Eternity

She watched as the owl flew away after drinking a bit of water from the bowl she had placed beside the window. In her hand, she was holding a piece of parchment it had delivered to her three minutes ago.

It had been almost fifty years since she had been imprisoned in this place. Somehow, she believed that it was because he had found out somewhere along the line that she was different from other people.

She smiled resentfully at that assessment. Different. She was very different from a lot of people. Not because she was a Muggle-born or because she was more intelligent than most of the other wizards and witches out there.

Because she was a time-traveler. And she was a time-traveler who had fallen in love with one of the darkest wizards in history.

Hermione Granger looked down at the parchment in her hand. It was rolled up with a silver band around its middle. She ran her finger over the ring gently.

As much as she despised him for locking her away in this place, she could not stop herself from loving him.

The cabin she was living in was located on the top of some mountain. The place was strangely beautiful and peaceful with a small stream on one side of the cottage. The only season she had seen while she was there was spring. Therefore, flowers bloomed throughout the whole year. It was almost like some sort of mythical place she had read about.

Hermione was mesmerized by the place but it did not stop her from cursing or worrying whenever she thought about the things that were happening outside of the wards he had conjured around the area.

The wards were not only to prevent other people from finding her. It also prevented her from ever stepping out of this little so-called paradise.

He always brought her books when he visited to keep her entertained while he was gone. It never took her too long to finish the books since they were immensely interesting and she also wanted to spend some time looking for ways out of the wards.

She had tried many ways to get out of her prison. Yet, she knew that as intelligent as she was, she did not know as much Dark magic as he did. She was pretty sure that that was what he had used to trap her here.

She took off the ring from the parchment and walked over to a table in her room. She pulled open the topmost drawer. Inside were more rings similar to the one she had just received. She gently placed the ring in there with the rest of them. She then unrolled the letter.

Hermione,

I trust that you are, as always, agitated, but I wish for you to share the triumph with me. Dumbledore had finally fallen by the hands of Severus a week prior. Young Malfoy was supposed to have done the job, as I had mentioned in my last letter, but from what I've heard from my Death Eaters, he had failed. Nevertheless, the old fool is finally gone.

As delighted as I am, I'm regretful to say that I won't be able to meet with you this month. With Dumbledore gone, taking over the Ministry would not be hard. There is nothing left to stop me. When the world finally falls into my hands and Potter is dead, I will bring you over to our new home. Then, we shall be together. I, once again, wish for your understanding. I do not want you in harm's way. If the Ministry or the Order knows about you, I have no doubt that they would find you a useful object to hinder me.

I hope to meet with you next month but in current situations, I cannot guarantee it.

Lord Voldemort

She almost wanted to burn the letter right then and there. Understanding. How could he ask for her understanding when she was the one who was being trapped in the cabin? He had no idea how frustrated she was, knowing what would happen in the future.

She had never told him that she had come from the future. She did not want to change the future, as tempting as it was. Then again, she did not know if she could change the future even if she had told him the truth.

She was hoping to see him. If Dumbledore was dead, that meant that she had only one year left with him.

She closed her eyes sadly and bit the insides of her lips.

~-0-~

True to his words, he had Apparated in two months after she had received the letter from him. She screamed and yelled at him to let her out, to be beside him. He, however, just looked at her with his crimson eyes, waiting for her to finish screaming before he pulled her into an embrace and captured her lips. As much as he had complained about her talking too much, he always respected her enough to let her finish her rants.

After that time, it had been nine months since she had seen him. She could hardly sleep during the nights as she thought about what was about to happen. She had long forgotten the exact date in which Harry would kill him – or rather, when the curse would rebound on him. After all, it had been fifty years. Therefore, her only relief was when she received his daily letters.

~-0-~

One day, he Apparated in again. She pleaded with him not to leave. He looked at her strangely since there was never a time when she had not screamed at him for trapping her in the little bubble.

She knew that the day was approaching soon. For once, she wished that all she had read was obsolete and that history could be changed.

However, the next day, she woke up alone in the bed. Tears fell from her eyes as she looked at the pile of books he had left on the table for her.

~-0-~

The day the letters stopped, she did not cry. It was not the letters that informed her of his death. As she walked around the cabin, trying to find a way out again, she accidentally tripped and fell on the floor.

The wards were gone.

She felt a sinking feeling in her stomach as she ran into her cabin and slammed the door shut behind her. She climbed into the bed and willed herself to sleep. Once she woke up, the letter would arrive and the wards would be back where it was before.

As much as she tried, she could not fall asleep.

She wanted to lie to herself that it was because he had manipulated the wards so she could have more freedom before his supposed victory.

The denial could not be upheld any longer when an owl with his letter did not appear.

As tears fell from her eyes, she laughed bitterly at the irony.

At last, she was freed from the prison.

But now, she would give up anything to be locked back into that little bubble of mocked paradise.

~-0-~