Severus
The dour potions master watched over the Dark Lord's wife, and reported his findings to Dumbledore in his office.
"I expected the ring to curse her as it did me," Dumbledore said, cradling his blackened hand. Severus was able to contain the curse there, but the reckless Gryffindor would die, nothing could stop that, it was inevitable.
"He...I have never seen him favor a witch as much as he favors her," Severus reported. "Publicly, they act formal, and what you might expect, but in private they seem...happy. I can only surmise that the curse is neutralized by any family members wearing the ring."
"So, he's slept with her."
"Obviously."
"Do you think Harry is in danger?" Dumbledore asked.
He fought the urge to roll his eyes at the older wizard. Of course, he is in danger, you idiot! And what's more, is why do you even care? He is a damn horcrux himself. But of course, he kept these wandering thoughts to himself.
Dumbledore paced about his office, saddened by this news. "Why would she turn against us like this, Severus? Voldemort hates witches and wizards like her?" He asked.
Good. Well, I suppose you aren't as dumb as you look, then. "She made the Unbreakable Vow not to betray him. But it was an unnecessary precaution on his part, I believe."
Dumbledore sat down at his desk and folded his hands together. Severus was surprised that he even had feeling enough in his blackened hand to do that much.
"So she loves him."
"Yes."
"Then we're screwed. I had counted on Hermione being able to feed us information, perhaps even to hunt down these horcruxes Voldemort made. But if she is able to wear them without it affecting her, and she is fully allied with him then she is a lost cause. Have you been checking up on Draco and what he is up to as I asked?" Dumbledore added.
Severus nodded. "Of course. I am bound to protect the boy, naturally. Now, am I dismissed? I do have classes to teach, unlike you."
Dumbledore scowled. "Fine. But keep an eye on Hermione. She is liable to do anything to prove her loyalty to her husband. Does she wear the Mosmorta?"
"No."
"Why?"
Severus smirked. "Because she is the Dark Lady, not one of his soldiers. Good day, Headmaster."
Severus left the befuddled old wizard to stew over his report. In the mean time, he had classes to teach and his own brand of false information to pass off to the Dark Lord. He would have to see to barring Hermione from Order meetings over the summer, but he had to tread a very fine line, because he did not want to make the witch suspicious of him. Voldemort trusted his wife, after all. If she said that he was a traitor, then he would believe her. He just had to hide his time and play the long game, like any good Slytherin, and hopefully, keep his life in the end...
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Dumbledore
Two weeks later, the old Headmaster watched during lunch time the owls delivering their letters. Hermione had lots of mail, offers to do interviews by Daily Prophet reporters, flowers, chocolates. Then he heard Hermione light up with joy when she caught a sealed envelope in her hands...
🐍---
"Who else would be writing to you, Mione'?" Harry asked.
Ron snatched it out of my hands just as I broke the seal off the back of the envelope. "Oi! It's...gibberish. Look, Harry."
Harry looked just as clueless as Ron, and I read what Tom wrote me in a code only we knew, and which we devised ourselves:
Lioness,
Being without you is agony. I know it is necessary, and I have to keep you at arm's length, but know that if I had a heart, if ever I possessed one, then surely you have it. I promised myself so many times that I would write, but lacked the confidence to do so. I know that in a short while, however long it takes for Draco Malfoy to complete his task, Albus Dumbledore will be killed. I would have you by my side then, officially. Did you like the chocolates I sent? I'm not good at this whole hearts and flowers nonsense, I'm better at our bedroom antics. But this will suffice for now.
I hope that you think of me as often I think of you. How I long to bury myself in you, to feel your lips on mine, the taste of you on my lips as I lick the last bit of cream from your thighs. I find such thoughts consume me at times, and at other times I think that I have gone mad. I should hate all that you stand for, and an abomination. But never you, my mate. I cannot bring myself to hate you, only cherish what we have together.
Until I am able to be with you once more, I intend to ravish you with my words. I have enclosed a small poetry book to express my ardent desires for you. Do read them alone, I highly doubt anyone besides us can understand even why what we have works.
Sincerely,
Tom
I saw another owl drop a small red poetry book and fly off. Ginny sat down and snatched the coded letter out of my hands, and she frowned, "Okay, fess up. Who is your secret admirer? He has great handwriting whoever the wizard is."
I played it off by laughing. "Just some guy I met over holiday. We hit it off really well, and now we're just penpaling since he's a Durmstrang student."
"Did you...you know?"
"Yeah."
"Ooo! What's it like?"
Ron looked like he was about to pass out. "Eww! Mione,' that's gross. How can you say you had a hookup on Easter? That's--"
"A little hard to believe," Harry finished. "You don't seem like the type."
I rolled my eyes at that. I gathered my stuff, and shrunk it down magically to fit into my school bag. I didn't have time to read all of my mail, but I would in time.
"I'm going to History of Magic now," I announced. "I'll see you guys around later."
Ginny was about to walk with me, but Pansy Parkinson and her clique showed up. "Hey, girls," I said happily.
Pansy sneered at Ginny, and said, "You're partnering with me, right? I can't stand Nott just ogling my damn tits all lesson long."
It was well known that Theo and Draco had this weird love triangle dynamic going on with Pansy ever since I had been forced to break up with Draco when I was forced to get married.
"Sure. Ginny, I'll see you later," I said to Ginny as Pansy and her girls led me away to class. I didn't like blowing off Ginny, but I had my own life outside of Hogwarts, and Slytherin House was a part of that life.
Harry paired with Ron, and Harry kept staring at my rings as if they were going to jump up and bite him at any second. I ignored him, though, and focused on the task at hand. I had to get Harry alone somehow to get my mission done. Poisoning him would be too obvious, but maybe a non verbal curse...yes, that could work. But I had to time it just right, because there was no room for error in any of this.
I ruminated over all of this as I studied for my NEWT tests. I had to take them early, because of what Tom had planned with Dumbledore. But a part of me didn't want to go along with all of this, because I cared about Harry as a brother...somewhat.
A brother who merely uses you to get ahead in his classes? A mindless jock in all other aspects of his school life? Who are you kidding? You made your choice long before the King of Slytherin made you his Queen, so get with the program, I chastised myself sharply. Yes, yes I did willingly make that choice. I did love my husband, and even if he could only be himself with me privately, I knew that he loved me in his own way.
I took a shower, got ready for bed, and took out the little red poetry book. The entire thin book was penned by hand in his own elegant script handwriting. The first poem was about how he dreamed of climbing the tower and sneaking in to make shameless love to me. I thought it was a given that he would have cast some kind of a silence charm to not alert the other sleeping girls as to what we were doing, but the imagery was very erotic and hot.
I cast a silence charm, and read over the dream again. I slipped my hand into my pajama bottoms, and pushed back my knickers until I found my already wet pussy. Wow. I began to massage the folds in small concentric circles, and inserting two fingers inside of me.
"Ohhh...oh gods," I breathed. "Yess..Oh, Tom..."
I teased my clit, remembering his hand torturing my slit, and then his mouth sucking and flicking my clit with his tongue. I began to tremble and shake as I thrust my fingers in and out of me at a faster rate. I moaned as I reached my climax, and then went to the restroom to rinse and clean myself up. I felt very unfulfilled, because I wanted the real thing. No, Hell with it, I wanted...him. Badly.
I fought the urge to write to Tom then and there, but then thought of legilimency. If we were in tune with each other the way I thought, we could be a part of each other in a much more intimate way: through our minds.
I removed all traces of emotion as I laid back down in bed, climbing under the covers as I did so. I, at first wasn't able to bridge my mind to his, but when we did, it was pure magic as we met in our dreaming state, and reconnected in this way. The alarm clock going off by my bed was the only thing that awoke me from my slumber the next day for classes, but I didn't mind, because we were together, and that made the waiting a little bit easier for the both of us...