A/N: I am so sorry for not updating sooner but I got really busy. I hope you like this chapter and I hope to update again this week. I can't promise that because I have practice and classes and school and stuff but I'll try!
A loud gonging noise rang throughout the Manor. Someone shook Hermione awake and she blearily looked at them before recognizing Ebony bending over her. "Hermione, you have to leave now," she said quietly.
Hermione groaned slightly at being awoken but sat up and looked for the time. "It's 2:00 in the morning," Ginny supplied from beside her.
"2:00 in the morning! Have you gone mad Ebony?" Hermione cried.
"No, besides no one is out in the halls at 2:00, now come on now, here's Draco's wand from beneath the sofa," Ebony said gently, pushing the wand into Hermione's hand.
"What's the wand for if no one is in the halls?" Hermione asked, holding the wand lightly in her hand.
"You might need it. Maybe not inside the manor but outside of it," Ebony answered with a roll of her eyes.
Hermione climbed from the bed and sighed, squaring her shoulders. That same feeling in her stomach overwhelmed her again as she thought about leaving Voldemort but she fought it back, saying to herself that she had no time for guilt.
"Go on, we'll be going to sleep," Ebony whispered.
Hermione nodded and opened the door which had yet to be fixed and glanced back at her friends before closing it again. She walked towards the stairs and looked around. It was silent in the manor and now that it was dark, it seemed much larger.
The moon shone through the window at the far end of the hallway, casting light across the floor while the rest of it was cloaked in darkness. Hermione involuntarily shivered before starting down the stairs.
She made sure not to make one bit of noise and when she finally reached the bottom of the steps after what seemed hours she breathed out before walking out into the hallway. She was at a fork in the path. She looked down the right and saw a cloaked figure with their back to her leaning casually against the wall.
Hermione felt her heart rate speed up and she almost forgot to breathe. She quickly looked to the left and scurried into the shadows of the hallway on the left side. She watched the cloaked figure for a few minutes before she turned and walked towards the door at the end of the hallway.
She glanced back before carefully opening the door and walking inside. It was a long winding staircase of stone. She breathed out before closing the door and pitching the stairway into blackness.
Hermione waited a few minutes for her eyes to accustom to the darkness before she started down the staircase, using the wall to her right for support. It was covered in slime and cobwebs and Hermione swore she heard something moving. She continued on in this fashion for some time before she came to the end of the staircase.
There, Hermione stopped and said, "Lumos." The tip of the wand lighted up and it cast a small light on the stone walls and the floor. Hermione held it out in front of her and walked along easily.
She had just rounded a corner when she swore that she heard footsteps behind her. Hermione's heart beat speeded up as she slowly turned but before she could see the person in her beam of light, she felt something hit her and she knew only blackness…
Hermione opened her eyes and was assaulted with light. She quickly shut her eyes again as the sound of voices drifted into her hearing range. Hermione opened her eyes again and sat up slowly, feeling dizzy. The room came into focus and she realized that she was surrounded by green.
Hermione climbed out of the bed she was in and glanced around. With a sinking feeling in her stomach, she realized that she was in Voldemort's room. She crept towards the door as she heard voices come from behind it.
"Could either one of you tell me how she escaped?" Voldemort asked Ebony and Bellatrix, obvious irritation showing in his voice.
"Ask her, she would know," Bellatrix accused.
"You found her, tell me why don't you?" Ebony retorted coolly.
"She had a wand and obviously it is Ebony's," Bellatrix said handing the wand to Voldemort.
"If you haven't noticed, that is Draco's wand and he is your nephew. Obviously it was there from when Draco tried to rape Hermione."
"He doesn't need a mudblood, he has better people to turn to," Bellatrix said with a turn of her nose.
Ebony eyed her distastefully before saying, "Are you insinuating that-"
"ENOUGH!" Voldemort yelled.
"You may leave Bellatrix however, Ebony and Ginevra you will remain here for we must discuss Hermione's new arrangements."
Bellatrix smirked at Ebony as she left, slamming the door behind her. "We are going to speak with Hermione," Voldemort said, standing.
Hermione looked like a deer in headlights and she raced back to the bed, though she personally didn't wish to ever see that bed again and pulled the covers over her. Voldemort entered the room along with Ebony and Ginny.
"I know that you're awake," Voldemort said, an amused tone in his voice.
Hermione let out a frustrated sigh and sat up in the bed, still clutching the covers over her body defensively.
Hermione glanced to Ebony as Voldemort sat on the edge of the bed. She could see the hopelessness and utter despair in Ebony's eyes as she looked at Hermione. Hermione knew then that any other plans of escape weren't going to work at all. She knew she had failed beyond all belief and she wondered exactly what was going to happen to her. New arrangements didn't sound very encouraging at all.
Hermione tore her eyes from Ebony's face to look at Voldemort. He was regarding her with an almost Cheshire grin and that startled Hermione. "You do realize, my dearest Hermione," Voldemort purred, "that there are consequences of trying to escape."
Consequences? Hermione's mind whirred with possibilities and she jumped slightly as Voldemort reached out and pulled her towards him. Hermione struggled against his strong arms as he leaned his head close to her ear, his hands trailing lightly over the silk fabric of her nightgown to rest on her hips.
"You, my dearest, cannot obviously be trusted to remain inside your room without a guard. That in itself presents a problem but I have a solution. You will move in these chambers and the problem is solved."
Hermione almost stopped breathing. Move into these chambers? She didn't want to live in the same room with Voldemort, and obviously since there was one bed she would be sharing that with him also. Hermione remembered to breathe but she felt tears collect against the back of her eyes.
"In these chambers?" Ebony echoed, her voice holding a slightly surprised note.
"Yes, these chambers. There is an extra bedroom off the sitting area and that will be your bedroom, unless of course, my dearest, you wish to remain with me," he whispered against her skin.
"I'll take the bedroom if you please," Hermione replied, struggling from his arms.
Voldemort smirked slightly at her before saying, "Of course but my followers shall not know that we do not share a bedroom."
Voldemort stood suddenly then, pulling Hermione along with him, then against his body. She didn't like the way he held her possessively, she wasn't some sort of property and she certainly didn't like being treated like that. However, she reflected on it, she was more of a doll to him than property. A sudden grin lit up her face at the idea of Voldemort carrying a doll around.
"What ever is it that you find amusing," he whispered in her ear.
"Oh, nothing," she said in a sing-song voice.
He gave her a suspicious look before saying, "I suppose I shall show you to your new bedroom."
Voldemort walked from the room and Ebony and Ginny followed. He walked to a blank stretch of wall only flanked on one side with a bookcase. He elegantly tapped his wand against the wall and with surprise on Hermione's part and Ginny's did a door appear.
Voldemort grabbed hold of the doorknob and threw it open, allowing the women to enter and then he closed it behind him.
The room they were in had beautiful mahogany flooring and a large fireplace stood towards the end of the room. However, what amazed Hermione was that the room had everything in it from the previous room she had inhabited. The large bed stood off to the side of the room and the settee and one chair flanked the sofa. The vanity was closest to her with the ruby bracelet on top of it.
Voldemort spotted it and walked over to it. He held it in his hands and examined it. There was a slight imperfection on one of the stones, marring its beauty. His lithe hands slid over the stones, almost caressing it with his fingers.
"I do wonder how this…marring of the stone came about," he said, his voice a low purr.
Hermione didn't seem to realize the danger, or even if she did, her brain surely didn't register it for she replied, "Perhaps it was when I threw it again the wall."
Voldemort's hand closed tightly around the bracelet, his eyes flashing scarlet as his body stiffened. Hermione realized exactly what she said and knew then that she was treading on dangerous waters that could very swallow her whole.
Abruptly Voldemort slammed the bracelet down on the vanity top, the loud sound of the metal and wood echoing in the silent room. The ruby that had been marred lay broken on the table top and the H that designated her name had been broken off. That same indescribable feeling engulfed Hermione again, as when she had tried to escape. It confused her however, as there was nothing to be guilty of.
Voldemort glanced at Hermione and she briefly caught his eyes, in which a torrent of emotions was reflected, making his eyes look like stormy waters. The emotions being exposed there made him more human and perhaps, Hermione pondered, that was why he constantly kept them hidden. He turned his face away from her and she could clearly see him clenching his jaw.
His strode past her then and she could almost feel the anger flowing through his veins. Hermione moved towards him, intent upon knowing why his moods changed so quickly. Ebony caught her arm and shot her a warning glance. Voldemort left the room then, slamming the door behind him, rattling the walls.
"You should leave him for now," Ebony said quietly, staring at the door as if sensing Hermione's thoughts.
"Why should I? He has no reason to be angry just because I threw the bracelet again the wall."
Ebony turned her eyes towards Hermione then. "Be that as it may, he is angry beyond a belief and therefore, it is advisable to stay away from him when he's angry."
"I can handle myself just fine. He doesn't frighten me," Hermione replied indigently.
"He may not frighten you normally but he is angry and therefore quite rash when he's angry."
Hermione merely nodded, finding that she no longer wished to argue with Ebony. "I believe that I would like to rearrange the room a bit," she said musingly.
"I do have a wand, though you do not. We can decorate it," Ebony suggested.
Hermione grinned and they moved the room around a bit to make it more cozy and inviting. The coloring of the room was changed to lavender and cream and they kept the mahogany of the furniture. A large rug was placed in the center of the room and they placed pillows on the settee and chairs.
They found little trinkets and other valuable little things in the drawers of the vanity, desk and night tables. After they finished, the room looked more cozy and womanly.
"I must leave now for I must speak with my uncle," Ebony said with a smile.
Hermione nodded and Ebony left. Hermione stared at the fire before she was certain Ebony was gone. She walked from the room and watched the door disappear behind her with awe.
Hermione stopped in front of the door to Voldemort's room before opening it and peeking her head inside...