When Voldemort had told the girl that he had no particular interest in the child that she carried after it was born, he'd been telling the truth. The thought of having an infant - even one that was half him - to worry about did not seem like a very attractive prospect. Every time she'd approached him to share some new detail from her progressing pregnancy, he'd regarded her with a detached interest that was purely academic in nature.
But this he just couldn't ignore.
Try as he might, Voldemort couldn't help but listen in on the conversation of one of his favorite followers, Bellatrix, and the girl, Hermione were having. They were giggling loudly, and though he would never admit it, he was curious as to what had the two females so chatty this morning, especially considering the fact that Hermione was still prone to intense discomfort around the Lestrange witch.
His situation wasn't helped considering that it was only the three of them in the breakfast room. Not even the Daily Prophet could keep his attention.
"I kind of like Alexander," Hermione said to Bellatrix, shyly tugging on one of her brown curls.
"Hmm...it does have a certain regal quality, but it seems a little bit plain. And he certainly won't be plain. It could work," Bellatrix replied, actually putting careful thought into it. "What about Arcturus?" she suggested eagerly.
Hermione hmmed, seeming taken aback by the suggestion. "Now, that is a name I don't hate. Wouldn't that be rather personal though, Bellatrix? I never even met Regulus," she answered, diplomatically.
Bellatrix just shook her head, before reaching across the table to grab Hermione's hand tightly. "I would be honored if you used one of my family's names. Constellations and stars give a unique and very regal quality."
Hermione bit her lip, looking uncomfortable with the physical touch from Bellatrix. "I had..I had kind of been thinking of the name...Sirius," Hermione finally said, keeping her eyes down on the table in front of her. She was obviously concerned about what Bellatrix's reaction would be, expecting the worst.
"Now, Hermione. I don't know if that is really in good taste, my dear. Just think, one day, your child will ask you, 'mummy, how did I get my name?' and you will tell him that you named him after someone who died. Your child will then ask 'how did he die?' and you will have to tell him that his Auntie Bella killed him. That would be traumatizing," she said matter-of-factly, discussing the man she'd delighted in murdering as if she were discussing the weather.
Hermione reluctantly nodded. She had actually thought of that, but she wanted to come up with some way to honor her dead friend, even if he was associated with the Order. She wondered what Sirius would have said about her treatment...probably tried to spring her out of Grimmauld, if she was honest.
"What about Ares, Hermione? That is a lovely name! Strong and very powerful, I am certain," Bellatrix offered with a grin. "I can practically see him now. Witches and wizards alike would tremble at his name."
Hermione allowed her mind to think over that, but giggled again at Bellatrix's description. If she had it her way, no one would be frightened of her child. "You know, I actually do like that name a lot! I never really thought about Greek names, but perhaps it's a good place to start thinking." Hermione allowed a big smile to grace her face. "I have always liked Theseus," she said quietly.
Voldemort could hear no more discussion of such frivolous names and knew that he had to chime in now before Hermione got any ideas in her head. "The child's name will be Salazar," he spoke with a clear authority on the matter, one that had Bellatrix immediately agreeing in obedience.
"Oh, my lord, that is an excellent name choice, incredibly worthy of your son," she said, practically falling over herself to agree.
Hermione, on the other hand, scoffed. "I am NOT naming my child Salazar. Perhaps the name Tom would be more appropriate," she argued. Hermione felt her voice rising in volume, and could see that Voldemort was becoming upset at being questioned.
"You very well will be naming the child Salazar," he responded, his voice even and dangerous, willing her to understand that it was not a discussion.
"No! You gave up all rights to name the child when you said that you could care less about him once you completed your potion - whatever that is for, or how it involves my baby, I don't know - but you can't tell me what to name my child," she seethed. Hermione had stood up from the table, glaring down at him from her new vantage point.
Not to be outdone, Voldemort stood as well, using his considerable height to try and intimidate her.
When Hermione did not back down, he knew that he would have to deal with her behavior in front of Bellatrix. She'd grown far too bold. He grabbed her by the wrist and started dragging her from the room. He heard Bellatrix gasp in surprise at how he was handling her, but made no move to help Hermione.
Reluctantly, Hermione followed the Dark Lord from the dining room into his study, wherein he threw her down on the couch.
Pacing, he took a deep breath to regain his composure. Hermione had never really seen him lose control in this way. Finally he spoke again. "I only wish you weren't pregnant now because then I could use the cruciatus on you. Now, we will have to deal with your punishment the muggle way," he told her with a grimace.
Hermione's face paled, uncertain of what her punishment was going to be, but grateful that it wasn't going to be the torture curse. She stuck her chin out in defiance. "And what exactly am I being punished for?" she demanded.
"For talking back to me in front of company," he sneered at her. Voldemort sat down next to her on the couch, before roughly grabbing her arm, pulling her body over his lap so that she was bent over his knee. Suddenly, it became clear to Hermione what he meant to do and she couldn't believe that he was actually going to spank her. Before she had even realized it, she felt his hand come down against one of her cheeks. The sting brought tears to her eyes.
Hermione was absolutely mortified at the treatment. She felt like an absolute child. At least she was spared some modesty as she was being spanked through her clothes. After giving her ten quick smacks, Voldemort righted her, ignoring the tears threatening to spill over her cheeks and the bright red flush of her face.
"Listen to me. You have been entirely too friendly around me. I will not tolerate any more of your back talk or disrespect, especially while in front of my followers." He was hissing, and Hermione never thought he seemed more like a snake than he did now. "I am doing you a favor by allowing you to live here. Act more graciously or I can send you back to the Order," he warned.
Hermione felt her blood run cold, reminded now more than ever that she was not dealing with her Tom, at least not anymore.
After his tirade, Voldemort went and sat down behind his desk, pulling up a scroll to read so he didn't have to look at Hermione anymore. He would never admit it, but he arguing with Hermione had certainly gotten his blood up. She was the only person who dared stand up to him and he found it refreshing and somewhat seductive. Then, he'd had to go and spank her, her body pressed against his lap, reminding him of things that he had not actually experienced with his physical body. It was heady, and it would be easy to give in to what he wanted. He would not succumb to his baser instincts though. He was no longer a silly teenager.
Taking his silence and disregard for her presence as a dismissal, Hermione quietly left the room. She wasn't sure if she was more embarrassed by being so humiliated or that the closeness to Voldemort left her desiring more contact with the dark wizard.
Hermione and Draco sat in the courtyard together, sharing a light meal after their Charms lesson. Hermione found that Narcissa was a delightful charms teacher, and that Draco was actually quite gifted with the subject as well. This was surprising because the boy always seemed to hate charms at school, but now she wondered if he just didn't feel challenged by the curriculum at Hogwarts. She knew that it could be easy to feel unmotivated.
They were sharing a green apple that one of the house elves had cut up for them, when Draco finally asked the question that had been weighing on his mind. "Granger, why are you here?" he said, his grey eyes reading her face for any hint he could glean.
Hermione blinked at him once in surprise. She wasn't sure how to proceed. The idea of having someone of her own age to talk to about her situation was appealing, but she wasn't sure if she was allowed to share with him. She decided to tell him, after he was sworn to secrecy of course. Once Draco had sworn on his magic not to tell anyone without prior consent from her or from Voldemort, she began to tell her story.
"Well, the Order of the Phoenix decided to test mine and Ron's allegiance without our prior consent," Hermione started, licking her lower lip in nervousness. "I just woke up one day in 1944, and I was told that I was the younger sister to Evan and Druella Rosier. That's why Bellatrix likes me so much. I am her aunt Hermione."
"Salazar, that sure explains it," Draco said with an amused smirk. "I'd wondered what you'd done to my Aunt."
"I barely understand it myself," Hermione agreed, though she was growing more comfortable with the other witch. "Anyway, after it was clear that I wouldn't be leaving, I began looking for a husband. Or well, my brother began looking for a husband to give me. Evan chose a young man in our year called Tom Riddle, who you know as -"
"The Dark Lord," Draco spoke, clearly interested in her story.
"So yes. Nearly a year of me being in the 1940s, realizing that there was no possible way for me to get back, I became married to Tom Riddle. The night after our honeymoon..." Hermione felt her cheeks grow hot, when she realized that Draco fully understood the implications of her words. "I woke up only to be back in the 90s, surrounded by the Order."
"So what? They just pulled you out?" he asked.
Hermione nodded. "Yes, I was so confused. Everyone there thinks I am a traitorous slut now, and Harry wouldn't even look at me," she elaborated, shutting her eyes tightly in shame. Hermione felt tears welling up in her eyes, thinking of her best friend. Surprised, she felt Draco place an arm on her shoulder and give a little squeeze.
"I thought that I was doing the Wizarding world a favor. Maybe by giving Tom Riddle the love he never experience before, he never would have wanted to dominate the wizarding world," she explained, looking at her hands in her lap. "The Order didn't see it that way," she laughed darkly, realizing how naive she'd been.
"So you ran away?" Draco asked, his eyes wide, and with an appalled expression on his face for her treatment.
"Well, I found out that somehow - I have no idea how - I ended up pregnant. It shouldn't be possible," Hermione explained, crossing her arms over her stomach. "I told Professor Snape, and he gave me the choice to continue living in a cage or to come with him and be under the Dark Lord's protection. I chose to come with."
"What do you mean living in a cage?" Draco asked, clearly becoming more and more enraged.
"I only ever saw Professor Snape or the house elf that brought me clothes every morning. I wasn't allowed to keep anything in my room, because they feared I would turn against them. But in the end, it just pushed me to turn further against them," Hermione described the way she'd been living before.
Draco suddenly got a horrified look on his face. "Aren't you worried? I mean, the Dark Lord isn't the most...attractive looking man," he said, perhaps as delicately as he could. "And he's not exactly the paternal type."
Hermione had one final sniffle and then smiled back at her friend. "Ha, Tom Riddle was actually very attractive," she explained with a secret smile. "And he has told me he doesn't have any interest in the baby. Though, today he did insist that I name him Salazar - can you imagine? That is possibly the worst thing you could do to a child," Hermione giggled. "I suppose the one thing he does have interest in is bestowing the worst name possible on him. He should be happy I won't name him Godric in retaliation!"
Draco let out a small chuckle. "Now, even I am a proud Slytherin, and I can't imagine naming my child that. It would be too awful! But not nearly as bad as Godric," he added with a smirk.
Later that evening, Hermione was in her room, paying special attention to how she looked. She had on a tight emerald green dress, which she thought not only flattered her figure, but it also complemented her skin tone very well. She was only paying such good attention because she knew that Theo was going to be there and Severus had suggested that there might be something more between them.
It seemed kind of odd to Hermione, getting all dressed up for a boy whom she had barely ever spoken to in her whole career at Hogwarts, but she was willing to see where things went. She sat down at her vanity to make some final touch ups on her hair and makeup. She looked back in the mirror, and spied her familiar lying near the fire. Thor was happily eating a large steak she had requested for him.
Ever since her first night with Thor, she had asked that the house elves bring up a raw steak for her after dinner to feed to the wolf. The slight hassle had paid off, as the wolf now no longer seemed to want to hurt her, and they were actually bonding a little bit.
Sighing, she heard a knock on the door. Gathering her things, she opened the door and met Snape who was escorting her to dinner that evening. They walked down the steps and by the time they had reached the dining room, everyone else had already been seated. This resulted in every pair of eyes turning to stare at her as she walked in, an frequent occurrence that Hermione wished would stop repeating.
There were two open seats next to each other for her and Snape. She chose the one that would allow Snape to sit next to Voldemort and her next to Draco. It also conveniently allowed her to be seated across from Theo. Once they were settled in, conversation resumed and dinner was served.
Peeking up through her lashes, Hermione realized that she was nervous around Theo. Pushing herself, she decided to break the ice with him, and spoke first. "Congratulations on making Head Boy, Theo," she said with true sincerity, but catching him off-guard.
The boy's brown hair was in an attractive side part that made him look neat and handsome. He had bright green eyes that Hermione had to stop herself from staring into for too long. He was tall and slender, but not at all weedy like he had been during their first few years of school. "Thank you, Granger - Hermione. I must say I was surprised that you didn't make Head Girl. I quickly realized that you weren't coming back to school," he said, his voice low and a bit shy.
"So, who made Head Girl then?" Hermione asked, somewhat frustrated that another girl had taken a spot that was rightfully hers. Once again, she cursed Dumbledore for trying to lock her away.
"Padma Patil. She is alright, but she is so meek and quiet. She can't even get the first years to behave!" he complained.
Hermione smiled, thinking about how different Padma was from her sister Parvati. At least Padma was very smart, kind, and nice. Better her than Pansy, Hermione thought silently to herself. And, she thought it was a bit funny that Theo should complain about Padma being shy when she thought he was quite shy himself.
The three teenagers sat chatting all throughout dinner. Theo and Draco mostly asked her to tell stories of some of her adventures, but they mainly steered clear of any Voldemort related instances. She did enjoy telling Draco about how they tricked him third year with the invisibility cloak outside of the Shrieking Shack. His cheeks turned red in embarrassment and frustration, when he realized he'd been tricked by in such a silly way.
By the time dessert was over, Theo asked Hermione if she wanted to go on a walk in the courtyard alone with him. She obliged, and Theo offered his arm like a true, which Hermione gladly accepted. While she didn't know Theo very well, she was very excited to get to know him a bit better. He did seem as if he had a lot in common with her. She was so happy with how the night had progressed that she didn't even look back to see everyone in the room staring at their retreating forms, including Voldemort.