"Why?" Hermione heard a voice come from nowhere. She looked around her, but
could only see darkness.
"Why?" the voice came again. Hermione swung around, grasping air, desperate to find who was tormenting her. But in her desperation she lost her footing. She was falling.
The voice taunted her through the black enveloping her. "Why are you here? You mean nothing, why give you life? There is no point to you being here. You could never have been happy, never. How could you be? For there is no purpose in what life you have led. No purpose."
Hermione dropped down and down, flailing helplessly, despair filling her completely. She would never stop falling, nor would her despair ever leave her.
------------------------------------
Lord Voldemort stood in the drawing room of the Riddle House. The house he had regained his strength in, the house which he had masked from peering Muggle eyes, the house in which he would finally have his revenge on the one that reduced him to a mere fraction of the being he had once been.
"Filthy Mudblood." He looked on as Hermione writhed in agony and utter despair on the floor, four Dementors of Azkaban circling her. She was muttering to herself, as if in her sleep "Never happy, worthless, never, never, never-"
Suddenly Voldemort's disgust at the sight of Hermione's agony was interrupted. Interrupted by the entry of a ten-foot long snake.
"Well, Nagini." Voldemort greeted his pet and lookout in a low hiss. "Have you any news for me? Has that pitiful boy come to rescue his dear friend?"
The snake replied with a vicious hissing noise. To an outsider it would appear that whatever the snake was referring to caused it great distress.
Voldemort returned to his human tongue. "Interesting." He cast his unearthly eyes around the room. "Wormtail!" he snapped.
A short, balding man with a slightly pointed face and watery blue eyes stumbled out from the shadows.
"Y-yes my Lord?"
Voldemort surveyed him with the same disgust he had shown when looking at Hermione. "Take one of the Dementors. Go down to the hall at the foot of the stairs. It seems we have a visitor."
Shuddering, Wormtail led one of the Dementors down the stairs and into the entrance hall of the house. He stopped short when he saw who was skulking around there.
"Pettigrew, this is an interesting development," came the glib, oily voice from the foot of the stairs. "So were you and Black in on this together?"
Wormtail replied in a quivering voice. "Th-that's not important Snape. H- have you come to beg forgiveness of your former master?"
Snape looked at Pettigrew through narrowed eyes. "Do not imply that I am in any way as weak-minded as you."
Wormtail raised his head, as if trying to inspire confidence in himself.
"Well then y-you will suffer the consequences."
The Dementor advanced upon Snape, who nearly fainted as it grasped his arm.
------------------------------------
"Ah, Severus. It has been a while, has it not?" Voldemort saw Snape's eyes flicker in Hermione's direction.
He clicked his tongue in disapproval. "Severus, I expected better of you. Even if you were going to renounce the old ways, I thought that at least you would have retained some of my teachings. Yet I see that that Muggle loving Albus Dumbledore has had an adverse effect on you. I have no use for a former Death Eater, with sympathy for Mudbloods."
Snape began to raise his wand, but as if reading his thoughts, voldemort summoned the wand to him, just as Snape's arm began to move.
He shook his head. "Now, now Severus, you don't think that I cannot still sense the thoughts that were once so closely entwined with my own? My, my, you have been gone for some time, haven't you?"
For the first time that night, Snape felt fear take hold of him. He watched as three of the Dementors advanced on him, one remaining in place to allow Hermione to continue suffering. In an instant there was a Dementor on either side of him, grasping his arms. One was standing in front of him, removing its hood. With a horror unequalled by anything he had ever experienced, Snape realised what was about to happen, and just how incredibly hopeless his situation was.
"Why?" the voice came again. Hermione swung around, grasping air, desperate to find who was tormenting her. But in her desperation she lost her footing. She was falling.
The voice taunted her through the black enveloping her. "Why are you here? You mean nothing, why give you life? There is no point to you being here. You could never have been happy, never. How could you be? For there is no purpose in what life you have led. No purpose."
Hermione dropped down and down, flailing helplessly, despair filling her completely. She would never stop falling, nor would her despair ever leave her.
------------------------------------
Lord Voldemort stood in the drawing room of the Riddle House. The house he had regained his strength in, the house which he had masked from peering Muggle eyes, the house in which he would finally have his revenge on the one that reduced him to a mere fraction of the being he had once been.
"Filthy Mudblood." He looked on as Hermione writhed in agony and utter despair on the floor, four Dementors of Azkaban circling her. She was muttering to herself, as if in her sleep "Never happy, worthless, never, never, never-"
Suddenly Voldemort's disgust at the sight of Hermione's agony was interrupted. Interrupted by the entry of a ten-foot long snake.
"Well, Nagini." Voldemort greeted his pet and lookout in a low hiss. "Have you any news for me? Has that pitiful boy come to rescue his dear friend?"
The snake replied with a vicious hissing noise. To an outsider it would appear that whatever the snake was referring to caused it great distress.
Voldemort returned to his human tongue. "Interesting." He cast his unearthly eyes around the room. "Wormtail!" he snapped.
A short, balding man with a slightly pointed face and watery blue eyes stumbled out from the shadows.
"Y-yes my Lord?"
Voldemort surveyed him with the same disgust he had shown when looking at Hermione. "Take one of the Dementors. Go down to the hall at the foot of the stairs. It seems we have a visitor."
Shuddering, Wormtail led one of the Dementors down the stairs and into the entrance hall of the house. He stopped short when he saw who was skulking around there.
"Pettigrew, this is an interesting development," came the glib, oily voice from the foot of the stairs. "So were you and Black in on this together?"
Wormtail replied in a quivering voice. "Th-that's not important Snape. H- have you come to beg forgiveness of your former master?"
Snape looked at Pettigrew through narrowed eyes. "Do not imply that I am in any way as weak-minded as you."
Wormtail raised his head, as if trying to inspire confidence in himself.
"Well then y-you will suffer the consequences."
The Dementor advanced upon Snape, who nearly fainted as it grasped his arm.
------------------------------------
"Ah, Severus. It has been a while, has it not?" Voldemort saw Snape's eyes flicker in Hermione's direction.
He clicked his tongue in disapproval. "Severus, I expected better of you. Even if you were going to renounce the old ways, I thought that at least you would have retained some of my teachings. Yet I see that that Muggle loving Albus Dumbledore has had an adverse effect on you. I have no use for a former Death Eater, with sympathy for Mudbloods."
Snape began to raise his wand, but as if reading his thoughts, voldemort summoned the wand to him, just as Snape's arm began to move.
He shook his head. "Now, now Severus, you don't think that I cannot still sense the thoughts that were once so closely entwined with my own? My, my, you have been gone for some time, haven't you?"
For the first time that night, Snape felt fear take hold of him. He watched as three of the Dementors advanced on him, one remaining in place to allow Hermione to continue suffering. In an instant there was a Dementor on either side of him, grasping his arms. One was standing in front of him, removing its hood. With a horror unequalled by anything he had ever experienced, Snape realised what was about to happen, and just how incredibly hopeless his situation was.