A Wish Across the Stars
Lady Countryrose
Ch. 12
Due to the amount of flight, because of Hermione's need of rest. They had finally made their way to coast after a few days of flying. During that time, Tom would stay in his dragon form. Allowing Hermione to lay near in front paws, keep her protected and warm. Because who in their right mind would get close to a sleeping dragon and live.
Tom found some offshore islands and flew towards them. He found one of them that he was willing to land. Because it had its own fresh water and happened to have a cave to where they could live. Knowing that he would be able to transform the cave into something. That Hermione would feel comfortable to live in. Like a makeshift, built-in dwelling.
He had seen people building houses into a mountain. At least the pictures that he found after coming back to life. After his twelve years...of rest. It was because of that memory of those pictures. He was thinking about doing something like that with the cave. He wouldn't have to build a castle. It built itself with some magic.
Once they were on the ground. Hermione had slid off of his dragon form back. When she was able to stand on her own. Since the long flight had caused her to wobble. Because she wasn't able to move much, while in the air.
Tom changed into his human form, where he wrapped his arms around her. Allowing her to rest her head on his shoulder. "I'm going to have to make some kind of bed...for you to lay on. While I'm...making us a home."
Hermione giggled, "You...building a home?" Her body shook for a moment before she pulled herself away from. "Sorry, it's just hard to imagine...Lord Voldemort building anything." She gave a thoughtful look. "Well...other than his own empire."
Tom chuckled darkly, "Thanks for the bound of confidence there dear…" His eyes darkened for a moment. "But either way...things need to get done." He glanced around. "I don't see much of anything that would be used for you to lay on…"
He closed his eyes, trying to call for this magic. The magic that he once had. He snapped his fingers before he had heard a gasp. When he opened his eyes, he saw a bed of...furs on the ground near the lake on the island.
Hermione gaped at him. "You...you still have magic?"
"Apparently," he stated with a bit of uneasiness in his voice. "Come on, let's get you to lay down. Then I can get on working on a place to live…."
Once Hermione was laying down on the furs, she gave a glare towards the human/dragon with heat. She felt like she couldn't do much of anything. She knew was tiring easily than she would have liked. She almost wished that she wasn't expecting...just because she wanted to be useful.
As she watched Tom walking around the lake. Knowing one of the first rules of survival was to find a fresh source of water. Next was to find...a source of food. It was one of the few things that she remembered from her survival teachings of her father. Since was a military man before becoming a dentist.
It was times these that she was glad that her father had been a voice of reason. When it came to wanting his daughter to survive. Even when there was no war to be found. She had to chuckle in thought. She managed to find a war...regardless of it not being in the muggle world.
She saw Tom moving towards the mountainside near the waterfall. It was where she saw him using his dragon magic to burn into the massive rock. It was enough to where she could the backwash of the massive heat. It wasn't uncomfortable or anything, but it was overwhelming to feel such magic. It was enough to calm...whatever had caused her nerves to react to not being around...his magic.
Hermione had hoped that whatever he was doing. He knew what he was doing. Because for the first time in a long time, she really didn't know what was going to happen. She almost wished that she would be back...home. It was where she knew the answers or even where she could look up all the answers.
There was a part of her life that she hated that books were her only friends. But she knew from an early age...books don't hurt. They never physically hurt, at least. But it was through Professor Snape that she knew that they could lie. It just took her a very long time to realize that.
'What would Professor Snape say if he knew that I was with his old master Tom?' Hermione almost wanted to laugh. Trying to picture the man. He was would look...beyond words at least. Then he would criticize that she wasn't the know-it-all that he had thought he knew.
She then turned to see what Tom was doing. Only to see a dragon in his place, clawing rocks out of a massive hole that he had made. 'Is he making a...long term shelter?' It really made sense. Knowing that Tom wanted to be somewhere far away from...everything.
Hermione placed her hands on her lower belly. It was when she started to feel...a flutter of magic. It was when she could understand the reasoning of Tom's overprotectiveness. It wasn't just in his head. She whipped her head towards him, seeing him working with greater speeds.
'He really cares?' It was the thought alone that had gotten her to think. It wasn't just physical attraction that he had for her. But much more than she had believed. 'His protectiveness is real.'
After a few moments of the dragon digging out the freshly made cave. Tom became himself again and made his way towards Hermione with a smile on his face. "I never thought doing manual labor would be...so uplifting." He chuckled as he brought himself to his knees, bringing himself to where he could see her eyes. "But you should see what I've made."
Hermione was surprised by his...tone of happiness. It was true happiness, not something forced or faked. She couldn't help it, but to feel relieved to see such things from him. It made her feel giddy, just seeing the raw emotion coming from him.
"Come, I want to show you what I've provided." Tom helped her to her feet. His green eyes flashed...showing more raw emotion. "Which will show that I'm able to provide for our family."
"You really don't have to prove anything," stated Hermione, as she was following him towards the cave that he made. "I know that you're willing to do what it takes, Tom." She saw the proud look on his face, as his chest puffed out. 'Do all men do that?'
"Come, love." He wrapped his arm around her back, guiding her towards the opening. It was where she saw a dugout of the main chamber. "I'm planning on explaining the area or even actually building a place." A chuckle left his lips, shaking his head. "I really don't know what kind of children we'll have, Hermione. But I like to expect the unexpected."
"Meaning," she asked curiously.
"Expect that we may have children that may be dragons, mixed, or simply human." His eyes flashed for a moment. "But whatever they are, they will have magic."
Hermione became slightly fearful about her children. But she knew, regardless of who or what they become. She would love them all the same. As she was making her way into the cave. She felt hands on her waist, as his chest against her back.
"I know this isn't much…," as they glanced around the chamber. "...but it's a start." He let her go as he made his way towards the back wall. "I'll make a bed back here," as he pointed towards a corner. "I'll be laying towards the opening. With my great scenes, I'll be able to stop any intruders before they can make their way in here."
Hermione knew that he was being a male and that he was doing whatever it took to take care of his family. But to downgrade her like that...it was hard to imagine. "Can you pray tell, why are you downgrading me so?"
"I'm not doing it because of you being a woman, Hermione. I'm doing it because you're growing life." His eyes flashed, seeing that he was trying to show her where he stood. "You can't use magic while pregnant. It's because of your natural essence needs to surround the whom. To protect it, while it grows."
He let a chuckle to leave his lips, as he walked towards her. "We don't even know the number of children we're going to have! It could be likely, because of me being a dragon. We could have at...the very most." He stopped talking for the moment, causing her to flip out in her mind. She was nearly afraid of the number of what he was going to say.
"We could have up to five children, Hermione. They're going to need your magic; as well as mine, to keep growing." His hands found their way on her, caressing her lower belly. Feeling the light sparks reaching out towards him. "New life is more important than one's ambitions to show that they are strong…"
"Tom...that is old wives tale…" She was fishing and she knew it. She was only trying to show him that she could still do magic. Maybe not how she may have liked, but still be able to be useful.
He shook his head, at least he wasn't showing his anger. Like he would have done...back home. A place that he would have shown his dominance over her, even through magic itself. Here, he was a different man/beast. He was showing through his actions that he truly cared.
"Sorry to burst your...bubble. But there were a lot of documentaries back...home. Even saw a case for myself that magic usage while pregnant will kill a child. Look at Bella Lestrange, she was pregnant while she...face the Longbottoms…."
Hermione pulled herself away from him, raising an eyebrow. "You mean...she couldn't find herself to stop using magic long enough...to have her own child. Whose child was it?"
"Her husband's," he chuckled lightly. "I have heard rumors that she would have liked it to be true. But...I never touched that witch. Sure...she had tried a few times. But I've always knew when she tried to spike my drinks."
"So...what did you do to the drinks?"
"I gave them to her husband." His lips pulled into a smirk. "Rodolphus was happy whenever I've given them to him. Everytime that I did, he thought he was lucky…" Tom chuckled in his deep baritone. "When she found out that she was with child, she knew she had to stop giving me the drink."
Hermione giggled softly. "Whoever knew that someone as dimwitted as her. Had thought she could outsmart you…" She glanced around, smiling. "I don't know if this place will be enough, after the children are born."
Tom glanced around towards one of the walls, where she knew as away from the waterfall. "I was thinking on making another chamber...where the children would have." He glanced back at her. "I know this isn't pretty or anything, but it will be enough. At least until I decide on making a house."
Hermione glanced down for a moment. "Or you could wait until I'm able to use my magic. We could turn the cave into...somewhat a home. I mean...if some of the children end up being dragons. I would like to be where they are and not feel like they're not part of my life."
Tom's lips grew into a smile. "Are you telling me that you may want more children?"
"I'm stopping at FIVE," her eyes gave a glare towards the man before her. "There is no where in hell I'm willing to have MORE!" She shivered, rubbing her arms. "You better hope this set is less than five, mister."
Tom laughed, his eyes shining in happiness that she couldn't get enough of. It made her feel light, just enjoying the sound of his tones. "I'll just have to prey, for the very first time then." His eyes flashed in what she could only say was need. He wanted her.
"Hermione," his voice purred, as he walked towards her. "You're going to make him into a hard working man. Someone, who I had thought my own father should have been for me." Once he had her against the far wall, he snuggled up to her. "You're going to make me into a better man, without even trying."
She didn't know what to say after that. Somewhere deep within her own soul, she felt that he was telling her the truth. He pulled away, seeing what she could only imagine as love in his eyes.
"I'll go and get what I need to make...a proper bed. Let's get you back to those furs, so you can relax."
"I'm going to feel lazy. After all, this spoiling me," she huffed at him.
"I don't care, Hermione. You're going to take it easy, while you're pregnant." He gave her a kiss on her cheek, as he helped her lay on the furs again. "But I'll be nearby. I don't want you to strain those lungs of yours…"
It was when she hit him, causing the man form of a dragon to laugh. Before he made his way towards the nearby woods. "You'll thank me...when all this is done!"
"I doubt it," she yelled back at him. Enjoying the view of him moving his muscles.
As the day moved on. She saw him building, what she could only be a wooden frame of a bed. She had no idea that he knew how to build things. It sure wasn't from the information that she had gotten about him from school.
"Where did you learn to build like that," she asked him. When he was building, not that far away from her.
"You recall that I was an orphan," he spoke to her. While placing things together. "Well, I was the few older children still there…" He was making his own nails, from his fire and bits of metal that he had found. "Mrs. Wool had me learn from our groundskeeper about carpenter work. Thinking it would be a good trade in learning."
He glanced up to see her watching him. "Since none of them knew about Hogwarts or anything. So I would work around the orphanage, as to help out. Part of my duties was to make new beds." He hammered the nail into the wood with some stones. "I also had to make bigger tables, since she was getting more children coming in."
"So...you became free help for the one place you hated." Hermione wasn't really thinking about what her words would have caused. But she wanted to understand the man before her.
Tom sighed, "I shouldn't have really hated the place. I just hated the fact; more than anything, have found out I had a living father. Who knew, I was probably in an orphanage but didn't want anything to do with. Since my mother was a witch. Saying that he was glad that my mother had died…"
He shook his head, glaring at the wood before him. "It was the thing that caused me to kill him." He then glanced towards Hermione with hurtful eyes. "He wanted to kill me too when he realized that I was...a wizard. Saying it was an abomination. One of the real reasons I hated muggles and muggleborns."
He went back to work, hammering nails into the wood. "I wanted to end them before they found and end us…" He moved around the framework. "I just didn't want any more witch-hunts. Especially after I had found Salazar's journals of why he didn't want muggleborns in school. It was because of having a witch-hunter that came to the school, after finding out that he was a wizard. He used that opportunity to come in and killed as many of the students as he could. Before any of the teachers had found out about him."
"Wow," gasped Hermione with understanding in her eyes. "I have always wanted to know his reasoning behind it was. It would make sense," she glanced around the landscape. "If only I had done some research on the backstory of the historical value of the time. I would have helped."
"It wouldn't have helped much," stated Tom with sorrow in his eyes. "There has always been witch-hunts throughout history. Even as far back as Merlin's time. Because the monks had declared us being 'Devil's Children.'" He chuckled, "Maybe a few of us were."
Hermione allowed what information that she had heard to sink into her own thoughts. Back when her own parents had learned about witches and wizards. They too were a bit overwhelmed with their own beliefs. She nearly giggled, when a few flashbacks came to mind.
"I guess it would explain why my mother tried throwing holy water on Professor McGonagall."
Causing Tom to chuckle too. "I wouldn't mind watching that. She was a bit stuck in the arse if I remember from our time back in Hogwarts."
"You went to school, with Professor McGonagall?" She couldn't see that for some reason. Then again, Tom really looked young in her eyes.
"Yes," Tom stopped to look at her. As his lips pulled into a smirk. "She was high into rules, even for a Gryffindor Head Girl. While I was Slytherin Head Boy, at the time. It was also during that time that I was...making my own club."
Between the two of them. They knew which club he was talking about. "She would catch all of them out at night." He chuckled. "She had found me wandering one night, thinking that I was up to no good…"
Tom shook his head. "If only she knew…" He stood up, moving the frame to show that it was standing on its own. "All done…" He then picked it up and moved it into the cave.
"Who else did you go to school with," she asked when he came back out.
He gave her a thoughtful look. "I don't know who else you would have known…" He helped her to her feet. "I mean I went to school with Lucius's father. Severus's mother." He then gave a thoughtful look. "As well as Regulus Black's parents and uncle." He shivered as he picked up the furs. "Regulus' mother was not the most pleasing of people to meet."
"What do you mean," Hermione asked as she followed him. "Don't tell me she tried….to charm you?"
Tom shivered some more. "Oh that she did," he growled deeply. "I had to watch my back at times. She was like a snake. Always waiting when I wasn't paying attention to try to strike, whenever I was alone."
"Dear God," Hermione shivered, as pictures ran through her head. "Here I only knew her through her reached painting…"
"She still had a mouth, didn't she?"
"Among other things," she answered. "Did you know that Sirius ran away from home, because of her beliefs."
"Yes," stated Tom with sorrow in his eyes. "I was there when she was trying to get him to...work for me." He shook his head. "I was not...pleased. With his looks alone, I could have gotten a lot more followers to follow after him. I could have even gotten Potter's father among them."
"I'm glad you didn't," stated Hermione with heat in her eyes.
Tom chuckled, "Don't worry so much, love. I'm not mad at your assessment of me. It is all on the pass as it were, dear."
"What's changed," asked Hermione. "Tell me...what has caused you to change?"
"You," he simply stated. He threw the furs onto the wooden platform that he had made to a bed. "It looks like I'm going to have to get more furs for the bed." He glanced towards her with what looked to be love in his eyes. "Until then, you'll have the bed."
Tom then walked out of the cave. He knew that Hermione would be asking questions. It was only normal. He could only imagine that it may have been because of their...children. That was causing her to be...curious as to who he was, from his own words.
As he looked back when they had found each other in this...world. There was a big pull that drew each other into one another. They couldn't fight it. So after all the pull has slightly died down. It was time for their brains to work, once more.
He has found that if they were back...home. He might have found a way to have a relationship with Hermione. Even if it had met that he would have to take a de-age potion in order to do it. He could have also thrown a time-turner at her. He could even invent a spell to through her back in time. To his time, before he had become Lord Voldemort.
'Now thinking back, why stop at being a lord. I could have easily have become a king.' Other thoughts came rushing at him as well. 'But I doubt that Hermione would have liked being queen.'
As he walked around the area. He stayed within a mile or so from the cave. He didn't want to wander too far from his mate. The one who was carrying the future with her whom.
His inner beast was purring. He could only imagine what their children would look like. He could hardly wait.
