Chapter 23: Fairy RingsChapter TextHermione was still in a state of abject bliss, lying on her back with a sleepy Bellatrix draped over her. Above her, she could still see the gloomy darkness through the canvas skylight. She could stay like this forever as far as was concerned. Unfortunately, it was not to last much longer.
"Hm," greeted Hermione as Bellatrix stirred. "Hi..."
Bellatrix' eyes fluttered open, smile widening while shifting in a position which was a little more comfortable for the both of them. "Hi yourself," Bellatrix whispered softly, fixing her gaze on hers while supporting her head with her elbow. Dark curls cascaded haphazardly downward as Bellatrix seemed to have a rather bad case of bed-head.
Or, more likely, a bad case of 'being grabbed by someone losing control of herself during moments of ultimate pleasure'-head. Delicious memories came flowing back and Hermione leaned in for a kiss. Chaste at first, but Bellatrix would have nothing of it. She lay her hand on the back of Hermione's head and kept it in place while she deepened their kiss. Tongues met again and again and Hermione swooned under her touch.
"Sleep in," Hermione muttered in between kisses. "Hold each other a little longer. Hm, what time is it?"
Bellatrix chuckled, pointing her eyes upward for a moment. "Does it even matter if we can't tell?"
"I guess not," said Hermione, but just as she leaned in for yet another kiss, an angry growl sounded from Bellatrix' stomach. "But I had dinner yesterday. You didn't."
Bellatrix smirked. "Don't really know why I'm hungry. I did plenty of eating yesterday."
The moment she heard the words come from Bellatrix's mouth, Hermione rolled her eyes and let out a groan at the horrible pun.
"Well, you weren't complaining last night," Bellatrix winked. "You weren't exactly coherent enough to complain. Or even for words. You've never been pleasured like that before, now have you?"
Hermione closed her eyes. She didn't blush. Not anymore. Not after having experienced that, not after having lain naked in her lover's arms, not after telling Bellatrix that she loved her. "How about we break camp and have a hearty breakfast. We still have plenty exploring to do. But, Trix, it might not have looked like it, but I have paid attention. And tonight it'll be my turn to make you writhe."
"Oooh," Bellatrix grinned. "Something to look forward to. Right then, my fair brown-haired maiden. Let us go forth."
The next ten minutes were used getting dressed and ready for the day, breaking up camp and then using the small plateau to set up the muggle cooking stove. Hermione went all out to make a good and hearty English breakfast, even though her options were limited due to only having tins at her disposal. Still, she was fully prepared to make fried sausages, baked beans, fruit juice and had managed to whip together a passable batch of chocolate pudding from milk and cocoa powder. Everything they would need to get energy for a trip deeper into the marshlands.
As they sat on an outcropping of rock, Bellatrix was sharing a bit of her dessert with their wasp friend whom was eagerly lapping whatever bit of chocolate pudding pushed his way. "I think we should give you a name," said Bellatrix while she patted the wasp between the wings. "We can't just keep calling you wasp. How about... Bartholomew?"
"Hm," said Hermione. "He doesn't strike me as a Bart."
"What would you name him, then?" asked Bellatrix.
Hermione thought for a moment. "Well, he's a wasp, so. 'Hate'. 'Resentment'. 'Fury'. 'Rage'."
Bellatrix made a face. "Stop with the anti-wasp bias, Hermione. I'm serious."
"Fine," Hermione sighed. "Are you seriously going to keep him?"
"I never had a pet," said Bellatrix. "Wanted one, of course. A dog or a cat. But never had one, not even as a familiar. Dad didn't want animals in the house. Oh, we had the menagerie and the aviary, of course, but that's just not the same. Nothing to pet or cuddle."
"And you want to pet or cuddle a wasp?" Hermione raised an eyebrow.
As if to prove a point, Bellatrix took hold of the wasp, dipping him a little while tickling the underside of his thorax. The wasp flexed his wings in merry buzzing along with some affectionate play-biting in appreciation of this act. It left no doubt in Hermione's mind that the wasp had effectively been adopted and would be going home with Bellatrix… and there was likely nothing which could change her mind in this regard.
"I know!" Bellatrix' face brightened up as if a proverbial light bulb had turned on above her head. "Zipper! Your name will be Zipper!"
"Zipper?" asked Hermione.
Bellatrix nodded. "Yeah, it's brilliant if I do say so myself!" she said. "Because he figured out how to use the zipper and, well, he's fast and agile, so he zips around. Do you like it?"
The wasp looked up, buzzing his wings once.
"I think he approves," Hermione snorted. "I guess you'll bring Zipper home with you, then?"
"Well, Lestrange will probably balk at sharing his home with a giant wasp, but he will have to learn to live with disappointment," Bellatrix smirked. "I might be slated to become his wife, but that doesn't mean I'm going to make life easy for him. Not one bit."
"I'm curious, though," replied Hermione. "How long have you known him?"
"Quite a long time," said Bellatrix. "All pure-bloods of prominent families know each other, and it doesn't get more prominent than the Blacks or the Lestranges. Prestigious pure-blood families often hold soirees and balls at each other's mansions. It's mostly an excuse for adults to dress up their children and get completely pissed at the buffet. Lestrange and I first met at one of those soirees when we were both very young."
"Ah, so you were childhood friends?"
Bellatrix snorted at that. "Hardly," said Bellatrix. "We're expected to form alliances, exact our influence and cultivate our ambitions from our earliest years onward. Even when we're toddlers."
"That sounds… awful," said Hermione.
"It really is not," Bellatrix said. "It prepares us for a career as a successful Slytherin. It starts simple, really. We're taught to compete over something as simple as the toys in the playpen. I remember maman putting me in with the rest of the kids and told me it was a game to gather as much toys as I could before the end of the evening. So, to gather the toys, you form alliances, prepare for the eventual betrayal and make plans to get your hands on every teddy bear, doll and crayon. Legitimate means, like bets and trades are of course options. But then you cheat, you lie, you backstab and, well, if push comes to shove, wooden cars are perfect to bash someone over the head with. There were plenty of times where I had gathered up all the toys in the pen."
"Whoa," Hermione blinked. "That sounds... horrendous."
"Gathering toys is one thing, keeping them is another. That was one of the first lessons I learned," Bellatrix chuckled. "You now have your hands all the toys. You sit in one corner and you realize you're fully surrounded by thieves, backstabbers, sycophants and liars who want to take your toys from you when the 'game' still has an hour on the clock. And you spend the rest of the hour nervously fending off hungry sharks."
"Trix," Hermione blinked. "We're still talking about toddlers here, right?"
"Of course," Bellatrix winked. "Trust me, Hermie, if you think a four year old can be anything less of a thief, backstabber, sycophant or a liar than a forty year old, you're sadly mistaken. Keeping your wealth is more stressful and difficult than gathering it. So the next lesson is that, in the future, you form alliances with other children and gather the toys together. It's easier to guard wealth between two people than just on your own, and there is a vested interest there."
"That sounds so awful!" Hermione said. "Why can't kids just be kids?"
"Oh, no, it's not awful at all," Bellatrix said. "I've learned a lot from those early days. Don't you see, it's not about the toys but the lessons learned can be applied to anything. Wealth, power, money and even less tangible things such as plots and ambitions."
"Yeah," Hermione snorted. "Small wonder pure-bloods are so messed up in the head."
That statement seemed to rather irk Bellatrix. "Oh?" she challenged, crossing her arms. "Well, what did they teach you, then?"
"To share. When I was a pre-schooler, I was taught that if you have something, and others don't, you share. And then someone might share with you when you don't have something. Sharing is caring."
"Pfft," Bellatrix rolled her eyes. "Yeah, if you're a loser."
"Come on," Hermione narrowed her eyes. "You must have shared with someone."
"Of course!" Bellatrix smirked. "With people I care about. With people that matter. I'd share with my sisters. I'd share with you. I'd share with perhaps a select few others more. But the list stops there and, trust me, it's very short! Point being, you don't give up what you have just gained for any old reason. People have to earn your trust."
"And you trust very few people," Hermione replied.
"Oh, trust and loyalty are values I hold in high regard," Bellatrix replied with a serious tone. "But it's never something I'd ever give someone casually or throw at someone randomly. They are precious gifts you don't share with just anyone," she said, raising her hand to Hermione's cheek. The curly-haired witch smile while gently caressing her cheek with her fingertips.
At that moment, Hermione realized that she, in fact, had been given Bellatrix's full trust and loyalty. A great and precious gift. Perhaps the most precious gift Bellatrix could ever give her.
With breakfast done, the two witches decided on a plan to further explore the marshlands: they would follow the compass and travel inland for as they could with the equipment and dress they had and then return to their previous entry point. This, of course, wouldn't allow them to explore the entirely of this floating island, but at least they would be able to see a good cross-section of it.
The first hour went more than fine and they passed more herds of marshwalkers along the way. Again they also came across a giant toad: though there was no way of knowing if it was the same one they had encountered yesterday, Bellatrix kept a respectful distance while at the same time approaching close enough to snap a few pictures.
After that, the terrain was becoming more difficult to traverse: patches of wetlands became larger and larger and while there were still plenty of hillocks of dry land to pass over, these became far and fewer in between. It became clear that if they were to go deeper inland, they would need to use some sort of boat. Of course, they had brought none.
Large mushrooms the size of cedar trees dotted the landscape, dwarfing them while giving the entire marsh an alien vibe. Their wasp friend, now named Zipper, followed them, buzzing along lazily and at some points seemed to be wondering why his non-flying friends were so slow to follow.
Especially Bellatrix slid off a hillock with her foot and into the cold grimy water quite often and it was decided that they would head back to the edge of the island, but would head into a slightly different direction. It was on the way back that they came across a crag of rocks which looked to be rather out of place in these otherwise flat marshlands. Naturally, the two explorers decided to make a slight detour to investigate.
Curiously enough, the rocks seemed to glow dimly blue in the endless gloom of this dark marsh. They only found out why when they were finally close enough.
"Oh, wow," Bellatrix smiled.
"Is that..." Hermione put a finger to her lips. "Some sort of mycelium growth?"
"Looks like it," said Bellatrix. "Considering all the fungi we saw earlier, this isn't surprising."
Indeed, a thin layer of glowing growth covered the majority of the rocks in endless patterns of hyphae. It pulsated with magic, sending a tingly feeling along Hermione's spine. Such were the wonders of this place.
"Hold on," said Bellatrix. "Let me take a few photographs before we take samples."
Hermione did just that, waiting a few moments until Bellatrix was done before taking a plastic container to carefully scoop a few bits of growth into. However, the moment she came into contact with the growth something odd happened.
Hermione was... somewhere else? Something else? Flying? She passed the first floating island with great speed, flying over herds of borses and the arid grasslands. She felt... alone... hungry. She had come to this island through the passage, but hadn't been able to go back after encountering the Great Eater in the forest. She was terrified of the Great Eater. All those who lived in these lands were. She didn't dare to go back, but the lands weren't kind on her. There was so little for her to eat and she was always hungry. Then, she saw strange creatures. They were like the marshstriders, but only with two walkers. Like the things in the Foglands, but not aggressive. They were strange, but they were nice. One had a brown top and one had a black top. Maybe they had some food for her? Maybe they would enjoy company?
Hermione felt a pang of pain in her head and, when she looked up, she saw that the wasp had been sitting on the rock with the growth and had taken flight. Hermione regarded it as it hovered. "That was you, wasn't it?" she whispered. The wasp didn't seem to understand.
She glanced over Bellatrix to see her taking a sample. The girl seemed lost in thought as she was scraping some of the growth in a sample container and Hermione quickly pressed her hand against the growth.
Hermione was in the garden. Running. Playing. Giggling. Her two sisters were chasing her, also giggling. A small woman with curly hair she had never seen before, but instantly recognized as Bellatrix' mother, looked up from her book while sat at a garden table. It had been a good summer and she would start Hogwarts soon. She would miss her sisters terribly, but she looked forward to all the things she would learn, all the magic she would do and all the greatness she would achieve. Slytherin. She would be in Slytherin. And if that floppy old hat would try to put her somewhere else, she would make it put her Slytherin. She had already packed her favourite dragon plushie along with her best clothes. She was going to make sure nobody would ever forget her name as the most powerful witch in Slytherin ever!
Hermione withdrew from the growth again, the memory which wasn't hers still fresh in her mind. Bellatrix was done taking her sample now, but it was obvious that the mycelium growth had some sort of capacity to transfer memories from one creature to another. It was so real too. Feelings, smells, even the warmth of the sun on her skin. It was like she had experienced it herself. The second person to touch the growth would experience memories and thoughts of the first. The stalks Hermione stood at seemed to be the receiver while the outlying grows were the probes.
A thought crossed her mind. What is she could somehow prime Bellatrix with some memories of her own? Nothing bad, just a few impressions of the encounters she had had with her future version? Hermione could then transfer some knowledge of the future, yet maintain plausible deniability. It would give her and Bellatrix something to discuss. It was an opportunity to plant a seed of doubt within Bellatrix.
Oh, it was duplicitous as all hell and Hermione would be the first to admit to that. But it was something she simply couldn't pass up. First, Hermione searched her mind for some memories she could use. She thought of the things she knew of the future Bellatrix, how much the woman had frightened her and how deranged Bellatrix had become. She held on to those memories, and then called over.
"Trix?" Hermione asked. "Could you maybe take another sample? The growth seems a bit thicker over here."
"Sure!" Bellatrix responded and took another sample container from her pack. Hermione waited until Bellatrix had reached the central point while she stood at the ready at one of the probes. Hermione waited anxiously for an unsuspecting Bellatrix to open the container and start scraping a little of the growth into it. It was then that Hermione pounced.
Hermione felt a sharp pain in her head, causing her to hiss slightly. Something… something was wrong. She tried to move her hand but it was as if her body wasn't cooperating with her. A wave of ugly red glow moved through the growth until it touched Bellatrix' hand. At first nothing seemed to happen. Then things went very wrong indeed.
The sample container fell to the ground. From here, Hermione could see that Bellatrix' hands were trembling. Hermione swallowed hard and rushed over. By now, Bellatrix was shaking, looking up at her with wide, teary eyes. "Trix?" Hermione asked carefully.
Two hands lashed out and grabbed her by the forearm. "I didn't do that!" Bellatrix sobbed. "I DIDN'T DO THAT! I DIDN'T DO THAT! I'D NEVER DO THAT!"
'Oh god.'
Bellatrix sank to her knees and a desperate Hermione, unsure of what to do, knelt beside her as the curly-haired witch rolled herself into a ball and started bawling. "I DIDN'T HURT YOU! I DIDN'T HURT YOU! THAT WASN'T ME!" she sobbed.
Hermione felt all the blood drain from her face as she realized what likely had happened: rather than receiving a few subtle memories and feelings, she had unwittingly inflicted the entirety of her crippling trauma onto an unsuspecting Bellatrix... and she wasn't taking it well.
"Trix!" Hermione yelled, trying to calm her. "Trix, I'm so sorry!"
Shaking and shivering now, Bellatrix clenched her teeth as she turned white as a sheet. To Hermione's horror, she started scratching her own face. "FOURTEEN YEARS! FOURTEENYEARSFOURTEENYEARSFOURTEENYEARS!"
Oh god, it was even worse than Hermione had imagined. Trix had seen everything Hermione had known about her future self. Her trial, her torturing the Longbottoms, her imprisonment, her slow descent into madness. All of it.
Quickly, Hermione grabbed hold of Bellatrix' wrists in a futile attempt to get her to stop scratching her face: if this kept up, Hermione worried she might even scratch her own eyes out. Immediately, Bellatrix started struggle and only stopped when Hermione held on to her and pressed her to her chest. Even so, Bellatrix had this unnerving thousand yard stare on her face. Being held had a bit of a calming effect on her, but it didn't last.
"THAT'S NOT ME! THAT'S NOT ME! THAT'S NOT ME!" Bellatrix cried out, wailing in despair and denial. Tears started running over Hermione's face now too as her heart constricted with guilt and pain. How could she have done this to someone who trusted her? Someone she professed to love? At that moment, Hermione was completely and utterly disgusted with herself. Bellatrix, confronted with the sheer truth, was having a complete mental breakdown and Hermione had to find a way to make it right.
Bellatrix, that proud and beautiful girl she had come love, had been reduced to a complete blubbering mess with bloody streaks on her face. There was only one way to fix this. Hermione drew her wand, put a strong focus on the last few minutes, and pressed it against the side of Bellatrix's head. "Obliviate..." she muttered and felt the magic flow through her body.
Instantly, Bellatrix relaxed and started breathing normally again. Another quick spell healed the self-inflicted wounds.
"Ooh," Bellatrix groaned, grasping her forehead. "What happened?"
"Trix?" Hermione asked. "Are you alright?"
"Wha... the last thing I remember was... wait, why am I crying?" Bellatrix muttered while Hermione helped her up.
"You were taking a sample," started Hermione. "The growth puffed some spores in your face. I cleaned you off, but some got in your eyes."
"Hm," Bellatrix said as Hermione helped her up. "I guess we should keep our distance, then."
Hermione smiled: Bellatrix wasn't any worse for wear and her obliviate had done the trick of erasing only the last two minutes of memories. It was, thankfully, as if nothing had ever happened. Still, she cursed herself for not being able to control herself: she should have known better than to use an unknown magical organism for something as subtle and important as convincing Trix to avoid her dire future. She'd have to find another way to convince her. Hermione took Bellatrix in a fierce hug and quickly brushed her lips.
"What was that for?" spoke Bellatrix with a raised eyebrow. "Not that I'm complaining, mind you."
"Come on," said Hermione, steering her away from the rock containing the large growth to avoid a repeat. "Let's get the hell out of here."
"Yeah," smiled Bellatrix as she turned to face towards new unknown lands. "Let's see what's out there. Come along, Zipper!"
The wasp, now getting used to the name Zipper, came buzzing along merrily as the two witches went on their merry way.
Unfortunately, on their merry way lay plenty of nasty, icky swamp. It became evident than they wouldn't be able to explore the totality of this particular floating island and even though that was a disappointment to the both of them, their cold wet feet in their soggy boots meant they were less ambivalent about cutting their losses. The would head back towards the outer ring of the island having explored covered some twenty percent of the island. It would have to do. Perhaps they would have more luck in the next biome.
Still, there were plenty of things to do and see before leaving. More benign mushrooms and plants were photographed, catalogued and sampled and they were lucky enough to be able to get real close to a couple of the three-legged marshwalkers.
Progress through the wetlands was slow, arduous and cold, so it was almost a blessed relief when they come across a large patch of dry land. An island amid the muck, covered with grass and nestled amid the tree-like giant mushroom growths. A perfect opportunity for a bit of a rest. The place seemed pleasant enough and relatively idyllic considering it was sheltered from the rest of the marsh and how fireflies were dancing around the grove.
"Oh, my," said Bellatrix while drying her leather boots with a spell of warming. "Look. A fairy ring."
Indeed. A ring of small mushrooms with about a five meter diameter was sat smack-dab in the middle of this patch of dry land. The more she approached, the more she noticed the grove was peaceful and bereft of any and all of the sounds from the marsh: not a croak, not a howl of the wind, not a cry from a faraway creature. Just peace.
It was then that one of the fireflies zipped past her. For a moment, she thought her eyes were deceiving her. But when looking again, she could see that the patterns of their flight were not random, but far more deliberate. The fireflies clustered together and started moving towards her as one, hovering near her while they observed.
"Trix," Hermione whispered. "Are you seeing this?"
"Yeah," Bellatrix whispered back as to not scare the creatures.
Tiny little women, about the size of Hermione's thumb, were fluttering about with butterfly wings and regarded the two girls with curiosity. Clad in clothing made from leaves and blades of grass, they were as diverse with skin and hair colour as the human race was. They seemed rather giggly and curious creatures.
"Fairies," Hermione whispered. "I went through a big fairy-phase when I was a little girl. I had figurines, posters... still have them, in fact. I begged my mum to buy me a porcelain Tinkerbell figure for Christmas. Hell, I dressed up as Tinkerbell for Halloween when I was eleven. I was so disappointed when I learned the fairies didn't exist after I discovered being a witch. Not as I imagined them, at least. I mean, dragons, unicorns, hippogryphs, vampires, werewolves and countless other things were... so why not fairies? And now... here they are."
Somehow, just knowing that these lovely, playful creatures from her childhood dreams existed, truly existed, made her heart swell with joy. Tears started welling up as the tiny creatures playfully circled around her.
"I really should take a picture," Bellatrix said sheepishly, feeling rather torn. Of course, she was torn... she wanted to catalogue the fairies, but it pretty much a certainty that the bright flash from the camera would scare them off. In the end, she decided to let Hermione have this one.
Bellatrix gave her the warmest smile and stepped forward, crossing into the ring of mushrooms. "Hermie," she said, extending her hand. "You know that you're supposed to dance when you step inside a fairy ring, right?"
Hermione smiled back and took her hand. Bellatrix and Hermione moved together, fingers interlocked and chest pressed against chest as they started to waltz to imaginary music. The peaceful silence was soon filled with the sounds of their clothes rustling and their giggles mounting. Wilder and wilder their dance became with the fairies now joining in with the fun as they buzzed around them, in some cases pairing off to mimic their moves.
Wilder and wilder they moved, until once foolhardy dance move caused the both of them to tumble onto the ground where they continued laughing. The two witches turned their heads to look at each other, their giggles slowly winding down. "Hermie?" whispered Bellatrix. "I'm so happy to be able to share this trip with you."
"Trix," Hermione smiled. "You mean everything to me."
Seeing Bellatrix blush was an absolutely rarity, but now was one of those times. As if to recover from the embarrassment, the curly-haired witch quickly took her in an embrace and kissed her. Gentle. Loving. Passionately.
Above them, the fairies looked on in curiosity, while the wasp landed a few feet away and wondered what all the fuss was about.
Once having said their goodbyes to the fairies, they found themselves out of the swamp relatively quickly. This unexpected boon allowed Bellatrix and Hermione to find a good place to set up the tent. At the point where they had emerged from, it was only a short hike along the edge of the floating island until they found a suitable spot where they could set up a proper camp including a campfire and the stove to make their dinner.
However, beyond the literal edge of the world was a quite magnificent sight. A sight which had both witches take out their omniculars and gawk their eyes out. Beyond the rim, some below and some at the same height, were several more floating islands. Hermione had been correct in her assumption that every island was a different biome, by the look of things.
"What about that one?" Bellatrix pointed out an island which was excessively large, perhaps one of the largest of the lot and easily six times bigger than the initial grasslands island they had entered. The island itself was nothing more than a ring or rock surrounding a huge pool of water. It looked to be an ocean or lake biome.
"See those dark shadows?" Hermione said. "I mean, if we can clearly see those from this distance..."
"... imagine how huge the creatures making them must be!" Bellatrix gasped and grinned.
"Promise me we'll turn back if the wildlife crossing takes us there," Hermione asked.
Bellatrix shrugged. "We're not exactly equipped for underwater exploration. Shame. Also, being eaten by a giant fish is probably not a good way to end our expedition."
"That island over there," Hermione pointed out. The reflection of the non-existent sun off the snow and ice almost blinded her. "That looks like an arctic biome."
"Brrrr," Bellatrix replied with a clicking of the tongue. "Yeah, we're turning back too if we end up there. We're dressed for warm climates. Look over there, though." Bellatrix pointed to an island which looked to be collection of giant insect hives. "I wonder if Zipper came from there."
The wasp was still lazily flying back and forth between the tent, the girls and the stew brewing at the muggle camping stove, not really giving them much of an answer but at least keeping an eye on the food to make sure it wouldn't burn.
"That's a strange one," Hermione pointed out an island which was almost completely covered in a dense grayish fog. "I wonder what sort of biome that is."
"I'm curious too," said Bellatrix. "Seems like it could be bothersome to navigate, though."
"I see more in the distance," said Hermione, trying to peer further but finding it harder to make out any details. "I think that's a desert biome. Or maybe a dry canyon. I think the one over there is a Taiga one, but... hard to tell."
"One... Five... Nine... Twelve... I count fifteen in total," said Bellatrix. "You were right. This place strikes me as some sort of menagerie."
"Or a preserve," said Hermione.
"Not sure," said Bellatrix. "It's the arrangement of things, really. Take these marshlands, for example. They just strike me as someone's fish tank."
"Well," replied Hermione. "Nobody's actually come after us with a net."
"Yet," Bellatrix chuckled.
Merlin, only Bellatrix could be excited about potentially being chased by powerful and giant zookeepers. "How about we eat something, hm?" asked Hermione. "I think our dinner is about ready."
"How can you tell from here?"
"Because our hungry wasp friend is already waiting patiently next to the pot waiting to be fed bits of stew and chocolate pudding," Hermione said. "He's got a better nose for food than we have."
The girls went back to the camp and found their food indeed to be ready to eat. After pouring the stew on three plates, one being put down on the ground for a hungry and eager wasp to lap up. Bellatrix popped a piece of meat in her mouth and chewed. "Today has been a good day. I still want to take a few more panoramic shots of those islands and then we can retire to our tent."
Hermione smiled. Now came the evening ritual of cataloguing the samples, transcribing their adventures of the day in their travel journal and logging the many photographs Bellatrix had made into the album. "I can't wait to see the shots," said Hermione.
"I've already taken a peek at one or two," said Bellatrix. "Despite the lack of proper light, the flash was more than adequate, thankfully. Also, Hermie... haven't you forgotten something?"
"Oh?"
"You promised you'd make me writhe," Bellatrix smirked with a wink.
"Hah," Hermione chuckled. "Cataloguing first. Play-time after."
"Tease," Bellatrix raised her chin imperiously. "It'd better be worth the wait!"
As it turned out, Bellatrix never had to wait long. Though the journal work had all been done, the photographs still lay scattered on the table next to the unarchived sample containers. They had been left to wait for archiving until tomorrow, as the sleeping bag had become ever more alluring.
Certainly Bellatrix did not regret this decision, certainly not while lying on her back while in the midst of exquisite pleasure. The curly-haired witch drew in breath through her teeth while exhaling deep moans. With Hermione's silky soft hair tickling her thighs, Bellatrix was intimately away of every single tongue-lashing giving to her. Merlin, the girl was a quick study... it was only yesterday when Bellatrix had pleasured Hermione with her mouth... and to think it had been Hermione's first time to receive a tongue-lashing.
Bellatrix let out a grunt when she arched her back yet again, one hand cupping and kneading her own breast and another one reaching down to grab a handful of brown hair whenever Hermione was within reach.
And then there was the way Hermione's hands slid over her thighs.
Merlin... Merlin, above. So was so close to the edge now... she felt her stomach muscles starting to tighten while her exhales became sharp and short. Scant moments later, Bellatrix threw her head back and let out a brief wail. Moments later, she lay panting in recovery, waiting for her sight to return as her skin was drenched in sweat.
She felt a rustle next to her and, after turning her head, smiled at Hermione who was now lying next to her. The girl was now far more comfortable with her own nakedness and Bellatrix took a moment to steal an eyeful.
Hermione raised an eyebrow and gave her a playful smack against the shoulder.
Bellatrix chuckled. "You were just between my legs and you smack me for having my eyes lingering at your tits?"
"Hm, a witch has her pride," Hermione said, a twinkle appearing in her eyes. "I hope you feel better after... this afternoon."
"I don't even remember what happened," shrugged Bellatrix.
"Even so," smiled Hermione as the two girls lay on their sides and shared a brief kiss. They snuggled up and pressed their bodies together, enjoying their closeness.
"I love you," Bellatrix whispered. "I've never felt this way for anyone before. I know I'm only seventeen, but I know love when I feel it. Merlin, Bellatrix Black in love with a muggle-born. Don't tell my aunt Walburga or she'll blast my name right off that sodding tapestry of hers."
"Does that bother you?" Hermione asked, her hand now sliding over Bellatrix' side.
The curly-haired witch thought a moment. "A little. Family is important to me. But... my sisters and I have an unbreakable bond. Whatever happens, I'm certain that they won't turn their backs on me. I wouldn't on them. My mum wouldn't, I'm sure of that. My oncle Achille wouldn't either. That's all the family I care about."
"Not your father?"
Hermione had her there. It was honestly hard to tell how her father would react. Though he wasn't as hostile towards muggle-borns as most of her family, he did believe that muggle-borns belonged with their own kind. Her father loved her, of course, but this? Of all the family, she was most likely to lose him over this. And it stung her more than she wanted to admit. "Father will be... a hard nut to crack," she said. She remembered her father's confession to her regarding never having broken contact with her uncle Alphard. She'd like to think father wouldn't give up on her, but… she still wasn't certain.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to..."
"Don't apologize," smiled Bellatrix. "It's not your fault my family is messed up. Tell you one thing, though..."
"What?"
"I would love to see the look on Rodolphus' stupid fucking face," Bellatrix laughed. "This is Hermione Granger, a mudblood witch who's better than you at everything. Smart, witty, beautiful and can probably tie a knot with her tongue."
Hermione giggled despite the awful mental image. "Well, Cormac. I'd like to introduce you to Bellatrix Black. She's a witch of singular talent, curious, playful and stunningly beautiful. Also, she's more of a man than you'll ever be."
Bellatrix blinked. "Oh-ho-ho! A man, am I?" Bellatrix grinned. "I'll do more than just snog you under the mistletoe, Hermie."
"Oh," Hermione grinned. "And what would that be? I believe I require a demonstration."
Bellatrix grinned and, after a brief moment of laying her hand on Hermione's cheek, she slid it down, over her neck, her breasts, her stomach... finding Hermione's center, Bellatrix enjoyed to see Hermione's smile morphing into a lustful gaze as she closed her eyes with every gentle rub. And when her fingers entered her, hearing her sharp intakes of breath as pleasure was already starting to mount.
Her lips met hers and Bellatrix kissed Hermione hungrily while pleasuring her. In Slytherin, everything was a contest down to the smallest thing imaginable. Being Slytherin wasn't only about being ambitious, it was about being better than everyone else at everything. One day, perhaps, she and Hermione would be sharing a bed to make love on equal footing, sharing mutual pleasure in fully equal measure. Today was not that day, however, and she was determined to show Hermione what she could do to the point of making her head explode.
Some time later, Bellatrix lay on her side with a smug grin plastered all over her face, her mission well and truly accomplished. Hermione lay behind her, clutching her arms around her waist while her shallow breathing indicated just how utterly spent she was. Still, her girl managed a few kisses on her shoulder and neck before burying her head in her curly hair again.
Bellatrix closed her eyes: these were the good days. The good days worth remembering.
She was about to close her eyes to seek sleep when she heard some buzzing come closer. Zipper landed on top of the sleeping bag and looked at the both of them curiously for a moment. Then, the wasp crawled through the opening. Next thing Bellatrix knew was that Zipper was pushing his head between her arms, forcing a hug and then settling in. The shifting chitin and wings tickled her for a moment, causing her to giggle for a bit.
"What?" sounded a tired Hermione behind her, just before another kiss landed on her shoulder. "I felt something."
"Zipper wants cuddles."
"What?" sounded a now slightly annoyed voice as Hermione body shifted. "Hey, that's my spot!"
"Hermie, you're clearly laying behind me," replied Bellatrix.
"Anywhere around you is my spot!" Hermione huffed, moving her arm to lamely swat at the wasp to try to shoo him away. Instead, Zipper caught the arm around the wrist with his mandibles and rolled around in Bellatrix' arms, forcing Hermione into a threeway hug by keeping her arm in place.
"See?" Bellatrix chuckled tiredly. "He wants cuddles."
"Ugh, fine…" Hermione sighed, apparently too tired to protest further.
Mission accomplished indeed.
Chapter 24: FearNotes:The artist Eleven Black made a great and cute fan-art of the scene at the end of chapter 23. I don't use tumblr myself but feel free to follow the line, enjoy the drawing and drop a like. :)
https://eleven-black.tumblr.com/post/647827660610945024/this-fanart-was-inspired-by-the-conversation-in
Chapter TextAfter enjoying breakfast and breaking up camp, it took a surprising amount to time to actually find the next magical wildlife crossing. They kept to the rocky edge of the island and, after walking for a few hours, felt as if they had circled around. Finally they found one, however, nestled away in between a gathering of giant mushrooms in such a way that it was almost completely hidden from sight. Hermione had to admit that she would have completely missed it if Bellatrix hadn't felt it when drawing near. Indeed, pure-bloods weren't inherently better at casting or mastering magic, but it seemed that at least Bellatrix was far more attuned to magic than she was.
"Well, about time," smiled Bellatrix while regarding the shimmering portal. "I'm about ready to leave this soggy wet swamp behind."
"Unless we find a more inhospitable place," Hermione grimaced. "Remember, if we end up in the arctic or ocean biome, we head right back to where we came from. Just a few pictures, nothing more."
"Yes, yes," Bellatrix rolled her eyes.
"I mean it, Trix," Hermione narrowed her eyes.
"Fine, fine," Bellatrix sighed. "Miss out on the opportunity of a lifetime."
"It'll be the last opportunity of our very short lifetimes if we freeze to death or get eaten by a giant sea monster," said Hermione. "There's nothing wrong with prudence."
"Shall we just step through and see where it leads before we get gloomy about it?" Bellatrix smirked.
They did just that. The usual sensation of magical transportation overcame Hermione and she was soon deposited on a whole new floating island. After spending a long time in a state of near permanent evening gloom, it took a while for her eyes to adjust to the relative brightness. But when she could see again, Hermione paused.
Though this floating island was definitely brighter than the marshland one, it had a rather distinct lack of colour. The sky above was one of dark grey and looked as if it was permanently just about to rain. Ahead of them was a thick fog, bordering on the edge of white and grey, while the ground and whatever flora ahead were on different aspect of a grey-scale definition. For a moment, Hermione thought there was something wrong with her eyes, feeling as if she was looking at some sort of old-style black and white film. However, when she raised her hands and saw the colour of her beige skin and the brown colours of her jacket's sleeves, she quickly concluded that it was the world itself and not her eyes.
"Ah, it's the fog one," Bellatrix was stood next to her, adjusting her camera to take a few shots of their surroundings. "We should probably not venture too deeply into this one."
"Whatever happened to 'opportunity of a lifetime'?" Hermione asked.
"That was when I was thinking of the Arctic or Ocean," Bellatrix pursed her lips. "This one is worse. Far worse."
Indeed, this particular biome looked to be far from pleasant. The fog make looking too far ahead quite impossible as everything beyond ten meters away blended and disappeared into a thick, grey foggy soup. What they did see, however, was a completely dead and colourless world which might at one point have been a forest. Dead trees were sticking out of the ground haphazardly likes knives sticking out of someone's back. Hermione paused again: what an odd way to describe something. How did her mind just come up that?
"Why do you say that?" asked Hermione. "Why is it worse?"
"Don't you feel it? The wrongness of this place?" Bellatrix muttered. "Lack of colour, the fact that Zipper is exceedingly agitated, the poor visibility? You know how when you're engrossed in a scary story you're reading, and you see the protagonist about to do something completely bloody stupid? Then you start screaming that they're bloody idiots and should get out there immediately because they're about to FUCKING DIE?! Yeah… that's us now!"
Indeed, this biome seemed less than savoury. And judging by the way the wasp was nervously buzzing around, he was indeed agitated. Hermione... grimaced. "It's... it's hard to think," Hermione started rubbing her temples when she stepped back and almost fell over. After having steaded herself, she saw that she had almost tripped over a ripped-off limb belonging to one of the beaked-horses. The rest of the borse was lying in a heap a few meters away, sporting massive claw-like gashes all over its poor body.
"Oh, god," Hermione folded her hands over her mouth as she regarded the poor thing, lying in a pool of blood. Oddly enough, the blood was a dark shade of red, almost black in some spots. On the whole, it looked darker than it should be.
Bellatrix stood next to her, grimacing. "Look at it!" she hissed. "Nothing of the corpse seems eaten. It was killed purely because it was here... or for the fun of it."
Hermione's breath caught her throat as she caught movement from the corner of her eye. She twisted herself around, peering into the fog. Until one of the needle-like trees... moved towards them. Her lip trembled as she raised her finger. "B-b-b-b-b..." she couldn't keep her hands from shaking.
Bellatrix spun around and swore loudly. The creature came into the sight. It was long, thin and lanky with a skin as thick as an elephant's hide resembling the bark of a tree. It had long, gangly limbs ending in three-fingered claws. It was moving towards them with an unnatural, janky gait. Worst of all, the creatures had no discernible facial features and simply resembled a walking tree trunk with claws. Yet, it was certainly apparent that they knew exactly where Hermione and Bellatrix were by the were approaching.
They?
Oh god, there were two... three!
Hermione was frozen in fear and turned to run back towards the wildlife crossing, only to be yanked back by the arm by Bellatrix. "Stop, you idiot!" Bellatrix shrieked in her ear. "Look, there's another one!"
Indeed, a fourth one had appeared and was effectively blocking their escape route. By now the creatures were close enough to see just how tall they were: at least seven foot tall and, judging by the length of their limbs, they were nearly close enough to attack. God, looking at what they did to the poor borse, one swipe could potentially take her head clean off her body!
"Trix! We have to run! We have to flee! We have too..."
"Move!" Bellatrix yelled. "MOVE!"
The curly-haired witch grabbed the girl by the arm and dragged her in the only clear direction they could run to: deeper into the fog. Hermione cried and yelped when branches whipped across her face and body as they ran as fast as they could muster. The fog became thicker and thicker to a point it was getting dangerous to run. More than once, Hermione bumped her shoulder into a tree trunk or a sharp piece of rock.
And the screams, the screams of the creatures giving chase. Unnatural, guttural bellows, almost siren-like. It cut into her very soul, making her break out in cold sweat. She felt her hands tremble as Bellatrix held her by the arm and pulled her forwards... if it wasn't for Bellatrix, Hermione would have surrendered to her fear already.
"OVER HERE!" Bellatrix yelled and yanked her to one side, dragging her into a cave. Seeing the dark maw in the rock before her filled Hermione with even more fear. She started to drag her heels until Bellatrix swore and practically threw her into the cave. Hermione tripped and fell onto her stomach, having the wind knocked out of her while her relatively heavy pack kept her prone. Behind her Bellatrix jumped through and, judging from the sound of frenzied buzzing, their wasp friend had managed to keep up with them.
Bellatrix drew her wand and yelled a few arcane words. A barrier was erected covering the entire mouth of the cave. And not a moment too soon, because the lanky tree-creatures pounced upon the magical shield with vigour. All four of them started wailing upon the shield with powerful swipes. Again and again, they struck the magic barrier and its colour started to change from clear blue to angry red. Bellatrix snarled and raised her wand, trying to push more of her magical energy into the shield in a desperate attempt to keep it up.
"Hermione!" Bellatrix shouted, grunting as she flicked her wand to shift magical energy to the areas of the shield where she figured the creatures would hit it the hardest. "HERMIONE!"
Hermione, meanwhile, lay in a fetal position and covered her ears with her hands when the creatures' unnatural cries echoed through the cave. "STOP IT! STOP IT!" Hermione shouted. "PLEASE, MAKE IT STOP!"
"Hermie!" Bellatrix all but snarled. "STOP BEING SO FUCKING USELESS AND HELP ME!"
"I can't! I CAN'T!"
"WE ARE GOING TO DIE!" Bellatrix shrieked while fighting a losing battle keeping a thin barrier of magic up. "I refuse to die here because you are an inept coward!"
Miraculously, Hermione managed to steel herself enough to lend her strength to Bellatrix. In trembling hands, she pointed her wand towards the barrier and let her magical energy flow into it. Bellatrix, now able to focus purely on mitigating the impacts on the shields rather than doing both upkeep and mitigation at the same time, could thwart the creatures' attempts to break the shield much more easily.
A few more swipes followed, but when they noticed they weren't making any headway, the creatures started to lose interest. First one turned away. Then the second one. And then the other two sauntered off into the fog beyond the mouth of the cave. It was over.
For now, at least.
Bellatrix let out a sigh and let her pack slide off her back. She plopped down next to Hermione and leaned her back against the cold stone of the cave.
Silence.
Eerie, oppressing silence.
Funny. That scared Hermione even more. She felt her lip tremble a little more as she tried to listen for anything which might be deeper into the cave.
"Well," Bellatrix muttered. "This is a piece of piss."
"What... what were those things?!" Hermione shuddered.
"How the fuck should I know?!" Bellatrix yelled at her while fishing the compass from her pocket and opening it up. "Fuck, shit, fuck! Compass isn't working. Probably iron in these rocks. There's no way to tell where were came from and where we need to go."
"W-wait?!" Hermione took in a few deep breaths. "Are you saying... we... we're lost?!"
"Well, we're certainly not found!" Bellatrix snarled. "Fuck me, I never had a chance to place a conch near our entry point. I have no idea where we came from or what direction we need to go in! And good luck finding it through that misty soup out there."
"Trix," she grabbed her girlfriend by the sleeve. "We need to leave! We can't stay here!"
"Not yet," said Bellatrix. "Those things are still too near. It's safer to wait a bit."
Hermione shook her head. "No. No. What if... what if something lives deeper in this cave? What... what if... that is ever worse than..."
A sharp pain shot through the side of her face and Hermione fell to the ground. It took her a bit to realize that Bellatrix had just rather violently backhanded her. "Oh, stop your simpering already and grow a bloody spine!" Bellatrix snarled, looking down upon her with furious gaze. "SNAP OUT OF IT BEFORE I BASH YOUR HEAD IN WITH A ROCK!"
Hermione burst into tears, cowering in fear while rolling herself into a ball. "W-why?" she cried softly. "Why?!"
Apparently realizing what she had just done, Bellatrix' expression changed to one of shock and shame. Immediately, she sank to her knees and helped Hermione to sit up. The young witch looked upon her with wide open brown eyes before allowing herself to be embraced. Hermione returned the embrace. "I'm so sorry," Bellatrix whispered in her ear. "It's… it's this place. It's doing something to us."
Hermione nodded. "I'm so scared. My heart is pounding in my chest, but... but I feel I shouldn't be. Everything makes me jump, but... I don't know why."
Bellatrix released her and they sat next to each other. "I'm... so angry. At everything. I... this isn't normal, Hermie. I..."
For the first time, Hermione noticed something: the colour had been draining from Bellatrix. It was subtle at first, but now that she had some more time to look closely, she could see that the colour of her skin had turned far more porcelain and her hair had turned far more black. She held up her own hand and saw that her beige-tan skin now had an ashen-grey quality to it.
Yes, this biome was doing something to them and it was not to their benefit.
"I... I love you.." Bellatrix started to whisper. "I love you..."
Hermione realized that this wasn't a profession of love, but rather Bellatrix reminding herself that she loved her to try to contain and control her anger. "I love you too... I love you..." Hermione whispered back. It did help her keep her fear under control somewhat. She shouldn't fear Trix... they only had each other to rely upon right now. They couldn't let this place split them apart. Not now.
The wasp sought comfort as well, and Hermione gave it in the form of a cuddle. She gently took the wasp in her arms and clutched it to her chest as if it was a puppy or a kitten. Oddly enough, it gave her the same amount of comfort and the wasp was grateful for the affection: apparently the warp now named Zipper was feeling the same effect this biome was having on them. Together, the three of them sat huddled together in the cave for a time which seemed to be agonizingly long.
If she had been fully rational, Hermione would have known that waiting for a while before attempting to leave the cave would give them a better chance as the creatures would have had likely moved away further. But Hermione was not fully rational in the moment. In fact, she was as far away from fully rational as she had ever been. The first ten minutes were somewhat bearable. The next ten minutes were increasingly difficult. The ten minutes after that were starting to get agonizing.
Fear was only mounting. She was not calming down and her heart never stopped pounding in her chest. In fact, the way this was going she greatly worried that her heart would give out. Great… as if she needed to have yet more things to fear.
The two of them sat in the cave in silence, but it was obvious that Bellatrix was similarly having problems. The curly-haired witch fought to keep her breathing under control and most of the time said nothing… but Hermione could easily tell that she was struggling from the way she kept clenching her jaw and narrowing her eyes.
Every so often, Bellatrix did lose control. It was then that Hermione could see wild, wide-open eyes staring at her with burning, seething hatred. Expressions the older Bellatrix showed often and which looked distinctively out of place on her younger self. Hermione couldn't help but cower whenever Bellatrix was on the verge of losing control, fearing that she might fly off the handle and attack her at any moment.
But she never did. Bellatrix did whatever she had to do to keep the storm at bay. Hermione often hear her counting out loud. A surprise came when Bellatrix actually started to sing to herself.
"Brille, brille petite étoile
Dans la nuit qui se dévoile
Tout là-haut au firmament
Tu scintilles comme un diamant
Brille, brille petite étoile
Veille sur ceux qui dorment en bas"
A lullaby. Hermione recognized 'Twinkle, twinkle little star' by the melody: likely Bellatrix' mother had sung it to her when she'd been a little girl. But what startled her the most was just how strained her voice sounded. It was clear that Bellatrix was fighting a losing battle… and that frightened Hermione even more.
Hermione held up her hand and let out a croak: her skin had lost all its colour now. Once beige-tan skin had turned into light grey. In contrast, Bella's skin was stark white while her eyes shone a dangerous black. She was glad Hermione had no access to a mirror right now, because she feared seeing her own countenance would give her a terrible fright… just like about everything right now could give her a terrible fright.
"We have to get out of here," Hermione whimpered. "We have to keep moving. We have to go. WE HAVE TO GO!"
"Shut… up…" Bellatrix snarled angrily at her, though still straining herself to hold back. "I don't want to hear the sound of your stupid, cowardly voice…"
"But…"
"SHUT! UP!"
It took all the willpower Hermione had to keep herself from running out of the cave and into the fog in a blind panic. The only thing stopping her was the thought that going out alone out there in the state she was in would likely lead to her death and, per extension, that of Bellatrix. In a way, despite the states they were in, they kept each other somewhat grounded.
The wasp wasn't doing any better. Sprawled on the ground as he was, Zipper looked completely legless, depressed and lacking of any and all energy.
Bellatrix took a few deep breaths. "You're right," she hissed. "We can't stay here..."
"We need to get back to the crossing..."
"Any crossing would do," Bellatrix replied through strained voice. "We have no idea what direction we came from."
"Compass?"
"That only helps WHEN YOU KNOW WHAT DIRECTION YOU CAME FROM IN THE FIRST PLACE!" Bellatrix snarled at the cowering Hermione, but managed to calm herself somewhat. "Which we don't."
"So... so what's the plan?"
"Follow the compass needle," muttered Bellatrix. "Go in a straight line. We move swiftly and quietly. We'll hit the edge eventually. From there, we start looking for a wildlife crossing to another island. Any other island."
"B-but... if we want to go back, we'll have to pass through this island again!"
"Then we move forward and hope we can find our way back to the island we started from," said Bellatrix.
Hermione nodded. The thought of going out there terrified her to no end, but it was their only option. She grimly squared her jaw and strapped her pack to her back. Her hands were trembling as she stared at the shimmering shield... all the protection between her and the monsters in the fog.
Behind her, Bellatrix scooped up the wasp and, perhaps a bit more roughly than she should have, stuffed him in her pack which she then strapped to her back. Bellatrix took her wand out and took a few deep breaths. The wasp poked his head from Bellatrix' pack to see what was going on... even so, the wasp looked about as well as Hermione felt.
"Ready?" Bellatrix asked.
"No," Hermione whimpered.
"Well, GET READY!" Bellatrix hissed, causing Hermione to cringe. "We are going!"
A shudder went through Hermione's body when the shield shimmered and then faded, allowing tendrils of fog to penetrate the interior of the cave once more. Hermione closed her eyes and whimpered while a frustrated Bellatrix held out the compass in one hand and grabbed Hermione by the arm with the other. Eyes still closed, Hermione found herself being roughly yanked forward into the fog and into the dead forest beyond.
Hermione had never felt this scared before in her entire life. When she dared to open her eyes, she jumped at shadows everywhere... every tree was a monster, every rock an obstruction, every wisp of fog a place for certain death to hide. She couldn't concentrate, she couldn't focus. In the distance, she could hear the unnatural cries of the monsters and, though far ahead, could only imagine how fast they could travel towards her to tear her living flesh to pieces.
Bellatrix, thankfully, was more determined. Her anger gave her the focus Hermione lacked and, though she feared it greatly, refused to leave her behind all alone. Hermione had no sense how long they had travelled, how far they had come or even in what direction they were headed: she whipped her head around at every little noise, movement or shadow while Bellatrix dragged her along.
Suddenly, Hermione found herself yanked sharply to one side and pushed into the surrounding dead underbrush. Trix kept her firmly in place. Though Hermione had been hypersensitive to her surroundings, Bellatrix had managed to spot an approaching monster long before she had. It lumbered into sight from the fog and stood mere meters away. It simply... stood there... twitching: its long clawlike limbs swaying the breeze as it scanned its surroundings with non-existent eyes.
Incredibly, it had not noticed them and Hermione soon realized why: by now, the colour had been completely drained from all of them in such a way that they perfectly blended within the grey soup which were their surroundings. Though acutely aware that this biome had drained more from them than just colour, it was a bit of a relief to know that it did make them harder to find to the denizens of this hellscape.
"I'm not dying here because of your pathetic mewing..." was softly whispered spitefully in her ear. It almost made Hermione sob.
There was movement in the shadows. Something else was coming. Something big... and fast. Hermione gasped when that something exploded out of the fog and approached the monster from behind. The lanky creature let out an even more unnerving guttural cry as it was skewered by a massive horn and was roughly shaken about it.
The black unicorn!
How?!
Hermione tensed up in agonized fear as, judging from the markings both old and new on the hulking creature's body, it was the same one they had encountered earlier. How did it survive its fall?!
The black unicorn shook his head wildly to inflict more damage and finally threw its dying prey on the ground. The lanky monster cried out before a massive maw filled with jagged teeth silenced it forever.
Hermione felt a hand clamp over her mouth, fingers digging into her cheeks "Make even one sound," a soft whisper sounded through clenched teeth. "And I swear I'll fucking kill you and feed your corpse to that thing!"
Being utterly terrified was a boon in this case: she was too afraid to even move. Tears started streaming over her cheeks while Hermione bit her own lip to the point of drawing blood. The black unicorn tore into the flesh of the body, ripping the lanky monster to pieces with minimal effort.
This up close, she got a good look at the beast: huge and muscular, twice, maybe three times the size or a regular horse. Its blood red mane whipped around at it shook its head. Blue glowing eyes without pupils and those teeth. Way too many teeth. Shaped liked daggers.
'Please go away,' she mentally commanded as she felt about ready to piss herself. 'Please go away. Just go away...'
The creature, having had its fill of flesh, slowly trotted off into the fog, leaving only carrion behind. As it left sight, all both girls could hear was a distorted whinny in the distance. It took a while before Bellatrix even considered releasing the grip her mouth.
"Don't scream," she whispered angrily. "Promise me you won't fucking scream or I swear..."
Hermione felt hot tears run over her cheeks as she nodded. She didn't scream when she was released, though it was too close too call for a moment. After making sure that the creature was truly gone, Bellatrix dragged Hermione to her feet. "Come on," she hissed. "We have to move!"
That was a bit louder than Hermione would have liked. "What is that thing doing here? How did it even survive?"
"How the hell should I know that!?" Bellatrix snapped back. "But... it's a recent arrival. It had all its colour. His mane was fully red still. Judging how fast the colour drained from us, he can't have been here very long."
"Is it... stalking us?!" Hermione gulped, the thought alone made her absolutely terrified to the point of fainting.
"Do I look like a unicorn-whisperer to you?!" Bellatrix hissed and checked her compass. "It went over there to the south, we are headed north and I'm perfectly fine with that."
A more hurried run through the fog followed, with Bellatrix still dragging an increasingly whimpering and sobbing Hermione along for what seemed to be an endless run through the fog. Branches whipped against her body and she almost tripped over rocks more than once, but despite the odds she finally found her footing. Her heart was still pounding in her throat, more from fear than from running, when they finally emerged from the fog: the edge of the island came up a bit more quickly than expected and it was by the breadth of a hair that the two of them didn't topple off to fall into the void. Sure, the black unicorn might have survived it somehow, but that didn't mean the two witches were eager to experiment.
Hermione for one, was happy to see some semblance of light again and regarded the other floating islands with longing: safety was so close and yet so far away. They now had to traverse the rocky ring around the floating island in search for another wildlife crossing. Unfortunately, now that they were out of the fog they stood out more despite colour still not returning to their skin or clothes. Hermione could already hear the cries of monsters nearby.
"ENOUGH!" Bellatrix suddenly shrieked. "YOU WANT A PIECE OF ME?! DO YOU?! COME AND GET ME, YOU GORMLESS TWATS! I'LL TEAR YOU LIMB FROM USELESS LIMB!"
Oh god. It happened. Bellatrix had lost control and just... snapped. She stood there, wand at the ready, preparing for a fight to the death. It was now up to Hermione to help Bellatrix survive. With trembling hand, she grabbed the Bellatrix' pack and started pulling her backwards along the rocky island ring, desperately looking for another shimmering portal.
One monster appeared. And yet another. Bellatrix let out a snarl and sent the first fire-balls hurtling towards it: she wasn't playing around either, but was going for the kill. One fire-ball exploded against a monster's chest, turning the lanky creature into a living torch. It shrieked and shrieked at it ran and promptly fell into the void. A bolt of lightning hit the other one, sending it flying. Bolts of power shot forth in all directions as more and more of the creatures appeared.
"I'LL KILL YOU! I'LL KILL ALL OF YOU!" Bellatrix shrieked at the top of her lungs. "Suffer! SUFFER!"
Hermione was becoming increasingly desperate as all this shouting and noise was doing was attracting more monsters. Though Bellatrix knew plenty of destructive spells, Hermione was intimately aware that she had bitten off more than she could chew: the creatures had sheer numbers on their side, after all.
Finally, she saw it. A shimmering portal. Her heart jumped with elation as their release from this hell was near. Judging from her surroundings, it certainly wasn't the one they had emerged from, but at this point she wasn't complaining.
"TRIX!" Hermione shouted. "We have to go!"
"NOT UNTIL I TEACH THESE WANKERS THAT MESSING WITH A PURE-BLOOD WITCH ENDS WITH BROKEN LIMBS!" Bellatrix shot back, with a tone and volume that would rival her possible future self.
God. She wasn't coming. Hermione's have to drag her through.
With terror in her throat, she would do just that. "COME ON!" Hermione shouted, tears now running over her cheeks against as she yanked Bellatrix back and threw her startled girlfriend into the wildlife crossing. One of the creatures took a swipe at her, and Hermione could barely make it to the crossing in time to avoid it.
The sensation of magical travel overcame her and, a few moments later, she was roughly deposited into warm sand. The brightness of the sun above was overwhelming and blinding, but utterly welcome. Her unnatural fear melted away almost instantly and her heart-rate finally slowed down. Tired. Hermione was so completely and crushingly tired as she lay face down in the sand, her pack weighing down upon her. Next to her, Bellatrix was in a similar state, panting heavily.
"Hermie?" she asked with a tired voice.
"Here, Trix," Hermione sighed.
Bellatrix said nothing, but let out a relieved sigh. Hermione noticed that colour was returning to their skin. They'd made it. They'd escaped.
That dream was roughly shattered when one of the lanky, treelike monsters came lumbering through the gate. Hermione didn't have the energy to even move, but the moment the creature met the light of the sun, it exploded into flame and burned to ash before her very eyes. She closed her eyes: they were safe now.
So tired.
So very tired.
They were here, on a lovely sandy beach with the calming sounds of the ocean waves beyond.
With her last bit of energy, she reached out her arm to grab Bellatrix' hand. Trix replied in kind, their fingers brushing and interlocking before sleep became too powerful to fight.