ꜱᴇʀᴘᴇɴᴛɪɴᴇ ꜱᴇʀɪᴇꜱ | ᴛᴏᴍɪᴏɴᴇ

Whispers from the Past, ch. 35

CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE

Her feet wanted to move back and she felt as her shoulder blades pressed into his chest. But another part of her, the part that was irrevocably intertwined with her old master, wanted to run toward the hoard of witches and wizards like they were her long lost family. Voldemort's hand that was stroking her charm pressed harder into her back, as though he sensed her reluctance. He pushed her gently forward and Harmony felt no choice but to go on. She left the tent and stood at the very peak of the hill, looking out over the city of people. She felt Voldemort at her elbow and saw out of the corner of her eye as he lifted his wand to his throat.

"Sonorus," he muttered and when he opened his mouth again to speak, out came his voice as loud as thunder. "Witches and wizards...I have the highest pleasure to present to you...your Lady!"

The sound that followed completely drowned out Voldemort's thunderous voice. Hundreds of people cheered at once and cast bursts of light into the air above their heads like fireworks. The ground shook beneath their feet like an earthquake. Chills crawled over Harmony's body.

When he said he had been recruiting while undercover, she hadn't expected this. Not of this magnitude! This was nothing compared to when he set the attack on Hogwarts; all those months ago he had an army, strong in loyalty. Harmony remembered the night she watched from her bedroom window as the reasonably large group of followers left Riddle mansion to venture out to Hogwarts. But now?

Harmony shook her head in disbelief. She looked over at Voldemort and she could see the rapture gleaming in his eyes. She wanted to say to him, "What have you done?" But when she opened her mouth, out came, "What have I done?" in a whisper. She looked back at the city of people, cheering in jubilation, and she wondered: were all these people really here because of me? Why was Voldemort successful in recruiting so many people now, of all times? The only difference between then and now was that now she was involved. It seemed like the only plausible explanation.

And suddenly Harmony felt an unexpected sense of purpose.

She looked over at Voldemort again and wondered if she was just absorbing his emotions. It was so difficult now to tell the difference between her feelings and his. Being around him was like being around an alteration of herself; he wasn't her, but their minds were the same.

Their eyes met and she felt a sudden jolt in her middle.

"Go on," he said, tilting his head toward the people.

Her brown eyes widened in questioning.

He beckoned toward them more insistently. "These people think of you as their Lady. They already know you are second in command; now is the time you must prove it to them."

"What do you mean?" her voice quivered slightly.

"Go down there," he ordered, "and present yourself to them. They need to see you for themselves."

"Please," she hissed between her teeth. "Maybe we should talk about this first-"

In one motion, he was at her elbow, lips against her ear, hand pressed into the small of her back. "There is plenty of time to talk later. Trust me. We have much to discuss. Now go...mingle."

Harmony tilted her head to the side to look up into his eyes. She knew better than to disobey a command, particularly in front of everyone. So she swallowed back the knot tightening in her throat and turned to face the masses. A breeze lifted her hair and played with the hem of her green Slytherin dress, the dress that used to belong to Merope Riddle, descendant of Salazar Slytherin. When she began walking down the hill to greet them, the cheers reignited like a dry log thrown into a blazing fire. She heard Voldemort's steps some distance behind her and she felt relieved; he wasn't going to abandon her to handle them alone. They slowly approached her as well, interested but hesitant. Did they expect her to be a merciless tyrant like their master? She didn't blame them if they did, but she promised herself that she would do whatever she could to show these people that she was not a power-monger like Voldemort. She would show them that she was different, kinder, even if that was to their Dark Lord's dislike.