TWENTY-NINE
Friday, 29 April 2005
Over the course of the following week, Hermione stayed at Riddle's side while they planned how the Summit would go. Despite the heavy wards already in place to protect the school itself, Riddle wanted more. Among all the other arrangements they had agreed upon, the two of them going to the castle alone Friday night was one of them. Once they had word that everyone had been cleared out with the exception of Headmaster Archibald, they planned to go.
A few of Riddle's advisors exchanged glances amongst themselves when he had made that announcement. She didn't need to be a mind reader to know they thought it was a bad idea. But it wasn't their call to make and they wisely kept their mouths shut.
That morning, Hermione had set about to packing a week's worth of clothes for both of them. When Riddle had remarked their lone trunk seemed rather light, she reminded him that since she would once again have access to the Hogwarts Library, she didn't need much else. She had even gone so far as to jest with him that he might not see her much and he knew where to find her if she disappeared.
As the day wore on, Hermione found her nerves getting the better of her. She had spent the week preparing herself for confronting the place of so much loss. She would never be ready, but when it was time to go, she felt strong enough to face the memories.
They had sent their trunk ahead through the Floo with a note informing Headmaster Archibald that they would be Apparating to Hogsmeade and coming in through the front. Once they met him at his office, he was free to go. He returned the note with one of his one shortly after they had finished eating dinner that the castle was cleared and he was awaiting their visit. After a last check in to make sure the arrangements for the following day were in order, Riddle laced his fingers with hers and the next thing she knew, she was in Hogsmeade.
Since the small wizarding village wasn't what made her heart ache when thinking of the Scottish Highlands, they didn't stick around long. For the most part, she glanced around, trying to avoid looking at anything in particular for longer than necessary. They strolled along the main path in silence, ignoring the stares and the whispers of those they passed.
The relief she felt upon walking away from Hogsmeade was short lived as Hagrid's hut came into view. She swallowed hard thinking of the half-giant; the man who had been a good friend and confidant during her adolescent years. The last memory she had of him was carrying Harry into the courtyard. She had only heard about his death during the battle after the fact. Long after Riddle had carried her away from the scene.
But it was other memories that made her breath catch as they neared the building on the edges of Hogwarts' property lines. Ones that were shroud in snow as well as the heat of a thousand suns. Of giving into desires she hadn't realized she'd even had. Ones of being told there would be no end to the madness. Where all hopes of an eventual escape had been squashed. Where betrayal had been witnessed, sparking the beginning of the end.
She stopped outside the hut and stared up at him. "Did you know Draco saw us that night?"
He inclined his head without hesitation.
Hermione let her gaze flicker towards the hut behind Riddle for a moment before she nodded. It wasn't worth knowing the details; it wouldn't change what had happened. So she turned away from the hut and continued up the path towards the castle.
They took the long way around because she wanted to enter through the main courtyard by the entrance. It was where the worst had happened and so long as she got that out of the way first, the rest would be easier to handle. At least that's what she told herself as they approached. The closer they got, the more the memories resurfaced. By the time they reached the courtyard, the smell of battle stung her nose and the sounds of it replaced the otherwise silence of the evening.
Hermione made it to the center of the courtyard before it got the best of her. Before the memories sucked her in and made her relive everything as though she had gone back through time again. All around her, people were screaming as spells flung back and forth in the air. The smell of fire, dust, and death made her stomach roll. She pitched forward as nausea threatened to make her spew sick all over the stone.
Blue eyes.
Green eyes.
Both pairs were lifeless as they stared back at her.
She closed her eyes to try and reset her mind; to ground herself and think of anything else. She concentrated on Riddle's hand at the small of her back and worked on cramming the emotions and the memories attached to them back in their box. As she did, he breathing returned to normal; the sights, sounds, and smells of battle retreated.
And when she opened her eyes, it was grey eyes staring back at her.
Without a word, she turned toward the entrance, squared her shoulders, and began to move, knowing he would be right behind her.
They took their time moving from the Entrance Hall to the Headmaster's office. Riddle gave the password the moment they saw the gargoyle and after a short trek up the winding staircase, they were in the greeting the wizard. Hermione spent the few minutes they were there, wandering around the room and making notes of the differences between Archibald and Dumbledore. She hadn't been in the Headmaster's office much during her short stint in the forties to add Dippet to the comparison.
Archibald didn't stay for long and Hermione knew it was in part to Riddle not being one for idle conversation. He simply assured the Headmaster no harm would come to the school and that he would send for him the moment it was safe for him and the others to return. Hermione had rejoined Riddle's side the moment the other wizard stepped through the Floo. Not wanting to linger in the office any longer, Riddle levitated their trunk and charmed it to follow them towards the dungeons.
She wasn't surprised that he would choose the Slytherin quarters as headquarters for their stay. Nor was she surprised when he pulled her down the hall towards the boys' dormitory and into the room belonging to Head Boy. Hermione was prepared for this one and it helped seeing the room with one bed instead of two. It was easier not to think of Draco as he set the trunk down and set about sanitizing the room to his liking.
What did surprise her was that he didn't linger in the room. Didn't goad her into remembering that Draco had once lived in this space too. Instead, he simply turned from the room and beckoned for her to follow.
Hermione had had her fair share of late-night strolls. Often times it was so late that it seemed quiet enough that she could pretend she was alone. It was another thing entirely to know that there actually wasn't a single soul inside the castle other than her and Riddle. It made it much more haunting than she ever thought possible. Much easier for the memories of battle to creep up on her if she wasn't careful.
They spent most of their perusing in silence. The few glances that she did catch of him told her she wasn't the only one caught up in old memories. She was reminded then, that he had been an orphan. That this was the only place he had ever felt at home. A shiver cascaded down the length of her spine as she realized they too shared that in common. That once she stepped foot into Hogwarts, she had only ever been to the house she had been raised in a handful of times.
She was grateful that he only took her into the girl's bathroom on the second floor instead down into the chamber itself. Since he had commissioned the rebuilding of the school, she knew he had left the chamber accessible so he could visit it someday. As eager as she was to get her hands on a Basilisk fang, she was certain that had been the only part of the chamber removed.
As they left the bathroom, she wondered if he had seen the cup she destroyed.
The only place they didn't go to was the library. He knew as well as she did that had they gone, she probably would have turned her earlier jest into reality and set up shop there. The idea of warding herself into the library for the week, alone, sounded like heaven.
By the time they made it up to the Astronomy Tower, night had fallen. The moon was just a sliver in an otherwise clear sky, surrounded by millions of stars. Unlike all the other nights they had come up here, the air was warm. And she wasn't afraid. If anything, being on the Astronomy Tower was refreshing. A mixture of scents from the forest carried on the wind and she closed her eyes to try and identify them all. As if they would help settle her mind.
Just as he had many a time before, he stood behind her, pressing her front against the railing of the tower. He banded one arm around her waist while the other slithered its way up so his fingers could curl around the necklace at her throat.
"Do you want to know how I got the idea for a soul bond?"
She did, but then again, she didn't. Yet, she found herself nodding anyway.
"The night you created this," he said, raising the pendant as much as he could. She closed her eyes as the memory of that night came surging forward. "You connected us. I believe it was unintentional, but it was there." Her head tipped to the side as he traced the shell of her ear with his nose. "Had we not caught Kerus sneaking about, we might have bonded then," he murmured.
Despite the shiver, Hermione's chin lifted in defiance. "Then you wouldn't have been able to close yourself off to me like you want to now."
He let go of the necklace and his fingers landed on her chest, just over her heart. "I did want that." She went still at his words, unable to breathe for a moment. "For the briefest moment, it was all I wanted." He pulled his hand away and stepped back enough so he could guide her to turn and face him. "I told you many a time that your presence in my life changed my plans a great deal. That was one of them, Hermione."
He reached up to cup her face with an uncharacteristic amount of gentleness. "And it was not just your magic I was after. You convinced me to see you as an equal; to share the throne of my eventual kingdom with." His grip tightened slightly and his eyes darkened. "But you went and betrayed me by leaving with Draco."
Hermione's eyes widened as the raw emotion on his face.
"For half a century I wanted nothing more than to crush you both for that betrayal. To watch you both burn at the hands of the other." His fingers trailed up her side on her right, his other hand curving around her hip on the left. "I intended to let you die in the courtyard with your friends," he said, his voice getting lower. "But once again I let you in and altered my plans to include you."
Hermione wet her lips as she waited for the other shoe to finally drop. She could feel it pressing down on her from above and just knew that it was coming.
"For nearly seven years, you have proven yourself loyal. You showed me that I could go above and beyond my own expectations with you at my side." His fingers curled around her chin, stretching her neck to the point where it almost started to hurt. "I knew that telling you about the bond would make you panic, but I had hoped you would have honored the deal and not run straight to him."
She swallowed hard as she tried not to let her panic flare now.
"You should know by now that you cannot hide anything from me, Hermione." His voice had fallen dangerously low as he applied a bit more pressure to his grip.
"You say you came back to me of your own accord, but I cannot believe you. Not when you have broken your side of the deal with me more times than I can count."
"Riddle-"
He stretched her neck even more, making her whimper at the sting of it. "Once more and I shall be forced to take him out of the equation altogether." His eyes shimmered in the starlight as he stared down at her. "I want the bond with you to be open; to have it be a two-way street, but that cannot happen unless Draco is gone."
Her vision blurred with tears as he caught on to what he meant.
"You have to choose, Hermione," he said after a moment.
"If I choose you, you'll kill him," she said, her voice tight. "And if I choose him, you'll kill us both."
"Yes."
She shoved at him and he let her go without a fight. She rubbed at her neck as she stared at him; eyes still misted with tears. "Either way this ends in death."
He tipped his head to the side and offered a dangerous smirk as he asked, "Was there a part of you that ever thought it would not?"
She shuddered as she leaned back against the railing. She shook her head as she stared back at him with wide eyes. "No," she whispered. "There wasn't."
He inclined his head and extended a hand for her to take. "We should retire for the evening. We have a long few days ahead of us."
Too shaken to argue, she took it. Together, they took their leave of the Astronomy Tower and for the first time in years, Hermione felt truly afraid of the future.