Chapter 39: Emotional Support WaspChapter Text
Hermione had to admit to not having eaten much during dinner. As embarrassing as the events of the day had been, not having the room in her stomach for another bowl of that absolutely fantastic icecream was just… vexing and disappointing. In truth, Hermione still wasn't feeling all that great: lightheaded from the brownies and nauseous from overeating on crisps. There was nothing more she wanted than to lie down after dinner and never get out of bed again.
Zipper had apparently noticed her distress and had crawled onto her lap, after which Hermione quickly picked him up. He had spent most of the time rubbing his head against her as she held him and fed him bits of sugar. Funny, it seemed so long ago that she had balked at coming anywhere near that intrusive, alien magical giant wasp, but now? Now, Hermione reminded herself to hug her pet more often because the unconditional love they could give freely was fantastic on good and on bed days.
Funny, really, how much Zipper started to remind her of her old now long dead family dog. Chaucer was a stubborn old dachshund, but always seemed to sense when Hermione was having a bad day and made an extra effort to cuddle. He was sort of the same size as Zipper and settled against her chest in much the same way. The warm memories did wonders for her mood.
At least Andromeda hadn't been berating her during the course of dinner, so that was a plus. While Bellatrix was rather animatedly telling everyone gathered about the dancing dervishes she had seen in Dubai this afternoon, Andromeda had been rather quiet and reserved for the most part. Almost… unsettlingly so.
Though Hermione considered it just might be a bout of paranoia from her coming down hard after an hours-long unwanted high, she did catch Andromeda staring at her a few times. If she didn't know any better, she'd think that she was being… studied. Her suspicions were confirmed when Andromeda asked her to join her for a serious talk in her office.
"I have a few questions for you," said Andromeda, her voice a little hushed. Hermione head turned, seeing Bellatrix telling her story to her attentive mother while Narcissa looked on with a smile. "Don't worry about Bella. Cissy and mother will keep her occupied. This evening, you and I will have a long overdue chat."
"Uhm," said Hermione, regarding the wasp in her arms.
"Bring the bug if you so desire," said Andromeda.
Bellatrix hardly noticed when the two of them slipped away from the table, but Hermione gathered that was by design: most of what Andromeda Black did seemed to be by design. The two women walked side by side mostly in an awkward silence as they passed through the halls of the manor. Zipper didn't fly after her like he usually did, but rather elected to be carried today. Hermione did notice, however, that they didn't go directly to the office. Instead, she was surprised to see Andromeda heading into the chapel. Hermione stood next to her as Andromeda took a small copper coin from the bag and tossed it into the offering bowl in front of the Horned God before she briefly bowed her head in reference. Just like Trix had done while giving her her first tour of the manor.
Hermione took notice of this. In fact, she took more than just notice. Hermione also picked up a coin and put it into the offering bowl. Andromeda frowned at her in surprise, before giving her a nod and leading her out of the chapel. Apparently, Hermione's respect for family tradition had been appreciated.
Their trek through the manor continued, but Andromeda suddenly spoke up. "I can tell by the bags under your bloodshot eyes that my daughter managed to trick you into eating one of her special brownies," she said, not waiting for a reply. "Don't feel too bad. Nymphadora does this to everyone. The staff, her family, visiting dignitaries. Hell, even maman. The only one she never managed to dupe was me, though it isn't for the lack of trying. She once replaced my favourite tea biscuits with a near exact copy laced with cannabis. Unfortunately for her, she wasn't able to mask the smell."
She had to admit that the idea of a stoned Druella was oddly comical.
"Were that Nymphadora would put the same effort in doing something useful with her life," replied Andromeda.
"She's been rebuilding a classic Bentley," Hermione offered. "And, to be honest, while it was true that Nymphadora gave me one brownie, it was Draco who fed me the other two."
Andromeda sighed. "Cissy often gives me a bollocking about Nymphadora, but she's throwing stones in glass houses."
Hermione was led in what seemed to be some administrative offices. A massive set of double doors lay ahead while on either side of the corridor were some open rooms where desks for what seemed to be secretaries, clerks and maybe an accountant or two could work. Andromeda strode past this area and threw open the double doors as if she was the queen of England.
"Tea, miss Granger?" asked Andromeda as the two of them entered her office. Rather than sit down at her desk, Andromeda guided her to a set of sofas near the tall windows. Sitting at an angle of each other rather than opposite to each other already felt considerably less hostile. Regardless, she held onto Zipper as she sat. Hermione still felt as if she had entered the dragon's den, but Zipper was only too happy to serve as a cuddly comfort wasp.
"Please," Hermione smiled, wondering if this could be a new beginning for the two of them. Or perhaps the beginning of the end.
Andromeda conjured a beautiful silver tea service. Hermione put her usual two lumps of sugar into the cup and took a few sips while Andromeda did the same. Outside the window, night had fallen and the wind was howling across the yard. As winters go, this one was rather lacklustre. One could only imagine what the view from the office would be like when the yard would be covered with snow. Hermione imagines a beautiful winter wonderland. It was a shame that the Blacks didn't celebrate Christmas, because the view would be utterly perfect, especially with a decorated tree right next to the fireplace.
"Miss Granger," Andromeda asked. "Do you know why I've asked you to speak in private?"
Trix, she obviously wanted to talk about Trix and their relationship. Still, Hermione didn't really want to spell that out yet: better to have Andromeda spell it out herself, so Hermione decided to go for a more neutral answer: 'I don't know'.
"You want to talk about Trix and our relationship," replied Hermione.
Wait? What?
She hadn't meant to say that.
Immediately, she adopted a stricken look while clamping her mouth shut. She looked down at the teacup and then back at Andromeda. "Veritaserum. You put veritaserum in my teacup."
"Not your cup. The pot," said Andromeda. "Which I also drank from. I have nothing to hide from you in my own house, miss Granger. We are on equal footing now. No games. No veils. I do not have time for it. Believe me when I say that I love my sister dearly, miss Granger. I will protect her from harm. And I am not convinced of your good intentions."
Hermione narrowed her eyes, clutching onto Zipper a little tighter. "I love Trix. Dearly. We were good friends before we became girlfriends. Believe me when I say I never meant her any harm nor do I mean her any harm."
Andromeda let this sink in for a moment, but seemed pleased with that answer. "That's a good start. It truly is. But not meaning any harm doesn't mean you won't be harmful to her."
"What do you want me to say?" said Hermione, her eyes narrowing. "You already have your lie detector on me. So ask your questions."
"Miss Granger, you are an enigma to me," said Andromeda. "I can usually read people the moment they enter my door, but you have eluded me since I met you. No, you have eluded me since the day you were born!"
Hermione frowned. "What… what do you mean by that?"
Andromeda stood up from the sofa and waved her wand. A small table full of boxes with papers appeared near the sofa's, right next to a blackboard. "Miss Granger, you've just made me do something I have never before done in my life: you've made me play my hand. Go on. Take a look."
Hermione stood up, wasp still clutched to her chest and rather warily stepped towards the boxes of files. Dread started to take form in the pit of her stomach and she didn't quite know why at first. Until she took a few files from the box and opened one of the folders with a free hand. Reports. Photographs taken from a distance. Evaluations. The particular file she had opened was a monthly report of her comings and goings at Hogwarts from her fourth year. The photographs were of her, Harry and Ron taken in the great hall, at the Quidditch pitch, in the Gryffindor common room, even in class. There were lists of grades for that month, her interactions with other people were thoroughly documented.
Already quite stricken, she grabbed another folder and opened it. It was another report of monthly surveillance, this one quite old. It had photographs of her mum dropping her off at Reception in the muggle world when she'd been six years old, documentation about her behavioural patterns as well as educational and personal development.
A third folder was grabbed. This was a more recent one and a much thicker folder. A big red stamp had been put on several of the papers inside which read 'Urgent! Contact with subject B has been made'. There was a photograph made of her, apparently with a night-vision scope. In the photograph, she was sat at the edge of the Fae Mirror at the Forbidden Forest, looking into the pool while talking with Trix.
Worse yet, was the blackboard. On it were sequences of key events in the lives of both Hermione Granger from 1979 until now, and Bella's from 1951 until 1968. All of them were tied together with notes and velvet red ribbons.
Hermione felt faint, her mind reeling with the implications of this all. "What…" Hermione stammered, her voice cracking with a mixture of shock, surprise and growing anger. "What is this?!" she demanded.
"When Bellatrix first disappeared," said Andromeda. "We had very little to go on. Oh, we knew that Bellatrix had been talking to one 'Hermione' for weeks, possibly months. We knew both of you were involved in blood rites. Cissy and I did some legwork, even though nobody believed us. We struggled for years trying to find out more until… Cissy eventually told me she couldn't do it anymore. That we had to move on. But then oncle Achille remembered a conversation he had with Bella in the past. That's when we learned about the Fae Mirror and its unique properties."
"That's when you found out…" Hermione whispered. "That the girl you were looking for had yet to be born."
"We had no idea when that would actually happen," said Andromeda. "Of course we hoped you would return to us during our lifetime, but we realized that if the 'Hermione' we'd been looking for had been born, it would only be a matter of time before we'd find ourselves on the other side of the window, in a manner of speaking."
"You've been waiting for my birth?" asked Hermione.
"Correct. You've been under surveillance since the day you were born. This is only the tip of the iceberg. I have reports in my vaults on you as thick as the bible. You couldn't so much as sneeze without me knowing about it," said Andromeda. "It was just me and oncle Achille who knew. We didn't want to give my parents false hope and Cissy was trying to deal with her grief by moving on. I understand you might be a bit shocked. Or perhaps you might even feel a bit violated."
Hermione tossed the folder down, spinning on her heels. "Violated doesn't even begin to describe how I'm feeling right now!"
Andromeda nodded briefly. "Understand our position. We've only heard your name mentioned in passing, so we were never sure of your character or intent. Odd, really. We were expecting you to be Slytherin."
Hermione didn't know if she should be flattered or insulted by that. "And what do you think of me now? Surely with nineteen years worth of surveillance reports, you should have a good idea of who I am and what I'm like!"
"You stood up against Voldemort and you are academically gifted, I'll give you that," said Andromeda. "But you are also someone who seeks approval and validation. You are someone who is eager to prove herself an asset to a wizarding world still obsessed with blood purity. Further reports of your PTSD and unstable behaviour after the war were… troubling."
Hermione let out an embittered laugh. "Ironic how someone who's been keeping tabs on me knows more about my mental situation than the people supposedly closest to me."
"I'll be frank, miss Granger, I still don't trust you. I'm still not convinced of your intentions," Andromeda crossed her arms. "You are an enigma to me. And therefore a dangerous unknown. That you have Bella wrapped around your finger concerns me even more."
Hermione cast her eyes downward, keeping her voice low. "I've only ever tried to do what's best. That's all any of us can do."
"Don't patronize me!" Andromeda shouted lashing out to grab Hermione by the shoulders, the wasp buzzing his wings in between them but making no aggressive move. "You took my sister away from me! I want to know why! I DEMAND to know why!"
Hermione made no move to free herself from Andromeda's grasp. "That's it, isn't it? It never occurred to you that I just wanted to help. I met a sad, lonely girl in the woods. I was a sad, lonely girl in the woods. These two girls forged a friendship in the hopes that the both of them would become less sad and less lonely. These two girls fell in love. We wanted… to help each other. I wanted to make things better for Trix."
"By taking her away from her family?!" Andromeda hissed, glaring at her and apparently searching her expression for lies and, to her frustration, finding none.
Hermione closed her eyes. "That's the thing with you Slytherins. You jump at shadows. You see conspiracies, double meanings and politics everywhere. But never did you consider the obvious, because you refuse to see it: I wanted to do a good and decent thing. A wise muggle once said: sometimes a cigar is just a cigar. Doubt me all you like, but never doubt my feelings for Trix!"
"I said I don't trust you and I meant it!"
"DO YOU REALLY WANT TO KNOW THE TRUTH?!" Hermione shouted all of a sudden, startling both her and Zipper. "YOU THINK THINGS WOULD HAVE BEEN BETTER IF TRIX HAD STAYED IN HER OWN TIME, BUT YOU HAVE NO IDEA WHAT WOULD HAVE HAPPENED!"
The pain in her head was already starting to sting, but she was beyond caring at this point. "She would have fallen under Voldemort sway. She would have become his most loyal servant. She would have done terrible things in his name. Look around you, and take a long and hard look, because these are all the things you would not have if Trix had stayed in 1968. Trix doesn't even know this, mercifully."
Andromeda shook her head. "Preposterous! I simply do not believe that Bellatrix could ever be a Death Eater," said Andromeda. "The sister I know and loved would never have submitted herself to them!"
"You forget that I cannot tell a lie at the moment," Hermione replied, somewhat more smug;y than she first intended. "And I have proof. Let me show you something," she said. Andromeda looked on as Hermione started to unbutton her sleeve and held out her bared forearm for her to see the word 'mudblood' crudely carved in her flesh. "A little souvenir from the war, from the floor of Malfoy Manor."
"Are you taking the piss?" Andromeda all but snarled. "Rodolphus Lestrange did that. Your torture at his hands is well known to me."
Hermione nodded. "You are correct. Rodolphus Lestrange tortured me. Beat me. Nearly killed me. But he never did this. By all accounts, this scar shouldn't exist. It's a remnant from the old time-line. It hurts my head to look at it."
"And you claim Bellatrix did this to you?" Andromeda said. The head of House Black stepped towards the box of files and fished out a folder. When opening the folder, Hermione could see over her shoulder that it contained photographs of her… 'condition' after Rodolphus' tender loving care. Though it was somewhat troubling to realize that Andromeda knew the date of her violent torture off the top of her head, her suspicions were confirmed when Andromeda put down the file.
"There's no mention of this scar in the file. It doesn't show up in the photographs either," said Andromeda. "My agents wouldn't miss a detail like that..."
"Don't ask me why it's on my arm if it didn't happen in this time-line," said Hermione. "Because I simply don't know the answer to that. Yes. Rodolphus Lestrange did torture me to a point that I almost died that day at Malfoy Manor. But this? This was all Bellatrix. As much as I hate the woman who she would or could became, so much do I love the girl that she was... that she is. Believe me that I wanted to help Bellatrix, to give her a second chance at a better life. By helping her, I would help myself too."
"How do you even know all this?" Andromeda asked.
"I have memories of both the old and the new time-lines," said Hermione. "But it seems like the universe wants me to forget the old one. I get splitting headaches and eventually attacks if I think too hard upon the memories of the old time-line."
"What is different?" asked Andromeda, now obviously intrigued. Good, that means that the Black matriarch was starting to listen.
Hermione pressed on. "It's confusing. Bloody hell is it confusing. I wanted to help Bellatrix by preventing her murder, but… I also wanted to help her by preventing her from becoming a Death Eater. It's… I prevented one fate and caused another. Because I plucked her from the time-line in 1968, everything changed, even my own memories. I think. Sometimes it feels as if I've lived two lives. The very reason for wanting to save Trix changed, but I wanted to save her just as much."
"You do realize just how preposterous this all sounds?" Andromeda replied.
It made sense to Hermione: she had experienced it after all, but one look at Andromeda's expression told her everything. "Even with the veratiserum, there isn't anything I can do or say to convince you that I'm telling the the truth and have good intentions."
Andromeda nodded. "Probably not," she sighed, also only being able to speak the truth. "This was a pointless undertaking."
"No," said Hermione. "I have an idea. Maybe if I can't convince you with words, perhaps you could see for yourself."
Andromeda nodded in understanding. "You would allow me to look into your mind?"
"I would," said Hermione. "See the truth with your own eyes. In a manner of speaking."
Hermione and Andromeda sat back at the sofa and the two of them discussed the procedure and the limitations. Andromeda promised not to intrude on Hermione's most private thoughts and would strictly adhere to the memories Hermione would allow her to see. A few moments later, she felt the thoroughly unpleasant feeling of another mind touching hers. It was as if she felt something prickly in the inside of her skull. Hermione thought back to the first time she had encountered Bellatrix Lestrange: she was in the Department of Mysteries with Harry facing off with Lucius Malfoy. She remembered how frightened she was when Bellatrix cackled in the distance and terrifying stepped out of the darkness, twirling her wand and speaking with her baby-voice.
Hermione grimaced when a sharp pain shot through her head. The memory changed for a moment, replacing Bellatrix with Rodolphus before shifting back again. Hermione had to rub her temples for a moment to deal with the sudden burst of pain.
"Ah," Andromeda hissed, apparently having experienced the same pain. "That was... unpleasant. As if someone shoved a hot needle into my skull."
"It's like..." Hermione thought a moment. "A real life Escher painting. You're looking at something you know cannot exist, but it's still there. "
"How do you deal with that?"
"I try to avoid thinking of the past," said Hermione. "Or, at least about the times when my different memories overlap. I still have at least one attack every day."
Hermione showed her more memories. More encounters. More insanity. And then. Malfoy manor. Hermione showed Andromeda as much as she felt comfortable with. There was more shifting: Bellatrix on top of her, cursing, biting, scratching, cutting into her skin. She shifted away into Rodolphus, beating her, kicking her... and then... the poker."
When she looked up, she saw that Andromeda was pale, shocked and sickened by what she had seen. "I... I am sorry you had to go through that," she whispered.
But the kicker was yet to come. The next memories came from the battle of Hogwarts, how she, Luna and Ginny were duelling Bellatrix and barely being able to hold her off between the three of them. Then, Bellatrix' death and the worst was when Hermione remembered helping to gather bodies in the great hall to honour the fallen.
When Hermione snapped out of it, she found Andromeda had withdrawn from her mind and was pacing near the sofa. Her chest was heaving, her eyes were red and she had her hands folded over her mouth. "No... Not... not my little Nymphadora!" she sobbed, her chest heaving. "It... couldn't... I... Are you sure it was Bella?!"
"I'm so sorry," Hermione whispered. She reached out a hand to lay on her shoulder, but changed her mind and let it fall limply to her side.
"I… I wish I could not believe," said Andie. "Family... family is so important to her. She... she wouldn't... she... Bella… Bella is so much better than that!"
"She is. And now she has a chance to live that better life," Hermione replied. "I was surprised to see that Nymphadora was alive, but it also makes me happy to know that by helping Bella, I've helped other people too."
Andromeda dried her tears with a handkerchief, once again sitting down on the sofa with Hermione again. She drank another cup of tea from a shaky hand, still reeling from the revelations. "Miss Granger," started Andromeda. "I have misjudged you. I believe I owe you an apology."
"I believe you do," chuckled Hermione. "I am curious, though. If you knew what I was doing, that I was influencing Bellatrix in the past, then why did you never try to stop me?"
"I almost did," said Andromeda. "But temporal manipulation is fickle and dangerous. It was merely a measure of calculating the odds and assessing the risks. The odds of seeing my sister alive again were simply greater if I let you go ahead with what you were doing. You were carefully watched all the time, regardless. It was oncle Achille who took matters into his own hands and gave you the leads you needed to actually breach the Fae Mirror."
"Who watched me?"
Andromeda shrugged. "Agents at Hogwarts. Private investigators. Maids at the Three Broomsticks. Muggle agents. Ministry agents. Inhabitants of Hogsmeade. Percy Weasley. The skiing instructor on the trip your parents treated you to for your fifteenth birthday. Countless others."
Hermione felt the blood drain from her cheeks. "Not one person?"
"A whole phalanx," Andromeda confirmed.
"Am I still being watched?" asked Hermione.
The slight grin Andromeda gave her was not encouraging to say the least.
Andromeda shifted a little. "Thank you for giving me... clarity," said Andromeda. "I now have a decision to make."
"Oh?"
"After seeing what I have seen, I fear I will never look at Bella the same way again," said Andromeda. Hermione supposed that was understandable: she had seen her elder sister, someone whom she loved and trusted, grow up into a fierce, insane killer who had ended the life of her daughter. "I... suppose it isn't fair to judge Bellatrix for something she has never done, but I don't think I can help it. It is for the best if I do not remember what I saw."
"You will obliviate yourself?" asked Hermione.
"No," said Andromeda. "That would also erase related memories. I would go right back to distrusting you and we'd both gain nothing. No, what I need to do is to brew a Waters of Lethe."
"I've never heard of that potion," said Hermione, now intrigued. "What does it do?"
"I'm not surprised," said Andromeda. "It's a very expensive, difficult to make potion steeped in the Dark Arts. It's related to memory manipulation, rather than erasure. You see, with Waters of Lethe you can put a block on a certain event or conversation, while leaving the decisions made because of that event intact. You'll be compelled to follow through with a decision you've made, even if it's not clear why. I think I would need that potion, after what I've seen."
There was a knock on the door and before Andromeda had a chance to give permission to enter, Nymphadora had already stepped into the office. "Ah, here you are. I've been running all over the mansion looking for you, you old bat," said Nymphadora. "Mother, nan asked me to remind you that we are supposed to sit for the new family portrait with great-uncle Achille in the solarium tomorrow morning. We..."
Nymphadora never got the chance to finish that sentence before being glomped by her mother, taking her into a rib-crushing hug. "Umh. Okay," Nymphadora muttered, returning the hug.
A smiling Hermione said nothing and simply joined in, glomping onto Nymphadora from the other side with the wasp still clutched to her chest caught in the middle. "Right," Nymphadora muttered. "You've both officially gone mental. Or am I just high right now and not noticing?"
"Dora," Andromeda sniffed. "Tomorrow, I think I would like to try out one of your 'special' brownies. At your solarium. And I want you to tell me all about that Bentley you've been working on so hard."
Nymphadora raised an eyebrow and turned her head to Hermione. "What on Earth did you say to her?! I've been trying to get her to try a hash brownie for years!"
"It's just how mothers are," Hermione replied softly, just as Andromeda shot her one final look and gave her a brief nod before hooking her arm around Nymphadora and leaving the room with her.
And so, Hermione was left alone in the office sat on the sofa and holding a wasp. Though things were looking up now that Andromeda had learned the truth, she was now utterly soul-crushing tired and a single glance at the sheer amount of boxes with files all about her made her wish that she was still high. After feeding Zipper some lumps of sugar from the tea service, Hermione stroke him between his wings for a moment. "I'm going to drag myself back to Trix' room, throw myself on the bed and sleep for a week," she told Zipper. The wasp, in turn, looking up after finishing his sugar and quickly gave Hermione a soft playbite to the chin with his mandibles.
"Fine," chuckled Hermione, just before stifling a yawn. "You can sleep in our bed tonight. Provided I can actually manage to reach the room before I collapse on top one of the carpets."
Zipper buzzed merrily as Hermione started her arduous trek to the other side of the mansion.
Chapter 40: Let Me Sleep!Chapter Text
Rain slashed across the panes of glass as Hermione sat in the library in the dead of night. Around her were gathered many books, journals, almanacs and articles from more recent magazines. Illuminated by a single light in the dark, Hermione sorted through the papers in the private section of the library, a tower which was normally behind lock and key but now available to her thanks to Bellatrix' father.
It really was a poorly organized, heinous mess. There was no system behind it she could identify and it was as if the Black family had just randomly thrown texts into the tower for hundreds of years with the intent to sort it all out 'one day'. Infuriating couldn't even begin to describe it.
Still, with her notebook in hand she had started this herculean task with her usual due diligence. In fact, she was so focused on her work that she never heard a second person enter the library until he was right upon her.
"Miss Granger?" sounded the voice of Cygnus Black. Immediately, books and papers went flying as the formerly concentrated Hermione let out a massive yelp. Looking up, she found the man looking to be well dressed for the time of night. Immediately, he held up his hands. "Apologies, miss Granger. I did not mean to startle you."
"It's alright, I… I… was too focused," Hermione shrugged.
Cygnus took a seat. "Forgive me for saying, but like me you seem to be quite accustomed to sleepless nights."
Hermione nodded. "Today has been an… interesting day. There's no way I could catch a wink of sleep, I'd wager."
"I'm surprised my daughter left you out of her sight," chuckled Cygnus.
"Bellatrix? Well," shrugged Hermione. "She can't exactly protest if she's asleep, now could she?"
"Quite," said Cygnus. "I have heard Andromeda has warmed towards you considerably. Yet you are still planning to aid her with our family motto?"
"Why not?" said Hermione. "I had already started anyway. Besides, it's fascinating to look into the history of a family as old as House Black."
"In any case," said Cygnus as he regarded the state of the bookstacks in the archival tower. "I do apologize for the state of our family archive. I assure you we do handle our official documents with far more care."
"It's fine," said Hermione while leafing through a scrapbook containing articles. "I think the best way to go about it is to start at the current decades and work my way back towards ancient times. I already found some interesting leads to follow."
One item of particular note was a scrapbook filled with articles which had been maintained by Bellatrix' mother. Naturally, it contained a lot of articles about Bellatrix' disappearance along with a few heartrending personal notes stating the hopes that Druella could use those articles to find her missing child. Hermione couldn't look at those notes for long without feeling constricting guilt. Later pages also had articles on Narcissa's wedding or Andromeda's rise to power.
The scrapbook lay open on a profile Witch Weekly did on Andromeda when she had just risen to the head of the household. At age 26, she was one of the youngest heads of the household the Most Noble and Ancient House of Black ever had. In the photograph, she looked fresh-faced and somewhat overwhelmed. Over the next decade, she would strive to modernize house Black, bring it into the future, much to the chagrin of more traditional elements in wizarding society who lamented the loss of a great house with a grand history.
"I was so proud of her that day," said Cygnus, obviously looking at the article too. "Our family had endured much. But when the first wizarding war ended, I felt it was a good time for a new beginning. And who better to herald in that new beginning than Andromeda? After Bellatrix' disappearance, we were all in need of a new beginning."
Hermione tented her hands together, looking at Cygnus intently. "If you don't mind me asking," started Hermione. "And if it's not too painful for you, of course, but what were those days like? Just after Bellatrix disappeared."
Cygnus fell quiet for a moment, staring off into the distance for a moment. "I remember the day when aurors first came by the manor," said Cygnus in a quiet tone. "By then Bellatrix had been missing for weeks and I was steeling myself for the worst. Still, one is never quite prepared for someone from the Ministry to drop by to tell you your daughter is most likely dead. Druella was overcome with grief and I was overcome with guilt. Though Druella held out hope against hope, I could only see a single outcome: my eldest daughter, my firstborn, had been murdered by the man I had selected for her in an attempt to escape her upcoming marriage. It… crushed me for a time. More than you could ever imagine."
Hermione didn't need to say a word: Cygnus' expression said enough. Before he had learned the truth, he had been convinced that he had been indirectly responsible for the murder of his daughter. Cygnus sat down for a moment, contemplating times past. "Bellatrix' disappearance was well publicised," replied Cygnus. "Hundreds of volunteers searched for weeks. Her body was never found, but the conclusion was obvious at the time, especially when it came out during the investigation that Bellatrix had been recruited to spy within Voldemort's ranks. That was a minor scandal in itself. There were always more questions than answers, which is likely why people were so intrigued by her disappearance."
"I've found some old newspaper articles," Hermione shook her head. "Gossip pages, mostly. It describes an internal war within the Black family right after Bellatrix disappeared."
"They'd be right," chuckled Cygnus. "When it came to the stages of grief, I skipped denial for the most part and headed straight into anger. It was an open secret that I funded the Death Eaters. Naturally, I cut them off immediately. Oh, they came with apologies, excuses and, of course, threats, but I wouldn't budge. And soon after, I started butting heads with Orion more and more. He didn't know how to deal with the open defiance and for a time it seemed as if our two branches of the House of Black would split into separate houses. I refused to use my own fortune to secretly fund the very people that had murdered my daughter. Orion was not pleased with this."
"It said in the papers that you also cut off his branch of the family financially," said Hermione. "From the sound of it, House Black was headed towards a split."
Cygnus rubbed his chin for a moment. "That was, uhm, start of 1970, I think. Right after Andromeda had introduced Ted to us. Merlin, she was so afraid we were going to reject her. But, yes, it certainly escalated things between me and Orion. Orion demanded Andromeda be thrown out the family, her name stricken from all the records as punishment for being a blood traitor. I said no. Druella and I were unwilling to lose another daughter."
"That must not have gone over well," said Hermione. "Why was there never a split? I mean, there is a historical precedent for Malfoys had been divided into the Wiltshire-Malfoys and the Essex-Malfoys due to a nasty inheritance row until their family's reunification two hundred years later, after all."
Cygnus chuckled. "Interesting how you seem to know a fact that Lucius Malfoy has been trying to keep buried for as long as I've known him."
"It's something I like to rub in Draco's face ever so often," Hermione smirked.
"Point remains, Orion threatened to throw us all out of the family," Cygnus said. "Thing is, that suited us fine. The Manchester-Blacks have always been the financial engine of House Black. And all our assets were registered under our own name."
Hermione started to understand. The Manchester-Blacks, Trix' branch of the family, had continued their family tradition by enlarging their already vast fortune mainly through real-estate. Said branch of the family already owned a large chunk of the buildings in wizarding quarters in major cities in the UK, as well as holdings in mainland Europe and were always expanding. Cygnus and Orion Black were set on a collision course over Andromeda as her parents, understandably, didn't want to lose another daughter while Orion was actively attempting to exile her. As a result Cygnus threatened to split off from the family, potentially carving the Most Noble and Ancient House of Black in two. They would have become the Manchester-Blacks and the London-Blacks, considered separate bloodlines by law with their own holdings and properties.
"You'd split," said Hermione. "But you'd be taking about 90% of the entire Black family liquid and non-liquid assets with you."
Cygnus nodded with a smirk. "It's actually closer to 96%. When Orion realized this, he changed his tactic. That was when my conflict of Orion had escalated so far there could only be one outcome," said Cygnus, his face grim. "Until the last straw. Until Orion demanded that the contract with the Lestranges was to be upheld and that, since Rodolphus Lestrange's involvement in Bellatrix' murder was never proved, the contract would befall my now eldest daughter."
"Poor Andromeda," Hermione sighed. "But why would Orion Black want to uphold the contract in the first place?"
"You must understand, miss Granger," said Cygnus. "The first wizarding war hadn't started yet at that point and Voldemort stood for something which appealed to a lot of wizards and witches, especially pure-bloods. As for Orion's reasoning, well, it was purely a power play on his part. Legally, it was within his power to do so and it was his way of attempting to put me in my place, as it were."
"What did you do next?"
"I killed him," said Cygnus, rather matter of factly. Hermione felt her eyes grow wide and this apparently didn't go unnoticed as Cygnus held up one hand. "In a fully legitimate and legally sanctioned duel, of course. I challenged him for leadership of House Black, he contested and we agreed to a duel to the death. Thing is, he never quite realized just how badly he was about to be trounced. Not to brag, but I fought in a war while he was at home hunting grouse. Combine actual combat experience with me knowing just about every dirty trick in the book to survive magical onslaught and you end up with a duel where Orion never even got a single spell off. Walburga never spoke to me again, of course, not that I blame her. And so I became the new head of House Black. First thing I did was to free my daughters from their contracts. Cissy ended up marrying her intended anyway, but that was her own choice. Second thing I did was to reinvite my brother and his daughters back into our family. Other than that, I mostly set the stage for Andromeda to take over."
Hermione cast her eyes downward, sighing heavily. "I'm sorry I've caused so much trouble for your family. I only ever had good intentions."
"Trouble?" chuckled Cygnus. "Miss Granger, it's not for me to say what would have happened if you hadn't done what you ended up doing. Knowing how that Lestrange boy turned out, my Bellatrix would have had a very unhappy life at best… and quite likely would have gone to an early grave at worst."
Hermione smiled, almost having to force it. "Did you know that Andromeda had me shadowed all my life?"
"For years I thought my poor daughters were living delusional fantasies," shrugged Cygnus. "Magic pools, girls from the future, time travel, blood rituals. It sounded as if Andromeda and Narcissa were hanging on to delusional hope just like Druella was. Until… September 19, 1979."
Hermione blinked. "My birthday?"
"Suddenly it didn't seem so far-fetched anymore," said Cygnus. "Our Ministry contacts were keeping an eye out for magical children with the given name 'Hermione'. When you were born, a lot of questions were answered. The day of birth fit perfectly too. To return to your previous question, I more than knew about it," Cygnus shook his head. "I suggested it. There wasn't much else we could do and, well, it was certainly less… invasive than some of the other things Andromeda was considering."
Less invasive? Hermione shuddered to think what could be 'less invasive' than having her entire life shadowed and documented at every turn she made. It was probably for the best that she didn't ask. Something else was on her mind, though. "Were you waiting for Bellatrix to reappear?" she asked.
"You must understand that we didn't know if she ever would," said Cygnus. "If we should interfere at the right moment or simply let things run its course. It was maddening to a point, especially for Andromeda. To her you were always the unpredictable factor who played a major role in losing a beloved family member, and she had been acting accordingly."
"Until now," whispered Hermione.
"Andromeda can be a harsh woman, because of the role she has had in this family for almost two decades," said Cygnus, getting up from his chair. "Don't expect too much of an apology, such is not in her nature. But do expect to be treated much less harshly from now on."
Hermione chuckled. "That would be nice," she almost smiled.
"I will attempt to catch some sleep," said Cygnus. "I suggest you do the same. There will be a family outing to the Welsh dragon sanctuary tomorrow, after all."
"Hm," said Hermione, turning her gaze towards the stack of paper. "I will. I just have some things to sort through first."
Cygnus turned towards her again, a hint of a smile tugging on the corners of his mouth. "Miss Granger, those books aren't going anywhere and I am quite certain you will have plenty of time to spend in our library. More time than you will ever need."
That made Hermione frown. "What do you mean by that?"
The hint of a smile turned into a smile. "Miss Granger, I can see nobody in the world who could love Bella as much as you do. Besides, it seems that my Bella has 'claimed you', as it were."
Her breath now catching in her throat, Hermione's gaze met the elder wizard's. "W-what are you inferring exactly?"
A chuckle. "I'm not in the habit of spelling things out, miss Granger," said Cygnus. "You may infer from my words whatever you wish. But be honest, miss Granger… Hermione. Why are you really here at this time of night, in a darkened library by the light of a candle while my daughter sleeps in her bed alone, hm?"
Hermione's expression froze. What should she tell him? That the nonsense with Nymphadora's 'special' brownies had disrupted her already precarious sleep cycle? That she had woken up in the middle of the night unable to go back to sleep in a quiet room alone with her thoughts. Thoughts, flashes and nightmares which haunted her to the core of her being. Memories of war, torture, pain and fear. Reliving the battles in her head over and over again, reliving memories of sights and horrors no one her young age should have ever experiences. Wondering if her sacrifices meant something… anything. How she needed a distraction before her self-doubt and her anguish would drive her to roll up into a ball and drown in her own tears.
But finally, Hermione understood. Why else would Cygnus wander the halls of his mansion in the dead of night?
"Will it ever go away?" Hermione asked, her voice small.
Cygnus took a deep breath, reached out and gently lay his hand on hers. He looked her in the eye and gave his answer. "No."
She knew that would be the only answer, but that didn't make it any less crushing. Before she could stop herself, a sob escaped her.
"But," Cygnus was quick to say. "You can learn to live with it. I know that seems impossible now, but take it from someone with a certain amount of age: Time does help. I know it is hard, but do try to get some sleep. And think of my daughter, who will likely tear the mansion apart brick by brick if she finds you missing from her bed in the morning."
That made Hermione chuckle despite of herself.
"We find ways of being our own worst enemies," said Cygnus. "Don't we?"
"We do," Hermione replied as Cygnus got up and bid her a good night. Certainly, it was good advice, but… she was feeling too tense to go back to Bellatrix' room, even if being cuddled by her girlfriend with Zipper snoozing in between sound very alluring.
Hermione was never one to take sage advice: she was far too stubborn for that. Not when there is almost one more article to read, one more scrapbook to study or one more lead to follow.
Fact remained that Hermione had spent far more time in the library than she should have. The end result was that Hermione found herself running a gauntlet through the hallways of Catterborough Woodhouse while stomping like a clydesdale, swaying dangerously and having trouble keeping her eyes open. God, what time was it even?
Damn Nymphadora and her stupid weed. Her entire sleep cycle was destroyed now. Though Hermione often had trouble sleeping, there was a breaking point where the fatigue would hit her all at once. She was currently well past said breaking point, groaning as a particularly tired zombie ever so often while she tried to navigate the maze-like corridors of the house through bleary eyes. Just a few hours or so in bed would fix that, if she could ever find it, of course.
She was reasonably sure she was headed in the right direction, knowing that if she'd fall over she was likely to fall asleep immediately and would have to suffer the embarrassment of being found sleeping on the carpet in the morning.
With stamping feet, she rounded about the corner, her eyes now closed. Almost immediately, she bumped into something. A yelp later, she lashed out a hand to steady herself against the wall. "I'm so sorry," whispered Hermione, hoarse from fatigue. "C-could you point me to Bellatrix' room, please? I'm… not quite sure where I am at the moment."
No response.
"Hello?"
She opened her eyes, only to groan when she realized that she had first apologized profusely and later asked for directions to a taxidermied bear.
She sighed and resumed her tired trek. After more aimless wandering, she finally came to a bit of the house she recognized enough to know she was near Bellatrix' bedroom and let out a sigh of relief when she finally stumbled into the common room. The door to Bellatrix' room was in sight.
Hermione shuffled into the darkened room, past the snoozing wasp in his hutch and directly towards the bed where Bellatrix lay sleeping under the duvet. It seemed that Bellatrix hadn't woken up while she had slipped out to go the library. The young witch rather awkwardly kicked her shoes off and, after yawning, decided not to bother with removing her garmetns and let herself fall onto the bed.
That incredibly soft, welcoming bed.
Hermione struggled to roll herself underneath the duvet and lay on her back with her head on the pillow. By some miracle, Bellatrix hadn't woken up from the minor earthquake on the other side of the mattress. However, Bellatrix did seem to be aware of something happening on some sub-conscious level.
Hermione felt an arm surround her waist, something warm pressing against her side and a leg hooking around hers. Hermione struggled to open her eyes to see a peaceful Bellatrix neatly snuggled up against her, her head resting near her shoulder. Some very kissable lips where tempting close.
'I can see nobody in the world who could love Bella as much as you do.'
Those words ran through her mind when her lips touched Trix' lips. Soft. Tempting. Delicious lips.
With Hermione withdrew, there was a slight murmur of protest. Bellatrix shifted slightly, tightening her hold and moving a hand over Hermione's belly to end up resting on her left breast.
Bliss. Utter bliss.
Still, after forcing herself to stay awake for an entire trek through the house, sleep didn't come as quickly as she would have liked. It took an indeterminate amount of time for Hermione to finally start drifting off towards dreamlands.
Her eyes closed for a final time that night.
And she was gone.
"WAKEY WAKEY!"
The moment Hermione's eyes flew open, only for her retinas to be seared as if by the light of a thermonuclear blast outside as Bellatrix merrily opened the curtains. Hermione let out a yelp and stuffed her head underneath the pillow.
"Wake up, lazybones! You had more than enough time to sleep!" shouted Bellatrix. Adding to the unwelcome noise was a now roused wasp as Zipper was merrily buzzing around the room waiting to be let out the door.
Rather futily, Hermione tried to roll herself into the duvet to shield herself from the light and the cold air, only for Bellatrix to cruelly rip her protection from her.
"Noooooooooo…." Hermione muffled wails sounded through the pillow as she now lay bare to the elements.
"You slept in your clothes?" Bellatrix scoffed. "Lazy, lazy, lazy. UP UP!"
"GO AWWWAAAAAAAAAAYYYYYYYYY!" Hermione wailed, only to be met with a quick slap to the bum.
"Come on! Dragon sanctuary! Time for bath, food and getting underway!"
"I wanna sllllllleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeepppppppppppp!"
"No!"
Cruel as Bellatrix could be, she did not even hear Hermione's wails for mercy over her own excitement. Not even when she ripped the duvet from the bed and started to yank away Hermione's pillows.
Cygnus Black was rather amused when sat at the breakfast table with his family. Indeed things were looking up. Andromeda's entire poise had changed; she sat up straighter, smiled more often and definitely stopped glaring at Hermione. In fact, it was as if a great weight had dropped from her shoulders. Though Andromeda wasn't forthcoming with the details, it was obvious that their exchange had changed something between the two of them.
Good.
He had come to see Hermione Granger as a kindred spirit of sorts. There were times when Hermione would become quiet and reserved, adopting a thousand yard stare off into the distance while she carried the weight of the world on her shoulders and injustice after injustice was piled on top of her. He'd seen that look many times before. He'd been in that position many times before.
Hell, he'd been her age when he went off to the States to fight a war. He, Alphard and dozens of braves from the Montana-Blacks, the Topeka Witch Coven from Kansas, a wizarding society from Scranton, wizarding militias from Chicago, Boston and Memphis, along with dozens of witches and wizards from across the pond, all led by General Wayman Reynards. Of course, the wizarding world never had a standing army like the muggles had. Both sides of the war were rag-tag individuals who believed in a cause. 'General' was not so much an official title as it was a nickname.
Though he knew that the second wizarding war had its nasty moments, it was, in a way, incomparable to the war against Grindelwald. He would certainly not belittle Hermione's experiences, but neither would he deny that the war he took part in was an absolute meatgrinder. It had larger scope, larger armies and, subsequently, a lot more death. As time passed the fighting grew ever more intense, not all familiar faces returned to their campfires. Despite the bonds of brother- and sisterhood forged in fire, the losses weighed heavy on him and years later, at the end of the war, he came out a different man.
Jaded, cynical, angry, lost… drowning in sorrow and nightmares.
Until Bellatrix was born.
He looked up from his breakfast. Miss Granger was sat next to a rather bubbly and enthused Bellatrix while struggling to stay awake. Her eyes were red and bloodshot while her head lulled forward ever so often. For a moment, Cygnus worried that Hermione might drop her forehead right into her jam toast at any moment.
As he had expected, when it came to managing her time in the library, the poor girl had done so rather poorly yesterday. But she was young and she would learn just as he had.
Meanwhile, Bellatrix was ranting and raving about visiting the dragons, oblivious and insensitive to her girlfriend's plight. In time, she would learn as well.
What an immense joy to have her back. He remembered the summers where the girls would return from Hogwarts. Bellatrix had filled the manor with youthful exuberance, as did her two siblings. The three of them were absolute marvels and Cygnus had promised himself he would do anything to protect them. And when the aurors had come to him and Ella with the grim news that they considered Bellatrix to be dead, part of him died that night. Ella's wails of grief had cut him right through his very soul.
And yet, here she was. Almost as if nothing had happened, how thirty-three years had not passed. A second chance for everybody.
"Goodness," said Andromeda, regarding the whole spectacle from the head of the table. "Bella, what on Earth have you done to Hermione yesterday?! She looks completely legless!"
"I'm fine…" sounded the labored and, honestly rather pathetic and mournful voice of Hermione. To which Andromeda raised an eyebrow in concern.
Concern. For a girl she had merely yesterday considered a potential dangerous enemy of the family she was sworn to lead and protect. It seemed that Andromeda too, had learned.
"I didn't do anything!" Bellatrix naturally protested. "I wish I had, mind you. Then Hermione would have a reason to look so completely shagged out."
Ted snorted from the other side of the table while Druella rolled her eyes. "Mon dieu, chouchou! Must you be so crass? At eight in the morning, even."
"Yes," Bellatrix grinned while Hermione let out a zombie-like moan while mumbling something unintelligible.
"Honestly, Bella," Andromeda sighed. "What happened to Hermione? She looks like Nymphadora when she's forced to get out of bed before noon!"
Ah, little Nymphadora. While it was fine to lack ambition… his older brother was a prime example of this, after all… Nymphadora took this to a whole other level. She generally lacked passion for anything which was not a driving machine, a muggle 'rock' band or the plants she enjoyed smoking. Nymphadora was now 27 years old and didn't seem to have the will to move her life forward, which was somewhat concerning. Cygnus knew that Andromeda was worried as well, but didn't seem to be willing to do much either.
Nymphadora had been a rock for Ella since her birth and remained close to her grandmother. He had no doubt that Ella would have been a lot worse off without her presence. Aside from that, Nymphadora had a distinct lack of arrogance and ego-centrism many other children born in rich magical families suffered from. It was for those reasons that Cygnus had no doubt that Nymphadora would step up to the plate to act if needed and would eventually be a grand successor to Andromeda as Head of House Black. She just needed a little push.
He just hoped that Andromeda wouldn't wait too long with giving Nymphadora said push.
Still, he had a family outing to look forward to. He and Ella would join Bellatrix, Hermione, Andromeda and Ted to go to the dragon sanctuary. Nymphadora would join them later in the day, having conceded to wake up at 11 today… early for her. Narcissa and Draco would already be there. Unfortunately Alphard and Morag were still on walkabout in Montana, away from everything. He had already received a note from his brother expressing wonderment and wrote that he and Morag would be returning home soon. Morag, however, was in the middle of nowhere and likely hadn't heard the news yet.
And Ella, darling Ella. He certainly understood a mother's need to make up for lost time, but he had managed to convince her of the fact that Bellatrix was seventeen years old and had a girlfriend… thus not likely to spend every waking moment with her mother. Though Druella had accepted this, she was still going to keep a close eye on Bella, both in person and through her scrying bowl… which was something Bellatrix was going to have to live with for the time being.
For a time it looked as if House Black could be dying out in this very generation, no thanks to Voldemort and his band of merry fools. But now? House Black was vibrant, full of life and looking towards the future again. Despite Hermione's current state, Cygnus was certain that Hermione would be happy to be here in time. He certainly had been dropping enough hints that Hermione should continue to get comfortable around Catterborough Woodhouse as Bellatrix would insist that she would come to live here. And, honestly, he could think of no better match for his stubborn, clever and willful eldest daughter. Both Bellatrix and Hermione were cut from the same cloth, as it were.
There was some buzzing near him. It seemed that Bella's odd pet had left her lap and was slowly sauntering over the table looking for something to eat. A giant wasp walking among the fine silverware was definitely a strange thing to see, though no less amusing. Cygnus used some tongs to pick up a few lumps of sugar to put on the flat of his hand. He held it out towards the wasp. For a moment, the wasp's antennae twitched a little and, with a crack, he teleported across the table. "Hello there, Zipper," he greeted. The wasp carefully took one of the lumps from his hand with his mandibles to snack on the sugar. As he didn't mind being touched while eating, Cygnus took a moment to pat the creature on the head while he took another lump.
A loud bang sounded from across the table, causing the wasp to start, jump up into the air and turn around towards the source of the noise while airborne. It seemed that poor Hermione had indeed fallen into her plate. With her cheek now covered with strawberry jam, the sleeping Hermione let out a slight feminine snore.
Hermione had forced herself to be somewhat awake and active by the use of the rather unholy combination of caffeine pills and Red Bull. With any luck, it'd keep her from collapsing from exhaustion until the evening. She'd love to say that this was an uncommon situation, but she'd be lying. Still, she was happy to be able to be somewhat active to see the dragons up close. Dragons, being cold-blooded creatures, weren't all that active in cold weather and some species even hibernated in winter. This meant humans could get relatively close to them so they could see these majestic creatures in their full glory.
The dragon she was watching now from the observation platform was old, scarred and the size of a tour-bus, with one broken horn and razor-sharp teeth. He didn't seem to be skittish around humans either. Bellatrix stood near the treat dispenser and had just put in some cash to make a pig carcass slide down the funnel. The dragon was eagerly waiting to scoop it up, tossed the pig in the air, caught it deftly and made a show out of crushing it in his mouth. When the meal was done, the dragon threw his head into the air and let out a massive cone of fire.
"Hah," chuckled Bellatrix. "That dragon has become even more of a show-man than he was back in the sixties. He was an old man then too."
"Dragons live for centuries," said Hermione as she leaned on the railing. "I wonder how old this one is."
"Three-hundred at least," said Bellatrix. "He was one of the first dragons born in the sanctuary hatchery after it opened."
"I'm surprised your mother left you out of her sight," said Hermione.
"Look closer," chuckled Bellatrix. "Over there, other side of the platform."
Indeed, Hermione turned slightly to see Druella looked at the two of them with a small pair of omniculars. Bellatrix held up her hand and waved a bit. "Yes, I suppose I'm going to have to put up with a smother for a bit. Not that I blame her, really."
"Not much that could happen," shrugged Hermione. "We're the only ones here. Because Andromeda made sure the public areas were closed off specifically for our visit. Opulence of wealth, I suppose."
Bellatrix gave her a cheeky sideways grin. "House Black is a major benefactor to the sanctuary. This is just a small favour for them. Officially, the sanctuary is 'closed for emergency maintenance'. Nobody knows we're here and the place would be swamped with journos otherwise."
"I know. It's just… I don't like special treatment, Trix," Hermione pouted slightly.
"Learn to enjoy wealth and status, Hermie," Bellatrix winked. "Your name is attached to House Black now. Make use of the perks that'll give you."
"Funny," replied Hermione. "Your father said the same."
"My father is a wise man."
Just then, Zipper's head popped out. The wasp took one look at the dragon and swiftly ducked back into the bag, using his mandibles to pull the zipper closed again. Bellatrix patted the bag slightly for a moment to try to calm him down. "Poor thing, he's so scared of the dragons. I should have left him back at Catterborough Woodhouse."
"We should make our way to the cafe for a bite to eat," said Hermione. "Might let Zipper out for a bit too to calm down."
Bellatrix agreed and made their way through the platforms. The sanctuary, as it was, was built along the side of the mount where the dragon dens were hewn out. Parts of the dragon dens had one way glass so visitors could peek inside. Many of the current dens were occupied by hibernating dragons curled up against each other for warmth. Others had dragons awake but lazying about in their dens to avoid the cold weather. The hatchery, however, was active. Though dragons in the wild had a distinct mating season, several species of dragons at the sanctuary mated through-out the year due to the abundance of space and food. One such couple had recently hatched eggs.
The girls stopped at the one-way glass to see the three young whelps being actively running around, trying to fly by flapping their little wings and generally try to annoy their mother by running all over her. The father of the couple had just returned with the carcass of a cow and tossed it on the ground. Though the whelps rushed to the food, the father carefully pushed them away with his snout so that the mother could eat first.
Bellatrix and Hermione watched the little dragons play for a while until they got their turn to feast. "Three sisters," smiled Bellatrix. "With an unbreakable bond."
"They are cute, aren't they?" Hermione replied.
"Sights like this reminds one that life is worth living," said Bellatrix. "And how important family is."
Hermione nodded. "It'll be Christmas soon."
"Solstice," replied Bellatrix. "Have you decided yet if you want to celebrate it with us?"
"It's on different days, so I'd love to," said Hermione. "But I have to be with my parents on Christmas day. It… it might be the last Christmas at my childhood home."
Hermione didn't miss the less-than-subtle grin on Bellatrix' face. One of those cheeky 'I have a secret' type grins. "What?" asked Hermione.
"You'll see," Bellatrix winked.
"Fine, keep your secrets," said Hermione. "But if you invite me to join your family for Solstice, I think it's only fair I invite you to join our family for Christmas."
Bellatrix raised an eyebrow. "I dunno. Christmas just seems very violent to me."
"Violent?! How is Christmas violent?!"
"There's a bloke who brings you presents and as thanks, you nail him to a cross! How is that not violent?!" Bellatrix crossed her arms. "Rude too and I'd be more sympathetic to the bloke if he wouldn't fall for the same trick every year. Sounds very Hufflepuff to me."
Hermione blinked once. Twice. "Okay, first of all, Santa Claus and Jesus are not the same person. Second, we celebrate the birth of Christ, not his death. Third, neither Santa or Jesus are Hufflepuff! Just celebrate Christmas with us and you'll see for yourself."
"I dunno."
"There'll be turkey. And horror films in the evening, if I know my dad."
Bellatrix' eyes lit up. "Oooh! Count me in. Besides that, the live crucifixions at your church should be entertaining."
"Live… crucifixions…" Hermione mouthed.
"Hm!" Bellatrix nodded eagerly.
Hermione opened her mouth to say something, but then decided against it.
"Let's get to the cafe!" Bellatrix hooked her arms around her waist and pulled her towards the cafe where they found the rest of the family gathered. Drinks and snacks were ordered and chats were had while Zipper enjoyed being away from the dragons. Druella and Cygnus recounted a tale from Bellatrix' youth when she managed to get herself stuck in a pipe while chasing after a dragonfly. An embarrassed Bellatrix countered with a story where Cygnus accidentally set his office on fire due to falling asleep while smoking his pipe when doing paperwork. Achille sat back doing sketches while an unstoned Nymphadora lamented being unstoned. Andromeda and Ted enjoyed some cakes until Cygnus started rapping his fingers to the table. "Bella?" he asked. "I remember you being very into writing before your disappearance. Have you written anything new?"
"Qui!" Achille spoke up. "That is the right question!"
"Well, I've been working on some," said Bellatrix when she fished her notebook out of her bag. "Not much quiet time so they're all a little rough. But I have one that's almost done."
Bellatrix flipped to a page in her notebook and Hermione could see that the story on that page had a lot of scratched out sentences and alterations, as well as notes in the liner. Bellatrix, as usual, was a consummate perfectionist.
"I call this one, 'The Slide'.
Marjorie Brundle was a simple woman. She worked hard during the week and enjoying taking her young son to the park on the weekends. Together they would enjoy a picnic and, afterwards, she would watch her son as he enjoyed the playground with the other children. It was a particularly quiet day at the park, with them being the only people there. Not that Marjorie complained all that much, since her son could enjoy the playground on his own and he wouldn't have to wait in line for the trampoline.
After enjoying the swing-set and jumping around on the trampoline, her son made his way to the slide. The slide itself was at the top of a wooden play-fort and was a tall closed tube going down to the ground in two sets of loops. The boy ran up the stairs, jumped onto the slide and Marjorie smiled as she watched her son emerge at the bottom with a whoop. Of course, he ran right up the stairs for a second go. And a third. However, at the fourth go something was off.
The boy rushed down the slide. But didn't emerge from the other end.
Marjorie let out a sigh. This wasn't the first time her son had tried to pull a prank by stopping himself halfway down the slide. She made her way over to the mouth of the slide, bent down and yelled. 'Alright, Jack, fun's over. Come on down, I know you're up there'.
No answer.
'Jack?'
Still no answer.
Fine, if her son wanted to play that game, she would simply make her way up the fort, enter the slide and emerge at the bottom with her giggling son in her lap. And Marjorie did just that. Rather awkwardly, she sat down and pushed herself forward. She made the first loop. And the second. And… a third?
This was odd. Not only was she now headed towards a fourth loop, but she was actually gaining speed. Her heart pounded in her chest as her mind started realize that something was very, very off. The mouth of the slide should have been in sight long ago, but instead she was still gaining speed as the slide moved up, down, right, left with seemingly no end to it.
'Jack?! JACK?!' she shouted, her voice echoing through the endless tube. Finally, she came to a halt as the incline of the tube tapered off and she lost all her momentum. All she could do was to stare into the endless darkness ahead.
With some effort she managed to turn herself forward into the tube to lay on her chest and started the arduous task of dragging herself forward. 'Jack?!' she shouted again. 'Shout if you can hear me!'.
Nothing.
With increasing panic, Marjorie continued to drag herself forward while screaming her son's name. Until she heard something in the distance. Marjorie strained to hear what it was, only to realize that it came not in front of her, but behind her. The sound of limbs pounding against the metal of the tube came ever closer. But it couldn't be her son. Something was coming up behind her. Fast. Large. And the moment it let out a shriek which reverberated through the entire tube, Marjorie let out a yelp and started to drag herself forward as fast as she could.
Her heart pounded in her chest and she strained her entire body to frantically stay ahead of whatever it was that was behind her, but one thing was clear: it was gaining on her faster than she could drag herself forward. The sounds, the pounding, the screams were coming over closer. Crying in fear and panic, she almost rejoiced when she finally saw light ahead. With renewed purpose, she pushed herself forward and dragged herself into the dim light.
Whatever it was behind her stopped at the mouth of the slide, letting out a disappointed light growl before withdrawing back into the darkness.
Marjorie let out a sigh of relief.
'Mum?' sounded behind her. Marjorie quickly hugged her son to her chest. The boy had a cut above his brow, but seemed otherwise unharmed. She was overjoyed… until she realized where she was.
The mouth of the slide was encased in a stone wall… surrounded by three other stone walks. The dank smell of mildew overcame her as she realized that the dim light came from bio-luminescent lichen on the walls. She and her son were trapped in a tiny room barely big enough to hold two people and they had nowhere to run or hide.
The growls grew ever more eager as it started to sink in that the only way out of this room, was to go to back up the slide."
"Nasty," Cygnus rubbed his chin.
"Mon dieu, Chouchou!" Druella pouted. "Why don't you write about something nice?"
Bellatrix shrugged. "It's just… something I came up with after breakfast. It's… not very good…"
"Bollocks to that," exclaimed Nymphadora. "I'm never going down a slide again!"
"Practise makes perfect, Cherie," chuckled her oncle.
Bellatrix smirked at Hermione. "Maybe your Christmas celebrations will give me more inspiration."
Christmas horror by Bellatrix. Well, that would make her popular with her dad, at least.