Hiya guys, thank you to everyone who has been reviewing my story, it really helps boost my confidence in my writing abilities. I also have a few announcements to make.
Firstly, I will only be updating every Friday from now on due to the fact that I have restarted University, and second I am not sure how long I should make this story. Granted, I never expected that it would last this long, but again, thanks to all of you, this has been made possible. Finally, I will not be updating this coming Friday (30th Sept) on account of it being my birthday :-D
Anyway, enjoy the next chapter!
"Tom Riddle," Hermione repeated, "as in the schoolboy who became Voldemort?" She shuddered upon uttering the name, as even though she had never actually spoke the name in front of Bellatrix it was still unnerving to do so; something which Tom and Bellatrix picked up on.
"Yes, I would become Voldemort," Tom said as he approached Hermione and Bellatrix; "but that is all in the past now." He gently took Hermione's face in his hand, and looked at her, as she looked at him. He was incredibly handsome for a man who could very well be in his 70s, and even though he was an accomplished Dark Wizard, she could not see anything that would outwardly suggest it. His snake-like features were gone, as were his red eyes; in their place were his boyhood brown eyes. His face no longer had its marble colour to it, but a healthy rose tinge to his skin; a normal colour to many people. Indeed, everything that she saw indicated that this was not the man who she once feared.
"How? What happened?" Hermione finally asked as the three walked towards a trio of marble seats. "We were in the church, next minute we end up here."
"Well," Bellatrix said, cupping Hermione's hand gently; "Harry located us in the church. He possessed you and made you attack everyone else. He wanted you to kill all those who 'betrayed' him."
"That was when he made you pick up the sword, and he wanted you to kill your best friend," Tom continued, sitting on Hermione's opposite side. "But you were too strong for him. You stabbed yourself as he took full possession of you. You forced him out, by torturing yourself."
"Crucio maxima..." Hermione said, glancing to Bellatrix, who nodded her head in affirmation.
"You used the same curse that I used on you back in Malfoy Manor," Bella said, gripping Hermione's hand affectionately. "When you did, something happened to Potter, like he was in mortal agony.
"It wasn't just him, Bellatrix," Tom said. "The fragment of my soul residing within Potter was obliterated, causing him a lot of pain. Our connection is gone, and more than likely Hermione's connection to him too."
"There is still one thing I don't get," Hermione said, getting to her feet. "If we are in my mind, does that mean that I died in the church?"
"Not quite," Bellatrix replied. "You collapsed and we did all that we could to save you, but we had no other choice."
"We included you in the Ritual, Hermione," Tom said. "We used your blood as well as our blood to form the immortal blood. All three of us are now immortal, and it gave me the added effect of restoring my youthful image."
"No disrespect, but I prefer this you to the old you," Hermione said, and the three started laughing together.
"Fair enough, my dear," Tom said after the three had finished laughing. "Now, I think it is time to go home, wouldn't you agree, Bellatrix?"
"Yep," she said cheerily, and Hermione smiled, because she had never seen Bellatrix this happy in the few months that they had spent together. "I just want Hermione back with me."
"And I want her, happy and cheery, OK Bella?" Hermione said, and Bellatrix simply answered her with a massive hug.
"Alright, if you both take my hands we can get out of here," Tom said, offering his hands for the two girls to take. "On three. One. Two. Three!" He concentrated and the three whisked off in a trail of black smoke back into reality.
Hermione awoke to silence. Considering where she was before, she imagined that the moment she came back to reality would be a happy occasion, at least for the Order. Instead, she heard no one. She opened her eyes and looked around, and she saw in a corner of the room Ron and Claire, sound asleep in an armchair. 'Typical Ron,' she thought. 'Sleep first and ask questions later.' She tried to get out of the bed, but then her gut started to hurt considerably. She tore off the duvet to find her entire midriff was bandaged, and those bandages were fresh. She hesitantly stroked where the pain was coming from, and a jolt coursed through her torso. "Ow!" she yelped, waking Ron and Claire up, the latter almost being tossed halfway across the room.
"Wuzzgoinon?" Ron groggily asked, before he realised that Hermione was awake. "Hermione!" he gasped before rushing to her bedside. "How are you feeling? Did Bellatrix hurt you? Where did she take you?"
"Easy Ron, it's good to see you too," she replied, before pulling downwards and giving him a hug. "I missed you so much. Let's see, I'm feeling fine, no she doesn't hurt me and she brought me here."
"Huh?" Ron said, clearly confused.
"Your questions; 'How am I feeling,' fine. 'Does she hurt me,' no. 'Where did she bring me,' here." She sighed, 'why is it always this difficult with him.'
"Why don't you ask him?" Bellatrix said from the doorway.
Hermione blushed, not only was she in bed with her friend inches from her, but Bellatrix had read her mind without her even realising. "You, you know it is rude to er... erm... read people's minds without permission," she stammered, while both Ron and Bellatrix started to laugh.
"Don't worry, Hermione," Ron said with a grin, "Bellatrix filled me in on what happened. She also told me what you meant when you told her you loved her." Ron's tone went very dark very quickly, and that worried Hermione. She had already lost one friend; she didn't want to lose another. "Why didn't you say anything after the Malfoy Manor incident? You could have contacted me, let me know you were alright; I've just been so worried about you. Then I find out you are sleeping with a Death Eater, no disrespect Bellatrix."
"None taken, Weasley," Bellatrix replied, not sure where Ron was taking this tirade.
"You wouldn't understand, Ron," Hermione said, tears slowly falling down her face. "It's not that I didn't want to contact you, nor is it because I couldn't find you. It's just, when she brought me here, we connected. It's like we were meant to be together, and maybe it took Harry cursing me to realise that." She was now flooding tears, and emotions were rising higher and higher within her. "I'm sorry I didn't contact you Ron. I'm sorry you had to find out about us like this. But right now, all I want is Bella. She is the one person I want right now. I love her, Ron; and I'm sorry things didn't work out the way we would have wanted them to, but this is the way things are. You need to accept them, Ron."
Ron stood silent, as Bella knelt down next to Hermione and comforted her. "It's gonna be alright Miney, you'll see," she whispered to her lover.
"Look after her Bellatrix," Ron finally said, his head still down and his voice still dark. "I still love her, but if she wants you, then I won't stop her. But you need to protect her, especially from Harry." Bellatrix looked at him, and saw that he was looking back at her. "If I know Harry, he will be looking for another way to get to you all, so protect her from him."
"What about you?" Hermione asked as he headed for the door.
"I need to protect my family. That includes everyone at Hogwarts." He turned round and looked at Hermione, who for once was lost for words. "Snape and I are heading back there to protect everyone, because I know for a fact he is going to be looking for support, and that will be the first place that he will look.
"Alright, I believe in you Ron," Hermione said, and with Ron acknowledging it with a single nod, he left the room.
A few hours later, Hermione had recovered enough energy to head downstairs into the dining room, but considering it was around 8pm, no one was there but Claire. "Hey Claire," she said to the house elf, who ran over and hugged her legs with glee.
"Why did you come down, Mistress Hermione?" Claire asked.
"Well, I was a bit lonely upstairs, and I wanted to stretch my legs. That and I'm a little bit hungry!" she replied with a grin. "Why don't you join me?"
"I would love to, Hermione." Claire grabbed some crackers and cheese from the pantry before heading to the table where Hermione had sat down.
"So, how long was I asleep for?" Hermione asked as she began to nibble on some cheese.
"Almost a week. We weren't sure if you were going to pull through, but that Weasley boy, he never left your side," Claire responded. "He even had an argument with his parents, saying that he wasn't going to leave until you awoke. He really cared for you, and although it probably isn't my place to say, he probably loved you because of the dedication he showed."
Hermione sat in silence, deep in thought. 'He really did care about me, and I shunned him away,' she thought. 'How could I be so cold to him, so cruel, so...'
"Like me?" Bellatrix said as she walked into the dining room. "I'm sorry about reading your mind again, Miney, but you really need to start practicing. As for Weasley, you and him were 'together' long before we were together. I saw that much when you were at the Ministry 2 years ago. He would have defended you with such passion, almost as much as he defended Potter. It was clear to me that he was infatuated with you, but you remained ignorant of this." Hermione sat silently, taking in Bellatrix's observations. She didn't want to believe she had been oblivious to his feelings, but perhaps it had been more complex than that.
"I, I'm not really certain what my feelings were towards Ron. Certainly I loved him like a brother, as I did Harry; but I thought he only loved me back the same way, like a sister. As for Harry, he was in love with Ron's sister, Ginny, not me. I had nobody, and in a way, I liked that. I liked the fact that I wasn't pining over anyone, that I didn't have anyone distracting me from my studies. But maybe that's where I went wrong."
"It's the choices we make that define who we are, Hermione," Tom said as he entered the room and stood behind Bellatrix. "No matter what, you can't change the past, and I for one regret what I have done, killing so many people, hurting countless lives beyond repair. Sometimes I wondered, 'Is it really the right thing to do?' But for everybody I had to lead, I simply had to grin and bear it." Bella looked at him, and for once she appeared deep in thought, something which was unusual even by her standards.
"That Ritual did more than just grant immortality, Tom;" Bellatrix said. "It has combined each of our main facets of our collective personalities. For me, I feel more sure of myself than I have in a long while, and more logical than ever. I have noticed that you are a lot more remorseful than you have been these past few years, and as for Miney, she exhibits a lot of our dark qualities. Maybe what Snape said was true;" the others looked at her curiously. "The Trinity of Ideals, Power and Truth; it applies to the three of us. Tom represents Power, while I represent Ideals."
"Leaving me with Truth?" Hermione responded, not sure what to make of the statement. "Am I really that truthful?"
"Well, you did pretty much send Ron packing with some choice words, and everything you have told us about Potter has been correct," Bellatrix replied. "As for Tom, he is one of the strongest wizards in the entire world; he certainly has a claim to the title 'Power'."
"Then that leaves you, Bellatrix," Tom said. "You and your ideals. Do you still believe in pure blood supremacy, like you did all those years ago?" he asked her.
"I did, until I met Hermione," she said, and she looked into Hermione's eyes and saw that Hermione believed her. "I fell in love with her, she and I connected that day. I'm not sure what it was, but after Rodolphus's passing, I never thought I would feel anything like that again. And yet here we are, my ideals shaken to the very core, new ones forming every day I spend with her." She walked over to Hermione, and gave her a kiss, full on the lips; which Hermione reciprocated in kind. After a few seconds the two parted, before Bellatrix turned and walked over to the doorway. "And I don't regret any of it," she said before winking at Hermione and gliding off to bed.