Heart of A Snake

While Tom was gone over the next few days, Hermione had no one to spar with. The days dragged by slowly, and she felt pretty bored. She tried engaging Draco in banter once, but the coward ran away from her in fear.

Her time here at the Manor had become much easier since Dolohov met his well-deserved end, yet she still found herself having an internal war over what had happened. She was glad he was dead, but still felt as if he should have been sent to Azkaban instead.

With a shiver of disgust, Hermione decided to go to the library as usual. She had seen a nice Muggle romance novel she wanted to read. On the way, however, she ran into Narcissa.

"Hermione, my dear, there you are," she said briskly. "It's time to get fitted for your gown."

Hermione groaned and turned to follow the woman. She was not looking forward to it as she turned toward her room, but Narcissa did not turn with her. Confused, she turned and continued with her along the hall.

"Um, where are we going?"

Narcissa stopped to look back at her and answered as casually as she could, "I have been told to move you to a different location."

"What?" Hermione asked. "Where?"

Instead of explaining, Narcissa merely continued up the hall, then paused outside a door. She opened it and motioned for Hermione to step inside. As she walked in, Hermione immediately knew where she was.

"Oh, hell, no!" she gasped. "Not happening! I am not staying in his room! What is wrong with him? When I get my hands on him—"

"Stop complaining, there's nothing you can do about it," Narcissa told her as she took a step forward and began to undress her. "Get out of these clothes so we can fit you for your dress."

Hermione let her undress her, but she hated how Narcissa was always right about everything. Yet at the same time she was glad to have someone who understood her and looked out for her. She held up her arms as the woman slipped the dress over her head, and she sighed as the soft fabric slid into place.

The pure silk felt like heaven against her body, and she said, "Good choice of material, Narcissa. It feels wonderful."

"I knew you would like your first real taste of luxury," the woman smirked, and Hermione giggled. "Now, you're all set. Come on over and have a look at yourself in the mirror."

Hermione's jaw dropped at the beautiful creature in the ornate full length mirror she peered into. The dress was green and silver, with a corset top that made Hermione's already blossoming breasts seem even bigger, and cinched in her waistline neatly. The silver heels that matched have her a much needed inch or two in height as she slid them onto her feet.

"Narcissa, thank you so much!" she said as tears welled up in her eyes. "This dress is lovely. I've never seen anything like it."

"I had it custom made, just for you, my dear," she said as she hugged Hermione to her. "I figured you deserved a little something, regardless of the situation."

"You're right," said Hermione as she wiped at her eyes. "Go on, now, and take this with you, I don't want him to see this till he's supposed to. As for me, since he saw fit to put me in here, I think I'll gratify myself by doing a little snooping."

Narcissa suppressed a chuckle as she took the dress and shoes from her. "I'll see you at dinner, my dear. Try not to get into too much trouble."

The first thing Hermione noticed about the room was that it was huge. She smiled as she saw that the bed was also huge—plenty of room to put a space between her and Tom, she thought with a smirk. She walked over to look in the bathroom and thought she may have just fallen in love.

She would never have suspected the Dark Lord would have such a luxurious room. In the middle was a bathtub the size of a small pool, and in one corner was a large, stand up shower. It was so beautiful Hermione had to walk back into the bedroom just so she wouldn't be tempted to linger there the rest of the day.

Curiosity got the better of her as she looked through the closets and her eyes fell on the chest of drawers. Her fingers itched to have a look inside. Her mouth dropped open in shock when the first drawer she opened contained…boxers?

Hermione burst out laughing. Oh, my god! This is too weird! It's so—normal!

She started laughing even harder, unable to wrap her mind around the concept that Tom Riddle, a.k.a. Lord Voldemort, wore underwear. She couldn't stop giggling, especially once she imagined how mad how would be if he saw what she was doing right now.

The fit of giggles eventually died down, when suddenly a new image popped into her head. She started laughing even more. What if Tom wore—tighty whities? Hermione was beside herself. She laughed so hard she had tears running down her face as she clutched her stomach. It was too much. She had to get out of the room before she imagined what the snake man would look like wearing the underwear!

Still laughing, Hermione tore herself from the room and made her way to the dining hall. She knew she had to behave herself tonight, especially since Pansy was here—ugh! That girl is so stupid! I don't even know what Draco could see in her!—but she was finding it hard to get into the proper mindset to do so.

She came in and sat in her place at the table, but she couldn't stop smirking, and a small giggle would escape her lips every once in a while. Eventually Narcissa couldn't take it anymore and cast her an annoyed glance.

"Hermione, would you mind sharing with us what it is you find so funny?"

For one moment Hermione seriously contemplated the notion of actually telling, but then thought better of it. If she told them, it could get not only herself in trouble, but them as well, and that wasn't something she wanted to do. So she said, "Nope, can't do it. Sorry," and did her best to push the image from her mind—for the time being, at least.

"Stupid Mudblood, always trying to get all the attention," Pansy said to Draco.

"Pansy, I can hear what you are whispering to Draco," Hermione mentioned irritably. "In fact, we all can."

Pansy looked furious as she said, "Mind your own business, Mudblood!"

Before Hermione could speak, Lucius stood abruptly and hissed, "Do not call her that, you foolish girl! You're lucky the Dark Lord is not here."

Pansy's face fell in shocked horror, and she rushed out of the room as fast as she could. Lucius glanced over at Hermione with a look of strained apology mixed with repulsion, and then he also left at a fast clip.

"How typical," said Hermione, standing also. She decided that she was suddenly more exhausted than she was hungry, and even though she did not like the idea of sleeping in Tom's bed it sure had looked comfortable. She made her way to the room, but was stopped along the way by Pansy when the girl suddenly pulled on her hair.

Okay, this bitch is seriously pissing me off, Hermione thought as she turned, and before realizing what she was doing she saw Pansy drop to the floor, screaming. She shook her head, trying to get a handle on her thoughts, and as soon as she recalled the idea of Tom in his underwear Pansy stopped writhing on the floor.

"Stupid Mudblood, how dare you cast a Cruciatus on me?" Pansy hissed as she got to her feet. "You watch your back."

"No, Pansy, you watch yours," said Hermione as she turned and practically ran the rest of the way to her room. She slammed the door shut and locked it, and flung herself into the middle of the bed.

Why were her powers so out of control? She hadn't seen her wand in ages, and yet she kept performing complicated magic just as if it was in her hand. As she snuggled under the covers and discovered silk sheets, Hermione sighed in content, and wondered how she had suddenly become so strong.