helped Barty?" Voldemort asked.
"Yes… I did, my Lord," Hermione said with difficulty.
Voldemort looked rather pleased with that, and Barty looked almost proudly.
"My Lord, if… If it is not too much to ask… I would like to keep the girl. For now. She is very entertaining, and she is learning to be loyal to us. If will dispose of her the moment she causes trouble, of course, but… I would like to have her around for now, my Lord. With your permission," Barty said carefully, bowing his head slightly.
"Are you sure, Barty? She is a Mudblood, after all… You could get every girl in the entire world, every Pureblood girl, and you choose to feel attached to this one? I cannot see I am pleased with that, but I will not deny you anything either. You are my most faithful servant, and you will be rewarded for that. I can see why you like her… She is strong, smart, really powerful for someone with her blood status. You may keep her."
"Thank you, my Lord. She will not disappoint you," Barty bowed.
"I hope she will not disappoint you. She should be grateful to you for keeping her. Without you she would have been dead. You can make her powerful beyond belief. I hope she realizes that."
"She does, my Lord. I will make sure of that," Barty said firmly.
"Good. Then… Finally… Mister Potter," Voldemort said triumphantly. "After all this time. Yet, I still win. All your fight, all in vain…"
"It was not in vain," Harry snapped. "I will never bow for you, and there are millions of others who will follow my example."
Voldemort chuckled.
"I don't think so, boy," he said. "I will make an example of you. You, the beacon of hope for so many weak individuals. When they see you dead, when they know that I have killed you, no one will doubt my power any longer. The Order will be hunted down. Hogwarts will be in my power. The Ministry will be mine. Everyone will bow before me."
"As long as there's hope, you will never win," Harry growled.
"Ah, but that's the point. All their hope will be gone. Dumbledore, the Order, and you. The boy who lived. I shall make an example of you. I will kill you in front of the press, so that there will be no doubt to my power and reign," Voldemort said. "I will take you to the Ministry."
"I will come with you on one condition. You will not hurt my friends," Harry demanded.
"You have no choice but to come with me," Voldemort said. "But, I am willing to grant you this last wish. If your friends don't decide to cause me any trouble, of course."
"They won't," Harry said, but with a defiant look in his eyes.
"As soon as the boy is dead," Voldemort continued, again talking to Barty, "you shall be rewarded beyond belief. My most faithful, my most powerful, you will become my second, together with Bellatrix. I shall give you land, and the full power over Hogwarts. You are allowed to kill or torture anyone who refuses to show you deference besides myself and my most trusted Death Eaters."
"Thank you, my Lord, I will not disappoint you," Barty said gratefully.
"I would like to talk with you about some more practical business, now that I am here. The rest can leave, except for Potter. Do you have some Firewhiskey by any chance?" Voldemort asked.
"Of course, my Lord," Barty replied, offering his master a seat at the table. "Please sit down, master. WINKY!"
Winky appeared within a second, bowing deeply.
"What can Winky do for master?" she asked.
"Give us three Firewhiskeys. I think Potter can use one too. And make it quick, please, Winky, we do not have all day," Barty ordered.
"Right away, master Barty," Winky bowed before leaving again.
"And you are dismissed," Barty said to the Dawson couple who was still kneeling on the floor. "Go to the kitchen and stay there. And you, Hermione, you can go to your bedroom."
Hermione stood up quickly, not bothering to look at Voldemort again. She did give Harry one last look, however, and with a face full of regret she left the room. There was nothing she could do about this anymore. At least she had managed to keep Ron safe, that was something. She quickly ran up the stairs, ready to jump inside her bed and cry. But that was not going to happen. Because when she entered her room, there was already sitting someone on the edge of her bed. It was Ron.
"Ron!" Hermione hissed with surprise. "I thought you left!"
"And I came back," he grinned.
"How did you even get in here? Barty locked everything."
"Not everything. I found a shovel outside, and I could smash the window in the study. Then I found your room. At least, I assumed this was your room, it was the only room where I found female clothes," Ron shrugged. "I'm here to get you out."
Hermione shook her head.
"Please, Ron, you should bring yourself to safety. I-I don't know what he will do if he finds out that you were here. And I can't leave, he has used Dark Magic… The house won't let me leave. Not without him. I am not even sure anymore if I want to leave, to be honest. He cares for me, he'll go berserk if he finds out I left him. We are building trust," Hermione confessed.
"He brainwashed you, Hermione. You just don't see it. But he did. You think you love him, but you don't. He is a Death Eater. He has as good as killed Harry. Our best friend. You don't do that to someone you love. Come with me," Ron said again.
"You- you don't understand. And I can't leave. He'll know. He'll kill you. Please, I am only trying to warn you, to protect you," Hermione whispered.
"You weren't trying to protect Harry, were you?!" Ron snapped. "Now come with me, or I'll have to force you. There is no way I'll leave without you."
"If he finds you…"
"He won't. But that is why we have to leave now."
"I don't want to leave, Ronald! I don't want to! I have to help him, I have to make sure he doesn't kill our friends! Our family! We have an agreement. And as long as I am with him, he will not hurt my friends. They will be protected. Barty has promised me."
"Crouch isn't a good man. He is only using you. He will throw you away like trash as soon as he finds some pretty Pureblood girl to play around with. He only likes to see you break, which is exactly what he has done with you. This is not who you are!" Ron said firmly.
"He is not using me. He is protecting me. He has even asked the Dark Lord if he could keep me. You don't know him like I do. He is not a good man, I know that, but from his perspective, he is doing the right thing. And if you dare taking me away against my will, then you are the one who is wrong," Hermione snapped. "Now leave and make sure you stay away. Stay safe."
Ron stood up, but he didn't leave.
"How- How can I persuade you…" he asked hopelessly.
"You can't. I don't want you to be in any danger, Ron. I love you too much for that."
"And you love Crouch more? Is that it? Is that what you are saying?" he argued.
"I- I don't know. Maybe. I don't know. It's confusing. All I know is that he will be back any second from now on, and when he finds you, he will not let you live."
Hermione pushed him away from her gently, hoping that he would finally leave her. She honestly didn't know what she felt anymore, but she wasn't going to risk any more lives by trying to escape. If that were even possible. Of course, there was a chance that Barty had not put up the defensive spells that kept her locked in, but she couldn't be sure. And she couldn't risk it either. But Ron didn't leave, instead, he only took a step closer and he kissed her on the lips.
"I'm not leaving without you, 'Mione, I love you," he murmured, deepening the kiss. "I won't leave you behind with that monster… Please…"
Hermione could only kiss him back. She made no attempt to push him away from her. Even though she didn't agree with what he said. Because Barty was no monster, not to her anymore. He had been kind to her lately. He was really trying. But being in Ron's arms… It felt so good. It felt safe. Even though they really weren't safe. But she completely forgot that they were in Crouch Manor, with the possibility of Barty entering the room at any time. They were both in some sort of trance, completely disappearing in the moment, in each other. The next moment, they were on the bed together, kissing each other roughly and tugging at each other's clothes.
It was only when the door of the room opened that Hermione woke up from her trance. Her heart that had been beating with excitement, was now beating with fear.