New chapter! And tonight it's time for Eurovision Song Contest! WIIIH! So, any other Europeans who will watch it? My vote will go to Turkey and Germany! YAAAY!
Warning! Smut! Although, I've censored almost all of it so for those of you who are off age, run over to adultfanfiction and read the whole thing!
Chapter 17
Severus and Black left them just hours after they landed in Argentina. Voldemort had worked hard to remove the memories from Black to make him believe as if he just stepped thought the Veil. He was very tired when he joined Hermione in the bed in a small seaside motel.
It was late afternoon when he woke up by Hermione's sobbing. It would appear she had finally realised that Lupin was indeed dead (Voldemort had collected that memory from Sirius before he erased it. It was very obvious from the memory that Lupin was dead).
Since Voldemort wanted them to move, they changed hotel every night, moving slowly closer toward Europe and England. However, it was clear that Hermione was taking her friend's death quite hard. All she did was lying in bed with a miserably look on her face and just eating if he forced her too.
Voldemort was starting to worry whether or not she would ever snap out of it herself, or if he should try to do something. Lucky for him (because he had no idea how to help a depressed young woman get happy again), Hermione snapped out of it herself after just a little more than a week.
He came back to their hotel in Germany the cold evening of December the seventeenth to find Hermione just stepping out from the shower (something she had neglected to do these past days).
He arched an eyebrow.
"Well," she said. "Remus won't get back from the dead just because I mop around. Can't we go out to eat tonight?"
Despite her words, he still heard her cry at night. But he figured as long as she seemed like normal otherwise, it would be okay.
"What are we going to do now?" Hermione asked one night a couple of days later as they were getting ready to sleep.
"I'm gathering information on what I've missed in the wizarding world these past few weeks," he answered with a grimace as he pulled off his clothes. "I have to make an appearance among my Death Eaters soon. Some of them seem edgy."
"How will you explain your new looks?" she wondered and crawled under the blanket.
"I won't," he said and followed her. "I'll use a glamour to look like I did before."
"Why?"
"I look more fearsome that way," he said with a smile. "And I don't want them to know just yet what I've found." He rolled on top of her and kissed her passionately. Since she stopped just lying in bed crying, he had resumed to try and fuck her whenever they were alone together. Hermione didn't seem to mind that one bit. This was good because it was the best feeling in the world! Who could he ever have lived without it?
After a very satisfying intercourse, he collapsed on top of her, enjoying her soft hot body underneath his for a moment before he rolled off her. Hermione was purring.
They lay in silence and Voldemort was almost asleep when her hand came up on his chest.
"What will we do for Christmas?" she asked in a low, sleepy voice.
"Should we be doing anything special?" he wondered.
"Well, I was just thinking… if you didn't have anything planned, maybe we could go to my parents?"
He realised she sounded very hopeful. Had she deliberately waited until he was content and half-asleep to ask that question? Sneaky of her.
"Do you really want me to meet your parents?" he asked in an unreadable tone.
"Well, I would really like to meet my parents and… well, I don't really want to spend Christmas without you. So why not combined?" She slowly stroked his chest.
Voldemort was quiet as he thought it through. He did want to get back to England and be closer to all the news, but he didn't want anyone to spot him or Hermione just yet. Perhaps hiding in the Muggle world would be the best way to go?
"What do you plan to tell your parents if I do meet them?" he asked in the same unreadable voice.
"Well, they are not conservative or anything, so it's not like they will be angry if I have a boyfriend. And since they will have my other relatives over as guests, we will most likely get to share my room." She painted small circles on his chest with her fingers. It felt very comfortable.
"So you will just introduce me as your boyfriend? Haven't they heard about me?"
"I hadn't planned to tell them you are Voldemort. Just my boyfriend who I met at the project. And I know mum will welcome you over for Christmas when I tell her you don't have a family." Her hand stopped at his stomach and rested there.
"And they won't be reluctant to see us share room when we have just known each other for two months? Not to mention the fact that it's still quite obvious that I'm older than you."
Hermione sighed and withdrew her hand and turned her back against him. "It was just a suggestion."
He could hear her disappointment and sighed. "I didn't say we couldn't go. I just want to be sure you have thought it through."
She immediately turned around again. "Oh, but I have. Mum and dad know how responsible I am and I did say that I was specially elected for the project so when we say that you were too, they will think you are responsible and cleaver too."
Voldemort stroked some hair away from her face. "And it doesn't bother you to lie in front of your parents?"
Her face fell a little. "I have withheld things from them since I first got back from Hogwarts. I don't like it, but I don't want them to worry."
Voldemort thought about it. "Very well, we can join your parents for Christmas. But I really want to spend as little time as possible with your Muggle relatives."
"Oh, that's okay, we will just say that you have to write a long report about the project and that it has to be handed in sometime soon," she said lightly and kissed him before curling into a ball next to him. "Thank you."
Voldemort just grunted and closed his eyes. However, he did feel some sort of warmness in his chest. What it was, he had no idea and it was quickly forgotten.
xxx
It was with a trembling anticipation Hermione walked up the street toward her parent's house with Voldemort at her side the next morning. She was looking forward to meet her parents, but there was of course a risk that someone from the Order had been there and told them she was missing. She really hoped not. That would be very awkward to explain. Thankfully none from the Order seemed to stand guard outside the Granger's house. Hermione guessed they had some other sort of way to know if something would happen. Another risk they did have to worry about was whether her parents would like Voldemort at all. He had, very reluctantly, agreed to let her use his birth name, Tom, in front of her parents, but what if they could tell that he wasn't really a twenty-five year old student from London?
As if he could read her thoughts (maybe he was?), he took her hand and squeezed it. "I assure you, Hermione, this will not be the first time I pretended to be a good boy. I did it for seven years at Hogwarts and countless of times afterward. You just have to act like you aren't surprised."
She took a deep breath and looked around in the familiar surroundings. It was a well bread middle-class suburb neighbourhood. Every house on the street was built by the same architect; three-floor stone houses (counting basement). Many had Christmas decoration in their windows and some even out on their yards. There hadn't been much snow yet, but the ground was glistering with frost and Hermione was glad over the warm cloak she was wearing. They had retrieved all their things from the house in Greece so she had a lot of clothes to wear again. What she didn't like was that she had none of her own things. They were all still in her truck at Hogwarts. Oh, well, she would probably get them back soon enough.
Her parent's house was of the same model as the others. Two big bushes framed the entrance and her mother had as usual wrapped them with decorative lights of white. They walked up the four stone steps and Hermione reached out and knocked on the black wooden door. It felt strange to knock on her own front door, but since her parents didn't know she was coming, it felt the most polite.
Her heart was beating rapidly. A minute went by. Then two. She nervously twisted her hair between her fingers.
"Maybe they are out shopping?" she thought out loud, but doubted it. It was only nine in the morning.
"Don't you have a key?" Voldemort asked.
"It's with my things at Hogwarts," she mumbled, feeling very uneasy. Should she break in to her parent's house?
"Well, use magic then," he suggested.
She was just about to withdraw her wand from inside her clothes when she heard the lock turn. A second later, her father, Hugo Granger, opened the door, dressed in his morning coat. He was a tall big man with the same bushy hair as Hermione, which he kept extremely short, and grey eyes.
"Hermione?" he asked, clearly very surprised to see her.
"Hi, dad," she said nervously. "We just finished or project and I was wondering if we could spend Christmas with you?"
"Of course! Why do you even ask?" He stepped out of the way and let them in. "Who is your friend?"
Before Hermione had time to answer, Hermione's mother Rose came down the stairs, also dressed in a morning coat. "Hermione!" She immediately went over to hug her daughter tightly. "What a pleasant surprise! Why didn't you tell us you where coming?"
"I wasn't sure I would make it," she answered with a sheepish smile, her mood much brighter after her parent's warm welcome. "We just ended the project yesterday and well… I thought it would be quicker to just show up! Oh, and this is Tom Riddle. We worked on the project together and… well, we are kind of together." She waited for her parent's reaction.
They were silent for a couple of seconds, then Rose's face broke up in another smile and she shook Voldemort's hand. "'Kind of together', I see."
"I hope we didn't wake you up…," Voldemort began, playing the part of an awkward young man very well.
"Oh, no, not at all, we were just having a slow morning. I'm Rose Granger. And this is my husband Hugo." Rose looked at her husband who reached out to shake Voldemort's hand too. Hermione noticed that he seemed to grab harder than usual, but Voldemort took it with ease.
"Hermione have told me very much about you," Voldemort said with a glance at Hermione. "It's nice to finally meet you."
"Well, we are looking forward to get to know you too," Rose said. "But first I think we will have to get properly dressed. We were having a Christmas party at work last night and got to bed rather late. Why don't you and Hermione wait a moment in the living room and I'll cook us all some breakfast?"
"Oh, I can start with the breakfast, mum," Hermione said, glad to get something to do. "Come, Tom, let me show you the kitchen…"
They parted and Hermione gave Voldemort a quick tour of the ground floor before she started to get breakfast ready in the kitchen. She quickly noticed that Voldemort didn't know what half the things were, so she asked him to just put out the plates as she made tea and boiled eggs. Ten minutes later, her mother came down again. After another five her father came too and they sat down to eat.
"So, tell us about this project!" Rose asked as they ate. "In the letter you wrote that it was some sort of magical archaeology dig?"
Hermione nodded and swallowed her mouthful of tea. "Well, at the beginning of this semester I got this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Apparently some of my teachers have mentioned that they think I'm good and I was asked if I wanted to join a search for an old all-magical kingdom. Tom was the assistant to the project-leader and well… we were quite a small group most of the time and since Tom and I did all the research, we got to know each other quite well and… we took a liking for each other." She looked at Voldemort and smiled.
"You are a wizard too then?" Hugo asked, still looking like he didn't know how to judge him.
"Yes, but I was raised in a Muggle orphanage," he explained. "Just like Hermione, I didn't know I was a wizard until I got my letter from Hogwarts."
A lot more questions came up during breakfast, and Hermione and Voldemort answered them as truthfully as they could. After a while, Rose asked Hermione to come and help her make the rooms ready, leaving the men to clean up after breakfast. As they walked, Hermione heard Voldemort suggest that he just used magic and Hugo agreeing with delight.
"Mum, Tom and I would like to share room," Hermione said as they came to her old childhood-bedroom.
Rose looked at her with an unreadable expression. "Is that so? You don't think he would be more comfortable in the guestroom?"
Hermione blushed. "No, I don't think so."
Rose sighed. "Well, you are an adult now so there isn't much I can do about it but… I just want you to feel comfortable."
Hermione gave her mother a small smile. "We are very comfortable with each other, mum."
"Ah, I see." Rose clearly understood what Hermione meant because she didn't quite meet Hermione's eyes. "As long as you… are happy, I see no problem."
"I am happy," Hermione answered truthfully and seriously.
After just one day her parents seemed to believe her. They were also very taken by Voldemort and Hermione was amazed by how polite he could be. However, he often excused himself from their company to, as he said "go and write that boring report", but in reality Hermione knew he was just working on the translation of Atlantis. It would appear he had managed to steal a couple of books from the library and he had a lot of material to work on.
As Voldemort did that, Hermione took the opportunity to spend the days before Christmas catching up with her parents. Her mother took her out shopping Christmas gifts and she spend a whole evening with her father as he showed her all the finesses of his new computer. She even had to watch a lot of computer-related documentaries on the TV so he could get her opinion on this or that program.
On the afternoon before Christmas Eve, Hermione's uncle Adam arrived with his wife, Elisabeth. Their daughter, Theresa was not with them. It would appear she had got married just a couple of months before and was spending Christmas on her honeymoon. Hermione's aunt Helena would arrive the next morning with her daughter Janet and granddaughter Cornelia. Both Helena and Janet were widowers due to a boat accident three years ago. Helena's second daughter was celebrating Christmas with her husband up in Scotland.
Both Hermione and Voldemort were relieved not that many would come after all. Even if both of them were used doing things the Muggle-way, now when they had mastered wandless magic fully, it was sometimes hard to resist the temptation of just waving to get something to come flying to you. With just five unknowing people in the house it would be easier to be alone.
However, on the evening of Christmas Eve, Hermione started to really fear for exposure. Voldemort had really surprised her with his patience all day. He had been talking to all her relatives, even little Cornelia who asked the most inappropriate questions. All from if he had any babies to what he was reading when he went on the loo. Voldemort had just laughed at all her questions. But when the night was coming to an end, Adam, who Hermione had never really liked and long wondered if he was an alcoholic, started to get really annoying.
Hermione and Voldemort were sitting in the big brown couch in the Granger's living-room, watching some film on the TV. Rose, Hugo and Helena were out in the kitchen, cleaning up and Janet was trying to put Cornelia to sleep. Elisabeth had already gone to bed, calming a headache. That left only Adam. He had always been a rather large man, but on later years he had developed a big stomach. His grey hair lay thin and unflattering over his skull, but that didn't stop him from trying to comb it all over his head and that was exactly what he was doing as he came in again after a smoke and sat down next to them on the couch.
"So, Tom, when are you going to make an honest woman out of Hermione?" he asked with a rather high voice and placed the comb in his breast pocket.
Voldemort sighed. "We just started seeing each other."
"Come on, son," Adam said and put his large sweaty hand on Hermione's thigh, squeezing it. "You don't want a nice girl like this to get out of your grip."
Hermione pressed her lips together and tried to move her leg away. Voldemort's eyes narrowed.
"I'm not planning to let her out of my grip," he replied sternly.
"Good, good. You have grown up to be quite a beauty, Hermione," Adam continuing without noticing their unease. "I remember when you were little. Just a little hair-boll with big teeth. Dad took care of that did he? Yeah, you are quite a lady." He finally let go of her thigh and pointed at Tom. "I hope you are not just using her as a mattress, boy."
Hermione felt Voldemort tensing dangerously. "I assure you, sir, Hermione is too intelligent to be used in that way."
"Good, good." Adam waved his hand and it looked like it was coming down on Hermione's leg again, but before it did, Voldemort gripped it and pushed it away.
"Perhaps you should see how your parent's are doing in the kitchen, Hermione?" Voldemort asked her through clenched teeth.
Hermione realised that Voldemort's patience had come to an end and he was about to do something nasty against her uncle. Hermione wasn't really worried about Adam, he was not someone she would miss, but she was worried about how the rest of her family would react if Adam ended up dead.
"Or perhaps we could go outside and take some air?" Hermione suggested and pulled Voldemort up from the couch.
Before he had time to protest, she had dragged him out to their garden. It had started to snow and the ground was covered with a thin white layer.
"How can you let him touch you like that?" Voldemort hissed and pulled his arm from her grip.
"He is just drunk. I would have got away even if you hadn't been there," Hermione replied, not really in the mood for a fight. "Just... relax. We could go to bed if you want to?"
"What for?" he asked sourly. "You are no fun in bed."
Hermione had got her period the day before. She sighed and took his hands in hers again. "Please, Voldemort. Just tomorrow too, and then we can leave."
He kicked one of the plastic garden chairs in frustration. "No, Hermione. I despise Muggles! Your parents I can stand, but with all your relatives around..."
"Please?" she asked and stepped closer to him. "For my sake?"
Voldemort let out a breath. "Tomorrow night, after your relatives have left, I'll go too."
"But it's Christmas Day!" she exclaimed.
Voldemort's hands tightened in hers. "Don't try my patience anymore, Hermione!"
Hermione realised that the fight was already lost. "Fine. Will I go with you?"
Voldemort frowned. "Do you want to?"
She hesitated. "Well... do I have a choice?"
"Hermione, when I kidnapped you I said that I'd let you walk free once we had found Atlantis. I admit that we found it quicker than I thought was possible but... I will keep my word."
Hermione looked at him closely. He seemed sincere, yet something seemed off. "If I came with you, what would I do?"
Voldemort sighed. "Help me with the translation, I guess."
"And stay inside your room," Hermione filled in, feeling her mood sink as she started to understand the problem. "Because how could you possible explain a Mudblood walking freely in your halls?"
He grimaced. "If I say you were to do it, no one would dare question me. However, I know they wouldn't let you walk around as you wished freely and I don't have time to stop fights right now. But if you for a moment think you are free from me, I'll just have to remind you of the tattoo on your arm." His hand stroked her left arm and continued up before it stopped around her throat. "And of this." He forced her into a possessive kiss.
Hermione sighed into his kiss, but still held onto him tightly. How could she possible forget him when he could stimulate both her body and mind so easily? It was quite scary how little she cared about him being evil. All she wanted was to be close to him.
After a couple of minutes, Voldemort ended their kiss. "You are getting cold, Hermione. Perhaps some toddy before bed?"
"Okay," she said, realising that she wouldn't get an answer from him on what would happened to her now.
