Procyon Mask - Chapter 6
The hot shower had done nothing to rid her of the cold creeping under her skin. The ever constant presence of his magic in her mind had her on edge.
Had he been telling the truth? That he wasn't a legilimens and her eyes were just simply too telling? And if her emotions were still coming through her eyes did that mean his hold wasn't as solid as she thought it was? Could her own magic struggling against his actually be pushing the imperius curse back… if even a little?
It was too bad there wasn't anyone else here, that no one besides Death Eaters came and went. Otherwise she could put her theory to the test. Why did Barty have to live out in the middle of nowhere? If he lived in the city she could at least pray for someone to accidentally knock on the door for her to answer - cheerfully, of course - and try to convey her need to run from the manor to whoever it was through her eyes.
But no, she had to be in the middle of a forest. No visible paths outside besides the walkway that came to the front then split to the left, disappearing into the hedge maze that devoured that side of the land. She knows now that she was originally teleported to the right side of the manor, to the long walkway that faced the forest with its pillars. She still didn't know how Barty had manipulated the light inside and everything to make it look like a long room and she probably never would at this rate.
Even after serving them dinner he kept her under the imperius curse, though his gaze stayed on her as he ate. Creepy.
She raises her spoon to her mouth, some rather hastily chopped veggies in broth lingering on her lips. It tastes overcooked. "Mm, this is wonderful, Barty. I can taste the love you put into it." Huh? That last bit was more snide than she thought she could make it.
She glances at him, but she can still very much feel him in her mind. He was just… being a bit lax in his commands right now.
Hermione wants to get up and feels her body seize in response. No good, then. He had loosened her tongue, but nothing else.
His own spoon clatters into his bowl, but she continues eating. "It tastes better than the slop served in Azkaban, but that's not really an accomplishment." He stole the words from her mind, she was sure of it. He sighs, looking down at the bowl. "I need to get a house elf or something. I barely know how to cook. But you don't like the idea of a house elf do you? Probably don't like the idea of a maid either. You may speak."
She's fairly certain he just did another casual wave of his hand as she finally feels his presence slip from her. He broke the spell.
Hermione swallows another spoonful of mostly broth before slowly placing her spoon down on the napkin and raising her gaze to his. Gosh, it feels so weird sitting across the table from him, eating as if they were a couple, with him talking like… they were married. They were, but she didn't consider it valid herself. He was even talking like her opinion on the topic mattered.
"A servant is at least compensated for their work, a house elf is just a slave pure-bloods use so they don't need to pay their wealth to someone and pretend housing them in a closet is humane."
Barty snorts softly. "Good to see you and my father wouldn't have gotten along."
Hermione can't help herself, her lips pull down into a frown. He kept mentioning his father today. She had a sinking feeling he didn't usually spend so much time at the manor, that he was largely here on the weekends to have a place to see her for the marriage law's required time. Kinda like her, but he had the choice of choosing this place, so it's not like she could feel any real sympathy for him.
"You said before he had you under the imperius curse for years, didn't you? You plan on doing the same to me? Except for when you want to pretend I'm a person?"
His eyes narrow at her. "I've said it already today: you were under the imperius curse so I could effectively teach you how to act when someone else is here without your smart ass comments every other second. I would hope you were paying attention and taking notes in your mind. How you act when I'm not around is important."
"You did mention it, but that doesn't mean I believe you'll actually let me wander the manor free of the imperius curse. Or do you take me for a fool?"
"There's no one else here, Hermione. Even if I got a maid you wouldn't be able to leave through them. Unless you want their blood on your hands." Hermione grits her teeth. She doesn't and she hates that he's right. There's no reason for her to be under the imperius curse here when she can't run without getting anyone she involves killed. "So no house elf means I need to find a maid. Unless you're going to cook when it's just you and me?"
"If I cook for you I'll poison it."
"I think you'll try poisoning it even with a maid here."
"Probably."
"Hmph. So I need to find someone who's experienced with the mentally ill to explain away your attempts at murdering me? Lovely. The list of qualifications just keeps growing with you."
She scowls at him, picking up her spoon again purely because she knows she needs to eat. Even if it didn't taste exceptional. He burned the eggs this morning too. Eggs for goodness sake! She hadn't been aware that you could burn them before, but that may be because everyone else she knew knows the basics of cooking. She's fairly certain the only thing Barty can't fuck up in the kitchen is boiling water. No wonder he told her to cook the food if they ever had guests over, partly to keep her busy but mostly so he didn't subject anyone else to his cooking. She wishes she was as lucky as any unplanned guest.
Hermione takes a bite, pretending to chew before swallowing. Sheesh, he might as well have just served her broth with how easily the vegetables fell apart. "Did you father have you sleep in a cupboard with the elves? Did it teach you any sympathy?"
He sets aside his own empty bowl, having gone through it quite quickly despite his own annoyance with his cooking skills. "Watch yourself, Hermione. I'm not in the mood to banter with you."
"But I want to learn more about my lovely husband! Specifically anything that made you miserable, like how you make me." She's smiling until she utters the last word, feeling a chill descend down her spine.
Barty's eyes are narrowed and she can feel his magic in the air, flickering around the room, searching for the final spark to light it. That's right. She was sitting in the eye of a hurricane driven by a mad man. She should be watching her words more carefully, not letting her anger at being imperiused all day get away from her. He was right.
Hermone sighs, shoulders lowering as she gazes at her half empty bowl. "I'll make breakfast tomorrow, but I'm not humming or anything else like that." She would save anything he showed her to do today for when someone was actually over. Maybe. As long as it wasn't Bellatrix. There's no way she could keep her cool around someone like that.
Harry….
She still can't believe she's helping the people that killed his parents, that killed Sirius. She was going to be a monster herself by the end of this war. And with her just having moments of being under the imperius curse with a binding they quite possibly couldn't detect she might get sent to Azkaban once everything was said and done. Just how was she going to convince everyone she didn't betray them of her own will?
Silly question. Harry would never believe that and being the boy that lived he could protect her from a fate like Azkaban. At least she needs to believe that.
Hermione finishes the rest of her broth in silence.
Barty's chair scrapes rather loudly against the floor when he stands up. "To bed, then. I'll show you the way so you don't get lost."
Hermione's gaze flickers up. "You're not… coming with me?" There was a hint of relief in her words and she knows he doesn't miss it.
"I have work I'm behind on from babysitting you. I'll be busy tomorrow too if you want to take the day to do your homework."
Thanks so much, how considerate of you. She bites her lip to stop herself from saying what she wants and instead says, "Please. This manor is a damn maze." Basically the same thing, but less direct, so less likely to piss Barty off. She doesn't want to know what he'll do to her when angry. Not when he already uses the imperius curse on her when he's in a good mood.
She wants to get up and leave rather than get back in that bed, but then the Ministry would be after her for breaking the 'time together' clause. Hermione drinks what she can of her remaining soup before standing up and following Barty from the room.
At least he isn't making her hold his hand this time. Ever since she got down to the garden today he had her following him like a puppy, chattering away pure pleasantries in his ear from room to room. Mindless. Just how he likes it apparently, even if he said otherwise.
He's insane. There's no point in her trying to follow his twisted path of logic.
The hallways are long and winding, but the manor outside doesn't look quite as big. She's fairly certain there's an enchantment on the place to make it harder to navigate, but she's not certain if Barty put it in place or someone else. If his father really had him under the imperius curse these hallways probably helped keep him from being seen.
She was tempted to ask Barty about his father, just to see his eye twitch, but she should probably save any questions for tomorrow when he's wound back down. Or… not. If he really was going to be busy she would rather stay away from him, let their proximity fulfill the requirements of the law instead.
Barty finally stops at a large mahogany door, pushing it open. "Inside. Your belongings should be in there. You can wear what you brought as long as you stay inside the room tomorrow."
Did so few people give him notice that he just assumed if she wasn't in his room people would see her? She didn't get it. Her being here was all for the benefit of his fellow Death Eaters. Unless…
"I said to go to bed, not stare into space."
Hermione jerks in place, her cheeks growing warm. Bloody hell. She was so used to him just commanding her body today that she hadn't made any move into the room, just assuming she would whether she wanted to or not.
"R-right." Hermione quickly slips past him, Barty's sigh echoing in her ears.
"I'll be in later, try not to take up the whole bed."
"I don't."
"Good. I wouldn't want to be rolling your body around at odd hours of the night."
Because she would be unconscious or dead? She knows the answer, but his words could be taken either way. He's just as tired as her from the day's events and she can't even take advantage of it because of the words he spoke during the binding spell.
Well, she could personally try running away from him. She's pretty sure he won't be forced to kill her if she tried something so stupid, but anyone that aided her after that… That was another story.
"Don't even think about leaving in the middle of the night. Or any other time of the day for that matter. I don't need the headache." She feels her throat constrict for a moment as dread pools in her stomach. No… Another spark of hope falls into the abyss Barty's created. "You're going to need to put a conscious effort in when Lucius comes by. He can be the test of how good you are at acting. I'm thinking you'll need practice, though. Those eyes are just… too telling."
Barty turns from her, running a hand through his hair.
"Keep the door unlocked, get in whatever's the most comfortable for you. You can read a book or something if you need to." He starts down the hall and Hermione quickly closes the door behind him, hand hovering over an enchanted lock, but her fingers can't close around it. She can feel the metal of it, but… that's it.
Damn that binding spell and damn him for making her blood go cold. If only she could do any of the ideas she thought of before he shot her down. Not a legilimens her arse.
With a huff, Hermione turns around to stare into the darkness, trying to remember where Barty kept the matches. He had gone to the left side of the room last night and then…
She walks over, feeling along the top of the dresser before her hands find a small box. Hermione fumbles with it for a moment, wishing she could just use her wand but Barty had taken it into the study, hidden it. He was leaving her with as few magical options as he could.
The match takes and a small flame flickers to life in front of her. It's jarring, as she can see the shadows slither along the walls and floor now, making odd shapes in the darkness.
This whole manor unnerved her. As pretty as the garden and hedge maze were…. They were the only highlights of this place. Hermione suspects that once she proves her ability to act to Barty that she'll be spending most of her time in those places. As long as he doesn't need to talk to her about the Order…
Her stomach twists as she slowly walks around to her side of the bed, lighting the candle on the bedside table with the match before blowing it out and placing it down on the cool metal ring beneath the candle..
The increased size of the flame does little to settle her nerves.
He had finally said it this morning: that she was to spy on the Order, eavesdropping when she could, if she was fairly certain she wouldn't be caught. Funny thing, that. Harry and the others eavesdropped on the Order all the time and she was always with them… it wouldn't be weird at all if she were caught. She was the one that got roped into their shenanigans and made sure they didn't do anything too foolish. That's how everyone else in the Order saw her.
Of course, she wasn't going to make that known to Barty. Then he really would think he had hit the jackpot with making her his wife, as opposed to say…. Ginny. She was the only other girl close to Harry. Not as much as her… but still, Hermione is kinda relieved this happened to her and not the younger Gryffindor.
Ginny had her own fire within her, probably partly because of how the ghost of Riddle controlled her during her first year here… But Hermione wouldn't want her subjected to something akin to that again. Especially not under the control of the most intelligent mad man the two of them had ever met.
Hermione takes in a breath, moving to her suitcase and taking out a book, a scroll, some ink and a quill for her homework. Her studies feel far less important right now, but there was nothing else she could do.
She would find a way out of this, somehow. Try her hardest to make sure the Order won, even with her feeding information to the enemy.
It was frustrating that Barty had said to report everything related to the Order to him. She couldn't even pick and choose the information she told him… It wasn't reliant on his questions and her skirting around certain pieces of information, he didn't want anything to be hidden from him.
He wanted to know everything so he had complete control over the situation. Just as he did with her.
Hermione slumps onto the bed, spreading her things out on the surface before getting to work. She writes her current essay well into the night, always listening for Barty's footsteps. When she finally hears the she quickly and silently moves everything from the bed, dropping it to the floor next to her and blows out the candle before making it look like she's sleeping.
Barty doesn't say a word, when he opens the door though and she pretends until she actually falls asleep, feeling a phantom hand resting on her hip above the blanket.
When she wakes up Barty is gone, a plate set on her night table. She can feel the warmth radiating from it. A heating charm and… oddly enough the eggs aren't burnt. He must have gotten it from somewhere else and brought it here.
She wants to ignore the food, but her stomach rumbles from her lackluster dinner last night and quickly eats it before going back to her essays and book.
It's just as Barty said. He's too busy today to bother her and she doesn't care to wander the manor with the overlying threat of coming across a Death Eater guest. It's still nice not being imperiod, though.
Hermione waits until the clock strikes a half hour past when she left her dorm room on Friday, just to be sure she covers the time needed for the law. Afterwards gathering her things and slowly making her way down the hall to the lounge where the marriage ceremony had taken place.
The metal cage around the fireplace is open, welcoming her into its depths, but she slows as her gaze moves to the plush chairs. Barty is seated in the one closest to the fireplace, his gaze flickering to her as soon as she enters.
"Leaving? It's getting late."
"I only have to be here for forty eight hours and I don't particularly want to spend another night in that bed with you."
Barty frowns, his gaze moving over her muggle clothes. Yes, he had said she needed to wear what he put in the drawer while she was here and not in their room, but that hadn't included when she was leaving. It would be weird for her to be wearing a robe fit for a pure-blood back into the school. People would ask questions, the opposite of what Barty wanted.
"I figured you would say something like that. Will you sit with me for a moment?"
"I'd rather stand." Hermione moves closer though, not particularly wanting to strain her voice as she speaks to him. There's an old record player in the corner, a soft melody coming from it that fills the room. It reminds her of the whimsical fairy tale music played in old children's films. "What did you want to talk about now?"
"You said the other day if you were to cook for me you would try poisoning it."
Hermione's fingers twitch at her sides and she lets go of the breath she was holding. "That was just a joke."
"Regardless I won't have you trying to poison me within my own home or outside of it. Understood?"
"Yes, Barty." She wants to say no, but what's the point? She has to do what he says, no matter how she responds to it.
Barty's fingers tap along the arm of the chair. "Good. I'm thinking we'll continue with your training next weekend. Do you think I'll need to imperio you or will you try to be civil?"
"I'll… act as your wife." Disobeying him just meant she lost control of herself. She'll put the effort in so that doesn't happen. She had no chance of fighting back if she was under his control the whole time she was here.
"Do try and remember that not only by law, but by your vows you are my wife. This is for everybody else that might see you here. Unless you want to be under the imperius curse the moment you step foot in our home you'll do as I say."
Hermione grits her teeth, but nods. Now was not the time to quip that he had imperiod her into saying the vows anyway. That ceremony shouldn't be considered legal. "I understand."
Barty snorts, glancing to the fireplace. "I doubt that. You can go. Try to get something from the Order if you can in the next few weeks. A report a month should be fine, but if you hear anything sooner you'll tell me about it once you're back here."
She nods silently. He had said as much the other day.
"Take this letter and I'll send one to you this week for your friends. And Hermione-" As she moves forward to take it from him she sees his wand move from the corner of her eye before her mind goes blank. It takes a moment for her to focus again, but the letter is in her hand along with her wand. "-You got all that?"
She blinks, not comprehending what had just happened. "...yes?" It feels like she's missing fragments of time, there's words floating around in her mind but she can't quite grasp them. Not yet, at least.
Yet?
"I won't keep you any longer. Remember to always use the Room of Requirement for getting back. It should make a small section for you even if it's in use." She doesn't quite understand what he's saying but she nods, her fingers trembling at her sides. Barty's gaze stays locked to hers. "I'll see you again Friday night then."
"Y-yes." Hermione quickly takes a step back and turns from him, her heart hammering in her chest as she barely suppresses the urge to run to the fireplace. She grabs some floo powder from the mantle and drops it in the ashes.
"Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, the Room of Requirement."
Hermione steps into the green flames, her body feeling like she had just been dipped in an ice bath.
A/N: By the way I've been doing some writing for Dharker Studios. If you want to read some more light-hearted things by me. I was the primary author for Water Girls and Animal Cafe, if you're interested in bikini clad and animal girls, plus lots of yuri.