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Stone of Immortality
She could feel his eyes on her. This was not the first time. On many occasions she would sense someone looking at her, and she would turn to look, only to find him staring at her with a thoughtful expression. Usually, the men would avert their gazes when they realize that she have caught them looking, but he never did. The only thing that would give away that he had noticed her looking at him, would be the slight quirk at the corner of his lips. She did not understand why he could not just leave her alone and do whatever it was that her father put him up to.
That day she decided to approach Thomas Marvolo. It would not do for him to shirk his duties to look at the duke’s daughter all day.
She closed her book, standing up from her seat, the stool scraping loudly across the library floor as she made her way towards the young advisor, who was still looking at her, although the usual quirk was transformed into a smirk that she thought fitted him, however odd that might have been.
Standing in front of him with her arms crossed over her chest she stared down at him and arched her left eyebrow expectantly.
“To what do I owe this honour, my lady?” the advisor asked, his voice serious, but he was still smirking as if he found the whole situation amusing.
She somehow felt like she was caught off guard until she shook her head slightly. She did not do anything wrong.
“I find it hard to believe that you are doing what you are paid for, when you are not even looking down at your work, sir.” she said, sounding stern, while looking pointedly down at the parchments scattered across the table.
He looked down in what could have been surprise, and she would have believed it, if he had not looked so pleased when he had looked up.
“Oh, a great part of my work is already done, Lady Hermione,” he said in a polite voice, a polite smile replacing the smirk “I was merely taking a rest”.
For a reason she could not place, his smile, as well as his look, unnerved her. It was like he was studying her.
“You were looking at me.” She said straightforwardly.
“Ah,” he simply said, and leaned back, smile wiped from his face, his dark eyes looking into her own intently. She got the urge to run away, but would not give into that. Instead, she tried to give the appearance of someone who was at ease. Something her mother taught her. She let herself sit down on a stool that was put at the side of the table, and held his gaze steadily.
“You are quite unusual, my lady,” he said.
She blinked. “What?”
“Before I came here my old mentor told me that I wouldn’t run into any… problems, but seeing you, my lady, certainly puts his wisdom to shame. Of course, it wouldn’t be the first time that old half wit was wrong”.
She could sense the glee radiating off him, but she did not know whether it was because he was glad when the mentor was wrong, or if he was just glad on this occasion. She could not find any reason why he should be glad that his mentor might be wrong on more than a few occasions. Should he not be grateful to have a wise mentor?
“Especially,” he continued, leaning forward to look at her, a smug look on his face, “when the problem is of noble birth.”
The problem. She was the problem? What kind of problem. She felt her heart quickening in horror, as the realisation of what he might be implying came to mind. She could feel her face betraying her emotions, and she prayed that whatever he saw in her was not what she feared.
His next words confirmed her fear.
“It is slightly problematic for the duke of York, isn’t it, that his daughter appears to be giving off a magical trace that is so uncontained that it can be felt throughout the entire city? In fact, I am surprised that you haven’t been hunted down yet. Or is the duke going against the law of the church by aiding a sorceress?”
The fear she felt was replaced by anger. He dared talk about it as if it was something he took a personal pleasure in knowing? Was he going to use it as a weapon against her in case she did not cooperate with him on whatever he wanted? She had to get to her father immediately. Warn him-
Before she could even get off her seat the heavy doors that lead to the corridor were shut with a resounding bang.
Wide-eyed she looked at him.
“What did you do?”
“I was merely taking precautions. I could always go to your father. And you won’t tell him about this.”
“What makes you so sure?” As soon as the words had left her mouth she could feel an odd sensation running through her body. She did not want to tell her father what she found out about this man.
But why not? She frowned. He was a dangerous man. That she could already tell.
Cannot tell. Have to. Have to. Have t-
“Impressive,” he said sneeringly. He stood up from his stool, and went around the table to reach her, “maybe I’ve underestimated you.”
“What do you want?” She asked, not able to contain the shake in her voice.
“At first, I didn’t want anything. I didn’t come here with the intention of finding another witch or wizard, but this is too good to let pass. I want you to assist me.”
“Assist you? You just think I am going to help you with anything? You are keeping me in the library as a prisoner!”
She saw him roll his eyes dramatically.
“First off: There are worse places to be ‘imprisoned’ than a library; you’ve got to admit that. Besides, you really can’t pass up this chance, my lady. You will learn how to control your power. You will learn not to let anyone be able to use your lack of control as material against you. But of course, if you will not accept my offer, you can just go out right now.”
The heavy doors opened up slowly. She knew she should not accept this. He was dangerous. Who knew what he would do, what he could do. What if he wanted her to help him with something that could endanger the kingdom? She could not risk the safety of other people to satisfy her own need to learn something. It would be so very wrong.
However, she could make him teach her, and if his goal was something that would endanger others, she could be the one to stop him.
She turned in her seat to look at him, and was surprised by the easy smile that was on his face, yet, she could sense the danger in his eyes.
“I accept. But under one condition: You will not harm anyone.”
“Not if you don’t give me a reason to.”
If she had not been so eager to learn the mystery behind the magic, she would already have given up. Voldemort, as he apparently preferred to be called, was a strict master. She kept thinking that he had been driving her beyond her limits, but as she very soon found out, he was only driving her to her limit.
Along with the practical lessons in how to control the magic surrounding her, by drawing the power inwards instead of letting it float around her, he also taught her about the theoretical aspects of magic, and even made her sneak some of his books into the castle, so she could read up on it. During the next lesson he would question her, not only about what she has read the night before, but about everything that she has learned for the past six months.
She slowly began to appreciate his presence more, and while her suspicion of him never faded away, she did not try to question him about his plans either, although she would have appreciated it more, if he could have told her about his past, or who his former mentor were (she did learn that he could not stand to use the word ‘master’ on his mentor, as it made him look inferior in the eyes of others). Anything so she could figure him out.
Others began to notice her spending time with him. Her mother even outright asked her what she felt for the handsome ‘advisor’. She answered her with a simple “nothing”. Because there was nothing. He asked for her assistance in favour of her learning. There was nothing more to it than that.
She knew that he had noticed people talking, but he certainly had not seemed bothered by it. It even looked to be as if he had simply dismissed it, which bothered her. One would think that he could at least acknowledge her in some way. When voicing that, he shook his head and told her that they could never know that she was learning something. There would be questions like ‘what’, ‘why’ and ‘how’, and while he could easily explain anything to them, he would rather not waste time that could be useful.
The night before he had told her to go to the woods at sunset, where he’d be waiting for her. She was ready to assist him.
She stood in front of her bed and tried to calm herself. She felt that there was something going to happen tonight and she wanted to be prepared.
Taking a deep breath she pulled a cloak over her shoulders and sneaked out of the castle with the use of the spells Voldemort had taught her.
When she reached the woods she hesitated a bit before straightening her back and walked forward with determination.
What greeted her in the clearing was quite a sight. A green crystal was placed in the middle of the clearing and Voldemort was kneeling there with his left hand just above the crystal, chanting. She stepped closer to get a better look, her heart thrumming hard in her chest at the sight of him, and she willed it to calm down, as she got closer.
She halted when he looked up at her.
His intense dark eyes were red and glowing, and with a sinking feeling she knew now that she had to run away. Turning on the spot she ran the same way she came.
Problem was… she was not going further away. She turned to demand that he let her go, but her eyes widened when she saw that he was right in front of her.
“You will assist me, or feel the consequences. I held up my part of the agreement and you better hold yours.”
He stepped aside to let her walk to the green crystal, and as she stood in front of it, it began glowing.
“It wants blood. It already has mine, but it needs to be linked to two living beings,” he said, and handed her a silver knife.
“My family –“
“- won’t matter. When this is done, we will both be immortal, and go away from this land.”
Immortal? Was this his master plan? To conquer death?
“I don’t understand why it has to be me. You could make anyone do it.”
“True. But not only do you have a determination in you that broke my little spell that day in the library. You are also quite brilliant. You don’t complain when it’s getting too much, you are so eager to learn. You are receptive.” He looked at her with what she thought was pride, before his face slipped into a cold mask. “You also have a whole city you feel responsible for. A family you love.” He said that last word like it was a curse, and she got the impression that maybe for him it was, and she knew he would not hesitate to harm others if she did not do as he said.
She inwardly cursed at her own stupidity. She knew he was dangerous. She had even chosen to accept his offer with the intention of using whatever she had learned against him if it would come to that. He had clearly planned ahead.
She kneeled in front of the crystal and sliced at the skin on her wrist enough to make the blood drip on the crystal. She winced, as she felt the burning sensation on the skin and dropped the knife.
“Very good,” she heard him say, his voice void of any emotion, and a tremble ran through her body, “and see-” he pointed at her wrist, “it’s already healed.”
She closed her hand around the crystal and closed her eyes. This was not supposed to happen. Had she by doing this unleashed a greater power that should not be meddled with?
“Tom!” A booming voice called. They both turned to look at the newcomer. An old man stood not far from them. He was giving Voldemort a furious look.
“Merlin,” Voldemort replied giving the man a triumphant look.
Hermione looked at the older man with surprise. This was a man who was known for his great power. Could that be Voldemort’s mentor?
“What you have done is wrong, Tom. Not only have you stolen the Stone of Thoth, but you pulled an innocent young woman into this.”
Voldemort made a show of looking at her.
“Hardly innocent,” he said, the familiar smug expression on his face, “she may appear innocent, but when she agreed to this, she knew that there would be a risk. Her curiosity was greater, and therefore she accepted this. She knew I would be doing something unacceptable in the standards of the puny Muggles, but she still agreed.”
“You have condemned her to a life in hiding, Tom. Neither of you can stay in one place for too long.”
Hermione noticed a movement in Merlin’s right hand, but Voldemort deflected it, and before she could see the exact pattern that he was moving his hand, Merlin was knocked into a tree, groaning. Voldemort approached the old man, who was trying to get up, raising his hand to do him in.
She ran towards him, still clenching the crystal while yelling out one of the spells he had taught her and knocked him down with her weight, hitting him on the head with the crystal, which knocked him out cold.
She stood up looking at him with a shocked expression. He had truly underestimated her, or he had trusted her more than he ought to. Unfortunately it seemed that she had to run away from him for all of eternity now. She knew that while he could not kill her, he could definitely use other means to torture her. She had truly messed it up.
While the thought of immortality saddened her, the thought of being his enemy saddened her even more. It was true, what he had said. She had wanted to learn for selfish reasons. She just could not admit that to herself. He was magnificent. A good mentor. A great sorcerer. She had to learn quickly if she wanted to stand a chance against him.
A cough interrupted her from her thoughts and she saw the man – Merlin – looking uncertainly at her.
“I am so sorry about what he must have put your through, my lady,” he said, giving her an apologetic look.
Hermione shook her head.
“No. He was right. I knew he wasn’t right, but I was too blinded by my want. I wanted to do something for me for once, I wanted to be more, and because I couldn’t seek it out from someone less… sinister, it all went downhill.” She did not know why her heart clenched so painfully at her own words. “I don’t regret it, though.”
Merlin looked surprised at her.
“I don’t think anyone could have taught me what I know, however little it is, the same way he can.”
“He is blessed in that department, I’ll give you that.” Merlin replied with a glance at the still unconscious man.
He stretched out his hand to her, and she understood that she had to give the stone to him, but before giving him she had to ask.
“What will happen now? Can it be reversed?”
“No,” he said, looking uncomfortable, ”but I have to save the world from him, and I can only do so with the Stone. It has his blood, and by that his power and I can trap him inside it.”
“What about me?” She gave him the Stone. If it meant that her family would be safe, then so be it.
He chanted holding the stone over Voldemort’s body that was starting to glow in an emerald green colour, until he was not there anymore.
“You can take the Stone, keep it safe, so no one will ever get their hands on it and accidentally free him by starting their own rituals. If you break it, the same thing might happen. Not necessarily today. Or in hundreds of years or in thousands, but eventually. Not only will it be his spirit, but yours as well that will be reborn.”
“So I’ll die today,” she said, taking the Stone from him, “but he won’t be finding this if it’s ruined.”
“No, but he’s clever. He’ll find a way.”
The kingdom would be safe. York would be safe. Even if he came back she could still fight him. Closing her eyes, she vowed that she would find him; wherever it was that he appeared. It did not matter whether she would even know of this life or not. She would make it her mission to stop him from harming other people.
With a simple word the crystal was gone, and she was floating in darkness.