Harry Potter and the Edge of Infinity

By

Lewis M. Brooks, III

Chapter 14 – The Face of Terror

Hermione took deep steady breaths to try and keep calm as she walked down the hall. Right now, the hold she had on her composure was tenuous at best. Two guards flanked her and Bellatrix walked in front of her. She wasn't sure where they were taking her or why, but she was sure it couldn't be for any good reason. She clung to the hope that since Ginny had not been hurt, they would have no reason to hurt her either.

Hermione thought back to all the times over the last seven years that she had been afraid. She was terribly scared so many times, but she usually did a good job hiding it. Most of the time she hid it by worrying about Ron and Harry. She hated to be afraid. It made her feel weak and helpless and she hated that.

Somehow not having Ron and Harry to worry about made this much worse. She was happy that, at least for the moment, Ron was safe. She knew he had to be beside himself with worry. She just hoped he wouldn't try something crazy. For the briefest moment the thought that she might never get to tell him how she really felt about him flittered through her mind. She quickly pushed it away.

She wished she could have found out if Neville arrived alone, though she suspected he hadn't and Harry was here already. She was terribly torn between wanting Harry to be on his way to rescue them and wanting him to be safe at The Burrow. She knew that thought was silly. She knew that if Harry hadn't arrived with Neville, that somehow he was trying to get to them. She knew he wouldn't rest until he found them.

Hermione was led into a large room with a very high ceiling. It was dimly lit, and strange equipment was all along the walls. What drew her attention immediately was the table in the middle of the room, and the leather straps that were clearly meant to secure someone on it.

At the head of the table was something that resembled a metal bicycle helmet. There were flashing lights on it and it had a chinstrap dangling from one side. Wires seemed to attach the helmet to the table. Above it, pointing at the head of the table was some kind of machine. The long metal cylinder looked almost like the barrel of a gun, but the end was solid. It was like something out of a science fiction movie, Hermione thought. Unfortunately it was all too real and far more terrifying.

"Put her on the table", ordered a voice. Hermione turned to see the woman that Ron had described from their arrival standing in front of one of the machines. Her hood was up, but the skintight black suit was just as Ron had described it. She could hear Bellatrix laugh gleefully.

"No!" squealed Hermione, as she tried to twist away from the guards who had grabbed her arms. It was no use. Two other guards joined them, and she was lifted onto the table by her arms and legs even as she continued to struggle. The straps were tightly fastened around her wrists and ankles as she tried desperately to get away.

When they tried to put the helmet over her head, she thrashed her head back and fourth, prompting one of the guards to grab her by the throat so she couldn't move. Once the helmet was on, they fastened the strap under her chin and released her throat. Hermione gasped to breathe as the helmet was strapped down to the table, and another large strap was placed across her stomach, preventing her form moving completely.

"Please, don't do this," begged Hermione, as tears began to well up in her eyes. She didn't want to beg, but fear had driven away what little composure she had left.

"Why so upset?" laughed the Queen. "You act as if you will be harmed. I promise you, when this is over you will be completely unharmed."

Hermione took some deep breaths and tried to calm down. The Queen's voice was cold, and strangely familiar, but she couldn't place it. "Why am I here?" asked Hermione softly, having regained a little composure. "What is this place?"

"I need information," replied the Queen absently. "This is my lab."

Hermione couldn't turn her head, but heard the Queen walking towards her. She also heard a door slide aside, and someone else walking into the room.

"Bella, tell Draco I wish to see him," said the Dark Lord coolly. Hermione was sure she knew this voice too, yet couldn't place it. "He is seeing to another prisoner on the upper level. Give this to him."

"Yes, my Lord," said Bellatrix with a reverent bow. Hermione couldn't see what the Master gave her, but heard her exit the room along with the guards.

"I see I have arrived in time," said the Dark Lord with the hint of a laugh. "Are you ready to start the procedure?"

"Yes, my love," replied the Queen. "We are just about to begin."

Hermione strained to turn toward the Dark Lord to see if she could get a look at his face. She could barely move, and couldn't see anything but the terrible machine above her.

"What are you going to do to me?" asked Hermione, her voice cracking a little.

A moment later, she could see the Queen above her, looking down at her. She still couldn't see her face beneath the hood. She could just see blond hair peeking out from under the hood, resting on her shoulder.

"As I said, I need information," replied the Queen. "Detailed information. It's far more than I can get from torturing you. Simple Legilimency would take far too long. I've been waiting hundreds of years for this, I don't want to delay any longer."

Hermione was sure she heard desperation and anxiety in the Queen's voice. She stared up at her hoping she could get a look at her face beneath the hood. Hermione saw the Dark Lord place his hands on her shoulders, and move up behind her.

"Our long quest will soon be ended," said the Dark Lord comfortingly, his voice far less cold and even more familiar to Hermione than before. "I leave this to you, but there are other ways. Perhaps another course of action would be wiser…the redhead perhaps. After all, you could use their relationship to your advantage quite easily."

"No," replied the Queen softly. "If my plan fails, we will need her as leverage to convince him. That could be risky enough, and any other course of action would be even riskier. Time is of the essence, the longer he stays here, the greater the risk to us all."

"Very well, my love," said the Dark Lord. "I trust your judgment. Proceed."

He walked away and Hermione watched the Queen wave her hand. The device above her began to hum and the barrel that pointed at her started glowing red. She could feel the helmet grow warm around her head.

"What are you doing to me?" asked Hermione, as panic began to bubble up inside her.

"This device is my masterpiece," replied The Queen, clearly satisfied with herself. "It incorporates the Legilimens spell and the Cruciatus Curse with some technology I have acquired and some of my own design. Your mind will be an open book to me. No thought, no feeling, no memory will be hidden from me. Brace yourself. This will hurt…just a bit."

"You said you wouldn't hurt me," squeaked Hermione, ashamed of how pathetic she sounded.

"Not exactly," laughed The Queen. "I said you would not be harmed. You won't be. When this is over, you will be completely unharmed. During it and for a while afterwards…well…I'm afraid what little conscious thought you have will be filled with prayers for death so the pain will go away. They will not be answered."

Hermione screamed, but the Queen waved her hand and a gag appeared in Hermione's mouth silencing her. She suddenly felt cold. It wasn't cold like going outside on a winter's day, or even falling into icy water. It felt as if she was becoming cold from the inside out, as if her own blood was literally being turned to ice from the inside.

She started to feel numb, but it was quickly replaced with a dull ache that seemed to hit every inch of her body at once. Hermione watched as the Queen reached up and pulled back her hood. Hermione looked upon the face of the Queen as a horror worse than anything she had ever known swept through her. It was not possible. It couldn't be. She wanted to close her eyes and pretend she hadn't seen the face beneath the hood, but she couldn't, her eyes felt as if they were getting wider by the second.

The Queen smiled above her, and a moment later, Hermione's mind went blank as her soul caught fire.

The Dark Lord looked on as Hermione lay on the table trying unconsciously to scream as she convulsed violently against her restraints. She only managed to make a strangled mewling sound.

"I'll leave you to your work," grinned the Dark Lord. "Remember we have a goal. I know how easily you become lost in your work." The Queen looked up at him and grinned, then turned her attention back to Hermione.

The Dark Lord exited the room. He was sure their long quest was very nearly over and soon they would have that which they had wanted for so long. If all went as planned, very soon all that they desired would be theirs. He headed down the hall, and a moment later, saw Draco walking towards him.

"You summoned me, Master," said Draco with a bow. "I received your note, and did as you commanded."

"Excellent," replied the Dark Lord, motioning for Draco to walk with him. They headed down the hall. "Have you secured the prisoner?"

"Yes," Draco informed him.

"Did he resist?" asked The Master.

"When Bella showed up he did," sighed Draco. "I am pretty sure she is dead in their universe. He was quite shocked. He tried to attack her through the bars of the cell."

"And what did Bella do?" asked the Dark Lord. "As if I don't know."

"She used her favorite curse," said Draco. "She only managed to for a moment before I stopped her. He is unharmed. I saw to it that his injuries were healed. I'm sorry…if I were quicker, I could have stopped her."

"It is not your fault, Draco," growled the Dark Lord. "I believe that Bella and I will have to have a conversation. In any event, The Queen is setting her plan in motion. I feel that our quest will soon be at an end."

Draco smiled. "For so long I've hoped to hear that," said Draco. "Congratulations."

"Don't congratulate me yet," sighed the Dark Lord. "Finding him was but the first part of the plan. The second part may prove more difficult. I am not sure I agree with my wife's chosen method, but she is the smart one…so I will leave it to her."

"Can you not simply compel him to comply?" asked Draco curiously. "I mean surely it would be a simple task to use the Imperious Curse. With all the power at your disposal it should be a simple matter."

The Dark Lord was quiet for a moment. "I fear time is against us, and there is something you should know, Draco," he said, not answering Draco's question. "It is the one thing I have kept from you, and for that I am sorry. It wasn't a lack of trust in you, my friend, but I have always suspected that Bella would grow tired of serving me. The fewer who knew the better, for I am sure she would try to exploit this knowledge."

"What is it?" asked Draco curiously.

"The longer we keep him here, the greater the risk to all of us," said the Dark Lord with just the slightest hint of worry in his voice. "If he realizes the power he possesses here, in this place, it could be disastrous."

"Surely you don't think he could stand against you," said Draco, utterly shocked at his tone of voice. He had never heard him say anything like this before.

"Indeed…I do, Draco," said the Dark Lord coolly. "Ever since he has arrived, I felt my own power become muted. Usually I can sense each and every mind in this castle, but I can't seem to anymore. His presence seems to have canceled out my powers. I have not even told the Queen this. Do not reveal this to anyone."

"Of course…but surely you can still defeat him," said Draco. He could not even conceive of any way The Master could be defeated.

"I am sure I can," said The Master slowly. "I have the skill, experience, and weapons at my disposal he couldn't hope to use. Unfortunately, even in defeat he could destroy everything we've achieved. He is quite possibly the only one in all of existence who can."

A/N: Look for updates this fall/winter.