DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN HARRY POTTER!!
Memoirs
Chapter 5
"Did you understand it?" Tom asked his wife, closing the door behind them. Hermione took off her dressing gown and hung it on the side of her wardrobe.
"Well, I got the words, but otherwise no..." she trailed off as she began to brush her hair roughly. Tom also took off his dressing gown but instead of brushing his hair he ran his fingers through it and made it even messier. She put her brush down and climbed back into the bed, checking the sheets for glass. Tom looked thoughtful for a moment but shrugged and climbed into bed after Hermione. "What?" she asked, remaining sitting up. He lay down, putting his hands behind his head and showed off his underarm hair which made Hermione cringe a little, so she looked away. She leant back against the headboard and looked back at her husband.
"What do you mean, 'what'?" he asked, looking at her and shrugging his shoulders.
"What was with the look?" she chuckled lightly, but it went away half-a-second later.
"Never mind. Now, lie down and sleep." He ordered and she both complied. She lay down against the pillows, facing away from him, knowing it would annoy him.
"Do you like annoying me?"
"Yes, I do." She answered smartly.
"Well, don't." he said, turning onto his side and wrapping his arm around her waist, pulling her against his muscled chest. She turned around and faced him.
"You like annoying me, don't you?" Hermione asked, putting her hands lightly on his chest.
"It's one of the things I live for." They shared a minute long silence.
"Why'd you bring me back?" she whispered, looking at his chest, her fingertips tracing the lines of his muscles, making his desires increase ten-fold with every passing second.
"I was lonely." He whispered back.
"The Dark Lord got lonely?" she mocked harshly and he wanted nothing more than to show her who was in charge. But she was still fragile.
"Just sleep, Hermione." He snapped coldly and squeezed her tightly.
0000000000
When Hermione awoke in the morning, she was alone in the bed and room. She sat up and looked around. No one. This was how she preferred it. She climbed out of bed, her feet making a lazy 'ploosh' sound on the soft carpet. Making her way over to the bathroom, she ruffled her hair. As she closed the door to the bathroom, the main door opened. Tom came in holding 2 Starbuck coffees. He saw the door close to the bathroom and called, "Good morning."
"Morning." Came the short response in a yawn as she began to run a bath.
"I got coffee." He offered.
"White, no sugar."
Hermione faced the mirror, a wet warm flannel wiping her face. After dabbing her face with a towel, she looked at herself in the mirror.
Out of nowhere, when she blinked, he face ... rotten. Yellow. Maggot ruled. Decaying. She screamed her loudest and Tom ran into the bathroom.
"What?" he asked, keeping his wand raised. Seeing his love sitting on the edge of the bath, sobbing with her face buried so hard in her hands, he feared it would never surface. "Hermione?" he lowered his wand. "What is it?" he hugged her tightly, rubbing her back in circular motion.
It took a while for Hermione to be able to tell her tale. But with the help of a Calming Draught from Severus, sitting on the balcony, Snape and Lucius being present - Lucius for comfort and Snape for the Calming Draught - and a large brandy, she was able to talk. "When I looked in the mirror ... I was dead." She said, sipping her brandy.
"What do you mean, 'dead'?" Lucius asked her from his spot of leaning against the stone railing.
"My face...I was...I looked...No...I was dead. My skin was rotten. Maggots. Everything." She said as fresh silent tears went down her face. The four of them visibly shuddered and Hermione took another swig of brandy.
"It's most likely stress. From...recent events." Snape diagnosed.
"But it felt so real. I felt the maggots on me. My skin felt old and moist." She said. They all shared several agonising moments of silence.
"It could be Tomogenesis." Tom offered.
"Tomo...what?" Hermione asked, looking at her husband sitting on the chair next to her.
"It's like ... when you go into a shop and buy something. The clerk at the register says, 'if you want this, you have to take this as well'. A price."
"Actually, that's a gift with purchase." Lucius cheeked but Tom didn't listen.
"We just have to make sure that whatever this is is killed before it kills you." Snape said to Hermione.
"Why me?"
"Hermione, you're the object of resurrection." Lucius explained.
"I didn't ask for this!" she shrieked, jumping up from the deck chair. "You think I asked for this? That I want to be here?! If I had my way, I'd still be in the ground with those I care about, with those I loved and lost. Lost by your hand!" She screamed at Tom, who flinched at her harsh words. Tears were freely coming down her face and cheeks by now. She drunk the rest of the brandy in one and slammed the glass down and stormed back into the room.
"She's right." Tom said after a moment's silence.
Hermione shot back out onto the balcony.
"What?" she, Snape and Lucius asked.
"I had no right to ask for you back." he pulled out his wand and stood up. "It's only fitting that seeing as I was the one to take you out of the Earth, I should be the one to put you back in it." he threatened, advancing on her.
"Milord!" Lucius begged. "I beg of you, please, don't. She has only just returned to us."
"Yes, indeed, my servant. It would be a waste that I should dispose of her. So soon." He said, pushing past her and storming into the room.