A/N: My thanks go to everyone who read, followed, fav-ed and reviewed.

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The Hogwarts Christmas Orb

Chapter Eight

Christmas Eve, 2008

Only a few minutes to Christmas Eve, Tom's eyes flickered between the alarm clock on Hermione's nightstand and the drugged witch on the bed. Gently, he cupped her cheek, stroking her soft skin with his thumb. She didn't react to his touch; he'd slipped enough Sleeping Draught into her breakfast for her to be out for a couple of days. Then, he'd owled her friends with some excuse as to why she couldn't attend their party. It had all gone smoothly. After a year in her presence, he knew enough to mimic her writing and word choice to perfection. Nobody had suspected a thing. He was almost there.

Soon, Lord Voldemort would return, very much alive indeed.

He tossed the Hogwarts orb in his hand through the air casually. His cold laugh filled the room as he looked through the window. It still wasn't snowing. His Atmospheric Curse was working perfectly. That bloated redshirt would probably be desperate by now, needing the snow to eat the little kiddies. Mr Claus should never have tried to trick or underestimated Lord Voldemort, and any minute now, he would learn why.

Finally, it was time and he placed the orb on the bed, picking up Hermione's hand and holding it above the orb. He retrieved the silver knife he'd stolen from Borgin & Burkes and placed it against her palm.

'This will sting a bit,' he said, not sure why he even bothered.

With a swift motion, he sliced into her palm and her blood filled the orb. Quickly, he pocketed the knife and retrieved his wand, healing her wound as the landscape in the orb turned from blood-red to normal again. A purple jet erupted from his wand, impacting on his and Hermione's chest before charging into the orb. He waited until the orb had settled back to normal before he began chanting, tapping the orb. Without him shaking the item, it slowly started to snow and a tiny Santa appeared on his sleigh, looking up at him in anger. Tom smirked evilly—it was always pleasurable when his victims realised he was sentencing them.

The Hogwarts orb had been a perfect replica. That had been the reason he'd picked it out for his task years ago. Right now, everything that happened inside the orb happened outside of it in reality. The proof of it was staring him in the face in the snowfall that was visible through Hermione's bedroom window. Calmly, Tom circled his wand around the orb, causing the snow to speed up. Santa Claus mouthed something in his direction. Looking forward to the entertainment, Tom cast a spell enabling them to communicate.

'You can't kill me!'

Tom laughed loudly, tossing his head back. Tauntingly, his wand circled the orb more rapidly, making the snow fall faster. 'Pray tell, why not?' he mocked.

'If I die, you'll die, too!' Claus shouted, furious.

'You broke your vow to me; you were supposed to give me immortality.'

'I never said how you would exist in said immortality.'

'Oh, how clever,' Tom sneered. 'You'll find Lord Voldemort doesn't take well to deception.' He whirled his wand around the orb again.

'Then Lord Voldemort better be prepared to die with me!' Santa yelled, trying to keep his sleigh steady in the blazing snow. Something Tom knew was happening right now outside of Hogwarts.

'I think you'll find I won't. You think this orb, with our blood in it, is all that's connecting us, all that's keeping me alive, but it's not. Lord Voldemort is always ready for treachery and plans ahead far further than the tiny insignificant brains of others could ever begin to comprehend. You see, that snow potion you used every year to eat Muggle children did a bit more than enable that. It weakened you, made you dependant on Lord Voldemort's mercy.'

Once more, he sped up the snow, enjoying the loud shriek Santa Claus made when his sleigh nearly collided into the Astronomy Tower. He had trouble steering it because the increasing speed of the snow corresponded with the increasing speed of the sleigh.

'You never wondered why I didn't come out of the orb right after my death?'

Tom didn't wait for the answer to his rhetorical question. He continued viciously, 'I waited because every year you poured more and more of your energy into sustaining me by eating children with the use of my potion, the balance of our connection would slowly flip to me. Nine years I waited; nine years to find you betrayed me. And now in year ten, I will exert my power of you. I will get my vengeance. You're no longer the one in charge of how much life-force you send my way. I am, and I will gladly take it all. All of your immortality, strength and power will come to me. You will feel the wrath of Lord Voldemort to its fullest and you will die tonight, Mr Claus, while I will live. Forever!'

The snow turned into a blazing blizzard. Everything inside the orb was invisible; it seemed like an opaque glass globe now. If it weren't for the spell Tom had cast on the orb, he'd never been able to hear Santa Claus's final words.

'My death will destroy the orb. Without my blood, there is no connection that will allow it to reassemble. Enjoy my life-force, my Lord, it won't last for longer than a second.'

Tom laughed coldly. 'The orb only needs a blood-connection to reassemble,' Tom said quietly, knowing the spell would make his words heard as if he'd been speaking into Santa Claus's ears. 'It doesn't have to be yours. Goodbye.'

One last twirl of his wand, and with a loud crash, the glass exploded, tuning out Claus's death cry and darkening the bedroom with magical energy. It surged through the air, making everything invisible to the naked eye. Tom didn't care about that. So much dark power was intoxicating. He leaned back, inhaling it, relishing in it, cherishing it. This was the true meaning of power, of being a wizard, and it was all his for the taking. He spread his arms wide and drew it in, slowly, wanting to draw out the sensation. It was electrifying. He was Lord Voldemort, the greatest, most powerful wizard of all time, and all would grovel at his feet.

He didn't remember when he'd closed his eyes to enhance his other senses into enjoying what was happening more, but when he opened them, his blood turned to ice. Granger was sitting upright, her eyes fierce, her hair static with power, her wand pointed at the glassless replica of Hogwarts, her curse already en route. The bolt of red struck the double, oak front doors of Hogwarts dead on.

'NO!' Tom yelled, feeling the pull and trying to fight it.

But the force was impossible to block because it was partly his. The blood, their blood with all its combined power, sucked him right in. He crash-landed on the flagstone floor of the Entrance Hall, protecting his face with his arms against the impact. When he was finally lying still, he carefully moved his limbs. Relieved when he realised he'd not broken anything and would only have some major cuts and bruises to heal, he remained cautiously where he was, lying on his belly, when all the air got pushed out of his lungs as a soft body smashed on top of him.

'Umph,' he groaned, overpowered by her loud shriek.

She rolled away, her arms curled around her head.

I should've rolled, too, he realised inconsequentially, much less chance of serious damage.

She stopped a few feet away from him, lying on her back and immediately trying to get up.

That's a mistake, he thought, watching her fall back and clutch to her head in pain. He'd done the same thing years ago and knew what it felt like. It was not pleasant.

Yet, her pain hardly gave him any satisfaction as he heard the front doors close. He knew the orb had been restored to its former glory and he wanted to curse her into oblivion for what she'd done. He wanted to shake some sense into that idiotic, self-sacrificing mind of a Gryffindork. Without an anchor in the real world, there was no way to leave this place. She had to have known that. She had to have known this was the only way to stop him. All this time he'd thought she'd been unaware what he was up to, unaware of his improving capabilities, and she'd been one step ahead of him the entire time. She'd been pretending to be asleep the entire bloody day! A Mudblood had outwitted him. This tiny, little witch had out manipulated him, the heir of Slytherin.

He snorted, his body shaking as he began laughing uncontrollably, rolling onto his back while clutching to his belly.

'Are you all right?' Hermione asked tentatively, a worried expression on her face as if she thought he'd finally lost it completely.

He turned his head to face her. 'Why weren't you asleep? I gave you enough to knock out an Ukrainian Ironbelly.'

'Antidote.'

'There are no Sleeping Draught antidotes you can take pre-emptively; the only way to reverse it prematurely is to use an antidote after you've taken the Sleeping Draught,' he countered.

'It's a new antidote, not yet approved for mass consumption but finished with all the phase trials. They're just waiting for the ministerial approval to come through and supply them with the proper paperwork to start mass production. I happen to … ermmm … know the person who owns the company.'

'Malfoy,' Tom hissed, staring at the ceiling furiously because that blasted pureblood was out of his reach now.

Hermione grinned. 'Yeah, Draco kindly gave me a vial when I,' she coughed, 'asked.'

'Right, "asked". I trust you made him wet himself,' Tom said, feeling slightly vindicated.

'I wasn't paying attention to his pants.'

'I'd have cursed you if you had,' he blurted out before he could stop himself.

Hermione flushed red and looked away.

'I'm still going to curse you for getting me stuck in here again,' he quickly added. 'I finally can hurt you, and I'm really looking forward to hearing your screams and pleas for mercy. I'm going to make you beg for forgiveness, Hermione.'

'Beg for forgiveness?' she repeated mockingly and let out a derisive snort. 'Dream on.'

'Is that a challenge?'

'No, a given. I have a wand, too, in case you've forgotten. Besides, it's a bit pointless to make each other's lives miserable when we're stuck in here together forever. So, why don't you instead tell me what it's like living in this orb?'

He stole a glance in her direction, enjoying how coolheaded and collected she was despite her predicament. It was so much more fun breaking the strong ones. Her hair still crackled with power; he'd love to bury his fingers in it, yank her head back, capture her mouth with his, and fuck that delicious body of her senseless.

Sweet Salazar, he was losing his mind around this witch. That had to be why she'd been able to trick him. He'd never been susceptible to feminine wiles until he met her.

Focus, he reprimanded himself. What was the subject again? Oh yes, living in the orb—a realm he knew more about than her. This was an advantage he'd milk for all it was worth and he knew where her interest would mostly lie. Hiding his actions behind his body, he flicked his wand, locking the library and summoning its keys nonverbally.

'It's a perfect replica,' he said conversationally, feeling the keys drop in his hand. 'It's got everything Hogwarts has in the real world.'

'So, it evolves, too,' she immediately concluded. 'Does that mean there will also be a constant influx of new literature in the library?'

'Yes, not that I'm letting you anywhere near it,' he taunted, holding up the dangling keys.

Her eyes narrowed at him.

'What was it you said to me again?' he asked, faux-pondering. 'Oh yes, "dream on".' He sniggered, jingling the keys above his head.

Accio!

He could just hold on to the keys, but the force behind the charm was too great and he glided to her. His key-filled hand landing in her outstretched one. He quickly banished the keys to one of his secret pockets, enjoying her frustrated scream. Taking advantage of her brief distraction, he rolled on top of her, grinding his body into hers. Hermione's eyes widened in surprise as his darkened at the feel of her pinned down underneath him. They lay there utterly still, gazing into each other's eyes, while each ignored the wand in their hand.

'I believe you owe me an apology,' Tom breathed seductively against her lips, smirking evilly when that tiny action made her shiver.

'I could say the same,' she countered, sticking her nose haughtily in the air. Her act was utterly undone by the breathlessness of her speech.

'I require compensation.'

'Me too.'

As he kissed her languorously, he realised that perhaps being stuck inside an orb for eternity wasn't so bad after all. It meant they would be together forever.