Childhood Sweethearts Remember

Chapter 3: Uncle Voldemort

After the fall, Hermione spent the rest of the day looking through the photo album. That evening, she went into the forest whispering "Lumos," to light her way. As she approached the tree, something hit her. The initials. If he had truly carved them in when they were seven, wasn't she still Mia Reins back then? Why had he carved in H.G.? The question intrigued her as she ran her fingers over the carvings.

"I just changed it the other day," he said creeping up behind her.

"Why must you always sneak up on me?" she yelled. "And what are you talking about? You changed it the other day?"

He wrapped his arms around her but she pushed away. "Well if you would calm down," he said with a sigh. "I would be more than willing to explain."

She sat down on the forest floor and let out a loud sigh. "Fine. Explain."

He took a seat next to her and began to fidget with his robes, something that made Hermione more than uncomfortable. "Well when my mum told met the other day exactly who you were, I was horrified. I mean, let's face it. Hermione Granger and I are NOT friends. But then after I talked to you in your room, I was determined to make you mine again, make you see that you are Mia. However I knew it would be too much to start calling you Mia again so I bewitched the initials to say H.G. instead of M.R in order to not... what's that American saying again... freak you out?"

She leaned her head back on the tree and responded. "Well thank you for trying to NOT overwhelm me but you seem to be doing a cruddy job at it. So maybe you should just give me all the facts before I explode."

"Where do you want me to start?"

"Start at the 'we were in love' thing because I just can't believe it."

Standing up, he began to pace. "Well it all started the day you were born..."

FLASHBACK

"Oh she's just so cute!" Narcissa exclaimed to her friend. "Look, she's got your eyes, Patrice."

"And she's got the traditional Reins' black hair!" Patrice's husband, Harold, exclaimed.

"Narcissa, why don't you bring Draco over and we'll take some pictures!" Patrice screamed in obvious joy.

Narcissa left for a matter of only five minutes and when she returned, she had a baby boy in her arms. "Here we go!"

They put the two babies together in a gorgeous basinet and began taking wizard photos. The babies seemed to get along really well because they were both smiling at one another. "Look, Narcissa! They're speaking to one another," Patty pointed out. Granted they weren't actually speaking, but they were communicating. Cooing and giggling, baby Mia reached her arms out for her new friend. "I think they're in love!"

"I've got an idea," Lucius Malfoy said sneaking up behind the women. "Harold," he addressed his friend. "Why don't we arrange their marriage? It seems like a match made in heaven. They appear to get along quite nicely and I wouldn't want my son to marry anyone else."

The three others in the room practically jumped in amazement at the idea. Betrothal. Mia Reins was to marry Draco Malfoy and the four best friends would become in-laws. They could think of nothing better.

END FLASHBACK

"And so since I was born, the idea of marriage has been drilled into my mind. When I was four, I finally asked my father what marriage was and he responded, "When two people love each other, they make a pact to be with one another for the rest of their lives." And so I proposed because you were my best friend. I understand that at the age of four it's not probable to find your soul mate but I did. Does that make any sense to you?"

Somewhere in the middle of the speech they had crawled up to the tree house and were now sitting on the beat up couch facing one another. "I think," Hermione said. "But I still can't believe that you loved me. Besides that though, I'm confused about something else."

"What is it?" he asked with a tired expression.

"Why is it that MY parents had to hide when yours did not?"

Sighing again he responded, "That will take a long, long, long time to explain."

"I've got nothing better to do today."

He made himself more comfortable on the couch and then began. "Well this tale starts even before you were born. It began when you were conceived. The dark lord had heard several prophecies that year and two stood out to him; the one about Potter and the one he heard about you."

"ME? But I'm a no one in the war! Why would there be a prophecy about ME?"

He chuckled at her nervousness and continued with the story. "The prophecy tells about the girl who can make or break the war. She will be born on the nineteenth eve of September. Her father will be from the descendants of Nathaniel Reins, who will play a much larger role in your life than you know, and on the eve she is born, the stars will align to form a serpent in the sky. That is all I will tell you now about the prophecy. Anyway..."

"Wait... why won't you tell me more about it?" Whatever he was leaving out seemed to be important and she wanted to know! It was just like him to be selective of what he let out.

"Because," as though it was a good enough reason for her. "Anyway, the night you were conceived is the same night that Voldemort heard the prophecy. He apparated right away to the Reins manor and um...found your parents in a very promiscuous position. And so when you were born, he paid close attention to you as you grew. Now the problem was that that fool Dumbledore heard it too and he would have given anything to get his hands on you but good old Voldemort," he continued as though he was chums with the guy. "He had you protected at all times. He moved in with you and was like an uncle to you and me, but then he was defeated and your parents were afraid of Dumbledore sending ministry officials to come and get you and so... that's how you ended up in the muggle world."

"VOLDEMORT MY UNCLE! NEVER IN A MILLION YEARS! I'D RATHER DIE!"

"That can be arranged, Mia," a man hissed from below the tree. "Now come down here and meet me in the living room so we can talk. I believe there's much to discuss."

She didn't recognize him and was slightly put off by him bossing her around until she heard Draco say, "There's Uncle Voldie now!" in mock happiness. "Why don't we go then, shall we?"

He climbed out of their old childhood playhouse and extended a hand to help her down. "I'm quite capable of doing it myself, Mal-foy," She accented each syllable of his name with disgust to get across the point that still did not like let alone trust him.

"Fine. Suit yourself, Granger. I'll meet you inside." And so he left without her. She walked back all on her own, somewhat sad that she had chased him away. When she got there, they were all their waiting for her. The Malfoy's, the Reins, Peter Pettigrew, the Zambini's, the Parkinsons, and Voldemort.

"Mia," the dark lord whispered. "It is good to see you," he said while embracing her in his arms. "It has been too long."

"Actually," she replied while plying him off of her. "It hasn't. I saw you not too long ago. You forgot that I was at the ministry that day, didn't you? No matter. The point is that I've seen you before even though I never wanted to meet you in the first place. Listen, I'm not Mia Reins anymore. I won't be that girl. I'm Hermione Granger, regardless of who I was at seven years old."

She had taken her moment of courage but as soon as she finished speaking, she was silenced when his harsh hand crashed down upon her cheek. "How dare you! I am the Dark Lord! You shall fear and respect me!"

"I've not respected you since my first year at Hogwarts, you fowl swine! Now get out of my face before I perform my first ever unforgivable curse!"

The entire room, full of somber death eaters, began to shake with laughter at the young girls threat and they all admired her spirit. "You have a good sense of humor," Voldemort snickered. "Now let's all take a seat and discuss how we'll be...celebrating this young lady's sixteenth birthday. She is a Reins after all and we all know what that means."

"What does that mean?" Hermione questioned in fright.

She took a seat cautiously next to Draco on the couch as everyone took seats around them. Draco, much to her surprise, grabbed her hand and rubbed his thumb along it. Suddenly she felt comforted, but she didn't understand why. She hated him and he only served to make situations like this worse. So why was she finding consolation in his touch?

"Sweetheat," her mother said with a smile. "Being a Reins entitles you to certain things. One of those things is being in the inner sanctum of the Dark Circle. Your father and I were both initiated at age sixteen. Your grandparents were all accepted at age sixteen and so on and so forth going all the way back to the beginning of our families."

Hermione nearly choked on her own tongue. "ME? A DEATH EATER! I don't think so! I'm not serving a piece of garbage like that sick bastard." That's what she wanted to say but she didn't quite feel like getting slapped around by HIM again and so she responded, "Sixteen is...it's a little um... YOUNG?...Don't you think?"

More laughing ricocheted off the walls of the manor. "Sixteen is the perfect age."

"BUT MALFOY DOESN'T HAVE IT YET! HE'S ALREADY SIXTEEN!" She was whining, yes, but it didn't matter. She did NOT want to have the dark mark imprinted on her skin, being forced to be evil until the end of her days.

"I'm not sixteen yet," he confessed. "My birthday's in two weeks. I'm getting it done then."

She gulped, a loud and noticeable gulp. Then she began biting her lip. Nervous habit. So now not only was SHE to become a death eater but her "betrothed" was as well. "Would you all please just listen to me for a moment," she said while gathering all her courage once more. "I am Hermione Ann Granger! Best friend of Harry Potter! I love muggles and I support House Elf Rights! I'd be more likely to ATTACK you as to SERVE you! I am certainly not death eater material."

Harold and Patrice looked at each other with saddened eyes. Then Patrice stood up and walked over to Hermione. "Why don't you and I go for a little walk?" she suggested. Then she turned to Lord Voldemort and bowed in respect. "Forgive her, please master. Harold and I will go with her now to return her memory. Afterwards, she will be more than willing to serve as great a leader as you."

She tugged Hermione up by the arm and dragged her out of the house, walking down the street with her father right behind them. "Hermione, I think there are some things we need to get straight," her father said, sending chills down her spine.

"Yes, Mr. Reins. I'm in full agreement." She couldn't bare to call them mother and father anymore. She didn't know these people. They were strangers to her.

"Don't be so cold, Mia," her father scolded. "We're still your parents! Now, as I was saying...we need to straighten out your attitude young lady. It was very impolite what you did back there."

"I thought you took me out here to restore my memory not to reprimand me. Well? I'm waiting!"

"In a minute, dear," her mother said with a fake smile. "Your father and I have to talk to you first. Now normally anyone who shows the dark lord that kind of disrespect ends up dead or worse...tortured. The only reason you are still here and unharmed is because of the fact that you still do not remember your life as a member of the Reins family, serving the Dark Lord and treating him as a relative. But I fear that even with your memories returned, you would choose to be the same girl you are now, muggle loving and all. So I will not give you back your memories until this is cleared up."

"But I don't give a damn about my god forsaken memories! As far as I'm concerned, they never happened. Everything I know now, in my head, that's real. Me going to primary school...WITH MUGGLES, that's REAL! Me playing T ball back in the first grade with my MUGGLE friends, that's REAL! But nothing about Malfoy, or Crabbe, or Goyle! So just back off and leave my memories alone! For all I know, you two have been put under a spell and are just saying and doing all this because you're being forced to or maybe I'm just dreaming so I'm just going to pinch myself now and wake up!" She squeezed her skin in between her two fingernails but the only thing that wound up proving was that she was going mentally insane and that pinching yourself actually hurts. "Ouch!"

"Dear," Harold said. "You're memories will be returned to you regardless but we need to get the point across to you that you are NOT in the muggle world anymore and your silly antics to go and 'save' the wizard world from evil will only prove to get you killed here! Now when we go back to the house, you're going to go in, bow to the Dark Lord in RESPECT, and take your seat next to Draco. Then, we're going to plan your sixteenth birthday for you and you will keep your mouth shut or else."

"Or else what?"

He got real close, up in her face, and stated, "Or else all of those muggle friends that you hold so dear will be the first ones to go in the war. Am I making myself clear?"

She gritted her teeth and gave a delayed response. "Crystal."

Her mother clapped her hands together. "Well then now that that's out of the way, I'll reverse the spell!"

She uttered the reverse spell under her breath and suddenly Hermione felt like she had gotten the wind knocked out of her.

"OH!" she whispered with awe in her voice. "I don't...I...TAKE THEM BACK!"

A/N...Hey everyone. Thanks for your great reviews. Sorry for the wait. Yes, I noticed that the initials said H.G. I hope this explains it to you. It's all part of the story line. I hope you liked this chapter. I'm in the process of writing chapter 4... I hope you guys liked this. Please review and tell me what you thought.