Bonded to her

Chapter 13

I trekked down to the lake under the invisibility cloak I had borrowed from Harry trying not to get caught. I could only imagine how it would look to be caught meeting up with a professor after curfew, but luckily I saw no one on my trip down.

I for some reason assumed he wouldn't show up and that it was some sort of trick, but I saw his shadow by the lake, the moonlight reflecting off him just enough to see him.

I took the cloak off when I got a few feet from him and he instantly spun around with his wand out and a curse on the tip of his tongue.

"Some welcome. You invited me just to curse me?" I asked with amusement. He relaxed slightly, putting his wand away, but still seeming on edge.

"Yes, well I'm not the person you want to sneak up on." He said annoyed slightly turning back to the lake watching the waters calmly lap on the shore. I watched for a few moments with him surprised by how calm he seemed.

"I assumed you asked me down here to yell at me for taking your potions ingredients or for reading dark arts books. I much prefer this." I said after a few moments.

"What potions ingredients did you take?" He asked, shocked.

"Just a few things for Hagrid." I said wincing realizing he hadn't actually realized I got into his stores yet. He shook his head but thankfully didn't blow up.

"You just seemed upset." He said somehow reading my mood. My smile fell a bit.

"Of course. Here I was thinking we made progress this morning only for you to go back to ignoring me. Clearly you just don't want me." I said hating myself for caring, but unable to not care.

"You think I don't want you? Hermione, how can someone so brilliant be so idiotic?" He said darkly, focusing on me finally.

"The plan was to make you fall in love with me and not develop feelings, but here I am at midnight in the middle of the night risking everything just because you looked a little sad." He said quietly with a bit of a sarcastic laugh, his frustration with himself evident.

I digested what he said realizing what he was implying.

"The plan? You intended to make me fall for you. I'm just one of your pawns aren't I? Forget the headmasters plans. You're the real game player here, aren't you?" I said horrified, taking a step back realizing I was being played. He was absolutely brilliant. I didn't even see it coming. The headmaster at least was obvious in his games.

I felt a sharp stab of pain realizing he had betrayed me. I wanted to get away from him, as far away as humanly possible. I turned to leave, but he grabbed my arm and pulled me back to him easily.

"Please. Let me finish." He asked me, showing an uncharacteristic vulnerability. I was angry and hurt and wanted to punch him in his face, but nodded reluctantly.

"The Dark Lord required you to bond with me. I assumed this would be a one way street." He explained. I scoffed at him.

"So what? I'm supposed to forgive you for intentionally making me develop feelings for you just because you didn't think you would get feelings? Sounds like a personal problem. Sorry the plan didn't work out for you." I said curtly turning again and twisting myself out of his grip. I had actually made it part way back up the hill to the castle when he called for me.

"I am going to die. That was the plan." He said. I stopped cold. He was behind me, but I knew he was watching me intently.

"I have two masters Hermione. What do you think the chance of me getting out of this alive are? My goal has always been to get Potter to the end scene alive. Knowing I would die. I didn't want to be attached to anything that would make me want to stay alive. It would only make accepting my death harder." He explained getting quieter as he walked closer to me. I felt my breath hitch realizing he was right. He was going to die. Yet another person I had become attached to that wouldn't make it to see the end of this war.