Disclaimer:
Harry Potter and all of its characters belong to J.K. Rowling.
I own nothing but the original characters I make.
"Dialogue"
'Thoughts'
-Author notes-
Chapter 21: The Black Collar
"Here." She guided him into an empty classroom. "This used to be a dueling classroom, but it hasn't been used for over a century."
The room was mostly empty, save for a few desks and some training dummies who had seen better days.
"I sometimes come here when I need to think or just want to be alone, or… never mind." Hermione looked around and found a chair to sit down.
Harry could read the girl like an open book. For all her academic merits, her mental defenses were nonexistent.
'I suppose it makes sense since they don't teach that at Hogwarts.' Harry couldn't recall anything of the sort in the school curriculum.
Hermione was currently feeling embarrassed because she recalled that the last time she visited this room was with Viktor Krum for a quick session of snogging.
She was now looking away so Harry didn't see her red cheeks.
"Is something wrong, Hermione?" Harry took his wand out very slowly as he walked towards her.
"Is nothing." Hermione shook those thoughts out of her head. "We came here to talk about you. Now that we are in private… tell me wh—" She froze.
When she had turned around to look back at Harry, she saw his cold green eyes staring down at her and his wand pointed in her direction.
"Harry?, what are yo—"
"Incarcerous." Magical ropes shot out of his wand and wrapped around her arms and legs.
"What are you doing?!" Hermione yelled, feeling the sensation of panic rising up. "Let me g—ahh!" She lost her balance the moment she tried to move.
Harry grabbed her before she could hit her head on the floor and gently placed her on her back.
"Harry! This is not funny! What is wrong wh—"
"Silencio." He cast the spell and immediately shut her mouth. "You have no idea how long I have been wanting to do that…"
"Mmm!" Hermione furrowed her eyebrows and struggled against her bindings.
"You wanted to know what was wrong with me, yes? Let me tell you a secret, Hermione." He knelt down and whispered into her ear. "I am not Harry Potter."
She opened her eyes widely, showing shock and an increasing amount of fear.
"I love that look." Harry licked his lips and stood up. "One never gets tired of it."
He removed one of his shoes and pulled out a miniaturized leather bag from it, before enlarging it and allowing it to rest on a nearby desk.
"I have something very special prepared for you, Hermione. You are going to the first one."
Harry pulled out a black leather collar and returned to her side.
"Hmm!" Hermione tried to move away, but he grabbed her and held her down with one hand while holding the collar with the other one.
"Don't worry. Soon enough, all of that fear and uncertainty will go away, and you will see things much more clearly." Harry rested the collar on her neck.
As soon as he did this, the artifact came to life and wrapped itself around her skin like a snake, locking itself up at the end, and several runes on the surface of the leather began to shine.
"Looks like it still works." Harry hadn't been one hundred percent sure of that. This is why he chose Hermione as the first target.
If something went wrong, he would just make her disappear. The Ministry was not going to make much of a fuss for one less Muggleborn.
He could see the changes in Hermione almost immediately after the activation of the collar.
Her mind was now being put under a powerful curse that would continue to be empowered by the collar itself, which would at the same time take a small amount of magic from its user to maintain itself in an endless cycle.
The curse would have a very similar effect to the Imperio one, forcing the person to obey his commands, but they would still retain their own personality.
However, he would not have to worry about betrayal, as such a thing would be impossible for someone under the influence of the collar. She will soon be her first and most loyal follower.
Harry stood up and removed the bindings on Hermione, as well as the silencing spell he had placed on her.
She remained on the ground for a bit longer, in a state of stupor, with her eyes glazed over.
Harry waited patiently, as he knew this would pass. It was a normal transition that his former servants had all gone through.
A couple of minutes later, her eyes regained their normal luster and she acted as if she had woken up from a long slumber.
"Ah…" Hermione looked down at herself in confusion. "What happened?"
"Nothing much. Here, let me help you up." Harry extended his hand to her, and she took it. "How are you feeling?"
Hermione looked at Harry. "I'm feeling… fine, I think. My head hurts a little bit." She rubbed her hair.
"It will soon pass." Harry ran his fingers on the collar lightly secured on her neck. She would not notice that the collar was on her. Neither would anyone who looked at her.
"Tell me, Hermione… are you mine?"
"Of course." She answered with no hesitation, as if the answer was obvious to her.
"Will you do anything I say?" he asked her.
"Yes." She again answered with no hesitation.
"Let's see about that." He pointed down. "Lick my shoes."
This command was to be completely sure that the collar was working properly, as this was something that the real Hermione would never do if she still had her own free will.
Without wasting a moment, she knelt down in front of him and gave his shoes a few licks until he stopped her.
"Very well, stand up." Harry was feeling satisfied with the results.
He had gained his first servant. Many more would come after that.
However, for the moment, he only had two more collars, so he would have to be careful with the next choices. These artifacts were not easy to make, and he no longer had his old workshop.
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