CHAPTER 19 - Love and sacrifice
Tom was looking at her calm, sleeping face. She was indeed beautiful like that. He picked a necklace and took her into his arms, carrying her downstairs bridal style.
He felt a bit guilty for using sleeping potion on everybody in the house, but the ritual should not be interrupted. And when they wake up, his parents and siblings will be guilt free, just like they should.
He knew that otherwise they would question every step. Mother and father proved that this was what they wanted, but even then, would they really be ok seeing the full process?
No. And protecting his family was a must. They didn't have to understand. He can explain himself later. It was enough that he convinced them to let him invite Hermione for a ritual. They all can just sleep, safe in their beds when he will insure their future together. She will thank him for that, and he will be free to be with Weasleys forever. And then, Voldemort can do whatever he wants with the rest of the world. He didn't care all that much about anything but them.
First, he decides to transfigure Hermione's pink flannel pajamas into something more appropriate for his queen.
He himself had wizard robes on him now. He transfigured them too, to look a bit more elegant, but nothing like what he had during Yule Ball. They were black with embroidered silver snakes. Emerald green vest underneath.
Tom pointed his wand at the girl and muttered a silent spell to change her into a long, black gown, with similar embroidered snakes around her waist line. He put the necklaces on her neck with a smooth swing of his wand.
He took a vaile of perlacence substance out of his pocket and started to paint a circle with it on grass.
Delicately, he lay her on a green field and lifted her head a bit, he purred the rest of the liquid into his mouth only to share a kiss with her, so that it entered her throat as well.
Unicorn blood tasted funny… like nothing he ever had before. It was both sweet and spicy. Like it was about to burn his tongue. But after drinking it he felt light, as if his mind was under the influence of alcohol. and it smelled like roses mixed with candied fruits. He knew what he was doing was evil. Killing an unicorn was a crime, but then again they weren't exactly blood donors. He chuckled at the thought. Nothing that little imperious can't fix tho…
Suddenly as he stopped drinking the blood, his eyes darkened, his chest felt heavy. Was the magic of the dark deed down on him?
Nonetheless… he must finish the ritual… he gasped feeling a rush of high fever…
After a while the heat stopped, he sighs with relief. He was ready to continue the ritual.
A human sacrifice would be useful right now, but he had to work with what he had. The roped gnome tries to scream by his gag as Tom turns his way.
- Avada Kedavra! - he yelled, and the small body stopped struggling, the gnome didn't even shriek and Tom was proud. Haunting them and killing them in various ways over the past two years surely turned out to be a good practice for this big day.
He touched the necklace with the tip of his wand now. It was time for the last, most important step.
- As one soul becomes the two, as one mind splits, the lover willingly gives her groom all her passion, all her love, all her soul! - he chanted and her unconscious body lifted above the ground freeing her spirit in front of his eyes.
The white misty representation of Hermione's soul looked lost, she knew she wasn't dead so having been outside her body must have been so weird. But after seeing Tom in front of her, she smiled mildly and kissed him. He felt cold running down his spine as the spirit touched him.
Then his own fraction of the soul left his body for a minute. They gaze into each other's eyes. Spirits swirled around each other. Giggling and chasing themselves around a circle of unicorn blood.
Finally they enter the two opposite drops of rubies on the necklace. If anybody touched it right now, it would burn his skin, as souls mingled with each other inside.
After a while two unconscious bodies of lovers revived. Hermione with a feeling of a great loss, Tom with a feeling of gaining a whole new soul. He at last had a full soul for the first time in half a century. He was more than just a horcrux of Dark Lord. He was Tom Marvolo Weasley.
Hermione started to wake up, not sure how she even ended up here, or what she had on herself. The first thing she saw was Tom pulling her to him.
- You were so brave, my love. - He cupped her cheeks and started to plant passionate kisses all over her neck.
- Umm… Thank you? - She only answered in her confusion.
- Ah, right, you don't remember. - He smiled. - Don't worry, I will explain everything but be sure, we are safe now. This was just a simple bonding ritual.
Somehow, maybe because of how weird and high she felt right now, she didn't ask more questions. She just pressed herself more to his chest.
She was bound to him now? He would protect her? Oh, well, that is a good thing…
And then she noticed a gnome.
A circle of pearlescent liquid.
A funny taste in her mouth.
Panic overwhelmed her and she passed out right into his arms.
Ron was helpless looking far from the window at the ritual that took place in their backyard. His mouth wide open as the spirits of Tom and Hermione started to dance in a circle only to vanish to the jewelry.
He lost her.
Lost her for good.
And Tom, no matter what he was telling them, was as dangerous as You-know-Who himself. He gulped. Maybe it was a good thing he seemed to care for them? He sure didn't want to find out how he would treat them all otherwise.
He regrets skipping dinner this evening…
Hermione was wrong all along, sometimes it was better not to know.
Voldemort rises from a weird fever dream with cold sweat. How anything was able to scare him anymore was beyond him.
- My Lord? - Nagini curled on a bed and pressed her massive long serpent body to comfort her master. Despite being a snake for so long she didn't forget her true form. Oh, how she loved how he touched her and petted her. How he let her into his bed. The only man in her life who understands her…
- It's gone… - The Wizard gasped. - I can't feel the connection with my diary anymore…
He must find a place he saw in his visions. To get into the bottom of it…
Note: Hi! I bet you didn't expect new chapter! Well, as I said, I wanted to wrap this fanfic around february and since I'm buying new hard drive to replace my old C drive, I decided it would be preferable to speed thing up a bit before hand and come back to wrting when my PC will be as good as new again (not that I don't keep my fics in goodle drive, but since it's only few chapters that are already writen it will be better than ask you to wait for the finale for 2 weeks or something. :) I hope you will enjoy this last week of Odd one Out. Please comment and leave me kudos.