Sweet Sacrifice

Chapter 9, pt. 1 Finally Free

(Hermione's PoV)

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The sun is bright in my eyes. I open them up and look around; it is early morning, and today, I am the first to awake. Still partially dressed, I carefully get up as to not wake Tom. Reaching into my bra, I pull out the small knife I kept hidden there all night. He is sound asleep, so this should make it easier. I grip the knife more tightly as I watch his chest slowly rise and fall, thinking of how quickly everything in my once happy life changed because of this sadistic man. He raped, murdered, and hurt wizard-kind for far too long, and I intend to make it stop right now. Raising the knife, I hold it over his chest as he slowly opens his eyes.

"Wait! What do you think you're doing?" he hollers. But in a strange twist of irony, I know there is no one here to hear him screaming. Tom tries to stop my hand from going down, but he is still weak from just having woken up. Anger courses through my veins as the memory of my dead sister fill my head. He lets out a loud wail of pain as his blood spatters me, the walls, and the bed.

"That was for Desdemona," I breathe.

He cries out in agony again.

"This is for all the women you've hurt, and all the lives you've destroyed."

I stab him again. As his wails of pain fill the air, he tries to grab the knife out of my hands, but I pull it back from him. I feel a rush come over me as I realize how simple killing someone is. The rush is almost intoxicating... almost addicting.

"And this... this is from me. May you rot in hell, you bastard."

I deliver my final blow... right into the empty void where his heart should have been, but it was not.

Tom gasps for breath - short labored breath - as I drop the knife and leave his room. I do not know if he will die from my attack, as he has many Horcruxes that prevent him from dying, but I do not want to wait and find out. If he survives, he will surely kill me, and I do not want to give him that chance. If I am going to die, and I most certainly will, I want it to be on my terms, not his.

I run down the halls, my bare feet pounding loudly on the wooden floors as I pass through the mansion, up a flight of stairs to the third floor, where I come upon a dead end. The only thing I meet is a small ornate table and a glass vase filled with long-since-dead roses. Above me, I spot a small recess in the ceiling. Perhaps it is an entrance to the attic. I throw aside the vase and climb up on the table, reaching up to the small recess. I push, but it does not budge. I push again, this time with more force, and it slowly starts to move. With it to the side, I hoist myself up, making my way into the attic. Down below, I hear the sounds of creaking floorboards. Not knowing if this is Tom or just the normal sounds from an old house, I hurry along, as I don't know how much time I have and the rush of adrenaline is telling me to get this over quickly.

Across the dusty attic is a window that overlooks the massive grounds, perfect for me to use. It hasn't been opened in ages by the looks of it, but as I pull on it, the rusty hinges break, allowing me to pass through. I stand on the roof, letting the breeze rustle my hair and cool my sweaty face. I am four stories above ground level now. I never expected it to come to this, to end this way; but now that it has, I am faced with no other option. I turn to face the window, extending my arms to the side and lean back into a graceful arch. My feet slowly leave the outlet as memories begin to flood my head....

It was all over within a matter of seconds: My entire life was snuffed out as quickly as the flame of a candle. I look down on the ground, at my lifeless body and at the pool of blood encircling my head like a morbid halo, and realize that I am finally free from of him.

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Chapter 9, pt. 2 One Last Time

(Tom's Pov)

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The pain is excruciating. Each step I take, I feel her stabbing me repeatedly. Thankfully, I did not die from the attack. A normal person would have, but I am no mere person. Every precautionary step I have taken has ensured me eternal life. Yet nothing I do can alleviate this wretched pain.

Though I have performed a self-healing spell on myself, the wounds have not healed thoroughly yet. As such, I find myself stumbling through the mansion as I look for that traitor who stabbed me. She will pay, of course, but merely taking her life would not suit me enough. No, perhaps it would be better to make her endure the torment of watching me as I slaughter the rest of her family one by one....

As I fumble down the stairs, I take a quick peek outside and something catches my eye. I hurry down the remaining few steps when I see something or someone lying on the ground. Throwing open the door, I spot Hermione's lifeless body spread eagled on the ground. Pushing aside her bushy hair and looking down at her half-closed eyes, she appears only to be sleeping or unconscious at most. Placing a finger on her neck, I check for a pulse, but I know there is none to be found. Her heart has stopped beating, but she is still warm to the touch as I wipe away the blood from her mouth. Lifting her head away from the pool of crimson on the ground, I lean down to kiss her one last time the lips.

"Pleasant dreams, Hermione," I hiss at her as I position her mouth into an absurd smile that faces vacantly up at me.

Though I am lucky to be alive after her attack, I am not at ease. Her other friend and my mortal enemy, Harry Potter, is still out there somewhere, searching for the rest of my Horcruxes. If he succeeds in destroying them, I will be dead, but until I know for certain my Horcruxes are safe, I cannot rest. I can only take solace in knowing that he is completely unaware of his two best friends being murdered....

~*~

I stand on the outside of a large brick house looking in through the glass windowpanes. Sitting inside is a distraught family mourning the loss of their two daughters, Desdemona and Hermione, whose bodies I placed on their doorstep. The mother holds Hermione's lifeless body in her arms, not caring that her daughter's blood has now stained her hands a shade of deepest crimson. Her father has tears running down his cheeks. I turn to leave, not wishing to see them. Seeing such emotions is incredible, but these emotions are humanity's downfall... its weakness.

The End