Her whole life depended on whether or not he said the magic words. And I'm not talking about 'please' and 'thank-you'; I mean 'AVADA KEDAVRA' the killing curse.

He circled her, walking around like a lion about to attack its prey. Her knees were weak and she could almost hear her heart pounding in her chest. None of the books she had read could have prepared her for this moment of absolute fear. She wasn't Harry and she wasn't Dumbledore, she couldn't face down the most evil wizard of her time.

She looked up from the floor, but found she couldn't stare into his glaring red eyes without shuddering. Instead she stared at his bald head. The dim light in the room hit his head and bounced off making a brighter ray. It glinted, hitting her eyes. She couldn't help it, she snickered.

"What's so funny?" Lord Voldemort angrily growled. How dare she laugh in HIS presence.

She stopped laughing and looked up at him, this time concentrating heavily on his nose. Not wanted to say she was laughing at him she went with a safe bet and stated the obvious, "Oh, you're Voldemort."

"And they tell me you're smart," he sneered.

"Excuse me!" She didn't care how scared she was, no one, not even Lord Voldemort, could insult her intelligence like that. "I happen to be top of my year and a prefect thank you very much."

Instead of replying (he had no good answer), he changed subjects, "Whatever. Anyways, I'm not really sure what to do with you."

"And they tell me you're smart," she sneered. She was still pissed about his rude comment about her brain.

"I suppose I could send you back to the dungeon," he pointed out, smirking.

She just ignored that last bit, "So, when do I get my school books?"

He stopped pacing and stared at her, "What?"

"Well of course I'll be going back to school for my 7th year." She saw the disbelief in his eyes and added, "You aren't going to keep me here; you are going to send me back to school," she said it as though she was explaining something very easy to a complete idiot.

She sounded completely sure, like he wouldn't dare disobey Hermione Granger. But in her head she was panicking 'I can't believe I just did that. Oh, he's gonna kill me! ... But I can't let him screw up my education, even if he thinks he's a Dark Lord'.

"You're in no position to tell me what to do," Lord Voldemort kept his calm and twirled her wand in his fingers mockingly.

"You're in no position to tell me I can't go back to school."

"You're not going," he said with a smirk. Who knew it'd be this easy to torture Potter's friend?

"You're sending me back to school whether you like it or not!" she ordered in the bossy know-it-all way that Ron hated. But the look she gave him was pure Mrs. Weasley; it was the look that got even Fred and George to listen to her.

If Lord Voldemort hadn't been Lord Voldemort and had a reputation to uphold, he'd have caved right then and there and rushed to do her bidding.

But… he knew he should kill her.

But… what would the Death Eaters think if he listened to her.

But… (And this he'd never admit to anyone, even himself) he was kind of scared of her.

"I shall talk to my Death Eaters about this and see if we can find a suitable arrangement," he declared grandly, as though she should fall to her knees and make out with his shoes in gratitude.

"Good enough for me," she shrugged nonchalantly (desperately trying not to show how fast her heart was racing), "Now where can I find a bath?"

Yes I know it's short, but it's the first chapter. The rest are much longer. This is just a beginning to introduce the plotline.

Review por favor!!