ꜱᴇʀᴘᴇɴᴛɪɴᴇ ꜱᴇʀɪᴇꜱ | ᴛᴏᴍɪᴏɴᴇ

Serpentine, ch. 38

CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT

Voldemort could see that his words had hit her spot on. The realization of her betrayal brought on an intense physical pain which he'd had never experienced before. He wanted to explode with fury, but at the same time he wanted to crumple to the ground while his heart imploded in his chest.

It's her fault I feel this way, he thought to himself bitterly. It's her fault I have all these new and wretched feelings. She's making me weak-distracting me.

He seldom allowed his emotions to take complete control of his actions, but he was so lost in anguish that he unthinkingly lashed out at her.

Harmony gasped in surprise, but she was nimble enough to move out of the way. He's out of control, she thought. He had never tried to hurt her before.

Harmony backed away from him, out of the kitchen and into the bedroom. He matched her every step-fists balled, glaring.

"I gave you my Serpentine charm!" he shouted. His face contorted with a compilation of anger, shock, and disappointment. "I was going to give you everything!"

"Please listen to me," Harmony pleaded passionately, hoping the sound of her voice might somehow bring him out of his livid state. "I know you're furious. You have every right to be. I kept the whole truth from you. But please believe me, I never would have told you if I thought it wasn't true!"

His wide eyes stared at her with a hunger her words only seemed to feed. She'd only seen him with that look once before; it was while he was facing Harry at the Battle at Hogwarts. His blue eyes were empty except for one thought, and it was this observation that made her blood run cold.

He really means to kill me, she thought in horror.

A fear she had not felt since she'd first met him months ago crashed over her. She fumbled for her wand, and then remembered it was on the ground beside the bed. She edged over to pick it up.

Voldemort was too wrapped up in his own jumble of emotions to notice. With relief, she grabbed the wand while keeping her eyes on him the whole time. He might jump at her again at any second, so she wanted to be ready to defend herself. She could use a number of defensive spells against them, but if she simply tried to escape, he would surely hunt her down and find her. This was a man who held a grudge against a boy for seventeen years; he wasn't one to let a traitor go lightly.

What she needed was to make him forget.

Harmony quickly thought of a course of action. Of course! The Memory charm! She could erase his memory to the point before she had told him the truth. In order for the Forgetfulness charm to work properly, she needed to focus on what exactly she wanted him to forget. Every detail of the conversation.

"You wouldn't have told me if you thought what wasn't true?" he hissed, and her attention snapped back to him.

Harmony realized this could be her last chance to calm him down without erasing his memory, which she would prefer not to do. She looked straight in his eyes, her gaze unblinking, and told him the absolute truth.

"My feelings for you," she blurted out. "I wouldn't have told you unless I was able to accept how I feel, and that I was somehow-in some way-falling for you."

"Falling for me?" he sneered, eyes narrowing. "You mean...in love?"

Harmony shivered when she heard him say it out loud. The way he said the word made it sound as though it was something so dirty and vile. But she gave him a meek smile as she answered him. "Of course. What else?"

Once the words had been uttered, it was like she'd found the secret password to make the whole world go still. Nothing moved; even the crashing waves outside seemed to freeze as she put her whole attention on the pair of eyes in front of her.