Disclaimers: Please refer to chapter one for full disclaimer write-up.
When Living is No Longer EnoughChapter Twenty-Nine
Hermione felt the sting of tears welling up from behind her eyes as she gazed at the shards of glass that had once housed the 'reptilian cocktail'. It had truly been their most promising chance of bringing Voldemort to his knees and now it was nothing more than a puddle of lost dreams, a heavenly scented reminder of what might have been. Months of hard work gone within mere seconds as was the years of hope entrusted into both her care and her ability to successfully deliver the potion. The same hope that was extended to the potion's ability to complete the task it was designed for. How was she going to return to Hogwarts and look her friends and colleagues in the face after such a catastrophe? 'Why didn't I think to place an unbreakable spell on the bottle?' she wondered and cursed the 20/20 vision which hindsight had bequeathed to her.
Sighing, she crouched down and extended her hand to retrieve the bits of broken glass and let out a cry of surprise when she noticed a pale, scaly hand mirror her movements. Allowing her eyes to skim across the heavily robed limb she nearly let out a terrified shriek as she looked up and came face-to-face with a set of vibrant red eyes. It was a set of eyes that belonged to none other than Voldemort himself.
The Dark Lord stared intently at the frightened young woman crouched next to him and returned his attention to the broken perfume bottle splayed out on the floor. Moving his hand over the remnants of the 'reptilian cocktail' he smiled and allowed two of his scaled fingers to gently play in the fragrant liquid before raising them to the snakelike slits on his face that passed as nostrils. He inhaled deeply of the chemical goop that now coated the tips of his fingers and a small smile played about his thin lips as he detected the scent of lotus blossom mingled with a few other fragrances that he couldn't quite identify.
Hermione was captivated by the Dark Lord's enigmatic gaze and sat transfixed as she waited with baited breath to see what his next move would be. Thanking every deity she could remember, the young woman fought the urge to exhale loudly in both amazement and relief. Voldemort had somehow, in a really twisted turn of events, managed to save the day by inhaling the 'reptilian cocktail' of his own accord. The Gryffindor witch could do nothing but sit transfixed as she held her breath to see if there would be any signs of change within the Dark Lord's countenance. Theoretically, the potion would take several hours, if not days, before it began to unravel the DNA structures of his reptilian genome. 'What if he can tell that the perfume is a cover for something more sinister? What if it wasn't enough to fully infect him?' she wondered, watching his reactions closely. They had assumed that one decent sized blast of the atomizer would be enough to infect the creature sitting next to her so wouldn't it stand to reason that direct inhalation would serve the same purpose? Her mind was reeling from the possibilities and as she sat there taking in the scene playing out before her very eyes, she found herself fighting the urge to laugh aloud at the sheer irony of it all.
'I guess, in a very twisted way, the potion actually succeeded in bringing the Dark Lord to his knees,' she thought ironically as she nervously eyed the creature kneeling next to her. For a moment they sat in silence each lamenting the loss of the bottle's contents albeit for entirely different reasons.
Hermione was so relieved at the potion's delivery that she had momentarily forgotten she was still impersonating Emily Saunton. Realizing that not only her life but also the life of the young Slytherin still rested on an accurate portrayal, she quickly lowered her eyes and took on the persona of a young girl in awe by the overwhelming presence of the Dark Lord.
"My L…Lord," she stammered and quickly lowered her head in a submissive gesture. "It is an honor to finally make your acquaintance."
Voldemort looked at the young woman who was now kneeling in front of him. He had been unobtrusively observing Edgar Saunton's daughter for the better part of the evening and had actually been on his way to speak with the girl when he saw her knocked down by that drunken idiot of a follower. The look in his eyes grew colder if such a thing were even possible and he leisurely took out his wand and pointed it at the inebriated man. Opening his mouth with a slight hiss, he casually uttered an incantation that bathed the ballroom in a greenish light. For a moment Hermione was reminded of a muggle dance club with rotating colored lights that played over the dancers as they wiggled and gyrated to ear-splitting music.
"Avada Kedavra," the serpent hissed casually and slowly replaced his wand inside his robes. A hush fell over the room as the guests watched the man gasp and fall to the floor never to draw breath again. There were cheers from a few of the more blood thirsty Death Eaters and hushed words amongst their companions. Voldemort slowly looked around the room with a vicious smile as he took in their reactions.
"Lucius," he called and the blond haired wizard quickly made his way to stand at his master's side. "Have this removed," he commanded, waving his hand toward the dead Death Eater.
"Of course my Lord," Malfoy acknowledged and quickly called two men to his side who lifted the heavy weight of the lifeless carcass and exited the ballroom, the dead man's shoes dragging softly against the ground.
"There is no excuse for bad manners amongst our ranks and that was quite simply no way to treat a lady," the Dark Lord said imperiously to his second in command, referring to the drunken man's clumsy behavior. "Really Lucius, if we are to be successful in overthrowing that simple minded Dumbledore and announcing my supremacy to the world then we really should be inducting members with at least a modicum of common sense and intelligence. Perhaps you should make it one of your priorities to scour the ranks of my Death Eaters, my faithful servant. Those with less than average intelligence will be placed on the front lines of our first major attack. That way, should Hogwarts resistance prove stronger than we anticipated, we won't have lost all that much."
"Yes my lord," Lucius replied with a minute nod of his head.
"And now if you will excuse me, I believe I have an appointment with a young lady," Voldemort said eyeing the witch who had returned her attention toward something else, seemingly oblivious to those around her.
Focusing his attention once again on the blond haired girl that had picked herself up off the floor he followed her gaze as it was directed downwards to a small pooling of liquid interspersed with glass shards. 'Perfume of some type,' he thought to himself and watched curiously as her eyes widened and housed despair when her gaze fell upon the shattered bottle. 'It must have been a gift from an admirer for her to be so upset.' With these observations and opinions in tact, the Dark Lord saw his opportunity to step in and introduce himself. Of course he could have gone for the all-out regal effect that he used on most of his Death Eaters but something told him that this girl was different. Loyal… yes. Edgar Saunton would have already seen to that. However he knew after having watched this child for the better part of the evening that this girl could not be placed in the same category as so many of his other recruits. Devices such as fear and intimidation would not glean the desired effects from this particular girl who showed signs of intelligence and a quiet strength that could benefit his aspirations if molded correctly. And if there was one thing Voldemort prided himself on it was being able to judge an individual's character within minutes of the initial introduction. He would not have lured so many wizards and witches to his side over the years had that not been the case.
"It would seem that you have excellent taste in perfume my dear," the Dark Lord softly hissed while dipping his fingers into the fragrant mixture and gently dabbing some of the spilled liquid behind each of Hermione's ears. "A gift perhaps?"
Hermione allowed her head to dip and a small blush to creep across her skin as she quietly replied, "Yes my Lord. The perfume was an original fragrance created especially for me by a friend at school."
"Your friend obviously has exquisite taste," he replied suavely and Hermione had the distinct impression that Voldemort wasn't referring so much to the smell of the perfume as he was to her.
'Merlin's toenails,' she thought to herself and wondered if the evening could become any stranger. 'Is Voldemort actually flirting with me?' Deciding to play along and see where this conversation was heading, she allowed herself to flash a demure smile.
"Your father tells me that you are ready to join my ranks?" he asked while he removed his wand from his robes and waved it over the glass shards of the bottle causing them to disappear into nothingness.
"Yes my Lord," Hermione answered respectively. "Although it is my understanding that the initiation ceremony will not be held until early this summer. Directly after the school year has ended?"
"That is correct," he agreed affably watching the girl's face and gauging her expressions. "And tell me Emily, are you looking forward to your initiation?"
"Yes, my Lord," she dutifully answered. 'Not in this lifetime,' her inner voice muttered expressing the words in silence that she was not allowed to say in public.
"I sense there is something else though?" Voldemort asked tipping her chin upwards with his finger in an effort to better see her facial features in the dim lighting.
"It's just that after everything father has told me, I guess that I'm a little afraid of not living up to your expectations," she said hesitantly, knowing that the Dark Lord had sensed something from her previous reply. "But then, I guess that I shouldn't really be saying that."
"Nonsense my dear," he answered with a gleeful smile, seeing an opportunity to draw her allegiance to him. "It is my hope that you will come to trust me and feel that you can confide anything and everything to me. After all, I do consider us all to be family."
'I wonder which branch of the family the other man came from?' she thought to herself with a mental smirk, remembering the drunken Death Eater that had lost his life only moments before. Thankfully the Dark Lord was unable to read her thoughts so she offered a happy little smile and seriously thanked him for his comments while assuring him that she would also like to think that such a feat was possible.
After a few more minutes of polite conversation, in which Hermione unfortunately didn't learn anything of consequence that might help the Order in their efforts, Voldemort politely excused himself and took his leave of her. But not, she grimaced, before having the audacity to gently raise her hand to his lips and impart a chaste kiss against the soft flesh of her skin. Her body baulked at the force she had to use in order to restrain the bile that threatened to overwhelm her.
Looking around the room she noticed that many of the guests had exited the ballroom so she ventured to the main entryway in an effort to find Christina Saunton. Seeing the older woman standing near the door, she walked over and whispered quietly into the woman's ear. Mrs. Saunton took a long hard look at her 'daughter' and slowly nodded after making a visual sweep of the remaining guests who were growing fewer by the minute. Murmuring her apologies to the tired looking woman she had been speaking with, Christina gently took Hermione by the arm and escorted her up the stairs to the haven of her room.
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"Well?" the older woman asked after looking around the room and casting silencing and locking spells to ensure that they were not overheard or interrupted. "Did everything go alright? Do you think that Emily will be safe for a while longer?"
"Yes," she assured the nervous looking mother with a smile that spoke of exhaustion. "I don't think he suspected anything out of the ordinary."
"And did you find the information you were looking for?" she asked, shrewdly eyeing the Gryffindor witch.
Hermione pondered her question for a moment while pretending to reflect on the things she had heard earlier that evening. She had decided not to tell the woman about the 'reptilian cocktail' for several reasons. First, what if Christina Saunton wasn't what she appeared to be? What if she couldn't be trusted and turned her over to the Death Eaters before she left for Hogwarts? Second, what if she unintentionally let the information slip to the wrong people? Would such a mistake give Voldemort time to devise an antidote? So far, an antidote hadn't been created but that didn't mean that such a thing wasn't possible. Unlikely yes. Impossible no. She sighed and turned her attention to the woman who was closely watching her. "I learned a few things but nothing that will help in any great capacity. For example, the Dark Lord confirmed that the initiation ceremony would take place directly after the school year comes to an end and while that's helpful, it's not really going to turn the tables in our favor, so to speak."
The woman narrowed her eyes for a brief moment upon hearing Hermione's answer as if she sensed there was something more but thankfully didn't push any further. Walking over to the young witch, Christina gently placed her arms around her shoulders and pulled her close into a motherly hug. "Thank you," she told the astonished girl who timidly returned the gesture. "Thank you for helping my daughter tonight. It was a brave thing you did, facing the Dark Lord, and I just wanted you to know that it is appreciated."
"You're welcome," Hermione replied softly and then bid the woman a good night as she disarmed the wards and exited the room.
Hermione turned back to stare in the mirror in front of her and simply stared at her reflection. She would never get used to seeing someone else's face stare back at her and hopefully, if all went well, she wouldn't have to after tomorrow. The Gryffindor sighed as she thought about the evening. She had been horrified at seeing the casual way in which Voldemort had cast the killing curse on the intoxicated Death Eater and while she had wanted to hex the man herself, she certainly never would have entertained the notion of killing him for his actions. 'Severus was right when he said this was a completely different way of life,' she thought sadly, vowing that she would continue to do anything in her power to help Emily from falling into such circumstances.
'At least the potion was delivered to He-Who-Doesn't-Seem-To-Suspect-That-He's-Been-Poisoned' she thought with a small sigh of relief. Of course that wasn't really a result of any miraculous feat on her part considering that she had not only allowed the bottle to escape her possession but to also be irrevocably damaged in the process. Oh how she wished she could see Voldemort's face if he ever figured it all out! And how she would love to tell him of the part Severus' played in his downfall!
She automatically performed her nighttime rituals as she allowed her thoughts free reign. She had had to use the small vial of polyjuice earlier that evening and she lovingly caressed the now hollow crystal that hung loosely around her neck. Once again, Severus had been correct in his assumptions that she might need to imbibe the potion during the party and escaping to the guest bathroom had been much more convenient, not to mention plausible, than trying to explain the sudden need to rush to her rooms. She cast her wards on the door and set her alarm so that it would wake her fifteen minutes before the next dose of polyjuice was to be taken and laid her head down, hoping sleep would come quickly but instinctively knowing that it would not. Her fingers encountered the tiny portkey and she smiled yet again. So far she hadn't had to use the magical item. 'Sublatio in arcem' she thought to herself and smiled at the meaning behind the words. "A lift to the castle," she murmured softly wishing that she could utter the incantation and return to Hogwarts and the safety it provided. She sighed as she rolled over and snuggled a little further under the covers. One more night, such a short amount of time but so much that could still go wrong.
"One more night Severus," she murmured and closed her eyes willing sleep to once again stake its claim.
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TBC
Author's Note: I must send out a special note of thanks to one of my reviewers who mentioned the concept of the 'unbreakable' spell while reviewing the last posting. So…my many thanks to Aeryn Alexander. I hope you don't mind that I snagged the concept from your review but I truly liked the spell G Also, I went back and cleaned up some of the previous chapters (Spelling, grammar, etc) however the content remains the same. Please leave a review and let me know what you think of the chapter/story/etc.
~Jules