As If In Wonderland

“Milord, its not even noon”, Hermione giggled as she felt a pair of hands behind her on her waist pulling her into a small room in the hall. “Milord?”, she questioned confused as he didn’t reply, “you!”, she cried angrily when she saw that it was Lucius making sure the door was closed.
“What are you doing!”

“Happy birthday princess, I thought I would give you a present of my own”, he smirked evilly while raising his wand.

“What are you going to do”, Hermione asked nervously, her eyes darting to his wand and back to his eyes.
“You know the dark lord will punish you for this”

“He informed us that we could not use our wands against you unless in self defence, and in no way can we sexually use you…he said nothing about anything else”

“Like what?”, she asked but was met by a hard slap across her cheek, knocking her over and making her land awkwardly, hurting her even more. “What the hell!”, she cried out in pain, “I could kill you right here, right now”

“No, actually you cant. This room has been charmed so no magic cant be used, only when the door is open is it possible, its been here for years…now you may be excellent with a wand, but you aren’t too good at much else, especially for a muggle!”

“Im not a muggle! Why are you doing this!”, she screamed as he pulled her up by her hair.

“To teach you a lesson, apparently you have been treating this place like its your own-no matter how much he fucks you, you are not our lords equal”, he laughed as he started to beat her.

*.

“I think I got a bit carried away milord”, Lucius confessed after bringing Hermione too Voldemort, unconscious battered and bruised.

“I have started to care for the girl in a way, and she has been so good lately…but I wont punish you, but in future you will not touch her in any way, if you do then you will find it’s the last thing you ever do”

“Of course milord, I do apologise, I just couldn’t help it…I hate her so much”

“You have your demons, understandable”, he replied simply, “you may leave”.
“Hermione, Hermione!”, he shook her till she woke up.

“Ow!”, she gasped when she woke, looking around wildly before looking down her at beaten body, “Lucius!”

“Yes I know, and he has been dealt with”, Voldemort lied, “Are you ok?”

“Does it look like im ok!”

“That can easily be fixed, but are you ok?”

“No, ive just been attacked in your residence, I thought I would be safe here!”

“you are, but this sort of thing was going to happen eventually, my followers don’t like you so much-especially Lucius. Im sorry it happened on your birthday though”

Hermione gave him a deep look in his eyes before exclaiming, “you dont mind that he did it!”

“what?”

“You may be brilliant at occlumency but I can tell your lying!”, she looked angrily into his eyes. He swore before handing her a few vials to heal, they sat in silence for a few minutes as she healed, Hermione not looking at him.
“I know you are supposedly ‘entitled’ to hurt me, but ive liked how its been the past couple weeks-and you have hurt me during those weeks but only out of punishment, now im being punished for nothing!”

“Are you still in pain?”

“Just a tad, nothing what wont go”, she spat. “Why did you do this? You had me beaten up!”

“I didn’t, I just didn’t punish him when he brought you to me…me and you get along, but I want more, I want utter devotion from you, I want to be all you can think about-because when that happens, you will be truly mine”

“You are sick! So you think me being hurt will then make me want to be closer to you? Why do you want that so much!”

“because then, you will be willing to serve me, show your skills to the world…if im going to have a woman living in my home its either going to be a maid or a follower of mine! And you are frustrating me so much now-”

“Fine, I will be the maid, because I hate you so much!”, she said angrily before storming off. “happy birthday indeed!”

Hermione huffed as she made her way down to the kitchens, a place she had been a couple of times for company, the house elves were very good hosts with their food.
“Hello miss! Miss looks hurt”, one by the name of gilly said while handing her a butterbeer.

“Its ok, the dark lord healed most of it, and it doesn’t hurt so much now. Can I just stay here for a little while?”

“Of course miss”, one smiled while making a chair appear.

“Thank you…Eurgh, I cant believe that man! I know im nothing special, and I know im technically a prisoner…but still, I didn’t think he would have this done to me so randomly-and on my birthday!”, she cried with tears in her eyes.

“Its miss’s birthday?”, one asked to which she nodded, “Happy, happy birthday!”, they all chanted making her giggle.

“Thank you. He was really nice to me this morning, he even got me this necklace and its beautiful. Im so stupid, he’s the dark lord, of course this sort of thing was expected, I just forgot he was really like this!”, she wiped her eyes, “he ruined my life, and yet I started to like him, its weird”

“Happy birthday miss!”, they all cheered after a moment when one brought out a large three tier birthday cake with lots of coloured icing splattered everywhere-very messy but it smelt tasty. It was lit with one small candle at the top in the middle, “make a wish”

“Oh! Wow thank you! Erm”, she closed her eyes for a moment thinking before blowing it out with a smile, “thank you, that’s made my day”

I wish I can be happy, really happy.

“May I have a slice?”, Hermione asked politely.

“Of course miss, its all yours”

“No, no”, she shook her head, “I will have one slice, and then I would like you all to share the rest between you, you deserve that”

“Thank you very much miss! We is all happy miss visits!”, they beamed before leaving to carry on with their work, cooking and cleaning for the dark lord.

Hermione sat on her chair in deep thought, unknown to her that at that very moment Voldemort was torturing a prisoner in the dungeons out of boredom and frustration.

*

Hermione made her way back upstairs after an hour or so, and healing every bruise and cut she could see. The place was deserted.
She didn’t mind though, she preferred it, and it brought a sort of peace to her mind.

“I should be celebrating with my friends…except I now haven’t got any…fun birthday! Eurgh, and ive been attacked as well, and im living in the dark lords home and I am just so alone-could it get any better?”, she muttered to herself sarcastically.
“Im so bored, I need something to do, and sod lessons with him today, im only ever taught stuff I don’t want to know”

“Hey Granger, what are you doing out and about?”, Draco Malfoy tapped Hermione on the shoulder.

“You made me jump!-Again!”, she gasped but kept on walking as he walked by her side.

“Woah, how did you get that?”, Draco said after a moment after looking at her, turning her around so he could get a better look.

“What, what!”

“You got a black eye, how did you get that?”, he raised an eyebrow.

“Oh damn I thought I healed everything”, she muttered, “can you do it for me please?”. he nodded and healed it simply with his wand.

“So are you going to tell me how you did it?”

“Ask our lord…or better yet, your father”, she sneered before opening a nearby door just to get away from him, she stepped back in surprise to see it was a small but cosy lounge she had never seen before. “Ive never seen this-”

“Never mind, what do you mean? did my father have something to do with that?”, Malfoy ask worriedly while seating himself opposite where Hermione had sat, on a squishy sofa in front of a roaring fire which brought the only light to the room.

“Your father attacked me and our lord didn’t even punish him for it, for reasons I have no idea! I healed everywhere I could see, I must have just forgotten about my face because I cant see it”

“Really? I know he has it in for you, I never would have thought he would be allowed to hurt you though”

“Well he was allowed“”

“My father can make someone feel extreme pain with a wand, he could kill in an instant”

“He didn’t use a wand, the room where magic is useless? Well that makes it even more scary, because now I realise even if there was no magic…death eaters would still be bigger and stronger even without wands”

“So my father beat you? Wow, that’s new…Happy birthday by the way, the dark lord mentioned it the other day”

“Its unlike you to tell me to have a happy birthday”

“Well its unlike you to be talking to me at all”, he smirked.

“And vice-versa, but thank you, but it’s a rubbish birthday…the dark lord isn’t as nice as I was beginning to think he was”

“you know he wont change, you two have maybe got too close lately, you don’t seem to realise he does not feel them sort of emotions”

“if your implying im in love or something then your wrong, I feel nothing, for anyone. Just hate at this moment in time”

“Then you better do something about that”

“Your right…where abouts is your father or the dark lord even?”

“Busy as usual probably, I don’t know. The dark lord allows me to come here whenever I want, that doesn’t mean I no what’s going on all the time”

“Ok, ok…I just think its time I showed the dark lord what im really made of, im getting pissed off now”

“Hmm, if you were still at Hogwarts you would probably be head girl, and we would share rooms, I think that wouldn’t be such a bad idea now…”

“Shut up! And what, your head boy?”

“Of course”, he grinned. “But I like you like this, you could almost be a Slytherin, If you wasn’t a mudblood”

“Don’t call me that. And I have no wish to be associated with Slytherins”

“Well sorry to burst your bubble but you are”, Draco, “your even wearing a necklace owned by Slytherin himself!”, he came over to Hermione’s side to get a better look at it, “wow”

“This wasn’t owned by Slytherin, for three reasons. One, its highly unlikely Slytherins possessions would still be around today, two, the dark lord would not give me his ancestors possession and three…why the fuck would Slytherin own a necklace!”, Hermione laughed. Draco sighed, and turned the pendant over to show her. A distinct S sat in the centre of the heart at the back, “this doesn’t make sense-”

“-Getting cosy in here?”, Voldemort butted in after opening the door wearing a black billowing robe and a frowned expression, his dark hair was swept across his forehead giving him a rugged but still sexy look-annoying Hermione a lot.

“Actually no”, Hermione rolled her eyes, as Draco quickly moved away from her, as his head was near her breast area it would of looked like something it wasn’t.

“I know its your birthday but still, crucio”, he showed no emotion as she writhed and screamed from the pain, finally gasping for breath as he released her from the curse. “No need to be rude now is there, why are you here?”

“I had nowhere else to go, and Malfoy followed me while we talked, I didn’t even know this place existed”

“Its just a small room to go to if I need to think. Go Draco”, Malfoy didn’t need telling twice, and quickly left with just a nod as he passed. “So my sweet, I see such anger inside of you, why?”

“Why do you think”, she said through gritted teeth.

“I don’t know, I didn’t do anything wrong, I just may have given a follower permission to do something…that is all”

“That is all? That is all! Crucio!”, she growled, hitting him with the curse, he only fell back slightly, but he didn’t show any pain or hurt and simply walked up to Hermione with narrowed eyes.
“Wait-how comes im not dead! The unbreakable vow-”

“Because I don’t want you dead, so I ‘allowed’ that last one”

“You pissed me off”

“So that gives you right to curse your lord?”

“Your not my lord though! You just took over me! Now just get out of my life, you are nothing more than a selfish half blood named Tom Riddle who just wanted to fit in”

“What did you just call me?”, his eyes flashed red

“Tom. Riddle. didn’t you hear me!”, she shouted.

“Crucio!”, he held it on her for the longest he had ever held it on her, her screams and cries of pain did nothing to stop him, even as she thrashed withered on the sofa she was on, tears streamed down her cheeks and she could hardly breathe. Finally, he stopped.
“You will never, ever, call me by that name again. Do I make myself clear?”, she nodded while shaking, “good. I apologise for my actions earlier, it wasn’t right, and I see I was wrong”

“That means nothing to me”, she spat.

“So how do I make it up to you?”

“I hate what you did, but I cant punish you with what im feeling…”, she sighed.

“I have apologised-I never apologise, count that as my punishment then”

“it may have taken a lot for you to say it, but im still unhappy”

“So you want me to punish Lucius, I wont do that as I will not punish my followers for doing nothing at all-though you may not believe that. If I go around punishing my deatheaters for no reason I will lose the respect they give me, and without that, they will weaken”

“Then…the next time Lucius screws up anything, can I be the one who punishes him?”, she asked darkly.

“Oh?”, Voldemort smirked.

“This isn’t for you, its for me”, she growled, “and I hate you at this moment in time so please leave me be”

“No, but the way you talk is making me melt right now”, he whispered seductively.

“No, im not in the mood for anything like that, im pissed at you, and I don’t care if you torture me for being rude-it nothing you haven’t done before. Ive changed my mind, the next time I see Lucius, im going to make him hurt so bad he will wish he was dead! I might not be able to defend myself without magic, but I can bloody destroy with it!”

“That’s what I want to hear”

“oh just leave me alone! Its my birthday and ive already been harmed by your follower, I don’t want to see you, so birthdays may not mean much to you but they did to me”

“why do you think I got you that necklace?”

“I-I, well im grateful you gave it to me and im not complaining. Is this really Slytherins because that’s impossible”

“How is it impossible? And yes, it belonged to my ancestor”

“then why did you give it to me?”

“Because I think you could take care of it…it belonged to my ancestor and he gave it to some woman, it took my a while to track it down”

“then why take all the trouble to do that, and then just give it to me?”

“like I said, you would taker good care of it, and I would rather know where it is at all times and be able to see it rather than have it stashed in a bank vault deep underground, it looks beautiful on you”

“thank-oh, your doing it again! Are you like the lord of sweet talking or something”

“I am lord of many things”, he stood behind her and placed his hands on her shoulders, “I could show you”

“I bet you will”, he tried to stop herself grinning because she was still annoyed with him but couldn’t help it. “You may be my lord, but I am a lady and I wont be seduced by you”, she smirked

“Ah, but you are not quite a lady, only the dark lady shall be called such and seeing as one doesn’t exist…”, he leant down to kiss her, “yet”, she didn’t hear the last bit.

“In some ways I hate you, in other ways I don’t”

“A nice mixture then”

“Im still annoyed with you though”

“If it makes you more ferocious, then I don’t care”, he smirked.

*

“‘The rise and fall of the dark lord’, an interesting book you have here milord…”, Hermione smirked as she skimmed through Voldemorts books a week after her birthday, he sat casually on the sofa writing notes of some kind, but stopped to roll his eyes.

“Its good to see what others believe happened to me the last time…and I can see where I did-I admit, fail. What are you doing nosing through my books for?”

“im bored, there’s nothing to do here”, she whined. “Ok, you teach me when you can and that, but I get bored when im not being taught”

“Maybe you should get a job then”

“How can I get a job, im a prisoner of the building, I cannot leave!”

“How about I offer you a job?”

“Well technically it would be the same as im doing now, you order me to do something and I do it, I don’t get anything in return but I do it so I don’t get punished”, she tutted. “Oh I know what you are thinking, you want me to be a death eater-well sorry, but its not happening”

“No, I don’t want you a death eater, I did, but not anymore…it would make you equal to them”

“oh yes, I forgot, im worth much less right”, she huffed.

“If you don’t shut up I wont be too pleased”, Voldemort threatened, “no, I was going to say you are much more valuable! Have you not realised this yet? I would never allow someone unworthy to sleep in my bed as if it were their own, allow someone to talk so casually to me and still not break you”.
He motioned for her to pour him a drink, something she had gotten used to though she knew it would be easier and quicker if he did it himself. “And it will not be the same as it is now, because it wont be odd jobs…what would you like to do?”

“Well, I always wanted to work in crime prevention and law enforcement-obviously that didn’t work out”, she sighed.

“You could still work for law enforcement”

“No thanks, I don’t believe in many of your laws milord”

“How would you like to be my body guard?”, Hermione laughed, “im being serious”

“Why in hell would you of all people need a body guard?”

“I don’t need one, but I still have many enemies-many secret societies out there trying to bring me down, I want you to be there…ive been thinking about it for a few weeks…it would get you out of this place more and I would be with you, it could be better than teaching you…will you think about it?”

“You don’t need a guard, someone even threatens an attack on you and they will be dead within an instant!”

“its good to have back up and I believe you fit the part”

“Why not have an experienced wizard, a deatheater”, she sat back, stunned.

“Because my deatheaters maybe great wizards, but they have duties, I would rather let them do as they always do…are you considering it then? Come on, I don’t need a guard, but i5aqr;la;blv,mz12\ ,kn2y6*91ts preferred”, he grinned.

“I don’t know, its just so random, I could never protect you milord, seriously”, she raised her eyebrows.

“I think you don’t realise how much you are capable of”

*

“Will you remove the unbreakable vows I made to you milord?”, Hermione asked a couple of days later, not having seen him in that time as he was away, but when he came back she had to ask.

“I don’t think the vows are needed anymore”, he muttered, he spent the only a few minutes to remove them, easy as that. “Better?”

“Much”, she smiled. “Where have you been?”

“In Italy, made a visit to their government”

“Aren’t you in charge of everywhere?”

“Well yes, but each individual country has its own country and leader, I just lead the leaders…get me”

“Yes, I do, so that’s why you still get trouble”

“Of course, and where would the fun be if there wasn’t any?”, he smirked.

“You know what, ive thought about what we talked about the other day…and it sounds really appealing now”

“Really?”

“Well anything that gets me out of here is good”

“So you accept?”

“I will probably regret it, but yes, I have nothing to lose”, she shrugged with a smile.

“And I promise you, you wont die while im still alive”

“How comforting”, she laughed as he leaned down to kiss her. “And I know nothing of protecting anyone, though technically im not protecting you…as you can do that yourself, but oh well, something new right”

“And your first day starts tomorrow, we are going to Hogsmeade to have a drink to celebrate”

“You are serious about taking me to such a public place? Everyone either thinks im dead or just some broken slave in your household, a prisoner of war”

“Well it’s a chance to show them that’s not true”, Voldemort stroked her hair out of habit, “you know you are just on a trial run, if you don’t rise to the standards I expect-”

“-I understand perfectly”, she cut into his sentence, “can I cover up my dark mark though? I don’t like it-I mean, I just don’t want to give off the wrong impression, I don’t want people still hating me when I haven’t done anything wrong”

“You shall wear robes, no one shall see it”

“Thank you milord, I appreciate it”

“I have to leave for a few hours, I have some business downstairs to attend to…I came up to see how you were and you are fine”

“Business? Oh ok…”, she drifted off knowing what he meant. “See you later then milord, Draco said he would meet up with me soon anyway”

“Meet up?”

“Yeah, I don’t hate him as much as I did, he’s alright really-well sometimes. He is just a bit stuck up”

“If meeting up ends up with you two meeting more than often-”, Voldemort narrowed his eyes making Hermione laugh.

“You think im going to go off with him? Seriously, I just get along with him now, and even if I did like him like that-do you really think a Malfoy of all people would get off with a muggleborn? What do you care anyway?”

“Because you are mine and no one else”, he threatened with his wand poking into her cheek, “remember that. Ill see you soon”, he went off in a storm.

“There’s the thanks I get for now risking my life for him, bastard”