A/N: Hello and welcome to the sequel of Here I Dreamt I Was A Rosier! I have been editing this story over the past couple of weeks, hoping to clean up some errors and making it generally more readable. While it's certainly not perfect, I think it is better than the first iteration. There are still some significant areas where it could be improved in terms of characterizations and plotting. This story definitely contains some Dumbledore/Ron bashing that I think could be handled more artfully than I've done here. Perhaps someday I will work on a true rewrite of this story, to help clear those issues up. Still, I hope that you will enjoy this story for what it is.

You can follow me on tumblr (nauticalparamour) where I post sneak peeks, story updates and answer questions!

"Why Severus, isn't this a surprise," Lord Voldemort said, though he wasn't surprised to see one of his most trusted men. It was nearly impossible to sneak up on the Dark Lord.

He was sitting in a lavish chair, behind a large desk, reading the Daily Prophet. Usually he didn't bother with the news, but his Death Eaters had recently infiltrated the newspaper's executive staff more thoroughly, and it didn't hurt to check up on it now and again to see if the stories seemed favorable. Nagini was coiled up one of his legs, before wrapping around his waist, with her head resting around his shoulders. She was flicking her tongue out to taste the air for his dark haired friend.

"My Lord, forgive me for the unannounced intrusion, but I have some news that might be...useful to you. It's about the girl," Severus said brusquely.

Well, that certainly peaked the Dark Lord's interest. He'd been quite interested in Hermione Granger ever since she'd appeared in his Diary, a horcrux that was still connected to him. "How is that naughty little Gryffindor, my friend?" he asked, knowing that it didn't hurt to keep tabs on the girl.

"She grows unhappy with her treatment at the hands of the Order, my Lord. They have refused to allow her to continue her schooling or leave their safe house. She is a prisoner at Order Headquarters," Severus responded, painting a very dire picture for the former golden girl. Severus wanted to be exceedingly cautious while proceeding with his news. He wasn't entirely sure if the Dark Lord would see Hermione's predicament as a good thing or not. "She has revealed to me today that she hasn't had her menses in two months. She believes that she is pregnant."

The Dark Lord's face was transformed by a mischievous smirk that reminded Snape of the man the Dark Lord had been before he'd been felled that October so many years ago. "Hmm. And so, Severus, I am to believe that you would like to remove her from the situation with the Order and bring her under my protection," he said astutely, making Severus wonder if the other man had penetrated his thoughts, though he knew that he did not.

"She would be easy enough to use. She does excellent research and loves learning. If she were safe here and permitted to continue her schooling, she could be easily persuaded to contribute to spell and potion creation as well as research for our side," Severus babbled out nervously, trying to make the best case for Hermione to join them. He knew that he would have to frame it to the Dark Lord as how useful a tool she would become to make it attractive, and he felt badly at reducing her to that. However, Hermione was being used by the Order as well, but this way at least she would be able to continue her schooling.

"Yes, I know how smart she was from our interactions," the Dark Lord responded, a barely concealed smile on his thin lips. He stared at Snape, as if daring him to mention what had transpired between Tom Riddle and Hermione Granger. His mind spun with all possibilities, considering the situation. "You know that there would be a price Severus. Would she be willing to pay it?" It would do him no good if the girl strove to fight him at every turn.

"I can't allow you to harm the child," Severus said desperately, showing an emotional attachment he didn't know the dour man possessed. "I will help her care for it, if she requires it."

Voldemort let out a chuckle in surprise. Snape shivered looking at the horrendously pale man before him. "Don't tell me you love the girl, Severus," he pressed, his brow furrowed in amusement.

Snape gave a shudder, at the implication that he would be romantically interested in his former student. "No, of course not, my Lord. Not romantically," he answered. "I see much of myself in her. I rather think that if I had procreated, my progeny would be rather like her. Any love I feel for her is purely paternal."

The Dark Lord gave him a hard look, wondering how Snape could complicate his explanation so much. "Very well. No harm will come to the child, but allow me to explain her payment myself. Bring her here as soon as possible Severus," he ordered. With that, the Dark Lord picked up the newspaper, effectively dismissing the younger wizard from his office.

Hermione was clutching the jacket around her body tightly. Her small beaded purse was at her side, with everything that the Order had let her keep in her room, which was, tragically, not much at all. She supposed she should be glad that she'd even been able to take her wand with her. She just hoped that she and Snape would make it to the protection of the Death Eaters before the Order discovered their treachery. There was no going back now.

She wondered how everything had gone so sideways that she was now looking to the Dark Lord, a man who'd tried to kill her and her friends multiple times, for protections, while it was the Order that had locked her away like a prisoner. While she knew that they would blame it on her actions, Hermione refused to feel guilty for trying to change Tom Riddle.

Snape had insisted that they travel like muggles, knowing that the Order would be unable to track their movements. They had apparated from Grimmauld Place out to Swansea in Wales, where Snape said he needed to collect ingredients for potions. From there, they caught the train to Paddington Station, where they switched to the Underground, hopping onto the District Line. Their destination was also in Greater London, like Grimmauld Place, but they kept as far away from Islington as they possibly could.

Hermione's heart was pounding so loudly that she could barely hear the female voice that announced the stations. She hadn't been able to stop looking around the train with wild eyes, sure that the doors would open, just to show the disappointed look of Dumbledore or Remus or Tonks. Her eyes darted up to the tiny map that showed their current location. Just six stops and they would be off the Tube, she told herself. Hermione knew it was unlikely that they would bump into someone from the Order on the Underground, but she couldn't help but feel like everyone was looking at them.

She smiled to herself despite the fear. They probably were. Snape didn't really fit in in the muggle world, despite growing up there.

"The Next Station is: Victoria. This is a District Line train with service to: Upminster." Hermione relaxed infinitesimally as the disembodied female voice announced their station. Snape nodded, and she stood, making her way to the door of the subway car. The Order would have noticed by now that it was taking them too long to just be gathering potions ingredients, so she felt better knowing that they were nearly to the cocoon of Death Eater safety.

Hermione followed her imposing professor out of the car to the escalator, which they proceeded to walk up. Leave it to Snape to walk up moving stairs, Hermione thought with a roll of her eyes. When they left the Underground, they entered the streets and walked for a while. A classic London fog had settled on the City streets once the sun had gone down, creating an eerie feeling to the city. Hermione felt like she was walking through a Sherlock Holmes mystery.

She looked around in awe at all of the beautiful row houses. Of course, Death Eater headquarters would be in Belgravia, she thought with a roll of her eyes.

Hermione sat nervously with Snape on the couch in the parlor, her legs tucked at the ankles demurely. Voldemort was sitting across from them in a wide armchair, his red eyes never leaving the odd pair that had joined him. They were waiting for the house elf to return with tea, an odd formality that had Hermione on edge. She was trembling, waiting for him to speak, knowing that she was completely at Voldemort's mercy.

She hadn't looked at him since they sat down. It was scary to see elements of her Tom in the snakelike man that now existed, but she tried to remind herself that they were not one in the same. Voldemort's body seemed like marble, cold and white. He had lost all of his hair and his once dark and mysterious eyes were now a strange red-brown, almost like the color of dried blood. He has still imposing though, and his lips were the same as ever. Unbidden, the memory of what it was like to kiss him burst into her mind.

"Well, Hermione, I must say that you are looking much thinner than the last time that I saw you," Voldemort finally spoke, breaking the silence.

Hermione stiffened, and made eye contact with him, knowing that he was not asking out of any concern for her wellbeing. "I am sure Professor Snape told you how they were treating me. It shouldn't come as a surprise," she responded, feeling defensive. She wasn't really sure how she should behave around him. Hermione knew he was the most dangerous wizard alive, but she felt like she knew a softer side to him.

"Yes, being forced to live in a cage and eat by yourself can be... unsatisfying. I hope that you will be able to eat meals with the rest of my Death Eaters." He pursed his lips in a self-satisfied way, perhaps knowing that she would find that distasteful. "Now, go ahead. I can tell you are brimming with questions to ask me."

Hermione bit her lip, and looked to Snape for reassurance. Although his face did not move, his eyes were comforting. "I am afraid I still don't really understand what happened with the diary...my time in the past," she broached the topic cautiously. "I don't believe Dumbledore understood it either."

"Yes, it seems that the basilisk fang did not completely destroy my soul, it merely weakened it, much like a virus is weakened in order to be turned into a vaccine. Imagine my surprise when I had two rowdy teenagers suddenly pushed into a world that's existence was tied to my soul. You generally had control over the situation, but from time to time I would step in, and take control of my "body" in that world if it suited me," he explained smoothly.

"So you know and felt everything that happened?" Hermione asked, unsure if she should be glad or mortified.

"Yes, and I felt the need to show certain parts to my most loyal of followers. Bella is looking forward ever so much to seeing you," he teased with a malevolent grin.

Hermione shuddered. That didn't sound good, but then again, Voldemort had promised that no harm would come to her.

"But we do have the annoying little problem that now your soul and my soul are bonded," he continued on, watching her face for a reaction.

That hit Hermione like a bucket of ice water. "I had worried that there might be...real world consequences to my time interacting with the diary, with your soul," she said, cautiously.

"I have some theories that I would like to test out with that bond, but the good news is this way I don't need to brand you with the Dark Mark, because I can always feel you," he said far too cheerily. Hermione had worried that might be the case, because she could feel the connection to her own soul, tugging, like a constant pull. Before Hermione was able to tell him that she never would have agreed to take the Dark Mark, he was looking past her. "Ahh, Nagini, come in!" Voldemort called out with a little too much pluck for someone who has calling to a giant snake.

"I do hope you will permit me this one little preliminary test, Hermione," he placated, though she knew he would do whatever he wanted with or without her permission. The familiar and casual usage of her name made Hermione feel warm and surprised. Perhaps he was just affected as she was.

"Ahh, master, she looks exactly the same as I remember."

Hermione blinked at the snake a couple of times, clearly perplexed to realize that she had seemingly understood the series of hisses. "Did I just hear Nagini speak?" she questioned dubiously.

"Excellent, excellent. Yes, Hermione, you did, and you responded in parseltongue. It is probably due to the fact that our souls are essentially, as one, but it might also be the child that you carry," Voldemort breezed through the explanation, not stumbling on the fact that she was possibly pregnant.

Hermione blanched. He spoke so jovially, this was maybe the nicest and most talkative she had ever seen him - and she had been married to him for a short two days! She wondered if he was just trying to keep her off kilter. "Professor Snape told you about that," Hermione said calmly, though her heart was beating wildly in her chest. "Well, I guess that's a little weight off my shoulders." She hadn't fancied trying to bring up that topic with the man in front of her.

The smirk that Voldemort gave Hermione made her pause for a moment. "Yes, and so then, let's get to the discussion of payment. The child..." he trailed off, purposefully menacing.

Hermione jumped to her feet, her nostrils flaring in anger. "I won't let you take it or harm it or make me get rid of it! It's mine!" she shouted with her arms criss-crossed over her still flat stomach. She didn't care if he was the most dangerous wizard alive, he would have to go through her first to get to the baby.

Voldemort's chuckling made her face turn blank. "Don't worry, I won't take it or make you get rid of it. We will discuss it when the child arrives," he said, waving away some of her fears. "But, your wellbeing is dependent on the child, which is very useful to me. We will have to have you looked at by a healer, to confirm the pregnancy and make sure that the child is okay."

Hermione sat back down and nodded, although she didn't remove her arms from her waist. It almost seemed as if he was only keeping her around because of the child. "So then...what does this child put between us? Are you going to be its...father? You said our souls were still bonded, and they were initially bonded in a marriage ceremony. Does that mean we are still married?" she wondered aloud, feeling utterly confused.

Voldemort was silent for a while. "The child...it would be useful to have someone to teach and impart my wisdom to. I have not yet decided how involved I will be in its upbringing. And, yes, we would still be considered as married, but...I will only act as your teacher here," he said, though his eyes looked her over with what seemed like longing.

Hermione didn't know what to think about that. She was annoyed that she was still married to him, but she didn't necessarily want to resume a physical relationship with a man who was virtually unknown to her. He was not her Tom. But, did that mean she could take another lover? Would she ever be able to get married again? Would she want to? The only people she would be seeing here would be Death Eaters. If they left this space, a Lestrange property, or if the war was over, would Voldemort ever want to change their relationship? It made her head spin thinking of all the possibilities.

"What will you be teaching me?" she asked, her head tilted to the side.

Voldemort felt desire spread through his body, remembering the delights that they had already shared together. She had no idea how heady her words could be to a man.

"Part of your reason for joining me was the desire to continue your education. You should be happy to know that Pius Thicknesse, who is now a Death Eater and who will soon be the Minister of Magic, will be happy to arrange for you to take your NEWTs. I expect you to take nine. I will be teaching you the arts of Occlumency and Legilimency. This is of course, not on any exam, but as I remember you had great promise in these skills, much like Severus did. Severus, will be continuing your Potions curriculum," he explained.

This made Hermione feel much more comfortable with the situation. "And I am to teach myself on the rest of my subjects?" she asked, eager to get her hands on books once again.

Voldemort gave her a small smile. He had no doubt she could do it, but that was not the plan.
"Let's go meet your other professors shall we?" he offered, standing up.

Hermione followed Voldemort up the stairs to the dining room in the narrow terrace house they would be residing in. She followed him down the dark hallway, until they entered the room. The room, which sounded lively prior to their entrance, became silent after numerous murmurs of "My Lord".

Voldemort nudged her to stand in front of him keeping his hand on her shoulder. He was still so much taller than she was. She gasped, seeing the room filled with the Death Eaters of her nightmares. Bellatrix, in particular, had her wide, crazy eyes trained on Hermione, and it seemed like she was trying to burn a hole through the younger girl.

Voldemort started speaking. "Bella will be teaching you Dark Arts. Her sister, Narcissa, will be teaching you Charms. Her husband, Lucius Malfoy, will be teaching History of Magic. Antonin Dolohov will be teaching you Transfiguration. Bella's husband Rodolphus Lestrange, whose home you are residing in, will teach you Herbology. His brother Rabastan will teach you Arithmancy. The werewolf, Fenrir Greyback, will be teaching you...Astronomy," he described, going around the table of his most loyal followers. Hermione's stomach dropped with each subsequent name. "And finally, for Ancient Runes, you remember your old friend Ted Nott."

She could practically hear smile in his amused voice. Hermione's eyes widened, taking in the sight of the much, much older version of her Teddy. Immediately, she felt her cheeks heat in embarrassment, ans she wondered how much of her time in the diary Nott was aware of. Did he see eager kisses and dances in the Great Hall at Hogwarts?

Voldemort removed his hand from her shoulder abruptly. "Come along, Severus, I have business to discuss with you," he ordered. The two men in question swooped out of the room, leaving Hermione alone with all of her "professors."