November 25th

Another night passed for Hermione alone in the Dower House. If she'd not been afraid of what Rodolphus would do when he returned, she might have been upset by his absence. She couldn't help but remember that she was practically alone in the world. With no one else inside the house, she was at the mercy of her enemies. Though she'd learned years earlier how to fight and defend herself, she knew that she would feel better being somewhere she didn't have to wake up entirely alone. Even when she was in the Three Broomsticks she had the peace of mind knowing that there were others nearby to hear her if she screamed.

Many would likely think her completely insane for remaining in his house when she knew what he was capable of. Maybe they were right, but she couldn't just walk away without having some sort of answer for what he'd done to her. Even the confusing snippets of facts that Gemma gave her before she was murdered didn't make much sense. There was always the possibility that Gemma was indeed a liar and Rodolphus was simply tired of her being there. If she ran away, she would be back where she started. And it wasn't as if she couldn't take care of herself. She hadn't been a Death Eater for twenty years just because the Dark Lord liked to keep her as a pet. She had to earn her place in the Inner Circle, earn her Dark Mark. Nothing was ever just handed to someone in their society. She wasn't some weakling who couldn't defend herself.

Trying to sleep without having Rodolphus across the corridor was difficult. If he was there, she knew that no one would be foolish enough to try to harm her. He'd made it clear to everyone who supported him in some manner that she was to be left alone and unharmed. Unfortunately, she wouldn't put it past Rabastan to sneak into her bedroom while she tried to sleep if he knew that his big brother wouldn't be there to stop him. She knew she could fight him off if it came down to it, but she didn't want to be put in the position. Thanks to her discomfort, every single sound in the middle of the night woke her up out of her light sleep.

She wasn't sure how long she should remain in Rodolphus' house without him there. If he wasn't planning on returning, there was no reason to stay. Already she feared that news of her new place of residence had gotten back to her husband. She could only imagine what Antonin thought. The last time they'd been alone he didn't seem to believe her when she said there was nothing going on between her and Rodolphus. Once he found out that she moved into his house, Antonin was sure to believe that he'd been right in his suspicions. It infuriated her that he didn't trust her even when she knew that she hadn't given him much reason to over the years. There had been years that she had been in an inappropriate sexual relationship with Rodolphus.

The more she considered the state of her marriage, the more depressed she became. Both of them were keeping secrets from the other. Both of them carried on adulterous relationships with others in recent months. Yes, she knew that Antonin could be given a pass sort of because he'd been drugged with Amortentia, but he'd also gone to Ginny willingly. If he hadn't been in her house to begin with, there wouldn't have been a chance to be drugged. She'd been with Draco. At least Antonin confessed to his relationship with Ginny when she confronted him. That was more than she'd been willing to do when it came to the tracker. If there was hope that they could repair their marriage in the future, it was dying day by day. Either they would have to start over like complete strangers and try to forget their pasts or they'd be unable to do it.

Deciding that sitting in the lounge just waiting for either Rodolphus to return or for her next move to jump out at her and make sense was a waste of her time, Hermione headed for the staircase. She wanted to make sure that everything she owned was inside her beaded bag in case she chose to leave. When she lowered her foot on the third or fourth step, she heard the front door open. She chose to go no further upstairs when she saw the master of the house return. Evidently exhausted, he still looked pleased with himself. He stifled a yawn as he removed his heavy cloak from his shoulders. Wherever he'd passed his time since he murdered his sister-in-law, it didn't appear to involve sleeping.

"Good morning, Hermione."

"Good morning."

He was much more cheerful than he had been when he left. She was hesitant to ask him why because she was sure that she wouldn't like the answer. Descending the rest of the stairs to meet him in the entrance hall, she noticed deep scratches on his cheek. Her face must have given away her confusion because almost at once, Rodolphus turned to look at himself in a mirror that hung on the wall. Loud laughter exploded out of the man as he lifted his wand to heal the wound.

"Our little Ginny can be quite the wildcat."

"Ginny attacked you?"

"Oh, don't worry about me, my dear. I'm sure the scratches she gave me on my back are much worse."

Hermione could feel her jaw drop in shock. Surely he couldn't mean what he was implying? Realizing he'd scandalized the woman, Rodolphus laughed loudly again. He was enjoying himself and her discomfort entirely too much. Was this all a show put on for her benefit? When she could find her tongue again, she asked what must have been an obvious question.

"You and Ginny?"

"She's less reluctant to tell me what I want to hear. There's no confusion with her. She knows she belongs to me."

Disgust that she'd rarely felt so strong crept up Hermione's entire body, threatening to suffocate her with its potency. The man was a monster. Even if she didn't know it before they had the bizarre discussion they were having, she knew it without question. How could a cretin with no morals or concern for his fellow man still be allowed to roam the Earth with relatively little fear? She had to calm herself before she did or said something that she knew she would come to regret. Rodolphus was not a man to trifle with.

"You've been threatening to kill her daughter unless she does exactly what you tell her to do. Of course she's belongs to you. Any mother worth a damn would be willing to do whatever it took to keep her child safe."

"Is that what I have to do with you to remind you that you still belong to me?"

All pity and disgust for Ginny's current plight flew out of her head with the clear warning about her own son. There were no lows that Rodolphus wouldn't hesitate to stoop to if it produced the results he desired. He had never had any strong feelings for her son except for annoyance and possibly disdain. Children were best, in his eyes, pushed away to be cared for by the house-elves until they were adults. Any time Oliver made the innocent mistake of entering a room that he was in, Rodolphus' lip would curl up. No, she knew exactly how far the evil man would go. With a bright smile that would've served to enhance his handsome features when she wasn't afraid of him, Rodolphus loomed over Hermione, removing most of the personal space between their bodies. She feared to take a breath.

"It wouldn't take much for me to get to your son, even in the castle. Temeritus is an old friend of mine. We were young recruits together years before you were born."

She knew he spoke the truth. Even though Headmaster Mulciber had been doing a damn fine job as the leader of Hogwarts for the better part of the last two decades, he had a price. He also had his own perverted, twisted sense of Death Eater loyalty. The children might have been his priority to educate and keep safe, but he wouldn't have lasted long in the Dark Lord's faithful followers if he'd not learned how to turn his head every now and again. Rodolphus reached out to twist one of her curls around his finger. She ignored the pain, focused entirely on what he was going to say next.

"He would do anything I asked, especially if I gave him the chance to take you to bed again. He's never been able to shut up about you. You took your training as a whore quite seriously it seems. He'd turn a blind eye to his duties as a Headmaster for the chance to taste you again."

Wrenching her hair out of his grip with a jerk of her head, Hermione ignored the sharp pain of the ripping of her curls. She wouldn't allow the man to intimidate her so. Maybe in the past she wasn't bothered too much about what happened to her son, but those days were exactly where they belonged. If he wanted to see how fierce she could be in the protection of her child, he would get the chance.

"Nobody owns me, Rodolphus. Especially not you."

"I would urge you to be very careful how you speak to me."

"I'm not afraid of you."

"Then you are a fool and little Oliver could end up very, very hurt."

Not bothering to even stop to pull her cloak down off the hook, Hermione rushed out the front door. In that moment she didn't care if she never learned the secret of what Rodolphus had been doing to her mind. There were things that were more important. If she had to forgo any knowledge of his damned plans and the fucking spells he implanted in her head just to keep Oliver safe, she would do so with no hesitation. And she wouldn't be afraid to kill Rodolphus if it came down to it. Maybe she might've been afraid of him in the past, but no longer.

Outside of the gates she ignored the cold air to think about the holiday cottage where she'd last seen her husband. If there was another person alive who needed to understand the threats that Rodolphus was making against their son, it was Antonin. He would know what to do. He usually did.

She banged on the door when she arrived. If he'd had a late night doing the gods only knew what, she wanted to make sure that her husband knew she was there. The door opened abruptly.

"What do you want?"

The Muggle that glared at her wasn't pleased to be so rudely disturbed. Based on his state of dress, she'd caught him either still in bed or just getting out. Feeling suddenly quite embarrassed that she'd been so irrational for even just a few minutes, Hermione made her apologies and ran from the immediate area before the muggle could get it in his head to call the authorities. She really didn't want to have to break any international laws that morning. Hadn't it been stressful enough?

When she was far enough away that she thought she would be safe for a few minutes to catch her breath, she thought about Antonin, furious that she'd given him back his watch in her dramatic moment. Why didn't she keep it for a moment just like that one? He could be anywhere. It wouldn't be safe for her to go searching either. It was impossible to tell who was on his side and who still answered to Rodolphus.

The longer she lingered near the holiday cottages, the calmer she became. One reminder that was particularly helpful was the fact that she knew that she didn't marry an idiot. Antonin was one of the smartest people she'd ever known. He would've already considered the possibility that Hogwarts was infiltrated. His number one priority had always been Oliver and it always would be. Oliver was safe. He would've made certain of it. Even a disgusting offer from Rodolphus to Temeritus wouldn't be enough to harm him.

She knew she had to go back to the Dower House. Her mission wasn't finished. Her heart no longer raced in fear for her son. Though she was still afraid for herself more than she wanted to admit, that was something she knew how to combat. She'd had almost forty years of taking care of herself and pushing past her fears of her own mortality. If she didn't return to Rodolphus' house, she would become an enemy. There would be no hope for her to ever uncover the truth and she would be in more danger than she already was.

All in all, she couldn't have been missing for more than fifteen minutes when she began the trek up the staircase towards her bedroom. The door to Rodolphus' room was open. His pleased smile was meant to be a greeting, but she ignored it. She wasn't ready to face him again. Hiding in her room and plotting her next moves was her plan for the rest of that horrible day.