Chapter 16: Much to LearnNotes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
And Hermione doesn't fuck it up. All of the steps are seared into her brain through a combination of curiosity and intense embarrassment. She remembers to call Bellatrix Mistress, and just gets on with it, avoiding eye contact and gritting her teeth.
The end result isn't perfect, the bodice not laced very neatly and the petticoats a bit loose, but in the end Spitsy gives an approving nod, and says she's passed.
"Tomorrow, you is both starting magic lessons! And tonight, Spitsy is rewarding yous. You is finishing early. Come. I is taking yous to a surprise. You be liking it, I thinks."
A surprise? Hermione shares a dubious but optimistic look with Bellatrix, and they both reach for Spitsy's hands.
And appear in a large cave, glowing with crystals and, more importantly, a pool of water. A steaming pool of water.
Hot springs? A bath? Oh thank Merlin.
Then her eyes slide to Bellatrix. Oh. More strange intimacy. And it's slightly too reminiscent of the amortentia situation.
"Yous is both free to bathe. The elflings is being here later after studies…but I is thinking yous be more comfortable without them," Spitsy chuckles.
Hermione steps forwards cautiously, looking into the water. It does look nice…
And then there's a splash as Bellatrix dives in, sheet left behind.
Hermione jumps back next to Spitsy so she doesn't get soaked.
"You is not joining her, Hermione?" Spitsy asks.
Somewhat mischievously. What is he up to?
She crouches down next to him. "Master Spitsy…are you…is there some special reason why you've decided Bellatrix and I should be as naked as possible today?"
He shrugs casually. "Being naked is being natural…being vulnerable…being revealing. This is also being true for magic."
Hermione huffs. "It is also being true for other things. Are you setting us up? Because if so you are being crazy!"
He grins slyly at her. "You is the one thinking it, Miss Hermione. Spitsy is not saying anything…but he is watching. House-elves be good at seeing."
Hermione groans. "Seeing what?"
Spitsy smiles cheerfully, and then disappears.
Hermione tuts and turns back to the water. She is feeling rather disgusting. She hasn't had a bath in…dear Merlin, she can't remember.
She looks around for Bellatrix, not spotting her, and then just pulls her sheet off and climbs into the pool, sitting on the edge and sliding in. Oh it's so warm!
She sinks her shoulders under with a sigh. Oh it feels amazing.
She groans as she lets all of her muscles relax, closing her eyes and resting her head on the stone edge.
And then a hand grabs her ankle and jerks her under the water.
Blark! Kfdge!
She tugs her foot and splashes her hands through the water as she's held under.
She's sinking deeper and deeper. Her chest starts to hurt and she grits her teeth, kicking with all her might and, hitting nothing, reaches down to pry the fingers from their tight grip around her leg.
So now the witch decides to kill her?
She forces her eyes open. Everything is blurry but—
She's managed a wandless bubble-head charm?!
She tries to struggle close enough to share the bubble around Bellatrix's head.
Her lungs are screaming. She's going to breathe in if she's not careful. Her vision is going dark.
Bellatrix pulls back out of her reach, still holding her firmly.
She's going to drown.
She can feel her own pulse, hear it in her ears.
And then she feels water speed across her face.
"For Salazar's sake, mudblood, breathe in."
What?
Hermione blinks her eyes open. It's not blurry anymore. She can feel Bellatrix's breath on her cheek.
"Hermione! Breathe! Now!"
She lets out a huffed breath and then sucks the air in. Air. She's in the bubble.
"You stupid— are you a witch or not? Have you forgotten? You are not a muggle."
Hermione has no idea what's she's talking about. She just steadies herself on Bellatrix's shoulders to stop herself floating off and carries on gasping for air.
Her lips accidentally touch Bellatrix's cheek and the witch flinches, adjusting her head. "We start magic lessons tomorrow. I've covered for you this far, mudblood, but from now on you're on your own. So find your magic. Fast."
Oh, so—
"That's what this is all about?" Hermione gasps. "You're trying to scare the magic out of me? That's just a pureblood superstition! Neville got dropped out of a window by his uncle when he was a kid, and it didn't help him!"
"Well I got dropped off a cliff, and I found my magic pretty damn fast, let me tell you!"
Silence. Deadly silence, just the sound of their breaths.
Oh.
Oh that's—
"Don't feel sorry for me, mudblood. It made me strong, unlike you. Pathetic. Can't fight me even when you're dying? No relashio? Can't propel yourself upwards? Disapparate? Conjure a bubble, nothing? Even a stupefy or a stinging jinx might have made me let go!"
How old was she when—
Was anyone going to save her, or was she just left to fall?
Was it the same cliff Hermione was held over? That was terrifying.
"Are you listening to me?"
She wraps her arms around Bellatrix's neck and hugs her, pressing her cheek to Bellatrix's so she can still breathe in the bubble.
"Herm— mudblood! What are you doing?! Get off!"
Hermione pulls back to look into her shocked, angry eyes. "I'm sorry, you're right! You are strong. A lot stronger than me. You must be very in touch with your magic to— can you show me? You're a good teacher. I'm so scared that I've lost my magic. And you're right, I really need it for tomorrow. Can we swim back up? Can you teach me?"
A huff. "Fine. But you will do exactly as I say and that includes not talking all the time. You have to concentrate."
She nods, accidentally floating into Bellatrix again, bumping noses. How the witch is stood so comfortably on the cave floor, she can't understand. A wandless bubblehead charm and possibly a cumbrous charm to weight her down? After a whole day of wordless, wandless magic? Isn't the witch exhausted?
She's not even swaying in the water. She could be on land for how steady she is, if it wasn't for her hair floating around them. The strength, the willpower, it's astonishing when she really thinks about it.
"Good. Now take a deep breath. We can't swim like this."
What? What had they been talking about again? Oh! She quickly breathes in, and then Bellatrix is swimming for the surface. Hermione propels herself up too, moving her arms hard and fast through the water. It's not as deep as she'd thought, not too far.
Her head breaks the surface, and she's dragged onto a stone floor. Now this feels exactly like the Love Room.
"Okay, let's start now, before we're surrounded by aggravating little elf nitwits or stuck in the dark again."
Hermione sits up, crossing her arms to cover herself and looking around for her sheet. She leans to grab it.
"No."
Bellatrix moves it out of reach, ties her own sheet around herself, and sits back down in front of Hermione.
Why not? She gets to her feet.
Bellatrix growls. "I said, no. Sit. Or do you not want to learn?"
Hermione sits down and folds her arms again with a huff. "What's being naked got to do with learning? I thought I'm supposed to concentrate."
"Exactly. You're a prude. You hate being naked. You're embarrassed. So accio the sheet."
"I'm not a—"
"Is that accioing, or is that talking?"
Hermione looks down at the ground, grumbling.
Fine. She looks over at the sheet, imagining it sailing towards her. "Accio sheet!"
Nothing.
She glares at Bellatrix. Some teacher. Maybe she's just trying to humiliate her.
"I've done it before! I don't know why it isn't working! Maybe my magic isn't back yet." She imagines the sheet floating towards her. This should work, she's done it before under more pressure than this.
Bellatrix leans closer and searches her eyes, curiously.
"Ah. I see. You're focusing on the wrong thing."
Hermione tries not to fidget. The staring is…odd. Uncomfortable.
"Don't focus on what the sheet is doing. You're a witch, you know it will come to you. That's a given. You're not telling the sheet what to do, you're telling your magic what you want."
Oh. She'd never thought of that. Really? No wonder it works for Bellatrix, she always assumes she can do something, and she knows exactly what she wants.
"So I just have to…want it? But I do. I've wanted the sheet since I sat down."
Bellatrix sniggers. "You can't just want it. Imagine the chaos if every witch and wizard could do anything just because they wanted to. The people that would drop down dead, find their mouths sown shut, or their dicks cut off."
Hermione grimaces. Did she have to use those examples?
"So how do I tell my magic what to do?"
Bellatrix shrugs. "Well the words help, that's why non-verbal spells are so difficult. No, the wand just directs your magic, like…when you make a certain movement, it's a code, telling your magic that you want a thought to actually take place. So without a wand, you need a different code. A connection. Your brain needs to make the association. It needs a trigger. A memory. An emotion."
"Like the patronus charm!"
Bellatrix just stares blankly at her.
Oh. Right. Death Eater.
Her gaze falls to Bellatrix's arm and then she shakes her head. "Or like crucio. You told Harry that he had to mean it…but you meant he should…imagine it?"
Bellatrix huffs. "He didn't need to imagine it. I could see how angry he was. How much he wanted to hurt me. He had the want, he just needed the connection. Had to feel the pain he would be inflicting on me. For a moment something was whipping me…a belt maybe. And my throat was being crushed. Potter's memories of intense pain. Of humiliation. That's what he wanted for me."
Hermione gasps "His uncle…"
Oh Harry. She clears her throat, not wanting to reveal all of Harry's secrets. "Okay, so, memory. I'll try that."
She looks over at the sheet and remembers how it felt to wear it. The texture. The warmth. The protection. Thinks about how much she wants to hide herself in it. "Accio sheet."
Nothing.
She groans and looks back at Bellatrix.
"It's useless. Maybe my magic is just gone! Maybe I destroyed it with those stupid protection spells!"
"You haven't, it's there."
"How do you know? I haven't used magic in days. You're right. I'm a muggle. A squib. I can't—"
"I can feel it."
Hermione looks down at Bellatrix. When did Hermione stand up? She'd been lost in panic. She must have started pacing, she always does that.
She can feel it?
"What?"
She slowly sits back down in front of Bellatrix on the stone ground, frowning. "You can feel my magic? How? Even I can't feel it."
Bellatrix leans back on her hands and looks at the ceiling. "I can't feel your magic, but I…" She sighs. "I felt the bloody life debt. When you were drowning. It was nagging at me to save you."
Oh. So there is a life debt!
Hermione grins. "So my magic must be there! It's a magical contract!"
And then she leans her elbows on her knees and puts her head in her hands. "So that's not the reason that I can't do it. Why? I've done it before. When we were in the Department of Mysteries, I stopped myself from drowning. I cast a relashio on the ropes when I was drowning in amortentia."
She looks up guiltily, still rather embarrassed about that whole room.
Bellatrix tilts her head sideways, frowning. "Do you trust me?"
What? She doesn't…
"I don't know. Maybe."
Bellatrix cackles. "Well that's why! The first time, you were on your own. Now…you've convinced yourself I'm going to save you. Do magic for you. You're relying on me."
Oh no! That can't be it!
Bellatrix stands up, still laughing.
"Oh, oh you are completely nuts, mudblood! You trust me? Me?! You can't even summon a sheet because you don't feel vulnerable enough! You feel safe around me! What is wrong with you? I'm obviously being too nice!"
No! That's not it! That's absolutely ridiculous!
Hermione scrambles to her feet.
"I don't! Accio sheet! Accio, you bloody thing, accio!"
Bellatrix just keeps cackling at her. It's maddening.
"Shut up! Just shut up, you're wrong! I hate you! I despise you, you disgust me. You are a horrible, horrible witch who killed my friends and cut into my skin. Cut disgusting words into me that will never leave. You horrify me."
Bellatrix grins, tongue between her teeth. "Aha! There she is! The sneaky little mudblood who stabbed me. Didn't even use a wand, just found something sharp and attacked me like the filthy muggle you are. I should have kept you in your place, in the dirt. Confringo!"
The floor explodes under Hermione's feet and she's is blasted back, skidding across the stone floor with a cry, scraping her back raw and thudding into a wall of crystal.
Her back. Oh god it—
"Aww, is the poor mudbaby upset? Maybe she's forgotten what she is. Levicorpus!"
Her hands try desperately to grab hold of the floor, but it's useless, and she finds herself hanging upside down.
"No shame, mudblood? Are you not humiliated? Defeated? Crying and bleeding? What else should I do, carve some more words into you? Drop you on your head? Maybe I'll touch you. Would you like that? I've seen what you think of me. All your embarrassing little thoughts."
She hates her! How did she forget—
"Stop it! Stop it, just leave me alone!"
"You dare plead with me!" Bellatrix bellows. "Diffindo!"
Ah! She feels a sharp slice across her arm. She has to get out of this. She has to leave this is—
"Difindo!" A cut across her leg.
"Relashio!" She has to fall free, she has to. "Relashio!" She's trapped in here. Her heart is thumping, her body is stinging, aching, screaming. She wants to be free. Free from spell. Free from the cave. Free from her.
"Diff—"
"Protego! Relashio!"
She hears a splash as Bellatrix is propelled backwards into the water and then Hermione thuds onto the ground.
She has to get out of here. She has to leave. To disapparate.
She pictures the light chamber and spins on the spot.
And disappears with a loud crack.
Notes:
Oh Bellatrix...
Chapter 17: Getting Back UpNotes:
Thanks for all the comments and kudos folks! I'm glad you're enjoying the ride and all the (slightly crazy) characters.
Onwards!
Chapter Text
Hermione thuds to the floor in a heap next to the vines, head still pounding and ears ringing. Breathing ragged.
"Hermione? How is you— oh! What is happened?!"
She just curls into a ball and cries.
It happened again. She hurt her again she—
"Spitsy," she gasps. "Spitsy she— I don't know— why did she—"
She feels a blanket fall over her and catches her breath. You're okay, Hermione. She's gone.
Breathe.
She calms herself, and cautiously sits up.
Spitsy looks at her solemnly. "Bellatrix is doing this to you? Is hurting you?"
She rubs at her eyes, and then nods.
He sighs. "Then she is not being ready. She is not being a house-elf. She be leaving. I is telling Tiggy to be getting her."
Wait but— the plan! What will they do?
"But, Master Spitsy, there's a prophecy. I have to stay with her, I—"
"You has to be protecting yourself, Hermione. She is not allowed to be hurting you. You is allowed to be safe. Until she is learning to respect you, to be treating you properly, you is allowed to leave. Spitsy promises. Elves is always allowed to be leaving cruelty. It be the law…even if some is ignoring this."
Hermione lets out a sob. "I thought…I thought I had to put up with it. For the greater good. Oh dear, oh I hate that phrase. What was I thinking, trusting her? Letting her become close to me."
Spitsy wraps another blanket around her shoulders. "I is trusting her too. We all is trusting her…and Spitsy thinks she is changing…but she is being very lost. Not thinking properly. She is not knowing how to be treating people. This be very wrong. She is needing to learn, this is not being what we do. We is not being Blacks."
Not being…"Not Blacks?"
She gets to her feet, wrapping one blanket around herself more securely and using the other as a shawl. It's getting dark.
Spitsy nods up at her. "Oh yes. Blacks is being used to violence. To pain. They is thinking it is normal. Being strong. Being learning. Being powerful. She is having the wrong masters for too long. She is learning the wrong lessons. This is why she be hurting people. She be learning too much, not seeing clearly."
He takes her hand, and they appear in the kitchen, in front of the fire. They're alone for now.
She warms her hands in front of the flames, and Spitsy pops away, and then back, about a minute later. He starts cooking something.
"Oh you don't have to cook for me. We're both elves now. I can do it."
He glares at her. "We is both being elves, and you is a hurt elf. A witch is being hurting you. Spitsy be cooking, and then he be healing you. I is ordering. You be obeying."
She smiles softly at him. "Yes, Master Spitsy. Thank you."
She sits down in front of the fire.
"I think she was trying to teach me, you know? She told me…that when she was a child, someone dropped her off a cliff…so she would learn to use her magic. I think you're right. She's so used to all that horror, the violence…it's the way she learned. So she tried to teach me like that. It's still wrong, but I understand. And I feel sorry for her. I do. I just can't help it. Growing up like that…no wonder Andy ran away, Sirius, no wonder Narcissa hasn't shown a flicker of emotion in her whole life except to her son."
Spitsy hums. "Yes, they is all lost little elflings. Spitsy be knowing lots of stories. Spitsy be seeing Miss Cissy laugh! Seeing Master Sirius hide a frog in her bed, and she is laughing. This is being the truth!"
Hermione gapes at him. "Cissy? You mean Narcissa? That can't be true. Even now…in the future I mean…she's like a statue. She never laughs. Never smiles. I've had lunch with her at Andy's. She doesn't despise me anymore but…laughter? At a prank? Did you…umm...serve, the Blacks?"
He shakes his head, stirring some soup and then pouring it into a bowl.
"No. I is only a teacher. A master. A gardener. I is not serving wizards. But I is delivering the wine…and I has free time…to be invisible. To watch the little Blacks. They is amusing Spitsy. They is good elves…when their parents is not being watching."
Hermione sits down at the table, and he passes her the soup, standing on the opposite bench and leaning on the table.
"One day, I is watching Master Sirius in the pond, catching a frog. This is being difficult. He is only small. No magic. The frogs is being fast. He be taking a long time, but he is being determined…so Spitsy is helping. Is…freezing the frog. So he is catching."
Hermione begins eating the soup, letting herself relax and listen to the tale.
"He is being very happy, running into the back of the house, through the kitchens. Spitsy is following, invisible. Tiggy is seeing…but Tiggy is also having a sense of humour. So. Master Sirius is going all the way upstairs. No one is seeing. The adults are still being downstairs, and the little witches is being asked to be polite. To stay. To listen. They is…playing the piano, Spitsy is thinking. Which little witch, I is not knowing. Well, not Miss Cissy."
"Master Sirius is being angry with Miss Cissy…I is not knowing why. So he is hiding the frog in her bed. Later, it is dark. She is being the youngest witch, so she is sleeping early. Spitsy is staying all evening. I is helping in the kitchen…and waiting to be watching."
He hands Hermione some bread. "Miss Cissy is being small, but she is being brave. She is telling Tiggy to leave her alone. Let her undress herself. She is a big witch, she is not needing help." He chuckles. "Such a funny elfling she is. Tiggy is agreeing…and Miss Cissy is doing it. She be ready for bed, putting the lantern on the table, and…the frog is croaking!"
He grins. "She is finding it and she is laughing. Laughing and laughing. She is naming it Mr Ribbet."
Hermione laughs. "Really? What did she do with it?"
Spitsy stops smiling. "Oh…Spitsy is forgetting that…maybe the story is being over."
He clicks his fingers, and the empty bowl vanishes, and then he beckons her in front of the fire.
"I is using healing plants. Potions. You is removing the blanket, Hermione."
Hermione walks over with a frown, lowering the blanket and sitting on the floor. "Master Spitsy, what happened? Please tell me the story."
He starts applying the salve to her back. And then sighs.
"She is putting the frog in Miss Bella's bed."
Oh dear.
Hermione swallows. "And…what did Bellatrix do to the frog?"
He moves round to put the salve on her cut arm.
"Oh, Miss Bella is not finding the frog. Is being her mother, Mistress Druella."
"And what did her mother do?" Hermione whispers.
He stops, his ears drooping. "She be asking who it belongs to. Who is bringing a filthy creature into their bed. Miss Bella knows it is not being her…Miss Cissy be looking scared. Miss Bella be protecting her. Is saying Miss Bella hid the frog.
Oh. She hadn't expected—
She has to ask.
"What did her mother do?"
He sits down to rub the salve on her leg.
"Oh, Hermione, she is—" he clears his throat.
"She is shaking Miss Bella. She is screaming 'How dare you! You are a Black! No daughter of mine will bring filthy animals into her bed. Your bed is for you, and your future husband. Nothing else. Animals are for killing and eating. So that is what you will do, young lady. You will kill it, and you will eat it for breakfast. Raw. Do you understand? Maybe the sickness will remind you how sick you are!'"
Oh Merlin that's—
Oh she feels sick.
"She…she ate it?"
Spitsy nods. "Oh yes. She is a strong elf. An obeying elf. She is being very sick, for days, but she is eating it at breakfast. She is cutting it, she be smiling at her mother. She be thanking her for the lesson. She is thinking she is a brave elf. Master Sirius is not knowing, he is leaving the night before. Miss Cissy is not thinking it is funny anymore. She does not be laughing. And she does not be showing her fear. She is a thinking elf now. And Miss Andy…Miss Andy is knowing she be needing to leave."
When the elflings arrive for dinner, they're a welcome distraction. Their noise and insistent tugging drown out Hermione's thoughts, and she even decides to sleep in the same bedchamber as some of the less boisterous ones.
She still doesn't get much sleep, but she can't face the empty chamber. Bellatrix has gone. Been expelled. Spitsy said Tiggy came to take her away.
The next morning, she doesn't eat much for breakfast, and is oddly nervous about her lessons. Spitsy arrives and takes her to the light chamber as normal. It feels…
She doesn't know what to do. It all feels pointless now. Why is she hiding? She needs a way back home! Where is she going to learn to time travel? How will she ever—
What if Bellatrix makes a mistake? Does something different to in the past? What if Hermione's younger self makes some small decision change and never goes down to the Time Room on that specific Friday at that exact time? It's all too much!
"Hermione. I thinks you is not learning today. You is not being concentrating."
She looks up at Spitsy. "Oh, Master Spitsy, I'm so sorry. I'm being so rude I just— I'm lost. I don't know what to do."
He tilts his head sideways. "You is learning to be an elf. This is not changing. You is wanting to learn so you has a way to hide. Be invisible."
Hermione feels a lump in her throat and puts a hand over her mouth. "But I already feel invisible. I'm so alone. I miss my timeline. My life. My friends. I've always had other people to work through hard times with…even Bellatrix was— at least I had someone. It's all on me now. It's too hard."
Spitsy glares up at her. "You listen, Hermione. Listen to Spitsy. You is a strong elf. You is a kind elf. You is a thinking elf. You is one of us. You has a plan, this is not Bellatrix. You is thinking of it. So you is learning what I is teaching, and then you is going somewhere else and you is learning how to be getting home."
Then he pauses and shrugs. "And…if the world be ending…we is not knowing. No ones be blaming you."
She chuckles and wipes at her eyes. He's right. Buck up, Hermione. You have been relying on Bellatrix too much. And you've been letting her get to you. You're not stupid, this isn't your fault, and you're allowed to talk and feel and move and exist. So start learning, Know it All.
"Okay. Okay, explain it again. I'm listening."
Hermione stands very still in the darkness. Listening. With her mind.
It's taken her a week to hear anything at all, but just minutes ago, for a moment, she thought…
"…mio…"
There! But where…
She concentrates in on it, just like Spitsy taught her. Gives herself to the sound. Her being, her soul, her complete obedience. She is needed, and she wants to help.
"Hermi…"
Oh so close! She keeps losing the connection. She still can't see the thread. The other elves say you can see it. Why can't she—
"Hermione!"
In the kitchen! She reaches for it with her mind, and disappears with a pop.
Reappearing in front of Spitsy.
"I did it! I mean…yes, Master Spitsy?" She schools her features.
The elf beams at her. "You is doing it! You is an elf, Hermione! You is Hearing the Call!"
She grins at him. "I can't believe it! I heard you! I actually heard you and I saw the kitchen!"
He laughs. "Oh Spitsy knew it! You is a thinking elf, you is! Oh! You is needing to practice, quickly, in case you is forgetting the feeling. The feeling is being very important."
He disappears, and she frowns in concentration, closing her eyes.
Feel the connection. Open yourself to it. Let your magic flow to take it.
"…mione!"
Oh that was…where is that?
"Hermione!"
Argh but why can't she see— oh! He's in the dark.
She lets herself be drawn to him.
And she's in the dark. "Yes, Master Spitsy? Uhh…where are you?"
A hand takes hers. "I is being here. I is sorry I cannot be teaching you seeing lessons," he chuckles. Then he clears his throat. "Hermione, I left my hat in the garden by the vines. Bring it to me now."
Oh. Well that's more difficult.
She almost spins around, but stops herself.
You're not a witch, you're an elf. No disapparating like that.
Instead she gives herself to her magic. Lets it flow. Feels the need to please, to serve, to obey. She feels the pull towards the light chamber…and follows it.
She smiles to herself in the sunshine. Now, where is the hat?
She walks over to the vines, looking around for it. Aha!
She picks it up. Oh shoot! How does she know where Spitsy is? She can't remember—
No. You're an elf. You don't visualise, you feel.
Oh. Is this what Bellatrix meant this whole time? It's just a variation of wandless magic?
Oh if only the witch knew that she's just performing a weaker version of House-Elf magic.
Stop it. Don't think about her. You don't care.
She closes her eyes and feels out for Spitsy. He told her to come back. She's taking too long. She needs to do this faster to please—
There he is!
She finds herself back in the dark.
"Oh good. You found it. Now return to the light chamber, you are dismissed."
She concentrates again. Here she goes.
"And you is still not feeling it?"
Hermione sighs. "No, and I can't see anything either. I only know we're invisible because you told me…and when we walked past the water. Could you tell me what it feels like again?"
They both sit down in the shade of the vines, still holding hands to maintain the connection.
Spitsy frowns. "It is being…shy…but determined. You is wanting to do your duties without being stopped, interfered with. You is being proud of your work. Very serious. But…you is not always needing this feeling. It is being a wave, it washes over you. It is being the sea."
…through sand and sea, do not drift asunder…
Is it a coincidence?
"The sea? How is it the sea?"
"It is being sea…or sand. Something is being covering you, heavy, firm, moving, pushing."
Not a coincidence then. Sand and sea.
She swallows. "Master Spitsy…has Tiggy told you anything about Bellatrix recently?"
Spitsy looks at her curiously. "You is wanting to know? Because you is not needing her. Spitsy knows this."
She chuckles. So protective. "I know. I was just wondering."
He raises an eyebrow. "And you is worrying?"
She scowls and lets go of his hand to fold her arms. "Yes! About the future of the world, aren't you? She could mess this up!"
"Tiggy is saying she be staying in the library. She do not be leaving. All week. She be accidentally setting fire to the broom. She is being an angry elfling."
A laugh bursts out of her. "I knew she shouldn't keep the broom in the bloody chimney! What does she expect?"
Spitsy looks at her slyly. "We be visiting…if you wants?"
Visiting? Her eyes snap to his. "You mean…you'll take me to the library? I'll leave?"
He slowly shakes his head. "I be making us invisible, you is taking us. You is finding the library. The elf way. No witchy spinning."
He holds out his hand, standing.
She gets to her feet and takes it, closing her eyes. "Okay. Let's see what she's up to. Do I focus on her, or the room?"
"Whatever is pulling most, Hermione."
She frowns. Why does he sound so smug?
She shakes herself and focuses. Feel the pull. Where are you needed? You want to Oh!
What is she doing there?
Hermione lets it tug her forwards—
And is suddenly stood right in front of Bellatrix. Outside in the mist.
Spitsy tugs them sideways as Bellatrix hurries forwards down the street, hood up and head lowered.
She turns to Spitsy, wide-eyed. She's out in the open?
"It is being alright, Hermione. No one is hearing us."
"Oh, thank Merlin. I can't believe— Let's follow her, quick! What is she even doing, where are we?"
They hurry after the witch, who is turning a corner down an alleyway…
It's hard to run with such a height difference, but soon they turn the corner and—
Oh. She's meeting someone. A witch, by the looks of it, though it's hard to see through the white fog. And they're…whispering. Arguing maybe.
Hermione drags Spitsy along. Who is it? What are they—
The unknown witch disapparates, and Bellatrix lets out a growl, disapparating straight after.
"Oh bloody hell! Well I'm not letting her get away that easily. What happened to hiding?" Hermione pants, skidding to a stop.
She closes her eyes. Where is Bellatrix? She wants to find her. She needs to. For her mission. Where is she— aha!
She—
She can see the thread! So that's what the elves meant. There is a thread, drawing her to Bellatrix.
"I can see the thread, Master Spitsy!"
He chuckles. "I is thinking you might."
Hermione grins, and follows it.
Chapter 18: Spinning the ThreadNotes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
"Wait!"
At Bellatrix's shout, Hermione freezes. Can she see them? She holds her breath. Just the sound of the river running behind them.
And then a fox leaps from the undergrowth, a green light hits it, and it falls down dead.
Oh Merlin.
Bellatrix nudges it with her foot, shoulders falling in relief. "Just a fox. I thought perhaps an auror – Cissy wait!"
Cissy? Ohh
She looks over to where Narcissa had been standing, and is shocked to see her scrambling up the riverbank.
Bellatrix runs after her, and Hermione follows curiously. She's told Narcissa she's not sick? What are they even doing?
Bellatrix seizes her sister's arm. "Cissy, Narcissa, listen to me!"
Narcissa wrenches her arm away and continues up the slope, not even bothering to avoid the rubbish strewn about the grass.
"Go back, Bella!"
"You must listen to me!
"I've listened already, I've made my decision. Leave me alone!" she grunts, reaching the top.
What decision? Hermione and Spitsy frown at each other and clamber after them up the slope.
The other witches have stopped at the top, looking through some rusty railings at…a muggle town? A very poor muggle town, surrounded by smog.
Hermione stands next to Bellatrix out of habit.
Who is sneering at the cobbled street. "He lives here? Here in this muggle dunghill? We must be the first of our kind to set foot—"
And Narcissa slips through a gap in the railings, hurrying across the road.
That can't really be Narcissa Malfoy. What is she doing? Who lives here?
Bellatrix runs after her and Hermione groans. "Will they just stay still for one moment? Master Spitsy, I'm so sorry for dragging you around like this, but I need to make sure they don't change anything about the past."
They jog after them and Spitsy chuckles. "It is being alright. I is curious too. Miss Cissy is still being a funny elfling. And Miss Bella is showing she still be protecting. I is happy to see the little Blacks again."
Bellatrix turns a corner, cloak flapping behind her, and Hermione follows, skidding to a halt as she nearly bumps into the two witches. Bellatrix has finally caught Narcissa by the arm again.
"Cissy, you must not do this. You can't trust him!"
Narcissa tries to pull free. She looks awful. Exhausted. Drowning in despair. "The Dark Lord trusts him, doesn't he?"
Bellatrix looks around furtively, eyes moving straight through Hermione.
"The Dark Lord is…I believe…mistaken," she pants, struggling to keep ahold of her sister as she wriggles in her grip. "In any case, we were told not to speak of the plan to anyone. This is a betrayal of the Dark Lord's—"
"Let go, Bella," Narcissa snarls, drawing her wand and pointing it at Bellatrix's face.
Oh no. Hermione feels around for her own wand, before she remembers that she's an elf, and that Bellatrix must still be using hers anyway.
Bellatrix just laughs. "Cissy, your own sister? You wouldn't—"
"There is nothing I wouldn't do anymore!" Narcissa breathes, a hysteria to her voice as she brings her wand down in a slicing motion, and Bellatrix's hand jerks back as though burned.
"Narcissa!" Bellatrix shouts in shock. "You have to trust—"
Narcissa whirls back around and moves to stand in front of Bellatrix once more.
Hermione's brain is whirring. What plan? When is this? Why would Narcissa be so upset?
Oh!
Draco! This has to be the plan for Draco to kill Dumbledore!
She sighs in relief. "It's okay, they haven't changed anything, not yet," Hermione whispers to Spitsy as the two witches glare at each other.
And then Narcissa reaches into her pocket and pulls out Bellatrix's wand.
Wha—
How?
Oh dear. This does change things a—
"Don't talk to me about trust, Bella. I know you haven't had spattergroit, you weren't showing any symptoms before you left. I've left you to your cottages and mudblood girls, so you are not one to talk."
Bellatrix's eyes go wide. "It was you?! I thought it was Dumbledore! How did you trick the slimy—"
"Severus knew that I was worried. He let me see you on the condition that I not tell anyone and continue my life as normal."
"Severus? This is not normal, Cissy!"
She snatches her wand from Narcissa, who turns and makes her way down a street. "Says the witch kissing a mudblood! I think you have more explaining to do than me, Bella. Now either leave me be or come along, but don't you dare stop me."
Bellatrix follows after her, grumbling.
Oh dear. How embarrassing. Narcissa had turned up at the wrong moment and now things are all…
Well, at least she thinks they're having an affair and not…
She cautiously looks down at Spitsy. And glares. "Oh don't look so smug, Master Spitsy. It's not what it sounds like."
"Yous is kissing."
"I was stopping her from—"
"Oh so you is kissing her, she is not making you?"
"No— I mean yes— I mean. Look, we need to catch up."
He grins. "No, we is not needing to run. You is following the thread."
Why is the thread to Bellatrix suddenly rather embarrassing?
"We still need to go before we miss something!"
"Ah, you be missing her already."
Hermione ignores him, closing her eyes and gritting her teeth. Now where is…
There's the thread. She barely needed to think. That's…she's not going to think into that too much.
She appears in a tiny sitting room next to Bellatrix, who is stood behind a sofa, where Narcissa is sat facing—
"Snape! So I was right. This must be when he makes the unbreakable vow. This is meant to happen, I wonder if Bellatrix knows? I think she must perform it. How—"
She jumps as with a bang, a hidden door appears from behind a bookshelf, and Wormtail of all people is revealed.
The sneaky little rat!
"As you have clearly realised, Wormtail, we have guests," Snape says lazily from the armchair opposite the sofa.
Wormtail creeps into the room and starts arguing with Snape, but Hermione isn't listening. She's trying to remember everything she knows about the vow, about Draco's task.
And about how legilimency works. Could she somehow talk to Bellatrix without anyone hearing? Everyone in the room is a legilimens…other than Wormtail. They must all be straining to shield their minds from each other, she doesn't want to distract any of them.
"…bring us some drinks. The elf-made wine will do."
"Oh, and there is being wine too! Spitsy is having a wonderful day, Hermione."
Spitsy breaks through her thoughts, and she smiles down at him. "I'm glad. I seem to have caught you up in all this chaotic nonsense, so I'm glad you're enjoying it."
"Oh I is, I is not often— oh but this is being Spitsy's wine! Is not being old…is being the cheapest, but is being good. Still very good. You is remembering how it be made?"
Hermione chuckles. "How could I forget? Bellatrix and I must have practically completed the whole process of wine making with all your little tasks that first week…Please tell me this isn't the wine we stomped."
He giggles. "Oh no, that is still being in the cave. Much too young, and is needing to be tested."
Snape raises his glass. "The Dark Lord."
They all follow suit and drain their glasses. Hermione grimaces. At least Snape is acting…and Narcissa, probably. And…oh how funny. Bellatrix is going to have to act her part as well, pretend she doesn't know about Snape and the future. Three award-winning performances going on in this room. If only they all knew.
Is this what being a Slytherin is like all the time? The amount of secrets. It's exhausting.
And Narcissa lets out a shuddering breath. "Severus, I know I ought not to be here, I have been told to say nothing to anyone but—"
"Then you ought to hold your tongue!" Bellatrix snarls. "Particularly in present company."
Maybe she doesn't know what is about to happen. Or is this acting?
"Present company?" Snape repeats sardonically. "And what am I to understand by that, Bellatrix?"
"That I don't trust you! As you very well know!"
And for multiple reasons now. She's scared he'll go to Dumbledore. Or tell the Dark Lord she wasn't really sick.
Narcissa lets out a sob and hides her face in her hands, and Snape takes the opportunity to smirk knowingly at Bellatrix. Sneaky Slytherin.
"Narcissa, I think we ought to listen to what Bellatrix is bursting to say…it will save tedious interruptions." He raises an eyebrow at Bellatrix in challenge. "Well? Continue, Bellatrix. Why is it that you don't trust me?"
"A hundred reasons!" Bellatrix shouts, and Hermione scrambles backwards as Bellatrix moves out from behind the sofa to slam her glass on the coffee table.
"Where to start! Where were you when the Dark Lord fell? Why did you never attempt to find him when he vanished? What have you been doing all these years that you've lived in Dumbledore's pocket? Why did you stop the Dark Lord procuring the Philosopher's Stone? Why did you…"
She continues, question after question. Know it All. She's obviously been bottling this up for a while.
How is she here? When did she 'recover' from spattergroit? And why play this pretend back and forth with Snape? Is it just for Narcissa's benefit? How does she know about the plan for Draco, when did that start? Has she seen Voldemort too? When—
Stop it, Hermione. Pay attention.
To Spitsy, tugging her towards the wine.
"They not be noticing. Let's be trying. You is not yet tasting, Hermione."
"Spitsy we can't! Narcissa is right there, she'll notice!"
"Miss Cissy be crying, she not be looking."
He reaches for the bottle and Hermione reluctantly leans forwards so he doesn't accidentally let go of her. That would be unbelievably bad. If she wasn't invisible—
Her leg accidentally brushes against Narcissa, who looks up with a start, reaching towards her.
No!
She picks Spitsy up off the table and backs away into a corner. Narcissa looks at her.
Looks at her?
"Master Spitsy, are we still invisible, can she see us?"
"We is being invisible, but she is being a seeing elf, a thinking elf. Her mind is being open."
"So…what does that mean?"
It means I can hear you, Miss Granger
Hermione jumps as Narcissa's voice whispers into her head. How is she performing legilimency without eye contact?
I can feel the connection. I learnt long ago that sometimes you need to read people whilst keeping your gaze lowered.
Will she stop that! This is so bad! Hermione should leave. Or occlude her mind. Walls walls walls. Strong walls.
Tell me. Why are you here? Are you spying on my sister?
No no no. Walls. Hurricanes. Whirlpools. Anything to keep her out. Oh no, water. Pools. Cliffs. Bellatrix.
You have a connection with her. Your minds are…I don't understand it.
Through sand and sea…stop it, Hermione! Clear your mind.
You are not good at hiding
Argh will people stop telling her—
You've had dinner with Bella? You've been in her library? I'd thought…why is she so close to you? How?
Hermione frowns. It was just some pasta. It's just a library. She wasn't even allowed to touch the books, why—
She protected you from the books. The curses.
Okay, enough of this. How about they talk about Draco instead, hmm?
What do you know?!
Ah! Hermione squeezes her eyes shut as her head throbs.
Alright! No need to shout! He's going to fail the mission, you need to ask Snape to do it for him. The Unbreakable Vow. Get Bellatrix to perform it on you both, it's the only way!
How do you know? Why—
Hermione focuses her mind on the Light Chamber. She can't reveal anything else. She has to leave. She holds Spitsy tightly and lets herself be pulled towards it.
And feels sunshine on her face. She lets out a relieved sigh.
"Ow my head! Oh Merlin, did you hear her too?"
She lets go of Spitsy and rubs at her temples
"Spitsy is not hearing, no. Elves minds is being too different. She is not reading Spitsy. She is being angry?"
Hermione walks over to the shade. "Not angry. Desperate. She wants to save her son. I helped her as much as I could without showing her too much. I just hope she can convince Bellatrix…well, she must. She must have before. Oh Merlin's balls, was this me too? Was it me who— I can't believe I've caused Bellatrix to kill Sirius and now forced Snape into killing Dumbledore!"
"Master Sirius is being dead?"
Oh.
She looks down at Spitsy sadly. "Oh, I'm so sorry, Master Spitsy. Yes. He…I had to…"
"Miss Bella is killing him?"
Hermione sits down, leaning forward on her knees. "The first time…in my time…they were fighting. A battle. A duel. He died. This time…I was there. I knew it was supposed to happen, had to happen. But Bellatrix didn't know, she'd drunk a love potion, I had to…I had to tell her to kill him. Make her. Order her. She didn't know what…she did it to please me."
Spitsy's ears droop and he clicks his fingers. A bottle of wine appears. He uncorks it.
"Master Sirius is being a good elf. A brave elf. A strong elf. He is making Miss Cissy laugh…convincing Miss Andy to rebel…he is also trying to give Miss Bella her clothes. She is always being ignoring him. So he is stopping trying, and is finding clothes himself. Master Potter is sneaking him his clothes."
He takes a sip from the bottle and passes it to Hermione, who feels a tear slip down her cheek.
"I'm sorry," she whispers.
He waits for her to take a sip. It tastes wonderful.
"Yous is all being lost elflings. We is all being elflings, in this big wide universe. Something being playing tricks with you, Hermione. You is seeing things you is not supposed to be seeing. You is looking in from the edges now."
Notes:
So this part of the story wasn't completely mine, I might have stolen a bit of it. Or maybe my version was canon all along...