The news that Hermione Granger was supposedly pregnant by Draco Malfoy had spread through the school like wildfire. Harry wasn't sure who it was who spoke to Rita Skeeter, but he had an idea that it might have come from the Headmaster himself. The Great Hall had been in absolute uproar when the Daily Prophet's evening edition was delivered. Parkinson was actually sobbing and had to be taken to the infirmary for a calming draught.
Gryffindor Tower had become oppressive and he hated hearing all of the terrible things that people would say about Hermione, or the way that Ron liked to hold court.
Ron was gloating in the Common Room, with Lavender's head in his lap, talking to anyone who would listen. "Wow, I really had never guessed that Hermione's betrayal went this deep. Who knew she was nothing but the Slytherin slut all along? And knocked up by Malfoy the Ferret himself. She'll be lucky if his parents kill her outright instead of torturing her first," he said totally callously, the most recent article open on the table in front of him.
Harry couldn't stand to pontificate about the sins of his dear friend, so he sat in the corner with Seamus and Neville, under the guise of doing homework, trying desperately to ignore him. He didn't want to do something to Ron that would tip Dumbledore and the Order off that he wasn't quite as believing as they thought.
From his left he heard Seamus whisper to him. "I swear that I didn't tell her, Harry. I swear it on my mum's life," Seamus pleaded, wanting Harry to know that he wasn't the source of the leak. "It wasn't Malfoy who I saw her with anyway."
"I know you didn't, Seamus," Harry assured his friend. "I know exactly who told her." At dinner that night, Headmaster Dumbledore sat up at the dais, looking down at the mass of students beneath him. And Harry would be damned if he hadn't caught a smirk on the old man's face.
But, he wouldn't fall for Dumbledore's old tricks, not this time.
Voldemort did not need to be kept waiting in the foyer long for Hermione to come down the morning they were to leave. She came down the stairs, looking unusually resplendent, having shrunk her trunk and keeping it safely in her pocket. Thor was hot on her tails.
"Don't worry, Thor, I made the house elves promise that they would continue to bring you your nightly steak," she cooed to the animal, who had grown quite attached to her. She stopped to pet the large wolf on his head, scratching behind his ears. Seeing her with such a large animal, who was whining at her, seemed somehow comical to the Dark Lord. She was able to tame even the fiercest of beasts. "Draco will keep you company," she promised the large wolf. Looking up, she finally addressed him. "So, how will we be getting to India?"
Voldemort looked at her fully. She was wearing a floral green dress that reminded him very much of her time in the Diary. It had a sweetheart neckline and and flared out at the waist, coming to rest just past her knees. He couldn't be certain, but he thought she might be wearing nylons as well, and didn't know if he should curse or thank Narcissa Malfoy. "Feeling sentimental?" He asked, making a facial gesture that would have been an eyebrow raise, if he had them.
Hermione blushed prettily. "I couldn't pass it up when I saw it at the store," she explained. She was suddenly finding her hair very interesting, as she twirled a section around her finger. "You still haven't told me."
Finally her eyes settled on his side and she saw that he was holding a broom. "You have got to be kidding! Flying to India would take days!" Hermione complained, her face going a shade paler.
"No, we are just flying to a trusted associate's house. He is making us a portkey when we get there," Voldemort explained, hating that he couldn't just arrange for an international portkey. However, Hermione's safety was too important to him, and he couldn't chance any issues for a portkey made at the Ministry.
"Voldemort, I really don't like flying," she stated quietly, leaving the thoughts of his 'trusted associate' for later.
"Don't worry, I won't drop you," Voldemort said with a hint of a smile on his face, as if he was teasing her. She was, although he was loath to admit it, precious cargo.
Hermione was shocked. "You can't mean to suggest that we will be sharing a broom?" she asked, her eyes widening. His face did not suggest that he was joking. Hermione's face paled, thinking about having her body next to his for at least several hours, and what torture that would be. She hadn't been able to stop thinking about the kisses they had shared in the library.
A few minutes later when she was nestled between Voldemort's legs on his broom, sitting side-saddle of course, she was suddenly overcome with dread. Being so close to his body, which was surprisingly warm, were putting her hormones on high alert. It felt so delicious to be pressed up against him. But, she didn't know how she was going to spend so much time one on one with her "husband." When they were alone together, it only made it easier for her to remember just why she'd fallen for him in the first place.
They didn't talk very much during the flight, but Hermione did watch the scenery that they went by. She recognized that they were flying somewhere over the North Sea, and it had gotten very cold. Noticing her chattering teeth, Voldemort cast a warming charm on them, whispering in her ear that they would be touching down soon. His lips next to her ear made shivers run through her body.
He was true to his word though, and in less than half an hour they had landed, in what Hermione gathered was a small island off the coast of Denmark. They were walking to the large house, that Hermione assumed was owned by the trusted associate. She felt some pretty strong wards when they got a little bit closer.
She was glad to get inside though, and warm up by a fireplace with a roaring fire, holding a cup of steaming hot chocolate, brought to her by a house elf. So the trusted associate must be aware of her condition, she mused, as Voldemort was currently sipping a brandy. Her mind was working overtime trying to figure out just who it would be.
They weren't kept waiting for long for the associate, and when Hermione saw who it was, she stood quickly, with her wand drawn. "This is your trusted associate?" Hermione hissed in outrage, wondering how Voldemort could be so stupid as to trust him. "He sold out several Death Eaters during the first war - including Evan! - and he was working very closely with Dumbledore in my Fourth Year."
Voldemort just chuckled quietly before standing as well. "Karkaroff. Kneel before my Lady," Voldemort said so quietly it was nearly a whisper.
Igor Karkaroff stood at the one end of the room, unmoving. He seemed shocked to have a wand drawn on him in his own home and to have Voldemort take her side "But, my Lord, she is only a filthy mudblood?" Karkaroff was very confused as to why his Lord was doing this. Was it some kind of test?
"Karkaroff, you will kneel before the mother of my heir and submit yourself to her questions!" Voldemort's voice was a raised angry hiss. He was seething as he watched the other man make his way across the room, slowly kneeling in front of Hermione, never removing his eyes from hers.
"Now Hermione. I would like you to find out what secrets Karkaroff has been hiding from me, if you are so certain that he's betrayed me," Voldemort's whisper sounded gleeful as he spoke softly into her ear. He was standing behind her with her, with his hands on her shoulders. "Why don't you show me what Bella has been teaching you?"
Hermione could hear Karkaroff's whimper at Voldemort's words. She trained her wand at the older man, staring into his eyes, trying to steel herself. She felt herself falter almost immediately, knowing that she couldn't torture him for information. "I can't," she whispered quietly, feeling tears welling up in her eyes.
"You will get the necessary information or else I will order Karkaroff to bring you to Dumbledore himself! Either way, he will be pleasing his true master," Voldemort insisted. Hermione was wavering, but still not completing her task like she should. "Think about your child Hermione. What if he is plotting to kill your baby right now?" he whispered into her ear, trying to goad her into acting.
Finally, she shakily raised her wand, but did nothing. "Do it now!" Voldemort demanded.
With tears running from her eyes, Hermione locked on eye contact with Karkaroff, and shouted "Legilimens!" She was able to enter his mind, but quickly found herself up against his mental wall. Savagely, she tore through it, trying to ignore the painful shout that the older man let out when his mind gave way to her.
She quickly found memories of herself during her Fourth Year, and watched all of his interactions with Dumbledore. She followed those interactions to others, which happened after Fourth Year, but was unable to find anything damning. Deciding that she couldn't be too careful, she searched through his memories of the last six months at breakneck speed. Karkaroff was quietly whimpering now. She found nothing to suggest he was plotting betraying Voldemort, only that he loathed her blood status. Satisfied, she quickly removed herself from his mind, and was shocked to find that Karkaroff quickly slumped over, sweating, as if exhausted.
Voldemort had wrapped his arms around her, pressed up against her back, and was whispering encouraging words into her ear. She kept her eyes on the man slumped in front of her, wondering how much she'd injured him. "There is nothing, Voldemort. Only that he loathes my blood status. I am sorry that I overreacted," she told him.
Voldemort merely smiled, placing a hand on her rounded belly, and pressing a kiss to her temple. "We will discuss this later. Now, let us have a house elf bring us some food while Igor recovers. Then he can create the portkey," he said, sounding pleased with her.
Hermione followed Voldemort over to the table, sitting down quietly. She had just completely violated someone else's mind. And her body was humming with magic.
They had arrived in India without incident once Karkaroff had made them a set of portkeys. They found their way to a muggle hotel and checked in, with Voldemort once again wearing the glamour of his former self. Entering the room, Hermione was surprised to see that there was only one bed, but she didn't say anything about it.
As soon as they were alone, he dropped the magic of his glamour, leaving Hermione with an odd sort of feeling in her chest. Although he would never admit it, for risk of seeming vain, Hermione thought that he might miss the sort of attention his old looks had given him.
There was no time left in the day to begin looking for the snake that they needed and so they decided to settle in for the night, neither one of them mentioning the sleeping arrangements. Voldemort had other topics on his mind that he wanted to discuss, namely to praise her for her efforts with Karkaroff. He began waxing lyrical about her dissection of the other man's mind. "So you see Hermione, you used what I would consider a gray magic, in an undoubtedly painful manner, but you did so for the protection of your child. How could that be wrong?" he asked.
Hermione was finding his line of questioning harder and harder to disagree with. She did see his point, but it didn't stop her from feeling guilty about what she'd done. "I suppose so. I still feel so horrible for what I did though. He was utterly broken by the time I'd finished," she said softly.
"Oh, do not lie to me. Your conscience might be feeling bad, but your body was positively filled with joy and magic at completing your task," he goaded her.
Hermione remained silent, afraid to meet his eyes, knowing that he was telling the truth. She couldn't chance anything happening to her child.
"Alright, now I suggest you go to sleep. I would like to finish everything tomorrow," he instructed, using his hand to pull back the covers for her. Overwhelmed by sleepiness, Hermione nodded, crawling under the covers. She was sure that she fell asleep the moment her head hit the pillow.
The next morning, Hermione woke up wrapped around Voldemort. He was still asleep, so she quickly untangled herself, but not without noticing that he had grown hard in his sleep. Her body was again humming, only this time with sexual excitement. Previously, she had wondered if his reasons for keeping her at arm's length was because he had difficulty getting an erection with his new body. Apparently not.
She knew that he wanted her, just as desperately as she wanted him, but maybe he just needed it made obvious to him. Hermione quickly straddled her husband, so that her core was resting over him perfectly. His cock pulsed in response to her nearness. Looking down on him, he seemed so relaxed in sleep. She used one of her fingers to trace his lips.
Voldemort's right reddish eyes snapped open, and locked eye contact with her immediately. "And just what do you think you are doing?" he asked, calmer than she would have expected, his hands coming to her hips..
"I am just doing what both of us want," she whispered. She leaned down and kissed him on the lips. He kissed back, lightly nibbling on her full lower lip, only to sooth the hurt with his tongue. However, when she rolled her hips insistently against him, desperate for a bit of friction, Voldemort rolled her over and rose from the bed.
"Perhaps another time. Too much to do today. Get dressed," he ordered.
Hermione was very shocked by his curt demeanor, and sat staring at the bed for a moment, trying to gain control of her emotions. Realizing it hadn't been an outright refusal, she eventually got up and dressed for the day.
A half hour later, they had enjoyed breakfast, and were walking out of the hotel hand in hand, with the purpose of finding a snake charmer. Hermione looked up at her companion. He was the same height as he always was, but with the glamour he wore, he looked so much like a slightly older version of his younger self that Hermione felt her heart ache at what they could have had together, had everything in the Diary been real.
It was not difficult to find a snake charmer. Hermione watched as the large cobra emerged, and seemed to ignore his handler, coming over to where Hermione and Voldemort stood. His hood was fully opened and he stood at his full height. Voldemort crouched down and began a conversation with the snake. She could tell that the snake talked funny, something she suspected was from its lack of fangs.
"How is it that you have come to learn my language?" the snake asked inquisitively.
"I am a wizard, and I was born with this ability. My companion can also understand you., Voldemort told the curious cobra. "I need your help, finding a Daboia though. Would you be able to tell me where I could find one?"
The snake was happy to help, and gave them directions. Hermione then crouched down as much as she could. "Would you like me to restore your fangs to you, as a token of our gratitude?" the snake nodded, and Hermione whispered the spell. It was intended for human subjects, but it seemed to work just as well for the snake. It wasn't right that the muggle snake charmer should have done something so horrible to the cobra. It was justice to return the fangs to him.
The pair stood. Voldemort had not noticed that large crowd that had formed around them, in awe of their interaction with the animal. Smiling at Hermione's deed, he wrapped his arm around her, leading her away from the people. He smirked when he heard the snake charmer's cry of distress. The snake's new fangs had served him well.
Hermione and Voldemort found the area that the cobra had directed them to, although it was a good hour's walk. Hermione sat down on a fallen tree branch, her feet tired and aching. They did not have to wait long for the snake to come to them. Before she had really even noticed, the snake and wrapped itself around Hermione's shoulders, and came to stare into her eyes. Because of all of her interactions with Nagini, the action did not scare her.
"There is something different about you human," The snake stated. "Why is it that you do not fear me?"
"I have been friends with a snake now for several months. She frequently sits with me like this," Hermione explained calmly, remembering Nagini's description of the snake as aggressive.
"Ahh, yes. I could immediately tell that there was something different about you both. How is it that you can speak to snakes?" The viper was quite curious, much like the cobra. Hermione was surprised that they had never encountered another parselmouth. She was sure that with all of its inhabitants, India was bound to have one.
Voldemort spoke up this time. "I was born with the ability to talk to snakes. Her and my souls are bonded, and as such, she has attained the ability as well," he explained.
The snake moved away from Hermione, to rest on the ground, so that he could address both humans at once. "Then that makes you my King. And you, my Queen. I am Chitalo, at your service."
"We do have a request for you, my friend Chitalo," Voldemort stated, sounding usually magnanimous. It seemed as though he was preening under the title of King of the Snakes. Hermione was less thrilled about being the Queen of the Snakes. "If it would be possible, could we have a vial of your venom?"
The snake happily agreed, biting into the latex over the vial Hermione had brought with her. He filled it with a substantial amount of venom, much more than they would need, but Hermione supposed that was a good thing. She stoppered the vial, and pulled out a dead mouse, which Nagini had brought to her, as a token of thanks. The snake seemed incredibly happy with the small treat, although he declined to eat it in front of them.
"If I may, my sweet Queen, the child that grows inside of you is very powerful. Please keep good care of our little Prince, for there will be some who will be afraid of his power and want to destroy him," he said, sounding unnervingly prophetic. The snake allowed his tongue to caress the back of her hand.
The three then parted ways, Chitalo happily carrying his treat in his open jaw. Chitalo's warning frightened Hermione. She wondered what that could mean. Following Voldemort back to the hotel, she would be glad when she returned to the safety of the Lestrange house.