a/n: I really enjoyed dabbling with some darker elements here, poka. Thanks for reading! Updates to Descendants of Dorian and Divergence coming this weekend.

Prompt: The Deathly Hallows

Chapter 8: Uncertainty

Hermione tried to sit as still as she possibly could. Not just because moving hurt from her treatment in the forest when Bellatrix was bored. She didn't want to remind anyone in the room that she existed. Thankfully, Bellatrix had dumped her in a chair in the corner of the meeting room in Malfoy Manor. Far enough away from the turmoil to be an afterthought. Voldemort wasn't just angry. Hermione thought there was some fear lacing his words. She didn't blame him. She was scared. She caught glimpses of the fight and couldn't reconcile what she had seen with what she knew about Harry. It wasn't just the inferi. He was reckless, crashing into the enemy camp, slinging spells at anything that moved.

"My lord, we should stay here until we hear from the others," Bellatrix was borderline begging Voldemort. "They are still fighting for control of the school."

"Those inferi were guarding something very valuable to me. I have to ensure it's secure," he objected.

"She knows what Potter knows. Ask her," the witch said, pointing at Hermione.

Shrinking further into the chair, Hermione shook her head. She didn't know how the inferi got to the forest. It couldn't have been Harry. But the two other people who knew where the cave was were dead or standing in front of her.

"Everyone out," he said dangerously. The Malfoys looked relieved to be evicted from their own room. Snape stepped backward toward the door, holding it open for Narcissa, Lucius, and Draco. Bellatrix looked as if she was about to disobey her master. A glare from him emphasized the seriousness of the situation.

Glancing over her shoulder, Hermione watched Snape close the door behind him, leaving her completely alone with Voldemort.

"How did he find my cave?" he asked quietly.

Hermione understood. He didn't want anyone to know about his horcruxes. Not even Bellatrix. Just asking the question would lead to more questions from those following him. A familiar wand was pointed at her. It was an odd thing to see in the moment. It was Dumbledore's wand. It was a strange feeling to have it leveled at her. But why would he have the dead headmaster's wand? It was placed in the tomb.

Voldemort is after the wand. Harry's proclamation was the last thing he said before the snatchers showed up. Until that moment, Hermione still hadn't completely believed the idea of the Deathly Hallows actually existing. A story. Legends. Given life by those who believed them.

The elder wand. Was it really the Wand of Destiny poised to strike her? She'd concede a potent wand could exist. A combination of a supremely high quality core and pristine wand wood. Hermione wasn't sure if she believed that it was as powerful as the stories made it out to be. There was the potential that increased confidence by virtue of wielding the deathly hallow made people more powerful. She'd never considered the idea that Dumbledore had possession of it. Her mind raced as she thought through everything she knew about his past. The duel with Grindelwald. Krum said Grindelwald used the Deathly Hallows symbol as his own. He and Albus were close, they believed the three legendary items existed. If Grindelwald had the wand, that would mean Dumbledore won it when he beat his old friend to end the Global Wizarding war.

"You will answer me," Voldemort commanded, his patience waning as she worked out her inner turmoil.

Hermione bit her lip, trying to formulate her answer. There was much Dumbledore knew and took to his grave. "Harry didn't find it. Professor Dumbledore did," she finally said, hoping it was enough truth to move his interrogation along.

"How do you know?"

"He came back from the cave the night he was killed."

This had Voldemort's interests up, he stepped closer, his eyes searching hers for signs of deception. Then she felt something in her mind. A flash of the morning after the attack on the school, when Harry shared the note from R.A.B. with her. She understood it was Voldemort using legilimency. She didn't fight it. She let him see that the locket Dumbledore recovered wasn't the horcrux. It was a fake. She let him see the note from Regulus meant for him to find and read. He wanted to believe his horcruxes were safe from Albus Dumbledore and Harry Potter and she gave him that with her memory.

In a flash she felt emotions that weren't hers. A relief mixed with lingering concern. As he withdrew his spell, he was worried that Regulus might know his secret, but hopeful Dumbledore was just seeking information. Trying to find a weakness.

Hermione knew the relief would be short lived. If he went looking for the ring, he'd find the floor boards under the Gaunt Shack empty. The locket, the ring, and the diary were out of his control. He'd check on the rest. She desperately wanted to warn Harry. The race was really on now. He had to stop trying to free her and refocus on their goal. Too much hung in the balance. Gringotts. They needed to find out what was in the Lestrange's vault that had Bellatrix so terrified. Did they know that? Did Harry and Ron have time to work it out or were they too distracted by her abduction? She hated feeling so helpless. If Snape was at Malfoy Manor and not the school it was a good sign that Hogwarts was free. They could look for a horcrux there. The night wasn't over yet. Their best hope was that Voldemort got so distracted by the threat to his vessels and fragments of soul that the school might manage to stand. For now.

"Why did the inferi obey Potter and not me?" he asked.

She got the sense it wasn't a question meant for her. She feared she knew the answer. An old fear. One that came to her as she read secrets of the darkest arts at The Burrow. They weren't obeying Harry, they were obeying the piece of Voldemort inside Harry. The evidence was undeniable now. The despair she felt at the thought nearly overwhelmed her. She couldn't let it. She was still alone in a room with Voldemort who just suffered several blows to his carefully constructed protections.

He stormed to the door, hushed whispers drifted through the cavernous room. Hermione looked around, trying to find a way to escape. If she made a run for it and managed to get out of the manor, she doubted she'd evade recapture for long. She didn't have a wand. Then again, it might be the only opportunity that would present itself. Most of the Death Eaters were still away. Either at the Hogwarts' grounds or regrouping somewhere else. She leaned forward, spotted the nearest window. It would be enchanted. Throwing herself at it wouldn't work. There were no doors except the one behind her. Tempted, she turned to look and saw Bellatrix staring at her. If the killing curse could be cast with a look, Hermione knew she'd be dead.

"I'll take her to the dungeon, and will go to Gringotts first thing tomorrow," Bellatrix said.

"Don't hurt her yet. We might still need her," Snape warned.

Voldemort was nowhere to be seen. Hermione wasn't sure where he went. To the cave, she suspected. Standing before she was drug to her feet, Hermione limped toward the stairs. It wasn't the time to make a move. There was more at stake than just her life. She couldn't rule out future help from her old potions professor either. Stay alive. For Harry, she told herself. And his child.