Chapter 5
Hermione POV
At the house, Hermione turned around, inspecting her new residence. The ground floor had a sitting area, and the room beside it opened into a wide kitchen, and there was another closed room beside the kitchen. When she unlatched it, the room she now stood in was a potioneer's dream. Neatly filed shelves with rare ingredients, and on one of them she read 'veela hair' containing bright silvery hair. She wanted to stay in that room to look her fill of all the jars, but she was pulled out from there.
She looked askance at her husband who held her arm firmly. "Can't I explore the house?"
"You can. But I am taking you to meet the house-help," Voldemort stated matter-of-factly.
Hermione was silent as she was led back to the sitting area. There, standing near the door was a woman of medium-build. She was broad, and ruddy-checked. She curtseyed to them both, murmuring, "Milord. Milady."
"Hermione, this is Alice. She manages the cooking and cleaning." Just then, a young man with shoulder-length black hair appeared on the doorway, and gave a deep bow, "My Lord."
"And this is Sir Neville. He shall be your guard while you're here. If you venture out for herb-foraging, he goes with you."
"We are famished, please see to the cooking, Alice." Looking down at her, he mentioned, "Lady Hermione does not eat any meat. For now, rice broth and vegetable stew should do for her."
Gesturing to Neville he said, "And Neville, draw the bath water and get it to the room."
With a nod to Sir Neville, Voldemort swept out of the room, still holding her arm taking her upstairs. The upper floor had three rooms. He gestured to the left-most, "That's my study", pointing to the room next to it, "that's the bedroom" and pointing to the last room, "that's the store-room."
Taking her with him, he opened the bedroom. The room was a bit dusty, and Hermione had a coughing fit. She drew her sleeve over her nose and mouth.
A moment later, Voldemort had pulled out his wand, white, sharp and hook-handled, sweeping it in a short arch, all the dust gathered and was banished out the window on their left.
There was silence. The awkward kind. She was alone with her husband for the first time. And what should she call him? So she started with that.
"What should I call you? I mean, in private," she finished slowly.
"You will address me formally."
"Even when it's just the two of us," she asked, incredulity colouring her voice.
"Yes, even then."
Their tense silence was broken by Sir Neville bringing in a big tub and setting it beside the huge trunk in the room. In three trips, he filled the tub with warm water.
When she looked expectantly at him expecting him to leave the room, he didn't take any notice and moved to the trunk, pulling out his nightgown from there. It seemed he was not going to go out till he was told to. Or did he expect to use the bath first and have another drawn up for her.
"Are you going to go out?" she asked him.
Looking up from the trunk with a puzzled expression, he asked "What for?"
"I would like to take my bath now."
"We will take one together."
"No we can't—
"Why can't we, we are already married." With a clunk, he shut the trunk, and turned to face her. "We'll be doing much more tonight. A little nudity during the bath should not faze you."
She paled at his meaning. He wished to consummate tonight. She scarcely had time to think anything, when he started unbuttoning the black coat with the snake insignia that he had worn. Placing that on the trunk, he had swiftly unbuttoned his white shirt underneath.
She quickly turned her back, her face flushed red. He couldn't expect her to be so daring, to be so...so free with him when they had barely been married a day.
But like yesterday, he did not give her any respite. It was as though he were deliberately forcing her to quickly adapt to the new things he was thrusting at her.
He'd come behind her and grabbing her shoulders, turned her around to face him. With a quick glance, she knew he stood naked before her. She couldn't even glance down, for fear of looking at his manhood. So she kept her gaze level with his chest. His chest was another story though. The skin was pale like the rest of him, but a deep puckered scar ran from his right shoulder, arrowing down nearly to his waist. The skin had healed, but badly. She didn't have time to mull too much over his scar for he had grabbed her chin, forcing her gaze upwards.
"We're doing this tonight Hermione. There's no point in delaying it. Maybe with time we might bring pleasure to each other, but tonight is about sealing the marital vows. You know the magic will not recognize us as married till we have consummated it."
She swallowed. Of course she knew how magic worked. A lifetime vow like marriage, connected the individuals with a cord. Especially with people who had magic, marriage could easily be verified by the cord connecting them. Before consummation, the cord between the couple was always amorphous. It gained clear shape after consummation. The cord was obviously not visible, but a simple spell unveiled its existence, or non-existence.
The matter-of-fact expression on his face, strengthened her own resolve. As he dropped his hands from her she started unbuttoning her own gown. The front buttons were easily undone, she did not stop till she was in her chemise and drawers. Her hands trembled then. Seeing her hesitate, Voldemort stepped to her again, easily peeling off her chemise, and pulling down her drawers. She did not even have time to feel embarrassed for he had lifted her with one arm under her back and her legs over his left arm. Thus, he quickly carried her to the tub, seating them both in the warm water.
He was in a hurry. They were both quickly soaped up and washed. He pulled her out and without the benefit of a towel, he used a wordless spell to dry them both.
His speed slowed down when he had moved them to the bed. Normally she would have been out of her wits with a naked man, but it was his quickness that kept Hermione from overthinking, and strangely, after their bath, she had grown used to being pressed to his naked form. It was now, that he looked down at her that some uncertainty showed on his face as he asked her, "Have you done this before?"
Words had become difficult for her, and so she just shook her head.
He expelled a huge sigh, rubbing the bridge of his nose before stating, "The first time might be painful for you. I'll try to be careful."
That small concession from him was enough to loosen some of her nerves.
He bent down, pressing a small kiss to the corner of her lips. Slowly he coaxed her lips open, and after the tentative meeting of their tongues, Hermione grew bolder. She put her arms around him and pulled him down to her. Her shyness going away in increments, she vowed to herself that she wouldn't take her deflowering like an unresponsive sloth, but participate fully, even if she had no experience. With their marriage, they had promised fidelity to each other, and that meant he was going to be her only lover, just as she would be the only woman he could have sex with. Usually, marriages like hers, that were politically motivated, did not include fidelity vows. She had been surprised to hear the fidelity vows at their marriage, and even more surprised to know that the fidelity vow was phrased to include them both. Since, they were the only ones for each other now, she would learn to enjoy the sexual act with her husband.
Her resolve to enjoy the sexual act had died a swift death after penetration. The foreplay before that had been pleasant, but she couldn't get in the mood to participate when she felt the pain, and it wasn't going away. Silent tears tracked down her eyes.
Voldemort had finished inside her, and he pulled out quickly. Rubbing her eyes, she lifted herself to see that he was donning his nightgown and from the looks of it, he was planning to leave her. She wasn't going to have that.
"Don't go."
He stopped when he was nearly to the door. Turning around, he asked her, "Haven't you had enough of me today?"
Her anger spiked at this, and she nearly shouted at him, "So that's it. 'Wham, bam, thank you ma'am', that's how you are going to treat me." After having coitus, he was just leaving her—and she couldn't understand it, but that felt wrong. Even if her first experience was nothing to write poems about, he had been considerate of her, and after sharing an incredibly intimate experience, she didn't want to be left alone. Somehow, that felt even worse, than not climaxing.
For the first time that night, in all his blasé manner, he was looking at her with surprise and incredulity. Finally he said, "You were crying. I thought you'd had enough of my company."
"I want you to stay. Please."
Wordlessly, he came back to the bed. When he lay down, Hermione moved his arm from his side, and lay on him putting her arms around him. A moment later, his arms curled around her and his gentle strokes lulled her to sleep.
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Lord Voldemort POV
Hermione was sleeping soundly beside him. Her face on his chest, her arm thrown proprietarily over his torso.
Casting slowly so as not to wake her, he spoke in a low voice, "Revelare Matrimonium Vinculum." A soft golden glow encompassed Hermione's left hand, and a similar glow encompassed his right hand, and connected together in a golden bond. The bond had embedded in the hands they had held together while speaking their marital vows. They were unquestionably married now. As he released the spell, the bond disappeared from view.
Taking her brown lock, he twirled it around his finger. Hermione, she was full of surprises. He never expected that show of temper from her at the end. But perversely, he found that she looked pretty when her eyes sparked with anger. Thinking about it some more, he realized it wasn't her anger, but her spirit, which so captivated him. She had been unschooled but passionate with her kisses. Looking down at her, he could hardly believe he had gotten married. He had not set out for Briarwood with a marriage alliance in mind, but now that he had her, she was absolutely his. His arms tightened possessively around her as he was lulled to sleep by the warmth of her beside him.