"No."
Voldemort stared at her for a moment then nodded his head and stood up. He seemed to have accepted the fact that she would not join his forces, at the moment. Voldemort nodded at Bellatrix, and she started walking out of the room. There was no doubt of who she was going to retrieve.
"Wait," Hermione paused. "You did not let me finish."
"Then start talking Miss Granger. I do not have all day to listen to you, as you might think."
Hermione cringed but looked up into his eyes.
"I will not become a Death Eater, but I am willing to help you. I will not help you fight battles against my friends."
"Then what are you planning to do? Go around promoting my kingdom?"
"I could if you wanted me to."
Voldemort sat back down and stared at her for what felt like several hours. Hermione tried her hardest not to let her eyes wonder away from his. She would not let her father be killed like her mother was.
"I am not going to let you out of this castle. You will be checking the backgrounds of potential Death Eaters."
Hermione stared in shock.
"Do you think of me so lowly Miss Granger? I do not allow scum into my army. I am getting plenty of offers, and you looking over them would give me more time for much more important things."
Voldemort smiled at her, and Hermione tried not to wince. His smile was unnatural; something cruel that would only show after someone else had been hurt. Everything in Voldemort's body had been reshaped by dark magic. There was nothing left of the person who had once been Tom Riddle.
After a few seconds, Voldemort straightened up and his smile melted from his face.
"Bellatrix will show you to the room which you will be working in. Your work will be looked over after every day by Lucius Malfoy. Don't look so disappointed; if you let in a traitor, he wouldn't be the only one punished."
Voldemort nodded at Bellatrix, and she started walking out of the room, expecting Hermione to follow. Hermione was happy to oblige. If she spent any more time in the room with Voldemort, she might have collapsed from the strain of being under his gaze. There was a pressure pounding down on her every time she made eye contact with him.
Once into the Great Hall, Hermione kept her head up proudly as the Death Eaters glared death at her. She knew, like everybody else in the room, that she did not belong there. Hogwarts, which had once been her home for most of the year, was now void of the life which had once filled it.
Bellatrix showed Hermione to an office-like space on the third floor close to where her Muggle Studies classroom had been. There was a desk with stacks of papers on it and a door which probably led to some sort of bedroom.
"You will not leave this room unless you feel suicidal, then come straight to me," Bellatrix said sweetly. "And don't look into my lord's eyes. You are filth and do not deserve the gratitude that he has given you." Bellatrix turned around and left the room. The door closed, and Hermione heard Bellatrix enchant the door using colloportus. Hermione's hand itched for a wand so that she could counter the spell.
Life had become routine after two months of working for Voldemort. Hermione woke up at seven o'clock every day in the room attached to the office that she now worked in. Breakfast was brought to her by Corte, who still disliked her no matter how sweet she was to him. Hermione would then spend the rest of her day working on background checks for potential Death Eaters. If she was lucky, she might be able to get two done in one day.
It wasn't precisely hard to meet Death Eater Standards. There had to be proof that the wizard or witch was at least a half-blood. Then it was Hermione's job to look through everything that the person in question had done in his or her life. So far, thirty people had been rejected. Most of them had too much Muggle blood in them. Hermione found it ironic how she was the one deciding who had enough pureblood to be let in, but she kept this to herself. Lucius Malfoy, who checked her progress once a week, had kept a real dislike for her ever since the meeting with Voldemort.
If Voldemort had taken complete control over the wizarding world, Hermione had no clue about it. Lucius Malfoy, her only contact to the outside world, told her nothing.
Hermione looked down at the next wizard in consideration and sighed. Life was getting boring.
"Slacking on the job Miss Granger? I would have expected much more from you."
After the initial shock of someone else being in the room with her, Hermione let down her guard, but refused to turn around and face Voldemort. If he wanted her to see him, he would have to be the one that walked around to the front of her desk.
"I thought that you would have been more excited to see me, especially when the only person you have seen in the past two months has been Malfoy."
Hermione felt Voldemort take another step towards her, leaving only a few inches to separate them. The cold that she expected to radiate from his body was nonexistent. Instead, there was warmth which came to her unexpectedly. Hermione winced and put her mind set back on a cold demure.
Voldemort walked in front of her and looked down on her as she sat at her desk.
"You have provided me with many new loyal followers. As I have told you, Lord Voldemort rewards those who are gracious to him, your door will be open from now on, but if you try to leave the castle, all of your past restrictions and more will be placed upon you."
Voldemort left the room, and Hermione stared at the open door with shock until she stood up and started walking towards the library.
"Your friend is still alive, Harry Potter."
Harry looked up at the cloaked figure and smiled. Over the past several months he had been worried about Hermione, along with everyone else in the Order.
"Is she well?"
"Yes, she has been working for Voldemort, but do not become angry Harry Potter," the voice said in haste. "She has been kept under lock and key, and has been threatened with both the torture of herself and her father. If you were in her situation, I am sure you would do the same."
Remus Lupin stood up and nodded towards the spy.
"We are thankful for the information that you bring us. Is there anything else that we should know?"
"Only the fact that every day you wait, Hermione is recruiting more Death Eaters. If you stay in hiding for too long, Voldemort will have taken over the entire world, and you will have no chance."
AN: Ah, another chapter out and the plot is thickening like a good cream sauce…maybe I should have worked on my comparisons this summer, oh well. I hope you like this new chapter. I would like to thank Ready…aim…fire, PrincessOfHeartsNYP, Person of a Strange Origin, Blond-gym-chick, Blood Blossom, and MistressAnime for reviewing chapter 8.