Chapter 47: Finding TrixChapter Text
Four people and a wasp went through the portkey.
Three people and a wasp came out.
Then… chaos.
Zipper was grasping the bars on the door of his cat-carrier with his mandibles in an attempt to get out. Hermione sympathized, but having a giant wasp flying around the huge group of investigators coming in from the auror office would be a distraction they couldn't use right now. She had already given her statement to the first responders and they were now interviewing her parents. Naturally, travel through the portkey connection had been suspected immediately from both sides and unspeakables from both the UK and French Ministry where coming in to investigate. It was all very surreal.
That is not to say that Hermione wasn't utterly sick with worry. It had always been maintained that portkey travel was utterly safe: a stable portal with two tethered endpoints. Hermione had never heard of someone 'getting lost' during transit. In fact, that hadn't happened on record ever since portkeys had been experimental magic hundreds of years ago.
But that still left the question. What happened to Bellatrix?
Part of her feared that something had happened due to Trix' temporal displacement. Maybe the magic of the transit interacted with her in a bad way because it somehow 'knew' that Bellatrix didn't belong in this time line, but she quickly dismissed this idea because Bellatrix had travelled through portkeys in this time line before without so much as a moment of discomfort.
Hermione thought she spotted Ron in the distance and called out, running after him… only to be stopped by a portkey security guard. Naturally, since Hermione wasn't in the Ministry or an auror, she was denied access no matter what arguments she threw at him. Frustrated, Hermione grit her teeth and kicked a dustbin for good measure.
So, she sat down on a bench and wallowed in misery until the Black family members arrived. She spotted them in the distance behind a crowd of security personnel and tried to attract their attention. She succeeded, unfortunately so, when Bellatrix' mother was the one to spot her. Druella Black, on the arm of Nymphadora, pointed at her and walked towards her. When Hermione got a good look at her expression, her heart broke.
Druella's eyes were red, her hands were trembling and her make-up had run from all the tears. Nymphadora seemed very worried also, often whispering to her and squeezing her hand. Bellatrix' mother had never seemed so…frail.
"Mademoiselle Granger," Druella cried out. Cela se produit encore! Pas encore! Pas encore! Ma pauvre enfant! Ma douce Bellatrix! Trouve-la! Aidez-la, s'il vous plaît! S'il vous plaît! Je l'aime tellement!"
Hermione didn't quite know what to say when Bellatrix's mother took her in a weak embrace. She returned the embrace as best she could while Druella cried in her arms. Nymphadora gave her a worried look.
"Hermione, she's been like this since… hearing the news," Nymphadora said. "Whatever happened also disabled all the traces put on auntie Bella. Nan has been in quite a state."
Hermione put her hands on Druella's shoulders. "Mrs Black?" she spoke as softly as possible. "I want Bellatrix found as much as you do. I'll do everything I can and more. Do you understand me?"
Druella sobbed, but nodded. Meanwhile, Nymphadora raised a finger and shouted out. "MUUUUUUUUUUUUUMMMMMMMMMMMMM!" sounded the magically enhanced voice throughout the hall, causing Hermione's ears to ring. It did have the desired result, however, as Andromeda, clad in her finery, turned around and spotted Nymphadora pointing at Hermione, upon which she started barking orders to the portkey security to let her through immediately.
"Thanks," said Hermione.
"Don't mention it," replied Nymphadora. "Look, I have to take care of my nan, alright? Please find Bellatrix, okay?"
Hermione nodded and watched Nymphadora take her inconsolable grandmother to sit with her on a bench near a drinks machine, hugging her tightly while she wept. Hermione picked up the cat-carrier and moved to talked to the same security guard, who now sheepishly let her through and was kind enough to point her to the direction of a side-office. Before heading inside, Hermione winced when she heard the heart-rending wail of a desperate mother over the murmurs of the many people mulling about the terminal.
The side-office turned out to be a personnel rec-room with a bunch of tables, some recliners and a coffee maker. The only person inside was Ron, who looked up from a stack of reports. "Hermione, there you are. I told some people to go look for you."
"Well, they might have looked harder," said Hermione. "Ron, are you in charge of the investigation?"
"Such as it is," he shrugged. "I've just got the reports from the unspeakables."
"Already?" Hermione pressed.
Ron snorted. "What can I say? When someone like Andromeda Black farts, you have a dozen high level Ministry officials crawling over themselves to praise the smell. Anyway, the portkeys on either side of the pond are in perfect condition and there's absolutely nothing wrong with the teleportation tunnel in between them. The human analogues they sent through all came out fine, all measurements are correct."
"How can that be?" asked Hermione, but was soon disturbed by rattling from the cat-carrier. "Say, mind if I let Zipper out? He's been getting a mite restless."
"Sure," said Ron. "Just don't let him fly out into the terminal. If he lands on the wrong portkey, he might end up in Trinidad."
Zipper was quite happy to be released, buzzing around merrily and finding a good spot on the ceiling. Hermione and Ron were too focused on the map. "Teleportation tunnel is always a straight line… well, sorta… it bends along with the curvature of the Earth, but otherwise it's a straight line from Strasbourg to Leeds. Tunnel failure could have deposited her anywhere along this line… let's hope it wasn't the middle of the North Sea.
"It can't have been a tunnel failure," said Hermione. "She went in right after me and my dad, along with my mum. My mum would have been lost as well if it had been a tunnel failure. Hell, maybe me and dad too."
"You're right," sighed Ron. "And that doesn't explain where the trace on Bellatrix went. Her mother says it was there one moment and gone the next. Not going lie, Hermione, I'm at a loss. I'm glad you're here to help. That big brain of yours might come in handy."
At that moment, Andromeda and Bellatrix' father came in through the door. Andromeda looked distracted, while Cygnus leaned on his cane. Though Cygnus seemed far more calm that Andromeda, Hermione could tell that he was worried.
"What happened?!" Andromeda demanded. "Where is my sister?!"
"Madame Black," Ron gulped. "We are doing everything we can to…"
"Don't patronize me!" Andromeda demanded. "I demand my sister be found! Have you seen the state my mother is in?! And, trust me, you do not wish to know what is going through my mind right now."
Hermione put her finger to her lips. "Okay, let me summarize what we know. Four people went into the portkey, only three came out. Preliminary tests show that there's nothing wrong with the portkeys or the teleportation tunnel and we'd know if there was. It can't have been a tunnel failure because all four would have been effected if it was, considering how close we were to one another. A trace would not be affected by a tunnel failure anyway and still it is gone."
"Hermione," Andromeda pressed. "Bellatrix cannot have vanished off the face of the Earth."
"Andromeda," Cygnus put a hand on her shoulder.
The Black matriarch spun around. "No, I will not calm down! Dammit, father, we just had her back! I just had my big sister returned to me and now these Ministry dregs are telling us that she's gone and they can't find her! I DO NOT WISH TO GO THROUGH THIS HELL A SECOND TIME!"
Hermione closed her eyes and thought back to what happened just before and just after stepping through the portkey. She tried to block out all sounds of shouting to try to think clearly. And then, it hit her.
The man in the cloak whom had bumped into Bellatrix.
There was no reason for him to have bumped into her. Bellatrix was heading out in the opposite direction in a different lane. The man would have had to deliberately veer off into the opposite lane to bump into Bellatrix. Was this even an accident.
"Andromeda?" Hermione spoke up. "Please tell me you haven't called off the surveillance teams yet."
A few moments and a few floo calls later, Ron, Hermione, Andromeda and Cygnus were looking at a stack of moving pictures lain out on the tables, capturing the moments just before the four of them headed into the portkey in Strasbourg. Ron raised an eyebrow. "You, uhm, you are having Hermione watched and photographed 24/7?"
"I did," said Andromeda. "For years. All her activities and interactions."
"Interactions with… everyone?"
"Yes," said Andromeda. "Before you ask, I have rather large files on you as well, mister Weasley."
Ron blanched considerably, gulping a little when he apparently contemplated the implications of this. But Ron's discomfort wasn't important to Hermione right now, as she was studying the moving picture with a big magnifying glass. "It seems my instinct was right," said Hermione after taking a careful look at the photo showing the exact moment when the cloaked man bumped into Bellatrix. "See that? The precise moment he bumped into Bellatrix, he also slipped something into her pocket."
"A reverse pick-pocket?" asked Andromeda. "To what end?"
Cygnus rubbed his chin. "It is theoretically possible to hijack a teleportation tunnel. By changing the end point."
"A portkey within a portkey!" Hermione snapped her fingers. "Teleportation tunnels are pure concentrated magic. Diverting the stream can only be done in a 20 mile radius of the original steam while still leaving the traveller's body intact."
Ron grunted. "Still that means the hijacking could have taken place anywhere along the route. That's over five hundred miles of ground to cover."
"It takes pure concentrated magic to break through a tunnel of pure concentrated magic," said Cygnus. "That will leave a magical residue."
"And if we find that residue, we will find Trix," Hermione smiled.
Ron pursed his lips. "Still doesn't explain where the trace went."
Andromeda fingered her lips for a moment. "Traces don't work in portkeys. Too much magic distortion. When the subject leaves the tunnel, the magic of the trace needs a moment to 'catch up' as it were after travel. It is in this window of time that someone could cancel or overrule the trace."
"Dare I ask how you know so much about traces?" Ron raised an eyebrow.
"How indeed, mister Weasley," Andromeda grinned wickedly.
"Regardless," said Hermione. "It will take expensive and delicate equipment to do measurements that precise. It will need to be able to distinguish between the strong magical currents of the existing tunnel and the subtle readings of a tunnel break at a precise location."
"What will you need?" Andromeda said. "Everything will be delivered within the hour."
"A Magi-meter, an oscillating disseminator and a signal analyser," said Hermione.
"Might I suggest a Distortion-measurer as well?" added Cygnus. "I will assist you, miss Granger. I have some experience with portkey analysis, having worked on the development of the Inverness portkey hub as an apprentice."
"We'll get to the bottom of this," said Ron.
"You'd better!" Andromeda hissed.
"Andromeda," Cygnus put a hand on her shoulder. "Calm yourself. We all want her back."
Bellatrix was still a little groggy when she opened her eyes. While her eyes were adjusting to the light, she noticed two things. First, she was laying on something really soft and bouncy. Second, she was in a supremely uncomfortable position with her arms stretched over her head and held in place.
When she finally was able to look around, she saw that she was in a darkened room of a house. The place was rather tidy, but the curtains partially covering the window bathed it in shadows. Beyond the windows, she could see twisted trees. The room itself looked to be a living room, complete with sofas, a fireplace and paintings. She supposed it was quite nice. Bellatrix herself lay on a cozy bed two-person bed, looking to be rather out of place in a living room. Judging from the lack of dust and the way some of the furniture had been moved to make place from it, it had been a more recent addition.
Bellatrix tugged on her arms and found them to be fastened to the headboard with enchanted rope snaked around her wrists. She tugged, but the ropes held on tighter as a result.
"Finally awake," sounded a gravely voice from beyond the darkness.
Bellatrix froze. "Who… who's there!" she demanded.
"My, my, don't you recognize my voice?" sounded as a figure as it stepped into the light. "I suppose it has been some time."
The man clad in a black robe was broad-shouldered, yet emaciated. His skin was paler than it should be and what could be seen of his neck and head was covered in scars of magical burns. A scraggly beard covered most of this face, but looking at this features and his eyes, who this was, was unmistakable.
"R-Rodolphus?" Bellatrix stammered.
"You do remember!" he let out a roaring laugh. Not a pleasant laugh. Not a mirthful laugh. "Unlike me, you haven't aged a day. I do say, Bella, you've given me no end of grief. Which will no doubt please you to hear."
Rodolphus stood at the side of the bed, right next to her. He removed a glove from his calloused hand and held Bellatrix' ankle. The curly-haired witch felt a shudder go through her entire body when he slowly slid his hand from her ankle up to her knee, raising up her dress a little.
"I always admired your legs, you know?" he chuckled before withdrawing his hand. "Everybody believed I murdered you and buried you into the woods. Even the Dark Lord! Oh, he was furious. 'You have robbed us of a potential recruit and brought too much unwanted attention to us at the wrong time'. But I am grateful: I had to work twice as hard to improve myself and prove my worth to the Dark Lord. And I became his must trusted, his most faithful!"
"Where have you brought me?" Bellatrix asked warily.
"Do you like it?" said Rodolphus. "You should. You'll be spending the rest of your life here."
Bellatrix did her best to keep her breathing steady: though she was determined to remain defiant, her situation was far from encouraging and she could feel the onset of panic looming at the edge of her being.
"Hunting lodge. Belonged to my grandfather," said Rodolphus. "It's very well hidden, and not on any books. Nobody comes here except me. Bella, nobody is ever going to find you here. Your old life is over."
Right, panic was very much threatening to invade her calm demeanor. She looked around frantically, to the windows, to the door. Again, the twisted trees outside caught her eye. "We…" she whispered. "We are in the Forbidden Forest!"
"Clever, clever little witch," he chuckled. "But then again, you always were. You're correct, of course. It is to my endless amusement that I have been here for the past 18 months. It is delightfully easy to bribe some lowlifes to take a polyjuice potion and have them traipse about some continental city for a few hours and just watch the press and the aurors completely lose their heads on a wild goose chase! It's really quite comical. Meanwhile, I've been here all along, hiding right under their noses. And, well, if you can pay someone to drink a potion, you can pay someone to slip a little something in your pocket to make you come to me, dear Bella."
"Why have you brought me here?" Bellatrix asked.
Rodolphus spun around on his heels, face twisted in pure rage. "Because," he hissed. "I AM OWED A PURE-BLOOD BRIDE!"
The voice was so loud that it made Bellatrix' ears ring. He was upon her, grasping her jaw and squeezing. "Funny thing, having the reputation of having murdered one's bride-to-be, rumour or no, doesn't do wonders for marriage prospects in pure-blood circles. Not even when you're the Dark Lord's top lieutenant. But you returned and it was as if it was a sign from magic itself! You have returned just in time to help me prepare for the Dark Lord's return!"
"Return?" Bellatrix frowned. "Isn't he dead?"
Bellatrix would come to regret making that offhand comment. Faster that Bellatrix could register, his fist collided with her cheek so hard that it made her head snap back and slam back into the pillow. And second blow to just below her eye followed. "HOW DARE YOU?!" he roared, a punch to the stomach sending Bellatrix into a coughing fit. "FILTHY WHORE!"
Bellatrix was started when his calloused hand clamped over her mouth while using his thumb and index finger to hold her nose shut. Immediately, the already winded Bellatrix had to fight for breath. She twisted and turned her head in a futile attempt to break free. He bent down, his face so close that the now undeniably terrified Bellatrix could feel his beard on her skin.
"You know nothing, you uppity little bitch," he hissed, inches away from her. "You haven't changed a bit, Bella. Still the insufferable know-it-all. Oh, woe-is-me, my freedom is more important than my duty. You have a duty to the pure-blood wizardhood, Bella! A duty you will fulfil. For the Dark Lord will expect greatness and devotion from all of us!"
Her lungs screamed for air while her vision started to blur and her limbs were growing heavy. And then, just as quickly as she had been assaulted, she had been released. Bellatrix drew in a large breath and started coughing.
Rodolphus for his part, raised his hands. "I apologize, I apologize," he said. "I should not blame you for your profane ignorance. In fact, I should pity you. You have missed the last thirty years. You have missed your opportunity to lay your eyes on Lord Voldemort's magnificence. You have missed a chance to kneel at his feet and share in his glory. I should not fault you for not knowing any better."
Bellatrix stared at him, hard. Rodolphus was a far cry from the petulant little schoolboy he had been. This was a soldier, this was a battle-hardened war-mage. This was a man who had tortured Hermione within an inch of her life. Whatever he had been in the past, he had become violent, cruel and desperate. If he was capable of almost beating Hermione to death, he could certainly do the same to her. If the way her cheek burned or her eye hurt was any indication, he could do much worse.
"Please, forgive me," he bowed his head.
Apparently, Bellatrix took too long to answer.
"Please," he repeated angrily through clenched teeth while balling his fist dangerously. "Forgive me. A good pure-blood wife should be KIND AND GRACIOUS and FORGIVE TRANSGRESSIONS WHEN A PROPER APOLOGY IS OFFERED."
Bellatrix yelled out. "I forgive you! I forgive! It's just… all a bit…"
"Overwhelming?" Rodolphus finished. "You shouldn't be overwhelmed. This is expected of you, after all. The Dark Lord shall NEVER DIE! He always lingers! We will await his return and when he does, we will be ready for him."
"Why… am… I.. here?!" Bellatrix demanded angrily. For a moment, she expected another blow, but it never came. Instead, Rodolphus spread his arms wide.
"Here, in this lair, we have all we need to prepare!" he yelled out. "Together, Bellatrix, you and I shall breed an army of the loyalest followers to prepare for the Dark Lord's return! The longer he waits, the larger his army will be!"
Breed… an army. Breed.
Oh, Merlin. OhMerlinOhMerlinOhMerlin!
Full on panic set on in now as she started to tug on the ropes, which only tightened further around her writs. Rodolphus was already upon her, straddling her as she struggled. A hand was placed on her cheek, the same place he had struck her mere minutes ago. Bellatrix was starting to hyperventilate now, something Rodolphus seemed to mistake for arousal. "Come now," he said. "Serving the Dark Lord can be quite enjoyable. Let us begin."
"W-wait…" Bellatrix squeezed her eyes shut when he started running fingers through her hair.
"W-WAIT!" she shouted when he started to free her shoulders from her dress.
"WHAT?!" he demanded.
"WE'RE NOT MARRIED!" Bellatrix shouted in desperation.
Rodolphus cocked his head sideways.
"You call me your pure-blood bride, right?" she said. "But… we're not officially married. So… what will the Dark Lord say when he comes back and he finds out the army created for him is entirely born out of wedlock? That would be… so embarrassing to him. And for you!"
Rodolphus pondered this, rubbing his beard.
Bellatrix bit her lip, hoping against hope that he would see reason for now at least.
"See, Bella?" he finally grinned. "You have just prevented me from making a rather hideous mistake! You are already an excellent wife! Ah, but where to find an official?! I am a fugitive."
She could tell that he was now reconsidering her words. Bellatrix knew she would have to act quickly. "I know a vicar!" Bellatrix announced. "St Jude-on-the-Hill, in London. There's a vicar there with last name Frost."
Rodolphus narrowed his eyes. "Muggle?"
"Better than nothing," Bellatrix tried. "And they don't know you're a fugutive."
For a moment it seemed as if he would discard her suggestion, but relief washed over her when he made a grab for his cloak and wrapped it around his shoulders. "I shall go find us a vicar at once!" he said while making for the door. "I shall be back shortly. Don't go anywhere," he chuckled at his own joke and pulled the door close behind him. Outside, there was the telltale pop of an apparation.
Bellatrix breathed a sigh of relief, but knew her time was short. Once he had found a vicar and the two of them had been married, there'd be no stopping him from doing… what he was about to do… She had to get out of there and she was on the clock.
Long ago, Cissy had pulled a prank on her and had used magic rope of a similar kind to tie her leg to their garden playhouse. It had been a matter of finding the right flow of magic to actually sync with the magic of the rope so it would fall loose to escape, much to Cissy's chagrin. If she could do duplicate that feat here, she could escape. So, Bellatrix diligently went to work, altering the flow of magic as it ebbed through her arms to see what would make the ropes constrict and what would make them go slack.
Bellatrix was on the clock.
The best thing… well, second best thing… about being affiliated with the Noble and Most Ancient House of Black, was the quick access to vast resources at a moment's notice. Andromeda had been true to her word and had all the equipment delivered in less than an hour. Thankfully, the machines also came pre-calibrated, saving them precious time.
After that, it was just going through the Portkey teleportation tunnel over and over and over again to take readings in the hope of finding the right magic signature. In fact, Hermione had just made about six round-way trips when she was deposited in Leeds again. The moment she landed on her feet, she stumbled a little before immediately rushing to the nearest wastebin to hurl up the contents of her stomach.
With the taste of bile fresh in her mouth, she weakly raised her head, only to feel the urge to immediately dry heave again. When she finally recovered somewhat, she found Ron standing over her holding out a bottle of water. The grateful Hermione took the bottle. "Have a seat, Hermione," said Ron. "Mister Black has already calibrated the… uh, the scan-thingy. I'll take the next few trips."
"Thanks, Ron," Hermione croaked and walked over to a group of seatings where Cygnus had set up and was operating the equipment. The old man had put his cane to lean against the waist-high wood-panelled machine which looked like something which came straight out of Dr. Frankenstein's laboratory. While Ron took out the meter and took his first trip through the portkey, Cygnus took another look at the dials. "We might be on to something here. There's a definite spike near the bottom end of the ElectroMagical band. It'll take more readings to narrow it down still."
Hermione took a swig from her bottle to wash down the foul taste in her mouth. "How can you keep so calm?" she asked, finding herself sick with worry.
Cygnus froze for a moment before speaking. "Years of business deals or contract negotiations have given me the skill to appear calm, collected and self-assured at any given circumstance… even when I'm anything but…"
Hermione lowered her gaze. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to imply…"
"It's fine, miss Granger," said Cygnus. "I'm most concerned about the fact that no ransom demands have been sent yet. The implications of that are quite disturbing. And what about you, miss Granger? You're pushing yourself quite hard."
Hermione sighed. "Am I that obvious?" she replied. "Seems so long ago now when I first met Trix through the Fae Mirror. We all knew the story about her disappearance. It's a terrible thing to know that the person you're talking to will be murdered in a few months. Of course, Trix had made me promise not to tell her anything about the future. Trying to convince her that bad things were going to happen to her while not actually being able to tell her what those bad things were. Vexing doesn't begin to describe it."
"Hm," smiled Cygnus. "It probably didn't help that my fierce girl is more stubborn than a particularly obstinate mule."
"Oh, absolutely," Hermione crossed her arms. "I had just convinced her to stay away from Rodolphus and the Dark Lord and then that old goat Dumbledore sends her right back in again on some half-baked spying mission! It's as if he didn't realize just how dangerous that was."
Cygnus' fingers hovered over the machinery. He took a step back and slowly sat down in the hair next to Hermione. "Bellatrix wouldn't have been in that position if I hadn't put her in it in the first place," said Cygnus. "I saw how unhappy having the marriage to Rodolphus Lestrange hanging over her head made her. I knew how much she wanted to escape from it. I drove her to that desperation, miss Granger. And I've had to live with that for thirty-three years."
Hermione watched him as he stared into the distance, seemingly lost in thought. Hermione had seen that look before, a combination of guilt and helplessness, on the face of her own father after learning that she had been suffering. The look on Cygnus' face was very much one of a father in pain.
"I wouldn't say that," said Hermione. "I've read the newspaper articles. After Bellatrix disappeared, you went on a collision course with the head of your house and took a stance which had led to the disowning of so many previous Blacks before for the sake of your daughter. That takes courage."
"That is kind of you to say," replied Cygnus, a slight hint of a smile tugging on the corners of his mouth. "But if I really had courage, I would have done so earlier for Bella's sake. I did not. My poor Bella has never seen her own family, or even her own father, at their best."
"I think she's seeing it now," Hermione smiled. "My father is also dealing with his guilt. Even though I keep maintaining that I make my own choices, he blames himself for all the things I have… been forced to endure. He shouldn't feel guilty about anything, but I can't seem to convince him of that."
"Fathers are supposed to protect their children," said Cygnus. "I think I quite understand his position. Even if Bellatrix were to forgive me, I don't think I'd be so quick to forgive myself."
"You and my father should talk," said Hermione. "Despite all your differences, you both have plenty in common."
"Honestly?" said Cygnus. "I think I would like that."
"Technically, it was I who took her away from you and her family," Hermione admitted. "By convincing her to come to the future with me, I caused her disappearance."
"No," Cygnus shook his head. "Miss Granger… Hermione. You gave her back to me. I have no doubt, knowing what an insane fanatic Rodolphus Lestrange has become, that Bellatrix would have been in for either a dire future or a violent end at a young age. I do not know what would have happened if she had not travelled through time, Hermione. This is the only reality I know and I feel that Bellatrix getting a second chance at life is best for her and our family. You have done nothing wrong."
Hermione smiled. "Thank you."
"We will find Bellatrix again, Hermione," said Cygnus. "As for you, I realize that you have saved Bellatrix at great cost to yourself. Rest assured that the Noble and Most Ancient House of Black takes care of its friends, allies… and future members."
Hermione snapped her head and looked at the older wizard with wide eyes. "You mean…?"
"Let's find her first, hm?" he chuckled before getting up and returning to the machine, finding Zipper having touched down upon in. "Ah, hello there, my little friend."
The giant wasp treated Cygnus to a few playbites before Hermione came to collect him. After taking another drink of water, she sat down again and clutched the wasp to her chest. Though Zipper might not be soft and fluffy as Crookshanks had once been, hugging the wasp did have the same effect. "Yeah," whispered Hermione. "I'm worried about her too."
A few moments later, Ron emerged from his third round-away trip with the latest readings. Already looking a bit green around the gills, he let Cygnus analyse the latest findings before plopping down and taking a drink. "Merlin," he muttered. "I feel like my bowels are dancing the watusi."
"Nobody is meant to make this many portkey travels in one day," said Cygnus. "I shall take the next few trips. We are making definite progress, though. I shall set the disseminator to emit the right MagiHertz frequency. Next few trips we might break through."
"No," said Hermione. "You need to keep your head clear. I'll take the next few trips. I'll be fine, I'll just have to center myself a bit more"
Hermione stepped back to the portkey and took a few deep breaths: her stomach was already starting to turn at the thought of more round-way trips, but steeled herself to the task. The moment she was about to touch it, Zipper landed on the pedestal beside it, looking up at her with his compound eyes. "Alright," she said and zipped open her jacket. The wasp scrawled inside and after Hermione zipped up again, poked his head out just under Hermione's chin. She grabbed hold of both the measuring equipment and the disseminator, took a deep breath and was off.
The first two round trips were the same as always. She emerged in Strasbourg, returned to Leeds and shared her findings after which Cygnus re calibrated the equipment. On the third time, something did happen.
The disseminator did its job: a sharp jolt went through the entirety of Hermione's body and, for a moment, it felt as if she was being split in two. She was tossed about the teleportation tunnel like a ragdoll, crying and shouting for what seemed like forever until she was rather roughly deposited on the ground.
The first thing Hermione did was throw up.
The second thing was to recover from the disorientation: she didn't know up from down and left from right at the moment. She rolled on her back and panted, a foul taste still in her mouth. When she opened her eyes, she was met with blue skies. Hermione took another few deep breaths, hearing the sound of the window and of bleating sheep in the distance.
She definitely hadn't landed in Leeds.
Hermione sat up and found herself in the middle of a field near a copse of trees. Now, none of them had expected to find any danger here, since it would have been foolish of Trix' kidnappers to stick around. As they had agreed upon, Hermione fished a beacon from her satchel. The planted the conch-shell on a stick in the ground and started to explore her surroundings.
She heard Zipper buzzing in the distance, the wasp having either escaped from her jacket or thrown clear of it. Hermione got to her feet, needing a moment steady herself, before she slowly walked over to a bush where Zipper was buzzing his wings. The wasp had landed and had stuck his head into something.
Bellatrix' hat.
The pointy, floppy hat lay abandoned and covered with dirt. Hermione picked it up and held it: Trix had definitely been here and she would never left her favourite and well-loved hat behind willingly.
Zipper buzzed around in circles and it was obvious that he wanted her to follow him. Had he picked up a scent, perhaps? Could wasps even do that?
Zipper led her to a copse of trees at the edge of the field, near what appeared to be a road in a poor state of repair. Zipper seemed to be circling an area of the copse, near the edge and at first Hermione couldn't spot anything out of the ordinary. After taking out her wand and roving it about, she discovered a very faint magic signature. In fact, it was so faint that if Zipper hadn't been sat next to it, she likely never would have found it.
A knothole had been enchanted to be another portkey, location unknown. All she had to do was touch it.
She and Ron had decided to gather at whatever endpoint the portkey would deposit them had, assess the situation and call for backup as needed. As it seemed, this kidnapped was well planned and likely prepared well in advance. The chance of running into dangerous people was high.
But… if the situation was reversed, Bellatrix wouldn't even hesitate: she'd jump right through and face the dangers head on for Hermione's sake.
Why wouldn't Hermione do the same?
She put her lip for a moment, doubts still plaguing her. What good would it do if Hermione would be captured or killed herself? How would that help Trix?
Hermione sighed and placed another conch-beacon into the ground next to the tree. She pulled a magic marker from her satchel and drew a bright pink glowing circle around the knothole with an arrow pointing at it. Even Ron would catch on to that clue.
Then, she stuffed Trix' hat into her satchel, put Zipper inside her jacket again. With grim determination, she moved to touch the portkey and took off into the unknown.
Chapter 48: MonstersChapter Text
Bellatrix was in a most uncomfortable position. Her plan to wriggle free by syncing up her flow of magic with that of the rope was abandoned when she spotted her wand lying on top of a desk some ten meters away in the hallway beyond the living room. Her tactic was to loosen the magic rope just enough to twist her hand towards her wand.
Here she lay, her body twisting, her arm in an awkward Z-shape while struggling against a rope which was cutting off the flow of her blood. She drew in breath through clenched teeth, her body drenched in sweat from the exertion. She let the magic flow through her arm and the tips of her whitened fingers. From beyond the hallway, she could hear the ticking of her wand against the wood of the desk as it started to vibrate.
"Oh, please," Bellatrix hissed. "Merlin, Circe, Salazar, Andros, Maeve, PLEASE!"
Bellatrix was acutely aware that she was taking far too long with executing her escape plan. At this point, Rodolphus might be returning at any moment. If he did, well… she didn't really want to think about what could happen.
So, she tried again. And again. Ever hearing that taunting ticking sound. Until finally.
"YES!" Bellatrix exclaimed when her wandless accio did its thing and the wand came flying right into her hand. She folded her hand against the hilt and took a few deep breaths. After the moment of joy had passed, she started folding her hand downward. All she had to do was to tap the rope with the tip of her wand, which was easier said that done with her wrist being bound so tightly.
After a few fruitless attempts, she was startled when the door to the house in the woods was thrown open. Her heart sank: she had taken too long. Immediately, she searched for a place to try to toss her wand to, but before she got the chance, Rodolphus strode into the living room with a hand on the back of the neck of an older muggle man she recognized as the reverend Frost from Hermione's church. Rodolphus threw the vicar into the room where he fell to the ground and froze the moment he saw Bellatrix with her wand in hand.
Rodolphus grew silent for a moment, then calmly strode to the side of the bed. With surprising gentleness, he slid the wand out of a frightened Bellatrix' hand and tossed it into the room.
Bellatrix didn't even see the blow coming, but it was delivered with such force that it snapped her head back and sent a tremor through her entire body. She was left reeling, seeing stars and finding it hard to breathe… hard to think. She could taste blood and her jaw hurt. Something sharp was in her mouth which could only be part of a broken tooth.
"You made me do that to you, Bella!" he roared. "YOU MADE ME!"
He paced around, throwing his hands into the air. "I am trying to be a good husband! I am trying to make you see the Dark Lord's greatness and this is my reward?! DISOBEDIENCE?! REVOLT?!"
He was upon her in a flash, grasping her neck. "I understand that you are young and therefore fickle, BUT DO NOT TEST ME AGAIN! You only need you womb to do your duty and that's all you need! Not your legs, not your arms, not your tongue, not your ears and not your eyes! DO YOU UNDERSTAND ME?!"
Bellatrix fought to keep her breathing under control. Would he… would he really?
"Now, you'll be happy to know I've found ourselves a nice vicar!" he snarled, hoisting the man up. The vicar looked as if Rodolphus had plucked him right out of the middle of a service… and knowing him, that was likely the case. He was still wearing that cassock thing and a green priest stole around his neck.
"Wha…" the vicar stammered. "Bellatrix? What… what on Earth is going on?!"
Rodolphus ignored the questions and hoisted him to his feet by pulling on the nape of his cassock.
"Right," Rodolphus demanded. "Marry us!"
To his credit, the muggle vicar took one look at Bellatrix bound to the bed and shook his head vigorously. "No, I will not!" he spoke, barely hiding the fear in his eyes, but still standing to his principles. "The poor girl is obviously not here of her own free will and I will not be party to this."
The muggle was brave, Bellatrix had to give the old man that.
Rodolphus sighed heavily and took out his wand. "Don't you hate it when they struggle, Bella? IMPERIO!"
Immediately, the vicar visibly relaxed, seeming in a trance. His protests fell silent and he simply stood there smiling.
"Marry us!"
Reverend Frost scraped his throat and easily fell into an oft performed routine. "Dearly beloved. We are gathered here today in the sight of God to join together this man and this woman in holy matrimony, which is…"
Bellatrix looked around, desperately seeking a way out of this predicament, only for her to receive another blow to the face.
"Bella, relax!" Rodolphus hissed while the vicar continued rattling on. "This is SUPPOSED to be the HAPPIEST DAY OF YOUR LIFE!"
Her will being sapped by the reeling blow, Bellatrix took a few deep breaths. There had to be a way out. She had to find it.
She had to.
It didn't take long for Hermione to figure out that she had been deposited smack-dab in the middle of the Forbidden Forest. Likely deeper than she had ever been.
Hermione had hardly ever gone further in than the mere edges. Even the Fae Mirror, for all its wonders and powers, had been relatively close to the edge in a safe area of the Forest and yet had managed to go undiscovered.
This said a lot about the Forbidden Forest, a place which was still mostly unexplored by wizards and witches. The thickness of the canopy allowed for little light, stifling the air around her. The Forbidden Forest was a place of dark magic and she could feel it all around her, twisting the trees and fouling every breath she took. There were places where even the centaurs wouldn't enter, and this would be one of them.
She also aware just what was roaming these woods. Something which had had it in for her and Bellatrix from the moment they'd met it and something which would have no qualms about entering this section of the forest. Sure, the chances of running into it in a forest this size were reasonably small, but she didn't want to spend any more time than necessary.
Zipper seemed confused for a moment, and ill at ease. He buzzed around a bit, hovering for a moment as if trying to gauge a direction. After Hermione marked the other side of the portkey tunnel, another knothole, with the marker and put up a conch beacon, she decided that following Zipper would be as good as any. The wasp seemed to be good at picking up a scent and she did see some marks on the ground which looked as if something… or someone… had been dragged over it.
A moment of confusion come over her. Hermione shook her head her head while walking and decided to keep going, only for Zipper to start flying in front of her, blocking her path.
"What?" asked Hermione. Zipper simply blocking her until she turned around.
A few moments later, there was more confusion. She found herself walking again with a steady pain. Once more, Zipper blocked her path until she turned around. Hermione stopped in her tracks. This place looked… unfamiliar. This hadn't been the direction she'd been headed in. Curious she took out her wand and roved it about while following Zipper. Eventually, she detected a strong curse laid upon the land. Zipper wasn't affected, but anyone who'd hit the curse would be confused and walk off into a random direction to get lost in this darkest part of the forest.
She'd done so twice. If Zipper hadn't been here, she'd be walking though the forest disoriented and confused forever. A flick of her wand and the curse was disabled.
Hermione followed Zipper, leaving more beacons along her path and was surprised to find a house deeper in. It looked to be partially overgrown hide its presence, but it otherwise looked like quite a stately two story upscale hunting lodge. The luxury stone building looked to be hundreds of years old, but surprisingly well maintained. She'd expected to find this sort of building somewhere on a hill at the outskirts of a village, rather than in this deep forest.
Zipper buzzed and Hermione became acutely aware that two people had apparated right near the front door of the building. The young witch dove behind a fallen log and hoped she hadn't been heard. When she dared to look, all her anxieties flared up all at once.
Rodolphus Lestrange.
What did it have to Rodolphus Lestrange?!
The man seemed to be dragging along a vicar. Wait. Was that Reverend Frost?! What was happening here?!
Hermione watched from her hiding spot as they went inside, Hermione closed her eyes and forced her body to stop hyperventilating. In that moment, she was back on the cold ground of Malfoy Manor, rolled up into a ball while whimpering as that awful man rained blow after blow after blow upon her with the fireplace poker.
But she was not that girl anymore. And Trix needed her.
So she steeled herself and crept towards the house. She pressed her back against the wall and slowly turned to peek inside. To both her delight and horror, Bellatrix was there. Though she was safe and sound, relatively speaking, she seemed to be tied to a bed in the living room.
Hermione reached into her satchel and took out a note, scribbling on it a request for help. She turned to Zipper and tied it to one of his legs with a bit of spellotape. "Zipper," she whispered. "Go to Hogwarts. Find McGonagall. We need all the help we can get."
The giant wasp seemed torn for a moment, turning towards the window to look at Bellatrix, then turning back to Hermione.
"Zipper," Hermione whispered. "Please…"
The giant wasp looked at her with understanding in his intelligent eyes. The wasp shot straight up and then, above the canopy, shot off in what she presumed was the direction Hogwarts was in as fast as his wings could carry him.
Hermione realized she had to do something. With Bellatrix tied to a bed and a kidnapped vicar in the house, it wasn't hard to deduce what the next step would be. Crippling fear, however, caused her to pause and freeze up.
Then, everything changed. When Rodolphus punched Bellatrix against the cheek so hard that she could hear the impact from the other side of the room through the window.
Disbelief.
Then… anger. A rage of the like she had never felt before in her entire life. Seething didn't begin to describe it. Bellatrix, the girl she loved, lay whimpering on the bed
And then, he hit her again.
Hermione's hands trembled. Not from fear, but from rage. The anger inside of her was stronger than she had ever felt before. Hermione knew she could be bossy and snippy, or even downright vindictive. But this was different. A pure primal rage which had been building up inside of her for years burst to the surface, pushing away all fears and doubt. Her chest heaved, her head pounded and her heart exploded in her chest. She knew what she had to do.
Hermione grasped her wand and with sheer determination, strode right into the building without a moment's hesitation. She was literally seeing red when she bounded about the corner with heavy strides, the words of the vicar sounding in her ears.
"If anyone objects to this marriage, let them speak now or forever hold their peace…" spoke the Reverend Frost.
"I OBJECT!" Hermione yelled out, her hand wrapped so tightly around her wand that her knuckles had turned stark white.
"Hermie!" Bellatrix exclaimed while both Rodolphus and Frost turned around.
"Hm, that never actually happens," said the Vicar, muttering to himself. "I should look up the protocol before we continue."
"SILENCE!" Rodolphus roared. "How dare you intrude… wait… I know you. Ah, yes! YES! The little mudblood girl! Have you come to play again? Ah, you mudbloods are always such gluttons for pain and punishment."
Hermione waved her wand, freeing the vicar from his trance, before holding her wand in front of her face, indicating she was challenging him to a duel.
Rodolphus grinned and matched her movement, accepting her challenge and actually looking forward to it. But the moment he moved his wand to his face, Hermione pumped her hand forward and blasted a bolt of energy straight into him. He yelped as he was knocked off his feet and flew back into the wall.
"Not so weak, now am I?" Hermione shouted at him. "Now that I'm not unarmed and you don't have a poker in your hand!"
Rodolphus hissed when he jumped to his feet and retaliated with magic of his own. A rage-filled Hermione put up her barriers and barely blocked it.
"FILTHY MUDBLOOD!" he shouted. "You usurpers know nothing of our rules! You defile the noble act of duelling!"
"FUCK YOUR RULES!" Hermione shouted back. "AND FUCK YOU!"
And then, the duel started in earnest.
The location to duel is was far from ideal: it was close quarters fighting, filled with furniture and Bellatrix, being in a central place in the room, was right in the line of fire. Thankfully, the vicar was taking care of that, as the made kept his head down after the spells started flying and started to try to cut her free with a knife he had found.
"TRIX IS MINE!" Hermione shouted. "YOU WILL NOT TAKE HER FROM ME!"
Her rage gave her offensive spells an extra bite of power, while her defensive spells suffered due to lack of focus. She'd been hit several times, in her shoulder, her chest, her stomach, and had suffered several nasty looking magical burns. But aside from a few pained grunts, she barely even noticed and shrugged them off.
By now, the vicar had freed Bellatrix and the curly-haired witch was frantically looking for her wand. Good. Hermione could let loose now.
A bolt of lightning shot from the tip of her wand, smashed through Rodolphus' barrier. Hermione took a step forward, only to bit hit with blinding pain. So… he had used an unforgivable on her. The pain was intense, but the anger within Hermione was so great that she barely felt any of it, shrugging off the white searing feeling of hot needles penetrating every inch of her skin. The cruciatus curse wasn't real pain, but just an illusion of pain. And Hermione didn't have time or patience for figments.
"I'm not afraid of you anymore! You're not half as scary as you think you are. What does it feel like to be bested by a mudblood, hm?!" she smirked. It was a taunt, clear and simple, but Bellatrix had taught her that taunts were part of every duel.
"ENOUGH of this farce!" Rodolphus snarled. "Time to end this! AVADA…"
Hermione was prepared for that. The young witch, aimed her wand downward and willed a large part of the wooden floor to be ripped into the air and levitated it in front of her just in time to form a barrier for the sickly green bolt headed straight towards her to be blocked. The force of the impact caused the entire room to shake, with splinters of wood flying all around her. With a grunt coming from the depths of her lungs, she propelled the remainder of the section of floor into Rodolphus with bone-crushing force, immediately following up with an assault of her own.
She pumped her hand forward again and again, waving her wand as if she was a mad orchestral director. Spell after spell impacted with Rodolphus, causing him to cry out as the magic shred through his body.
As he lay on the ground bleeding and panting, she willed his wand to fly into her hand where she deftly snapped it and threw it over her shoulder. With wand aimed at him in a trembling hand, Hermione stepped towards him.
"This… this can't be!" Rodolphus grunted, trying to get to his feet but failing to so after it became clear that one of Hermione's spells had shattered his knee. "THE DARK LORD NEEDS HIS MOST FAITHFUL SERVANT!"
Even in her anger, her heart was light. After months upon months of night terrors, self-doubt and endless trauma, she was finally free.
Bellatrix, having finally gathered her wand, stood next to her with wand raised. Bellatrix gave her the warmest of smile and it only made Hermione's anger return: if it had been up to that delusional monster, she never would have seen that warm smile again. He was too dangerous, too destructive and too delusional to leave alive.
At that moment, her two companions realized what she wanted to do. Perhaps they saw it in her eyes. Bellatrix fell silent and nodded grimly. "You have won the duel. You have the right to decide his fate. Do what your heart tells you," she said.
The vicar, however, had a different opinion. "Hermione, please don't," started the man. "I won't lie, I don't understand half of what's going on here, but the man is defenseless and at your mercy. Do not take an action you can never undo. If not for him, then for yourself. There are different ways to dispense justice. Hermione, I've known you since you were a baby. This isn't you."
Of course, a vicar would say that, now wouldn't he?
Reverend Frost spoke true. Hermione wasn't really practicing, but the Church was basically a glorified community center in British society and had spent plenty of time there in her youth. Still, he simply could not understand Hermione's anger, her memories of the pain and suffering inflicted on her, the traumas and the fear she had had to live with. No. No, her course of action was clear and there could be only one outcome.
Hermione turned her head, and just knew how to end it. She reached out her hand and, magically, the fireplace poker came flying into her hand. She knew she wasn't nearly as physically strong as him, but a quick application of magic soon changed that. With both her poker and her arm wreathed in magical power, she was about to start.
"Hermione, no!" Frost pleaded.
Bellatrix was quick to counter. "Don't listen to him! Eye for an eye!"
Well. Who was Hermione to argue with that?
The poker slammed down first at Rodolphus' jaw. He cried out and spat out teeth. And, did it feel good. Another blow followed. And another one. Hermione cried out from the intensity as the poker-head slammed into one of his knees. Rodolphus whimpered and rolled up into a ball to protect himself, crying out for Hermione to stop.
And she did. For just a moment.
Hermione squatted down, poker in hand, and spoke softly. "It's scary, isn't it?" she said. "Being at helpless and at someone's complete mercy. You want nothing more than the pain to stop, but you know that won't happen. Difference between you and me is that I never begged. I knew it wouldn't matter. I had figured that out quick enough. You still haven't."
Again, Reverend Frost made an attempt. "Hermione, please. Stop this madness."
"Quiet!" Bellatrix hissed and pressed her wand against his chin. "This is her moment!"
Hermione ignored them both.
"Did you know that I often had thoughts about ending my own life?" asked Hermione. "I did. Not because anything you did to me on the floor of Malfoy Manor, oh no, don't flatter yourself. Rather, it was that entire war you and your retarded friends started. You lost. Spectacularly. And you're not willing to let it all go. I've learned that it's time to stop living in the past. Took me a wild time-travel jaunt to do it, but I learned. As for you, you could have just avoided all of this but just STAYING THE BLOODY FUCK away from my Trix! But like the blood-purity obsessed moron that you are, you just couldn't. You did this to yourself."
He opened his mouth. "The… the…"
"Oh, it speaks!" Hermione chuckled eerily. "Come on then. Out with it."
"The Dark… Lord… will… will…"
"Voldemort is dead," said Hermione. "And he's never coming back."
"YOU LIE! HE WILL! HE WILL! BELLATRIX AND I WILL BREED HIM AN ARMY!"
Hermione turned her head to Bellatrix, before turning back to look at Rodolphus. She rose to her feed and, in a split second, sent the magically enhanced poker right between his legs with bone-shattering force.
"I don't think you'll be able to anymore," Hermione shrugged as the whimpering, crying heap of a man. "You know, I'm rather ashamed of myself that I was ever afraid of you. You're pitiful, really. Pathetic. You just can't take what you love to dish out."
She stood over him, poker in hand, smiling down at him. "Your broken body will heal, for the most part. Mine did. But your mind? You'll be crying out in your sleep from the nightmares, the shame that you, a proud pure-blood paragon, had been utterly defeated, tortured and mutilated by a filthy little mudblood girl. That will haunt you until the day you die. You'll question yourself at every turn. It will haunt every quiet moment you have. You will wonder if your life is even worth living. But no, I am nothing like you. I will be kinder."
Hermione turned the poker around and aimed the sharp pointed end towards the whimpering, crying man.
"Hermione! Don't!" pleaded Frost.
"DO IT!" Bellatrix shouted over him.
"Rodolphus Lestrange," spoke Hermione with eerie calm. "I grant you mercy."
She raised the poker and, with all her rage and hatred, prepared to bring it down on his skull with magically propelled force.
She managed to, however, before… something… happened.
Hermione never quite realized what was happened. There were shouts. Screams. The entire house shook. Wood splinters were flying all around her. Something bumped into her, causing the poker to fly from her hand.
Something grabbed her by the wrist.
She was thrown up into the air.
There was a pop from her wrist.
Hermione landed on the hard ground.
Things got a little hazy after that.
How quickly things could change.
While Hermione was too filled with rage, Rodolphus too wounded and the vicar too confused, Bellatrix did notice something was off. A sound of thunder sounded in the distance and it seemed to be getting closer. She tried to listen over the shouting, only to notice that the house… no, the ground was shaking.
The next thing she knew, something big crashed through the wall of the house, sending massive amounts of stone, wood and shards of glass inward as a huge, pitch-black shape entered the living room with dazzling speed.
The black unicorn.
It was here!
Its massive body tossed all furniture aside as it skidded to a halt, colliding with Hermione. Before anyone could react, the massive carniverous unicorn had clamped its massive maw around Hermione's hand and, with a whip of its head, threw her across the room. Hermione landed in a crumpled heap right at her feet.
Everyone was momentarily frozen. The vicar stared at it in fear while Rodolphus seemed gobsmacked. The black unicorn snarled, raising its lip to reveal rows of bloodied sharp teeth. But Bellatrix only had eyes for Hermione. She lay on the ground, bloodied, her wand hand gone.
On her wrist, where once had been a hand, was now nothing but a clump of torn flesh, crushed bone and frayed skin. Bellatrix didn't have to be a genius to realize that Hermione was losing blood at an alarming rate. Still, Bellatrix was wise enough not to move just yet. The black unicorn was dominating the room, glaring as if deciding whom to consume first. Oppressive silence filled the room.
Merlin, she had never been this close to the creature without running from it. She could see the many scars it its ashen skin, the muscles rippling underneath it, the baleful clustered eyes. This creature was ancient, a massive predator from a bygone era, resistant against magic and physical harm alike. It make her happy that there was only one of it.
Then, for once in his life, Rodolphus did something useful. He made a noise by accidentally kicking against a fallen lamp while trying to drag his broken body. Immediately, the Black Unicorn snapped his head towards him, his massive horn tearing through the wooden panelling decorating the living room wall.
This was her chance!
"Hey!" she hissed to the vicar. "Help me with her!"
To his credit, the muggle vicar kept impressing her. Silently, the two of them each took an arm and threw it over their shoulders, getting ready to carry Hermione up the stairs behind them. The Black Unicorn was blocked the front door and, to be honest, it wasn't as if they could actually outrun the creature. Not with Hermione in the state she was in.
Rodolphus yelled out a few expletives before attempting to throw a wandless spell with a broken arm. The spell travelled the short distance to collide impotently against the beast's head. If she didn't know any better, Bellatrix thought that the creature seemed to be insulted by the gesture.
The last thing Bellatrix saw before they rounded about to the second landing leading up into the house was the Black Unicorn taking slow steps towards him. But Bellatrix wouldn't dwell on that. Upstairs was a corridor with a series of rooms on either side. Bellatrix dragged Hermione into first door she saw, which turned out to be some sort of office, while the vicar dove into what looked to be a bedroom through the opposite door.
Bellatrix grabbed a cloth from the desk and wrapped around Hermione's bleeding wrist. A quick application of her wand pulled the cloth so tight it made for a good make-shift tourniquet. She silently pulled Hermione underneath the desk and saw that the vicar had found a hiding spot in a cabinet. Before he closed the door, she put her fingers to her lips, motioning him to be as silent as possible.
Silence.
Oppressive, heavy silence.
All Bellatrix could hear at first were Hermione's shallow breathing. Honestly, Hermione was in very bad shape and looked to have slipped into hypovolemic shock. She had gone deathly pale, her skin had gone cold and clammy, while her lips were turning blue. Worst of all, she was slipping in and out of consciousness and was rife with delirium. It was hard to judge how much blood she had lost, but it was a lot. It didn't help that Hermione was covered with magical burns from the duel.
Bellatrix had thought about apparating the two of them out of there, but apparation could be bumpy under normal circumstance. Bellatrix was certain that Hermione would not survive apparation in her current state.
So, Bellatrix held on to Hermione to warm her up and kept as quiet as possible. With any luck, the murder-unicorn would lose track of them and go back into the woods.
It was then that she started to hear the screams from downstairs.
Ever increasing screams. Mixing with another sound. Crunching?
No.
Munching.
Merlin, Rodolphus was being eaten alive.
Bellatrix closed her eyes and clutched onto Hermione when the screams from downstairs intensified to a point that they didn't even sound human anymore. Then, there was gurgling. Then, nothing.
No, not nothing. There was still the munching. The tearing of flesh.
Then. More silence. The creature was obviously done with its meal. Bellatrix kept absolutely still, hoping against hope that they wouldn't be noticed.
More sounds she couldn't place. Something heavy on wood. Something scraping through…
MERLIN! The damn thing was coming up the stairs!
Panic gripped her by the throat as felt the entire house shake as the creature was forcing its massive body through the stairwell. Of course, she had been foolish to think the Black Unicorn would simply let them go or ignore them. This wasn't some mere beast: it was intelligent. Evil. And it held grudges.
Bellatrix gripped her wand tightly, glancing at a near-delirious Hermione. A Hermione who was obviously dying. The curly-haired witch was determined not to let this creature have either of them.
Frighteningly enough, the corridor was too small for the creature, but it was pushing itself through nonetheless, shattering stone walls and pushing everything aside. And it was pushing forward with consummate ease.
The vicar had also noticed the disturbance and Bellatrix quickly motioned for him to stay where he was. The curly-haired witch took note of the sounds and the positioning of the warped walls to judge where the creature was. She knelt down by the doorframe and swifted pointed her wand to the corridor.
"BOMBARDA MAXIMUS!"
A massive explosion sounded, rocking the entire house. A harsh whinny-like roar sounded when the creature found the floor exploding underneath it. By the now, the house had endured so much structural damage that it started to shake and groan. The unicorn fell a story down, only to be swiftly covered with a pile of stone, wood and debris as half the building collapsed on top of it. Bellatrix was thrown to the ground as part of the floor shifted and when she opened her eyes, she saw that half the office she'd been in was now open to the elements.
"Hermione!" Bellatrix yelled and, to her relief, she was still underneath the desk. The vicar had survived as well, and was swiftly at their side. He put two fingers on her neck to feel her heartbeat and swiftly pulled his surplice from his cassock to wrap it around Hermione in an attempt to keep her warm. Apparently, the Frost knew what he was doing.
"Oh, poor, poor soul," whispered the vicar while regarding the bloodied cloth around her wrist. "What on God's green Earth was that creature?"
"Don't let her die," Bellatrix told the man. "I have to go deal with that thing or it will end all of us."
"So God help me, I will preserve her," said the vicar.
"T-t-trix," sounded from Hermione. Merlin, her voice was so weak. She didn't even open her eyes. "D-don't… don't leave me…"
Bellatrix whispered. "I have to," she said, brushing her lips against hers. Cold. So cold. Hermione attempted to kiss her back, but fell back weakly. Bellatrix kissed her on the forehead, before standing up at the edge of the collapsed building, jumping down on the pile of debris with wand in hand.
There was a distinct crushing sound as her boots landed on top of the remnants of stone. From this vantage point, the sheer amount of damage done to this house first by the monster and then her bombard became clear. Less that a quarter of the house was left standing, one corner of the once proud hunting lodge. Her desperate act had done its job, but it was pure luck that the entire house hadn't come down on her and Hermione's head outright.
Today was the day she was happy she hadn't worn boots with higher heels, which she often did to look taller than she was. In fact she promised herself that, after today, she would never wear boots with high heels again. Because today was the day she needed to run for her life.
The Black Unicorn exploded from the pile of debris that covered it, pouncing in her direction with an open maw of blood-stained teeth with alarming speed. It was only a quick instinctual magic impulse which saved her life: the magic flew from her wand and flitted her two meters to the right, narrowing avoiding a grisly fate underneath the creatures claws, bulk and weight. The creature instantly turned while Bellatrix ran as fast as her legs could carry her.
The first order of business was getting the thing away from the defenseless Hermione. Bellatrix ran through the Forbidden Forest, any random direction being as good as any. Tree after tree zipped past her and the beast was in hot pursuit. She heard the ground shake behind her, she heard smaller trees and underbrush being splinters, she heard the distorted whinnies coming every closer. She threw curses over her shoulders in random direction: she didn't think she was actually hitting anything and she didn't dare look over her shoulder to take better aim but she hoped she might slow it down somehow.
One thing was sure: the thing was gaining on her and there was no way she could outrun it. A loud tremor behind her, and Bellatrix finally looked over her shoulder.
Just in time to see a massive, opened maw and razor sharp teeth mere inches away from her. Bellatrix yelped turned her head forward, looking for a way out. Apparation was the way out and she waved her wand up just in time before the maw would slam closed around her neck.
Bellatrix in a tree, sat on a branch some ten meters away. Her momentum almost caused her to topple down to the ground now ten meters below her. Immediately, she hissed in pain when she felt a tug on her arm. Looking at her bicep, she noticed that a twig was now fused with her flesh. Bellatrix grunted as she pulled on it, slowly pulling it from her body and leaving a small bloodied tunnel through the length of arm.
All things considered, worse things were known to have happened during panicked apparations. And it was still better than being caught in that things' jaws. Quickly, she surveyed her surroundings, quite aware that the murder-unicorn was already stalking towards the tree she was in. For a moment, the thing looked up with its baleful clustered eyes before… it ran off.
Bellatrix gulped: that wasn't good. She would need to find a better spot soon. Hell, she needed a plan. But when she noticed a sandy clearing in the distance next to a brook, an idea started to form.
More rumbling in the distance. Fast approaching rumbling. The thing, of course, had been building up speed. Bellatrix already had her wand in hand when it collided against the trunk of the tree, smashing it to splinters. The tree toppled and Bellatrix was already falling when she apparated away.
She grunted when her momentum caused her to crash into the sandy ground. Safe for now. Bellatrix chuckled to herself: safe was a flexible concept at the moment, but it would be a bit before the Black Unicorn would find her again. The curly-haired witch got to work immediately. Using her wand, she willed all the water from the brook to rise up into the air into a massive globule of floating water. She splashed it down upon the sandy ground, using her magic to force the water in good and deep. She furthered it up by applying plenty of sticky charms, ending up with a large, deep bit of quicksand as sticky as tar. The only thing left to do was to disguise her trap with an illusion of normal forest floor.
Not a moment too soon as the Black Unicorn stepped out from the treeline.
"There you are," Bellatrix whispered, wand to her side. "No more running. Now we fight."
The Black Unicorn seemed to understand, glowering at her with before lowering its horn and contorting its lips into a snarl.
The Slytherin in her was giddy with anticipation: a few more steps forward and the thing would be defeated without her ever having to raise her wand. Unfortunately for her, things were never quite that simple.
Bellatrix was startled to hear the sound of people approaching from the left-hand side, too near the unicorn for comfort and was downright horrified when she saw it was her father and Ron Weasley swiftly approaching.
"Bellatrix!" shouted Cygnus.
"Where is… WHAT THE FLIPPIN' HECK IS THAT?!" Ron shouted. The unicorn took advantage of the situation by stepping forward and slamming right into Ron, sending the young man flying into a tree. He fell back to the ground on his chest and lay there unmoving. Meanwhile, Cygnus fumbled with his wand, causing a massive fireball to shoot forth. It engulved the creature, setting it momentarily ablaze with magic fire.
It didn't last. The fire was snuffed out unnaturally fast. The air was momentarily filled with the smell of burning flesh until that too died out. In fact, the creature's surface wounds were already healing.
The Black Unicorn reared up and stamped both its claw-like hooves into the ground, sending out a magical wave across the ground, knocking Cygnus off his feet. Bellatrix looked on in horror as the creature took steps towards her downed father with jaws distended. She knew what it had done to Rodolphus: she would not allow her father to suffer the same fate.
She raised her wand and a bolt of lightning hit the Black Unicorn in the side. "HEY!" she shouted. "IT'S ME YOU WANT! COME AND GET ME!"
The creature turned its head, snarling before letting out another distorted whinny.
"Yeah," Bellatrix grinned. "Come on. Come get the tasty, tasty witch-meat!"
It turned and charged towards her… right into her trap. The creature let out a surprised yelp, findings its limbs tangled in sticky tendrils of quicksand. Its fearsome massive bulk now became its enemy as it only made it sink into the bog quicker. The Black Unicorn lost its grip and struggled against its inevitable fate, but it was too no avail. It sank and it sank and it sank.
Bellatrix allowed herself a satisfied smirk when the creature gave her one last look, six orbs glaring at her with utter hatred before its head sank unto the pit. There was one last bubble of air before the ground went still.
It was over. It was finally over.
Bellatrix rushed to her father's side, who was already near Ron.
"Father!" Bellatrix yelled before kneeling down next to him. Her father, frail as he was, seemed mostly unhurt, but grimacing.
"The boy is fine," said Cygnus. "He'll have a headache, but no bones are broken."
"Hermie," Bellatrix gasped. "Hermione! She's hurt. Badly. I… we need to go to her."
Cygnus smiled and pointed up. Apparently, he had spotted them earlier than Bellatrix had. Immediately relief washed over her when she saw a formation of broomriders passing over, following Zipper as he was leading them back to the house. With McGonagall at the head of the formation, Bellatrix knew she could relax: they would reach Hermione long before they would. They would save her.
The adrenalin had taken its course by now, and Bellatrix started to feel the pain of her experiences. Strained and torn muscles, the wound on her arm and her face felt… and likely looked… like one big bruise.
Her father gave her an intense look. "Who hit you?" he asked slowly. "What happened."
"Rodolphus… He was the one who kidnapped me," said she. "He wanted to use me as a brood-mare to breed an army of new followers for the Dark Lord. It's as insane as it sounds. I disagreed and, well, you see the result."
Cygnus closed his eyes and sighed through his nose. "I'm sorry, Bellatrix. I'm sorry for everything."
"Father?" asked Bellatrix.
Cygnus merely smiled at her. "Be happy with Hermione, Bella," he said. "She's a good match for you. The best."
"Father…"
"I'd be proud to welcome her as family," he smiled. "I can't imagine anyone who'd love you more than she does."
Bellatrix chuckled. "Wait until you hear what she discovered about our family history. It's wild."
"Oh?"
The conversation never went any further. The puddle of quicksand parted and out came the massive creature, having apparently jumped after reaching the bottom of the pit. Immediately, Bellatrix and Cygnus got to their feet when the enraged creature started tearing itself loose from the tar-like tendrils of enchanted soil.
Bellatrix was ready for a fight to the death as the creature regarded both of them. It seemed to be… grinning at them, if she hadn't known any better.
"Bella?" whispered Cygnus. "Remember when your mother and I taught you and your sisters to skip rope?"
Bellatrix nodded and touch the tip of her wand against her father's. A magical string started to take shape: her father whispered some words and the tiny string started to radiate intense magic, turning bright red.
The Black Unicorn took another step forward. Bellatrix steeled herself while her father took a position near one of the trees. A concerned look seemed to be telling to her be careful.
If careful was even possible around a carnivorous beast like this.
Suddenly, the beast charged again. Bellatrix stood her ground and flitted two meters to the right at the very last moment. The hulking beast charged right into the now taunt magical string, carving through skin, flesh, bone and everything in between just as father and daughter whipped it up.. The beast let out one last surprised whinny before collapsing onto the ground in multiple pieces as the magic string did its grisly work.
Surely, it was dead now.
Bellatrix and Cygnus stood over what was now a pile of flesh, organs and severed limbs. Its long face was missing its jaw, its forward legs lay severed and its torso bisected along its length, laying in a fast spreading pool of dark red blood.
Until that pool started to slowly retract into its body. Tendrils for flesh lashed out for the severed parts. The body was stirring as its parts were reconnecting and rebuilding itself.
"Can nothing kill this thing?!" Bellatrix exclaimed.
Cygnus aimed his wand, a stream of the coldest ice appearing from nothing. Bellatrix understood what her father was doing and added her wand to the effort. Together, they bombarded the body of the beast with endless amount of cold, freezing the entire area.
It had worked. The body stopped moving as it lay frozen and encased in a thin layer of ice. "That should hold it for a while," said Cygnus. "Long enough for the Ministry to come collect it."
"What would they even do with it?" Bellatrix sighed.
"If they're wise, they'd find a way to destroy it permanently."
It was at that moment that Ron stirred. "Bloody hell, my head," he muttered while Bellatrix helped him to his feet. "Where's that thing… oh, block of ice over there? Sorry I missed all the fun."
"I wouldn't exactly call that 'fun'," said Cygnus. "I'm too old for this nonsense."
"The others were flying in that direction towards the house," said Bellatrix. "I say we follow. Oh, Ron? If you're still looking for Rodolphus, you will find bits of him inside the creature under the ice."
"Pass," Ron muttered.
Hermione. She couldn't be dead. She had to be alive. Bellatrix focused only on that.