I agree with you there. Maybe if Dumbledore visited Tom during his 10 year isolation that wish of Voldy could've been granted by someone destroying his horocruxes & a 2nd war would've been avoided

Yea she probably did influence his life in a positive way. But Tom isn't capable of love, he hated the orphanage & probably would never see her worth bc he couldn't love. I can see him sparing her but more because he didn't hunt down each & every person from the orphanage. He has a list and he's checking it twice

When he said 'why wasn't I enough for you?'
IT BROKE MY HEART
Im crying so damn hard

*licking his shoes (not kissing sorry) . Ewww . That's not even a gesture of worship/ respect o.O . It is simply disgusting and yet an other bit that humiliates and debases Bella by using the' loyal / crazy ' card . I am not even sure Voldemort would appreciate that . Unless it came from Wormtail or one of his enemies he had managed to break . Bellatrix aka his apprentice, most loyal Death Eater / last , best lieutenant and mother of his child ( and the only death he tried to avenge) can't relate .
PS : I wasn't really a fan of Rowling deciding to give Bellatrix and Voldemort a child but I confess that after reading so many fics full of degradation and bias when it comes to Bella as a character and her relationship with Voldemort in particular - I am rather glad the clown came back to bite some people . I confess I get a certain pleasure out of it and it's not even about 'shipping ' really . Bellatrix in the end got what she wanted and canonically played on many levels ( pupil, most faithful follower and baby mama hahah ). No one else can compare (but Nagini ). His daughter indeed deserves a chapter too for being his only family and the one he made a true second in command in that AU but the fic has wrapped up so it's okay .

The only impactful women in Voldemort's life were Merope , Lily , Bellatrix , Mrs Cole and Nagini . The rest either were non factors (Hermione ) or completely random /transitory ( Amy, Minerva) . My favorite was the Nagini chapter . I disliked the Bellatrix one unfortunately . It wasn't Bellatrix who made Tom turn into Voldemort ahahha as one of the reviews said . No , he was Voldemort when she met him . He MADE her on the other hand ( just watch Row's interview about how Bella needed a male presence to unleash her darkness *more or less * ) but it was Azkaban that truly broke her .
He contributed though . It was him who nourished her talent , sadism and cruelty and that is why HE was the mentor and SHE the apprentice ( Bella said so herself ). She never made him snap or anything and obviously she didn't get off while being tortured . The mere idea he was mad at her would have been unbearable and canonically she was begging him not to punish her at the Ministry . Bella coming while being tortured doesn't seem likely . She enjoyed causing pain but there is no hint she enjoyed being caused pain . In fact that Ministry scene hints at the opposite ( that she very much didn't want Voldemort to be punish her or be angry at her ) . From the kissing of his boots ( something we never saw in the books cause what we DID saw was his Death Eaters kiss the hem of his robe ) to her getting off while being tortured ( though canonically she was begging him not to punish her / being super sad and afraid ) the Bellatrix chapter is pure humiliation and degradation . Nothing about her being his apprentice , nothing about her being ' Bella' , nothing about the Hufflepuff cup , nothing about her being the only one/one of the few who didn't betray him , nothing about him being ' the happiest in 14 years ' when she and others finally escaped from Azkaban , nothing about the Longbottom attack , nothing substantial about her intelligence or skill (though in many ways she was both THE Death Eater and The Pureblood in the books ) , not much about her singular loyalty and devotion , nothing about the Ministry episode ( he saved her didn't her ? ) and nothing about her grand finale aka her death from Voldemort's eyes ( a truly poignant moment ) . Nothing in a nutshell that truly underlines her impact as a Death Eater and woman in Voldemort's life and nothing that underlines her singular ( as far as canon goes ) relationship with Voldemort . It is not about it being 'romantic ' lmao , it is simply a case of it being Voldemort's only nuanced and juicy canon relationship with a human being . It is about Bellatrix being the only human being who pulled a reaction out of him when she died which was similar to Nagini's loss so the parallelism is obvious . It is about giving credit where credit is due in a way . I agree that Hermione and Minerva were unnecessary additions given the fact that it was a canon compliant fic . Ginny indeed would have made canon sense and even in that case the term ' impact ' can't be used . At least Minerva was more or less a peer and he did duel with her in the last battle but Hermione made no sense . Voldemort literally never gave the slightest indication he knew or cared that there was a girl named Hermione that was living and breathing somewhere .
I also found the implication that Voldemort was asexual arbitrary and time proved me right as it seems he and Bellatrix went there . Rodolphus didn't seem to mind either but the mere idea that Bella would care about being married is laughable anyways . In fact again since we are discussing canon , Voldemort is canonically the only character that mentions the notion of desire in those books #justsaying
Nagini gets the royal treatment as she deserves . Being an animal has its privileges hehe . I have nothing against Tomione but there is a time and place for everything and a canon compliant fic is not it . She simply doesn't belong in a story that features women who truly mattered to Voldemort and shaped him . Neither does Minerva or that Amy girl but still they get more of a pass cause there is some ( scarce ) canon material there . At least they came face to face at some point you know XP Voldemort was totally a psychopath , mental illness was part of his genetic make up and we saw how twisted and sadistic he was from the moment Dumbledore met him . He needed professional help that he didn't get and his lonely and sad childhood definitely aggravated his illness . He was sick though from the very start . And I don't see Tom and Voldemort as separate entities myself .

Years later we learn that Nagini was once a woman and a decent human being. Years later and we find out that Bellatrix and Voldemort indeed had THAT type of relationship as they even had a child . Years later and we find out that Voldemort had a daughter named Delphini who definitely deserves a chapter in this story. Besides Merope and Lily who respectively symbolize the beginning and the 'end ' of Tom / Voldemort's life - the trinity are definitely Nagini , Bellatrix and Delphini .

As for there being similarities between Voldemort and Hermione I disagree. They were both very intelligent but Voldemort was a genius. Hermione was sharp and studious. She was the academic type but she didn't really excel in the Dark Arts ( which were Voldemort's passion ) and I wasn't under the impression she was a great duelist either . She was not very creative ala Snape , not a great warrior ala Bellatrix or a trailblazer like Voldemort. Her strengths were her analytical skills / intelligence and work eithic cause she was not the effortlessly brilliant type of student either . She worked hard and was rather conventional in her approach to magic ( the opposite of Voldemort). Her being Minister of Magic suits her just fine while Voldemort would have never done that and I can't envision him as one either ( and neither could he apparently). They were both raised among muggles but both Hermione parents were muggles and she didn't despise them ( muggles) unlike Voldemort.
He was one of those things that happens only once hence him being one of the all time greats and THE darkest wizard of all times . Hermione was the brightest witch of her generation. Before her there had been others like Lily who was a superior witch as she was very creative with potions and spells and a top notch Auror. Or even Bellatrix who even according to Harry who hated her guts was an exceptional witch .
In fact as I said Hermione is an academic, not a great talent. Voldemort was both and more .
Comparing them does a disservice to Voldemort's character. Compare him to Dumbeldore who was truly in his league or maybe superior. Even Snape (or even Lily who duelled him twice ) are more worthy of the comparison . And in terms of personality they obviously had little in common as well. Even in terms of intellect they are not comparable in fact . Voldemort was a visionary, Hermione was simply one of the brightest girls in Hogwarts ( maybe the brightest ) . They don't play in the same league and they wouldn't even if they had been peers . Once again Tom was one the most brilliant student Hogwarts had ever seen according to Dumbledore.
Do I think Voldemort would have tried to recruit her had the circumstances been different? Yes . Do I think he would be super impressed with her and lost his sleep over her ? Not as all . He had seen , met , fought and recruited some great talents ( greater talents / elements than Hermione ) during his life.
Barty ,Snape and Bellatrix among his DE to being with . Also Lily whom he wanted to recruit and I don't think Hermione was a more impressive witch than her ( and she was a muggle born too btw ). He offered her a place in his ranks , she declined and he called it a day . And he actually had some reasons to mull Lily over in his mind cause her protective spell caused his downfall ( and he admitted himself that was genius). Hermione was simply irrelevant to him . I don't think she ever crossed his mind to be honest . Let alone him bothering to ' analyze ' her ( no more than he bothered to analyze Ron ) . He only gave a damn about Harry who was his arch enemy .
Only Merope , Lily , Nagini , Bellatrix and Delphi marked his life for better of worse .
Minerva, Hermione, ect ect are characters he never acknowledged or interacted with tbh .
I don't see how they ' marked ' him or his path .

This was a good fic overall but if it was supposed to be canon compliant I don't understand why Hermione was included ? Did Voldemort in the books ever directly acknowledge her existence? Did they ever met face to face ? From reading this chapter you would think he was rather infatuated with her and she was the most relevant woman in his life lol . If we stick to canon she was perhaps the least relevant one and I am not even sure he ever spared her a thought besides as maybe an extension of Harry . Merope , Lily , Bellatrix and Nagini I agree cause they all had an undeniable impact on his life one way or an other but Hermione ? Also the others were kinda fillers too imo . I especially found the Bellatrix chapter underwritten and this " Bella gets off while being tortured " is pure bs imo as I doubt Voldemort being angry or irritated with her would have been so orgasmic a thought to her ( the prospect of being tortured/ punished by him didn't seem all that thrilling to her in canon in fact ) .
In the Hermione chapter the dynamic was entirely ' invented ' ( based on pure headcanons ) while in the Bellatrix chapter she is being tortured ( duh ) and showing Voldemort of all people ( the one who taught her the dark arts which wasn't mentioned btw ) the fun in causing pain.
Her dynamic with Voldemort was kinda glossed over as he actually gave a damn about her /had a somewhat positive relationship with her compared to all the other women in this fic ( minus Nagini who wasn't technically a woman ) if his reaction at her death ( similar to Nagini's btw ) was any indication ( but of course that wasn't included either ) .
My favorite chapter was the Nagini one as her dynamic with Voldemort was described perfectly , his fondness for her was acknowledged and their relationship done justice.
PS : In fact it is Ginny who should have been included ( instated of Hermione) if canon was any indication ( there was actual material in the books ) but what is fanfiction after all but wish fulfillment ? Anyways thanks for sharing !

loved this chapter. should really sleep but onwards.

I really loved it! So far it seems Hermione is the one who had the most influence on LV

Fantastic!

Particularly loved the Hermoine chapter... brilliant ideas!

I was waiting for Bellatrix's chapter for quite a bit . It was of course well written ( you're a great writer and I hope you know it ) but I must say all in all I was a bit underwhelmed and it's a pity because you had plenty of material to work with when it came to bella .
Those little moments in the books that help us get a glimpse into the complex relationship between these two were not present/ described here at all . Not enough emphasis was put on her loyalty and mad love for him also . Unlike some of the women in this fic ( who I don't think had much of an impact on his life if we stick to canon ) he actually had an interesting dynamic with bellatrix that could have been explored better in my humble opinion. Also her mental instability and devotion could have come across all the same without reducing her to a repulsive character who orgasms while she is being tortured ( yeah she was a sadist but who is to say she enjoyed being on the receiving end ) . Considering her reaction at the ministry I don't really think she did . I think Bellatrix's character should have been written more carefully ( people are always worried about voldemort being OOC but Bellatrix ends up OOC just as often if you ask me ) and when it comes to their relationship the balance is very delicate to strike . Also kissing the hem of his robes would have been more tasteful than licking his shoes imo ( we actually saw it happen with some of his death eaters while the latter I can only see it happen with Wortmail :P ) . I found both characters one dimensional and the relationship/connection between them nonexistent and that's certainly not the impression I had from the books . Anyway thanks for sharing this fic with us :)

Loved this.

i cant say ive seen a nagini POV before

while the ship would be squick, i suppose there could be a lot of paralells drawn between tom and hermione

dang, i dont think i realised how hellish voldy's time incorpreal would have been: he deserves every ounce of that pain of course but it certainly explains his madness