The Contract (Hermoine/Voldemort story)

Chapter 9

At Tom Riddle's orphanage, the children had been either bullies or victims. They didn't get the chance to learn right and wrong before they got into school. In many cases, unfortunately, it was already too late. You could see this in the cruelness of their games.

Tom had been four years old when he was first introduced to a game called The Chair. He had only been curious to know what the older children did in the older boys' dorm after dinner. A boy named Adam had said that he could play if he sat in The Chair. Tom was curious and excited to play with the older children and he promised he would.

The Chair was a simple game. One child was tied to the chair and the others attempted to push the chair as hard as they could without it tipping over. Tom had nightmares for weeks. He hated the feeling of helplessness. He had been tied to the chair and hadn't been able to move his arms or legs. The falls had been unavoidable.

He vowed never to feel helpless again.

Tom Riddle, mostly known as Voldemort now, thought about this feeling as he walked to the bedroom that belonged to his faithful servant, Severus Snape. Severus had what he needed. His wife had almost burned him and he didn't know why the Contract hadn't stopped her. Perhaps it was because she hadn't consciously meant to do it. After all, in Hamina he was able to harm her until he realised who she was. It was quite an interesting loophole. But it didn't matter. He couldn't be married to someone capable of killing him. He had to do something and Severus Snape was the person to help him.

Her potential to kill him had crossed his mind even before they were forced into this marriage. She was, after all, responsible for the harming several of his Death Eaters the day he lost his body. Even though she hadn't killed anyone, she was the reason they were captured and received the Dementor's Kiss. So, since the moment he found out he was married to Hermione, he began thinking about ways to remove her magical abilities. It was better to be married to a Squib than to a Mudblood who could use magic against you. He researched and found a potion that blocked a person's magic. The potion was very complicated, but Voldemort knew he could trust his Potions Master.

When he met her, he hadn't thought that blocking her magic would be necessary. While she wasn't weak, he didn't imagine that she could harm him without her wand. Clearly, he had been mistaken. Now, she needed to be punished.

He reached Severus' door and out of courtesy, knocked. A moment later, it opened.

"My Lord," Severus said apparently shocked to see his master, and bowed.

"I need the potion," Voldemort hissed. "The one that blocks magic."

Severus frowned and let the Dark Lord into his room. Severus typically stayed at Hogwarts, but Voldemort also provided him with a room here as well. He was living in one of smaller rooms, but he had his own potions lab connected to his bedroom. The room was small and gloomy and only contained a bed and a shelf filled with potions.

"Is it really necessary?" Severus asked as he went over to the shelf and stared at the bottles, searching for one in particular. "The girl is harmless without her wand."

"Don't question my order, Snape!" Voldemort hissed. He didn't have time for this.

"Forgive me, my Lord." Severus retrieved a blue bottle and went back to his master. "Not to be bold, my Lord, but I would strongly advise you to have someone examine the girl before you give her this potion. If she has any Muggle disease, like cancer, her magic is the only thing maintaining her healthy and preventing any diseases from spreading."

Voldemort fingered his wand in annoyance. If the girl had some mortal disease, blocking her magic would be like hurting her. He didn't want to get that damnable headache again, even if it would be fun to see her die slowly and painfully. No, his headache would be horrible. He wouldn't do it. "Are you able to examine her?"