Child of New Beginnings

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Chapter 29

“Imperio!” Bellatrix bellowed.

Hermione felt it right away. The curse had taken over her body. She tried to runaway when she felt that the binding curse had been taken off her. With no success, she could feel herself being forced to face the damned witch.

“Trying to escape?” Bellatrix snorted. “I think not.”

“Severus,” Hermione said with worry as she looked down at him.

“Try and fight it Love,” was all he could say.

Bellatrix gave a swift kick at the side Severus’s ribs. “Enough!”

Hermione gritted her as she tried to concentrate on taking control of her body. She shook her head again and again, trying to fight the tears that dared to escape from her eyes. The tears that she dared not show to the Death Eaters. She would never hurt her son, she couldn’t. To no avail, the tears came when Bellatrix had accioed a pacifier to herself.

Bellatrix stalked over to Hermione showing her the pacifier. “This here has been placed in some sleeping potions. Once your little Sebastian sucks on it, he will fall asleep.”

“No!” Hermione denied. Her body couldn’t fight it when the pacifier was shoved into her hand.

“Regulus, your knife?” Bellatrix grinned at the man.

Regulus reached into his robes for his pocket knife and showed it to the witch. He too grinned when Bellatrix accioed the knife to herself, knowing what she wanted to do.

“You will also be using this,” she told Hermione in a dead serious tone. “Though I do prefer to cut him myself and drop the blood on my dear Tom, I want you to do it. You will be the cause of everything. You will be the one to hurt your own son.”

Hermione raised her hand up to slap Bellatrix across the cheek, but her hand stopped midway when the other witch saw her hand coming.

“Trying to slap me I see. Don’t worry, you will have the opportunity to slap someone else.” She had another idea.

Hermione felt a very painful sting on her cheek as he jaw also ached. She shut her own eyes as she was forced to slap herself again. After a total of three very painful slaps, it had stopped. When she opened her eyes, more tears fell.

“Hermione!” Severus grunted as he tried to free himself from the binds. It was hurting him seeing her in such a state. As seconds passed, he prayed to Merlin that they would be rescued before anything else happened. “Bellatrix you bitch! Let me do it!”

“No Snape!” she snapped at him. She knew that his mind was powerful since he was trained in Legilimency and Occlumency. With that, he had a higher possibility of resisting the Imperius curse. “We will let Mummy dearest here do it.”

Hermione concentrated harder as she tried to fight the spell. Her head started to ache moments ago when she started to fight it.

“You’re bleeding,” Severus croaked as he looked up at Hermione. There was a small amount of blood coming out of her nose.

“Don’t try and fight the spell Mudblood. Your mind isn’t strong enough,” Bellatrix told Hermione. With that, she also shoved the pocket knife into Hermione’s hand. As she twisted her wrist with her wand, Hermione’s body obeyed and turned, walking towards the altar.

Severus watched silently as he saw Hermione walk to the altar. There was a bit of hesitance he could see because her body seemed stiff. She was continuing to fight the spell, and he knew it. As he continued to watch, he didn’t notice the few tears that escaped from his own eyes.

Slowly, as she continued to fight the spell, Hermione made her way towards the altar. Not bothering to notice Volemort’s body, her eyes focused on Sebastian, whose cries hadn’t yet stopped.

“Sebastian,” she said softly as she stood next to him. “Mummy’s here.” She could not tell him that everything was going to be all right, because she knew that things weren’t going to be that way.

“Please Bellatrix, don’t,” Severus pleaded as he moved on his knees.

Bellatrix smirked at him. “I’d never thought I’d see the day that Snape would beg from me.” Her wand stayed pointed at Hermione. The hand in which Hermione was holding the pacifier moved closer to Sebastian.

“I’m so sorry Bastian. Mummy doesn’t want to hurt you… Mummy loves you,” she told him softly. A sob escaped from her mouth as she placed the pacifier into his mouth.

Sebastian mouth sucked onto the nipple soon enough. Then, he looked up at his mother, before his eyes closed.

“Oh God, what have I done?!” Hermione cried as she bent down and kissed his brow. “Bastian!” she continued to tell him how much she loved him and how much she was sorry. “Mummy tried baby.”

“Bastian…” Severus croaked as he shook his head. “Hermione…” This couldn’t be happening. It had to be a nightmare. His short lived happiness was starting to slip away. Why was life so cruel to him?

“Mummy poisoned her own son!” Bellatrix laughed aloud, as the other Death Eaters laughed with her. “Now for the main event we have all been waiting for.”

All the Death Eaters in the room stood up to have a better view of what they had all been waiting for.

Hermione cursed when she felt herself stand up straight, missing and needing the touch of her son. “No!” she said weakly when the hand that was holding the knife rose up. Ever so slowly, it lowered as she continued to fight the Imperius curse. Her head ached all the more as she tried to fight it, and felt more blood dribble out of her nose. The pain in her head though couldn’t compare to the pain in her heart.

“Hermione! No!...” Severus shouted.

“Wait,” Bellatrix said. Another idea had crossed her mind.

A sigh of relief had escaped Hermione’s lips as she stopped the movement of her hand and the knife—the tip just touching the skin of Sebastian.

“What is it now?!” Crouch asked in anger.

“We must not waste time!” Karkaroff stated.

“They both must die!” Bellatrix reminded everyone. “The Mudblood’s wand Regulus.”

Regulus reached into his pocket, not bothering to question Bellatrix.

“Turn!” Bellatrix commanded Hermione.

Hermione did as told due to the curse, and turned on her feet. Soon, she was walking back towards Bellatrix.

“What are you doing?” Crouch asked, as he saw Bellatrix hand Hermione her wand.

“Though I want to kill Snape myself,” Bellatrix started as she looked at Hermione, “I thought it would be better for the Mudblood here to do it.”

Both Hermione and Severus gasped as they looked at each other.

“I’m not going to do your bidding!” Hermione hissed at Bellatrix as her fingers gripped around her wand. She wanted to try and cast a spell at the witch, but couldn’t do it.

“More entertainment for us who knows, maybe I won’t kill you after all,” Bellatrix said and then shrugged. “You will give your son up to us, and soon enough, murder your darling Severus here… the love of your life. I will make you live in the misery and in the pain.” She laughed out loud liking the ideas that she had just conjured up. An evil genius she truly was. “Rise traitor!” she told Severus, who did as told.

“Severus!” Hermione sobbed as she shook her head. Her fingers were tightly gripped around her wand, making her knuckles turn white. She could feel Bellatrix commanding her to raise her wand.

Severus gave a small and weak smile as he looked at Hermione—the love of his life. Then, he noticed that there was more blood flowing from her nose, like a waterfall. “Don’t fight it Hermione,” he said softly. He was giving up already. There was nothing he could do.

“I have to,” Hermione said. The pain in her head was getting unbearable. “I don’t want to kill you. I don’t want to do any of this.”

Severus nodded. He understood, but knew that she couldn’t do anything. The Imperius was too strong for her to resist.

“No!” Hermione said through clenched jaws, as her hand rose to point her wand directly at Severus. She couldn’t kill him. She couldn’t kill the love of her life.

“Cast the spell and kill him!” Bellatrix commanded as she made the Imperius curse stronger.

“I love you Hermione,” Severus said softly as he sobbed. This was going to be the last time that he would see her beautiful face. An angel is what she was.

“I’m sorry Severus,” Hermione said. “I love you-“

“Now!”

“Avada Kedavra…” Hermione whispered. Right after the words had come out of her lips, she saw the green rays hit Severus squarely in the chest. Suddenly, her body had fallen to the floor, as she blacked out.

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AN – Cliffy! Cliffy! Cliffy! Review! Review! Review!