Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, just copies of the books.

Chapter 2: The Nightmare
Hermione held her wand in one hand and her notes in another. In these notes, she had mapped out how to get past each chamber of the cave and which ones to enter. She knew she was near the end of this cave. She pushed the last switch which started a chain reaction with the other switches. Some moved up while others moved down. When it ended, all the switches were level and the bridge to the door she wanted to reach lowered.

As she crossed the bridge, she noticed that there were two roads up ahead. Not one. Hermione quickly went to her notes but after one flip, her notes ended. Could it be possible that Professor Moody never finished his notes? She asked herself. She pulled out his notes and skimmed through to find out about the two diverging paths. As she suspected, his notes trail off after the bridge. The last words were, "Note for the last door: the clue is 'what gives off light'."

Hermione read it a couple times, but could not figure out what it meant. So, she continued to walk across the bridge. As she reached the fork, she looked down one end and saw only darkness. On the other end, she saw light at the end of the tunnel. She walked over to get a better look and saw four torches hung over a figure. Then immediately she recognized the figure as Professor Moody!

She stepped forward and cried out, "Prof—" but stopped. As soon as her foot touched the ground, the air around her suddenly became cold. Hermione looked around, wondering what was causing it. She looked down the corridor and saw various cubes of ice. Inside the cubes were different insects and small critters. It made her wonder that in this corridor, the further you walk, the colder it becomes. To test that theory, she pointed her wand at a small nearby rock and said, "Wingardium Leviosa!" The rock floated up into the air and moved forward as Hermione willed it to.

As the rock moved further down the path, a coat of frost started to form around the rock. Then a sheet of ice formed. She continued until the rock reached the professor. By then, she had proved her theory true and the ice around the rock was as big as one of the torches.

Hermione turned around and headed down the path of darkness. No matter how many times she waved her wand, the darkness remained. She continued to walk until a dim light appeared. As she reached the source of the light, she found a stone tablet that read: "Arrange these ten marbles into five rows of four."

Next to her feet lay ten round marbles and a circle. What gives off light? She asked herself reciting the last words in Professor Moody's notes. A torch or a fire was the obvious answers, but neither could help her make five rows of four. With twenty marbles, this would be possible, but she is only given half the amount. For minutes, Hermione pondered about objects that give off light. She looked down at the circle again. Then it hit her.

She knew exactly what the clue was referring to. Hermione knelt down and quickly arranged the marbles inside the circle. When she finished, the door opened and she smiled with delight. She walked in confident this was over leaving Professor Moody and her notes behind. Hermione walked to the end of the room where a black mirror hung. This was it. The fourth Horcrux.

Harry's tears fell uncontrollably. Lately, Harry had been loosing people close to him. People whom he cared about immensely. His parents. Sirius. Dumbledore. Cedric. Cho. And now, Hermione. How many more will Harry lose or push away before this is all over? No. He will not lose anyone anymore. He will not allow people close to him be taken away. He had to change; change so he no longer pushed people away. He will make sure they were all by his side and vowed no one would die as long as he lives.

Suddenly, an eerie feeling surged though his body sinking his heart and made his stomach cringe. Harry's tears dried in seconds, but the feeling remained. He looked outside and noticed a broom gone. How long has it been since Ron left? Ten minutes? Twenty? No. Longer.

Harry leaped out of bed and bolted down the stairs. He turned at the end of the staircase and into the kitchen to face the clock. He found Ron's hand quickly and it pointed to 'Errand'. His heart relaxed as he sighed in relief. Then Harry noticed one hand that was stuck midway between 'Home' and 'School'. With a closer examination, he found a small pin holding the hand back. So he opened the glass casing and pulled the pin out. Once free, the hand moved clockwise towards 'School'.

Harry turned over to the dining table and found a couple cookies still left on the plate. He grabbed one and put it into his mouth as he walked towards the stairs. When he reached the stairs, Harry glanced back to check if everything was okay. It was not. The hand had moved past 'School' and headed towards 'Work'.

She didn't have work, he thought to himself as he walked back to the clock. But the hand did not stop at 'Work'. It continued going. There was only one place left that the hand could point to unless it circled back around. Mortal Danger.

Harry rushed upstairs, took a left and went straight into her room. After a few moments, he jumped down the flight of stairs and rushed to the front door. Harry broke through the front door and rushed for his broom. She's in DANGER! He cried out in his mind. He ran past the broom stand, grabbed his broom, kicked off into the air while mounting and flew towards the portkey. He will not lose anyone anymore else because of his incompetence to control his anger. He will not lose anyone anymore because of his foolishness. He will take back his friends he lost along the way and protect them until the day he dies.

The Burrow now stood empty and alone. Everyone had left to do what they had to do. In the kitchen, the clock stood silently. It did not tick unless a hand was moving. None were. Then a gust of wind blew through the house and closed the glass casing Harry had left open. It slammed shut and shook the clock slightly, but just enough to shake free the rest of the pins. Harry had not seen them all, nor did he ever think there would be more than one. The clock ticked ending the silence. Most of the hands stayed the same, but a couple moved to its true designation.

Hermione screamed as pain surged through her body. How stupid of her, she thought. There was no way removing the Horcrux could be as easy as taking it off the wall. How sad that the brightest Gryffindor would be so foolish to not think before acting? Stupid Gryffindor bravery, she cursed.

The pain surged again. This time a hundred times worse. Hermione fell. Her eyes closed. Darkness surrounded her. She was falling. Or drowning. Hermione could not tell which. She could not tell how long. Finally, she touched ground.

Hermione opened her eyes. She was laying face down on the floor. Darkness still surrounded her. Then, a bubble emerged from nowhere. She turned to focus on it and found a memory playing inside of it. It was a memory of the day half a year ago. Hermione raised her wand and said, "Obliterate!" The bubble popped, but the memory still remained in her mind. More bubbles emerged. Some of them were of memories she cherished, others were ones she wished she could forget. With each wave of her wand, another bubble of unwanted memories popped.

Suddenly, the bubbles disappeared. Hermione was back into the darkness again. She began to sink again. Again, she could not tell how long she fell. This time, when she touched the ground, she was on her feet.

She opened her eyes and she stood in her home. Hermione looked around and someone stood behind her. But before she could make out who the person is, two adults rushed down stairs. A man and a woman. They opened up their arms to hug her, but she just raised her wand. "Avada Kedavra." She spoke out coldly.

The man fell to the ground, limp and lifeless. The woman screamed and looked at Hermione in shock. "Why?" was all the woman could get out.

"He's dead mom. So are you. Avada Kedavra." A green streak shot from her wand and hit the woman square in her chest. She too fell to the ground limp and lifeless.

"Congratulations, my love. Come, we have much to do." A voice spoke behind her. She could tell he was very pleased. However, she also felt pleasure at the deaths of her own parents. These were her first murders. This was the first time she took life. She felt happy.

"Yes, My Lord," Hermione answered as she turned and walked to the Dark Lord. She smiled as she looked up to face the Dark Lord.

"Call me Voldemort, my love," he said as he brushed his hand through her hair. "From this day forth, Hermione Granger is dead." He waved his wand and she felt something inside of her change. "You are now reborn, free from the ties to these Muggles. Rise, Lady Voldemort, accept your name and use it to strike fear around the world! Accept your name and your new pure blood and stand with me on top of this world!"

NOOOOO! Hermione screamed in her mind. This is not what she wanted! Or was it? She screamed, but nothing came out. She wanted to raise her wand and fire a spell at Voldemort, but she could not move. She wanted to kill herself.

Together, they walked outside where hundreds of Death Eaters waited. "Hear me my friends! This here is Lady Voldemort! Wife and the woman who will give birth to one of my heirs." The crowd cheered. Hermione lifted her chin and smiled. She was filled with happiness, pride, satisfaction. The list went on.

Her eyes closed again. Darkness returned. But she did not fall. She rose.

The next moment she was awake, she lay naked beneath a thin dark green sheet of silk. The edges were laced beautifully with silver embroidery. Then she remembered what had happened just moments before. Hermione remembered exactly how her Lord touched her. She remembered every movement of how her Lords rough hands moved across her soft delicate skin. She loved how he caressed her. Then there was his kiss! Oh how immensely breathe taking when her Lords lips touched hers. Her Lord is an excellent kisser.

Her Lord was also well versed in foreplay. He knew exactly where to kiss her on her nape that made her entire body loosen and relax completely. He knew exactly where to touch her to arouse her. However, her Lord was an even better partner in bed. She remembered every movement, every position and even how long they spent interlocked. Hermione smiled at those memories. Well, her Lord had six wives before her. It would be a wonder if he learned no tricks by the time of his seventh wife.

This is lust. Hermione did not deny it. She knew that her Lord did not see her any more than a sex object and a tool to give him his seventh heir. She respected that. She was not foolish to want more. Nor was she foolish enough to think that just by giving her Lord a son would she gain the position as his Queen. No. That was a position you had to fight for. Several of his wives died by his hands thinking they were already Queen. No. The Queen was only given to the one wife who could raise an heir worth enough to be called his heir.

Hermione will become her Lord's Queen. She will raise her son worthy enough to receive praise from her Lord. She will raise her son to be worthy of his title as Prince. When she did, she knew her task was done and did not care if she died afterwards. Whether murdered by another wife or just old age, it did not matter. Once she reached the status as her Lords Queen, she will live forever through time while her Lord ruled this cursed Earth and her son as her Lords right hand man.

Hermione knew she would bear a son. She knew she is pregnant. Her Lord cared not for daughters and made sure he will only have male offspring. Her Lord never made mistakes. However, Hermione made one fatal mistake once. She fell in love. Love is a mistake. She did not love the son she will give birth to. Nor will Hermione ever. She will protect him, no doubt, but will always pit him with death. Surviving each and every attempt on his life will hone his senses. She will not spoil him as the other wives did, or other Death Eaters who had taken charge of the sons of the dead wives.

Hermione will never teach her son to love. She knew exactly how. She smiled and congratulated herself for coming up with such a demonic plan to infuse her son with hatred. She will show him how much a mistake it is to ever love exactly as He had shown her when she loved Him. It was an error of her past. One that she will correct once her son is born into this world.

Him? Hermione thought. It broke her out of her previous state of mind and returned her to the darkness. She loved Him! How could she ever betray Him? She will continue to love him until the end of time! Hermione puked when she realized what she had in mind to exact revenge on Him. Then she screamed. She screamed as loud as she could. This time her voice came out. But the darkness still remained. The darkness still engulfed her. Hermione swung her wand sending out spells in various directions. She was screaming. She was crying. She was scared. She wanted Him to be here. He would make everything right.