Thorfinn's P. O. V.
Thorfinn vents his rage, Mulciber gets beaten up AGAIN, chaos is created, Yaxley gets a report and the dark lord gives Yaxley, Dolohov and Rowle a special mission. The prey is chosen! The trap is baited!
A/N: Anthony's death was not the death I had originally planned. It was supposed to be much worse but he's been so sweet, loving and protective of our Hermione, I just couldn't kill him off that horribly. Instead I gave him a relatively quick death! With that thought in mind, let me just say,,,,. Also let me just point out for Thorfinn, he has no clue that Anthony is already dead! Nor does Hermione have a clue that Anthony gave away their location!
MAJOR TRIGGERS! MAJOR TRIGGERS! NON GRAPHIC RAPE! (not Hermione!) GRAPHIC VIOLENCE! (partially Hermione) MIND THE WARNINGS! These will start with Hermione's P. O. V!
Thorfinn gritted his teeth as he stared at the two documents trying to separate him from his child. He made a vow. Once he got his hands back on Granger, he was going to put her in a tower and never let her go. He would have the only way in or out! She'd never leave him again! As for that damn Anthony Goldstein, he'd stomp his arse so far into the ground, he'd never get back up! He vaguely heard Yaxley talking. He reluctantly listened to what he was saying.
"Thorfinn, listen to me! By adopting him, Goldstein has just declared him the official heir of his line! I heard from Draco that Anthony had a childhood Muggle illness that left him unable to father a child. He's just taken on the responsibility of helping Granger raise your child. I'm sure Granger would never have thought of him adopting the child. Nor would she have thought of a custody agreement with you. Don't you see? Anthony, in his own way, is trying to keep you in the loop!" Yaxley tried to help Thorfinn see a clearer picture.
"I want to be the one helping Granger raise my child! Damn it, he's MY son! She's," he took a deep breath. "She was going to be MY wife. I had her hooked! A few more days and she would have been more than ready to marry ME!"
"Listen. At least she's going to let you see your son. I'm very sure that was Goldstein's idea. On her own, she would have kept him away from you. I know it's not much but take what she's willing to offer right now. Later on, after the boy gets older, you can renegotiate the arrangement. Make her an active participant. Make sure she HAS to talk to you. Given time, you might even talk her back into your bed for a second child, aye?" Yaxley teasingly popped him on the shoulder.
Thorfinn finally calmed down enough to realize they were still in the healer's office. He bent forward and leaned his elbows on his knees. "So I SHOULD sign them? Let the adoption and custody thing go through? Just for now?"
"Just for now. Once she realizes that you're going to cooperate, she might even let him bring her back over here. Just give her some time to think about it, yeah?" Yaxley could see he was finally getting through. Thorfinn was willing to give the witch her space. The boy nodded and signed the papers with no further argument.
They left the hospital and went straight back to the Manor. The Dark Lord called them into the study and questioned them about Granger. After giving their report, he announced they were stepping up their reign of terror. If that didn't get Harry Potter out of hiding to face him, he didn't know what would.
To that end, Yaxley, Dolohov, Rowle, McNair and Mulciber were sent out to rain down bloody hell on select Wizarding villages and communities all over Britain, Scotland and Ireland! At one point, he even had them razing villages set along the coast of France. Rowle lived up to his Viking heritage as he set fire to every house, barn and business he came into contact with. McNair and Mulciber were right behind him every step of the way, laughing gleefully as they hexed and cursed every witch and wizard they met. Yaxley and Dolohov rolled their eyes as they rode herd on the three hellions.
The campaign of terror had a twofold purpose. It got the attention of Harry Potter AND kept young Rowle from dwelling too much on his young witch. Not to say it was entirely successful but for the next three months or so, Rowle was too busy setting fires and battling the Aurors to worry about trying to get his witch and his son back.
Once again, the Dark Lord and Harry Potter faced off! By this time all of Voldemort's Horcruxes were long gone. He and Potter were equally matched and the damn boy just WOULDN'T DIE! Harry Potter was equally frustrated. This damn wizard had been terrorizing the Wizarding world for over twenty years now! Why was he unable to KILL him?! They fought it down to a draw until, once again, both wizards were forced to withdraw and lick their wounds.
Back in Malfoy Manor, they were all sitting around the drawing room. Voldemort looked around, assessing their conditions. Mulciber, he noted, was black and blue. McNair was sniggering at him and Rowle was glaring at him. There was a peck at the window. A tired looking owl was toting a bedraggled looking letter. Come to think of it, this same owl had been following them around the past two months! When allowed into the room, it flew straight to Yaxley and held out its leg.
He took the envelope with a cocked eyebrow. Looking at the letter, he saw it was sent from a magical hospital from the US. He wondered why HE was getting a letter from there. As far as he knew, he had no acquaintances or relatives over there. He tore open the letter curiously. Dolohov was reading the letter over his shoulder. They both went slack jawed at the same time, looking up at Rowle!
He frowned at them. 'What the bloody, fucking, hell were they looking at HIM for? What had he done NOW?' Yaxley slowly rose and took the letter to Voldemort, nodding at Rowle. Voldemort read the letter through and also looked at him. Rowle began to feel very uneasy as EVERYONE turned to look at HIM! 'What the bloody FUCK was going on with them?!'
"I have a very important announcement to make. It involves someone very special to our young Rowle." Voldemort proclaimed. He watched Rowle straighten alertly.
Rowle's mind was racing. The one special one was his mother! 'Had something happened to her?' Then his eyes widened as he realized there WAS someone else special to him! Granger! 'What the bloody hell was going on with Granger?!'
"As we all know, Miss Granger was a guest of Mr. Rowle not too long ago. I have here, a report. A scan of Miss Granger's unborn son, the son of Mr. Rowle." The Dark Lord totally ignored Hermione's married name. "At the time of this report, he was a very healthy seven month fetus. Which means that any day, there should be a report of a new Rowle heir. Have you heard from your mother, Rowle? Has your family tapestry changed to show the birth of your child yet?" Voldemort asked Rowle.
Rowle suddenly remembered getting a letter from his mother not too long ago. He hadn't bothered to read it as he was in the midst of wreaking havoc on a Wizarding farm not far from Hogsmeade. He pulled the letter out and ripped it open. It was dated two months ago! 'Had they really been rampaging that long?!' He quietly read the letter. Then he dropped it in shock. McNair, that sniggering co-hellion, reached across Mulciber and took the letter.
"Dear Thorfinn," it started. "As I was sitting in our tapestry room the other day, something interesting happened. Two new names showed up on our tapestry. A beautiful face belonging to a young witch named Hermione Granger-Goldstein. Have you been playing with the married ladies again, dear?" here McNair had to suppress a chuckle before he continued reading the letter out loud.
"The second face was unexpected, to say the least. It's a baby boy! Is there something I should know here? The child's name appears to be a mix of your own and someone else's name. Radnor Anthony Rowle-Goldstein. When do I get to meet my grandson?" he looked at the Dark Lord and shrugged before putting the letter back into Thorfinn's hand.
"Congratulations are in order! We have a new baby to celebrate!" Voldemort held up his hand for silence after everyone cheered for Rowle.
Rowle was still in shock that he was actually a father now. His baby boy was born! But wait! He narrowed his eyes. 'If the letter from his mother was two months ago?' His face paled as he realized two months ago, Granger would just barely have sent that report! She must have given birth right after that! Which meant his child had been born premature! But the child had to have survived or his mother would have told him there was a death as well! He stood up and crossed the room. He knelt before the Dark Lord and waited.
"I see you've drawn the same conclusion, Rowle. The child is born but we have no way to confirm his health. All we know is he is a living heir. He must be brought into the fold, he and his mother. Therefore, I am assigning you a very special mission. Go, young Rowle. Bring back your child and his mother!" Voldemort cast around to see which of his followers he would send with Rowle.
Bellatrix was out of the question-she would want to torture Hermione and Rowle would kill HER. The Lestrange brothers were out-they would be eager to escape Bellatrix and might not bother to return. The Malfoys weren't to be trusted-they would definitely run away and hide.
It wouldn't do to send Mulciber-from the looks of him, Rowle had already beaten his arse a couple more times. McNair, hmmm-no, better not risk it. They'd have too much fun wreaking havoc and forget the mission! He finally settled on the only two he KNEW had any type of control over the boy. They had both mentored him after all! Yaxley and Dolohov would accompany the young man to collect his woman and child.
"Yaxley, Dolohov. You will both go with him. The mission is quite simple: Bring back Hermione Granger and her infant son. Rowle, I suggest you write your mother. Tell her to contact Narcissa so they can start planning a wedding." The implication was clear: Anthony Goldstein was not part of the picture! Rowle smiled coldly. He'd been waiting to get his hands on that damn Goldstein! Now approval had been given!
The three men left before Rowle realized something. "Oi! How the hell are we going to find them? We don't know where they are!"
"Yes. We do." Yaxley handed him a piece of paper. There was three words written there. 'Millville, West Virginia.' The handwriting was not Granger's. Yaxley had glanced at too many of Potter's discarded notes to not recognize her signature. That was definitely Goldstein's signature! For whatever reason known only to himself, Goldstein had handed himself, Hermione and the child over to Rowle!
They went to the Ministry and obtained a Portkey before Potter was even aware they were there. By the time he and a group of Aurors showed up, it was too late. When he was told they had Portkeyed to America, Harry closed his eyes and swore! "They've found Hermione! They've gone after her!"
Hermione's P. O. V.-two months earlier
MAJOR TRIGGERS! MAJOR TRIGGERS! NON GRAPHIC RAPE! (not Hermione!) GRAPHIC VIOLENCE! (partially Hermione) MIND THE WARNINGS!
Hermione laid there in shock, pains still shooting through her body. She knew it wasn't over yet. Her body still had to expel the afterbirth. "W-what? My, my baby! I want to hold my baby! Please, give me my baby!"
The old man looked at her coldly. "No, don't think I will, missy. He be my grandson now. Ye give me more pretty grandbabies and ye might git ta hold 'em."
"No! No, I won't! I want my baby! Now!" she blurted out. He leaned over the table and slapped her so hard, her head jerked to the side.
"Ye'll do wat I say, girl, or I'll put ye in the barn. Yer a purty lil thang. Ye won't last long in thar! I want more pretty grandbabies and YE'RE gonna have 'em! If ye don't, it's the barn fer ye!" he poked at her, holding the baby firmly against him.
She screamed once more as the afterbirth was finally pushed out of her body. The old man didn't give her a chance to rest. He grabbed her hair, twisted it painfully around his hand and pulled her off the table. Hermione stumbled and almost fell as she tried to keep up with him.
"Ye don't wanna have babies? Lessee how ye like the barn, girl!" he dragged her outside, down the steps and across the yard.
The big barn towered over them. Hermione could hear screams, both male and female. He waited as one of the women opened the door. Then he yanked her inside. She was horrified to see five beds inside. A girl was tied to each bed, screaming in terror as they were assaulted by the mountain men. On the other side, men were hung up by their hands as more men beat them with whips and ropes or stabbed them with machetes.
One of the girls turned her head and saw Hermione. "Help me, please! Please, please, help me!" she begged. "Please, help me!"
Just then, the man raping her, lunged down and bit her throat. As she screamed, it trailed off into a gurgle. Blood gushed as he ripped her throat open. Hermione screamed as she covered her mouth. Another girl screamed as the man attacking her began stabbing her at the same time. By the time he was done with her, she had bled out on the bed, her eyes staring lifelessly. Hermione's eyes were gushing tears by this time. The old man watched her shrewdly. He turned and pulled her back out of the barn.
"Now, I'll tell ye again! Yer gonna have me some pretty grandbabies or YE GO TO THE BARN." He snapped at her. "Wat ye got ta say now, girl?"
Hermione sank down on her knees, crying with despair. She felt so helpless! If she only had her wand! Better yet, if she only knew wandless magic! "Ok, ok! Yes, I'll, I'll have you some pretty grandbabies! I will! I'll have you some pretty grandbabies!" he smiled in satisfaction.
"Good girl! Next hunt, we be findin' ye a pretty boy!" he pulled her to her feet and took her back to the cabin.
He led her to a rocking chair, sitting by an armchair. There, he finally allowed her to hold her baby. Hermione sobbed with joy at the feel of the squirming little infant. She counted his little fingers and toes. No bigger than he was, she could already tell he was going to have the same long slim fingers as his father. His little pouf of blonde hear stood up as if spiked. His blue eyes looked blindly at her as he began to root at her breast. She laughed softly as she held him close.
She wasn't allowed to hold him for long before the old man took him back. "Git in the kitchen, girl! Help yer ma with supper! Ye'll git another chance next time the boy's hungry!"
Still painfully sore, but knowing it would cost her the chance of holding her baby if she refused, Hermione staggered to her feet and slowly joined the women of the clan. She was horrified when she saw the decapitated heads of the girls she'd seen die in the barn. She barely kept herself from throwing up. She was put in charge of peeling potatoes, to her immense relief.
To her inner joy and total relief, she was given a tin of sausages to eat. It wasn't much but at least she wasn't being forced to eat human flesh! As the clan prepared to settle down for the night, she was locked into a small room with a cot, pillow, one blanket and a potty seat. That was it. It wasn't the best place she'd ever slept. She knew she was lucky, though. He could have taken her out and tied her to one of the beds in the barn, Merlin forbid! As she was locked in and there were no windows, she was allowed to keep the baby with her. She intended to cherish every moment given to her.
"Hello, baby." She whispered softly to him. He had a little button nose and chubby cheeks. His little ears laid smoothly against his head. Though he had come early, he didn't seem to be experiencing any breathing problems. Then she remembered that the last healer they saw had told them he was very healthy. In fact, she'd also told them if he got too big, he might come early anyway.
"Your name is Radnor Anthony Rowle-Goldstein. Your legal father was Anthony Goldstein. Your biological father is Thorfinn Rowle. I'm your mother, Hermione Granger-Goldstein." She quietly told him. The baby grizzled at her as he began to root around once more. She smiled as she nursed him again.
'Don't you worry, baby. I don't know how. I don't know when, but I'll get us out of here.' She silently vowed to the child. 'Anthony said your other father will find us, but I don't know how. He has no clue where we are.'
The next morning, she was rudely awakened by the oldest woman, kicking her awake. The old man again took Radnor away from her and put her to helping the women in the half dead vegetable garden out back. The only times she was allowed to hold the baby were his feeding times. She was just thankful the she was also allowed to keep the baby at night. If there was a window to her room, she knew she wouldn't even be given that time with him!
That evening and every evening for a full week, she was forced to go to the barn and watch as the women and men they caught were raped, tortured and killed. The whole time they were there, the old man would threaten her, telling her this would be HER fate, should she try to escape or fail to give him more 'pretty grandbabies.'
She finally gave up on the idea of escape after realizing there was no safe way to secure Radnor to her long enough for her to even try. Not without her wand, which was back in the tent she had been roughly dragged out of. Besides which, the old man seemed to realize that Radnor was the best way to control her. She was never allowed to hold him unless she was feeding him. It killed her to be this close to her baby and only allowed to touch him for ten minutes or so every couple of hours. She rejoiced every night as he was handed to her and they were locked into their windowless little room.
The men soon began bringing the males caught directly to the old man. She always found something to reject about them, even knowing that she was condemning them to death. Strangely enough, though, the old man was even pickier than her. He accepted her excuses with no question. He seemed to be on the lookout for a certain type of pretty boy.
Pretty soon two months had passed. Hermione was now completely immersed in the backwoods life. After her clothes had literally fallen apart at the seams, she had been given a couple of 'ma's' old castoff dresses to wear, never mind that they were too big. Ma showed her how to sew them tighter for a better fit. She was still given only one tin of sausages a day. That was her only meal.
She also knew that the old man would get tired of her rejecting all the men brought to them. Sooner or later, willing or not, she was going to be forced to have sex with one of the male captives, in order to produce another pretty child!
Thorfinn's P. O. V.
After Yaxley, Dolohov and Rowle Portkeyed into the Ministry of Magic in New York, they didn't waste a minute. Yaxley led them straight to the train station and they caught the quickest train to West Virginia. They signed into a motel for the night. Thorfinn showed the desk clerk a photo of Hermione and Anthony. Amazingly, she remembered them. 'Yes, they had checked in a little over three months ago and spent the night. Then next morning, they had checked out and gone on to Millville.'
"They were here!" he exclaimed as he rejoined Yaxley and Dolohov in their room. He was excited to be on their trail. If they were this close, there should be no trouble dispatching Goldstein and taking his woman and child back to Britain! He conveniently ignored the thought of how Hermione would feel, being in the hands of her husband's murderer! He was sure that she would be putty in his hands once more.
The next morning, Yaxley rented a van. He explained that they couldn't use any magic while they were here. If Thorfinn really went through with his plan to kill Goldstein, they would be caught and detained by Macusa if he used magic!
"I don't need magic to kill him with my bare hands." Thorfinn shrugged before hopping into the back of the van and chilling out on the floor. Yaxley drove and Dolohov rode shotgun. Thorfinn amused them on the way there as he recited all the things he intended to do to Anthony Goldstein before killing him, starting with, "Dear Anthony Goldstein, how do I hate thee? Let me count the ways. I hate your hands which, no doubt, have been all over my Granger! I shall take great pleasure in breaking them, one finger at a time, ending with your ring finger which I intend to grind into dust!"
Once they reached Millville, they immediately noticed the same gloominess which had spooked Hermione and Anthony. Both Yaxley and Dolohov were starting to have a very bad feeling about this. They left the van and entered the café to get a bite to eat. They would then start the search.
If they intended to find them, the first place to start would be the bank where they had purchased their home. Once they finished their meal, they headed for the bank. Halfway there, they stopped in an alley. Yaxley and Dolohov disillusioned themselves and allowed Thorfinn to do the talking. It turned out the teller also remembered the couple. They had spoken to her manager, then left. The manager had tragically but mysteriously killed himself that same day. Hermione and Anthony hadn't been seen or heard from since then.
When asked where they had gone, she gave him the same directions the manager had given Anthony. She also gave him a word of warning. "There are rumors of a clan, living up that way. A clan of cannibals. They've supposedly been up in these mountains for years. I don't know. All I know is we've had hikers, locals and tourists alike all go up into those woods and they never come back."
Thorfinn thanked her and left. They got back to the van and sat there a moment. "Well, what do you think, Yaxley?" Thorfinn asked.
"IF the rumors are true, it's a good possibility that they ran into them. I'm sorry, Thorfinn, but you might want to brace yourself for the fact that she might be dead." Yaxley told him.
'NO! No! Granger is NOT dead! My child is NOT dead! The tapestry would say if they were dead!" Thorfinn insisted. The older wizards had to concede that point. They went into the hardware store. Yaxley and Dolohov each bought a sniper rifle and ammo. Thor was browsing around, not really paying attention to anything or anyone.
An old man watched the young blonde a moment. He smiled evilly. He knew his brother had a certain type he was looking for. The baby had lost his first hair and it had already grown back in. His eyes had remained blue. He was a sturdy little blonde with ice blue eyes. His features were not yet defined but this youngster had the big, tall, sturdy look his brother was seeking. Not paying any attention to the older men who had entered the store with the boy, he approached him.
"Be ye looking for a spot of fishin'? My brother got a lodge in the mountains. Got a pretty little hostess. She's a real looker, brunette with brown eyes." He told him.
"Fishing?" Thorfinn frowned at him. The old man smiled at him. 'Oh, this boy was perfect!'
"Yep. Ye know, that little hostess talks kinda like ye. Ye'd enjoy meetin' her, I think." The old man said, anxious to get the boy's attention.
"Do I, ah, maybe. Let me look at the, uh, fishing poles right quick." Thorfinn had intended to outright tell the old man to fuck off. Then he processed what the old man had said. The oldster nodded, in no hurry at all. Thorfinn moved to the fishing poles, conveniently located right beside Yaxley and Dolohov. The two had stiffened as soon as they heard what was said.
'Hostess? Female. Real looker? Granger was gorgeous. Brunette, brown eyes? It was sounding more and more like Granger. The kicker was when he said 'she talks kinda like ye.' It HAD to be Granger. That meant, if Granger was stashed away in these mountains, then his son was with her! It meant they were definitely alive! He wandered back to the old man.
"Can you take me there? I think I'd like to meet this little looker of a hostess. I'm very partial to brown hair and brown eyes!" Thorfinn told the old man who smiled broadly.
"O'course. Foller me. My trucks jest outside. I got all the fishin' gear ye need in the back." Yaxley and Dolohov discreetly trailed them out of the store. They hopped in the van and followed the old man out of town. They slowed down, stopped and watched as the old man took Thorfinn up the wrong turn. The woman had said right. They went left!