Bellatrix Black and The Founder's Relics.
Welcome to my first Bellamione fic, based off the lovely dont-be-shy-sweetie's prompt: No Dark Lord, no War. So go thank her, please.
This is currently un-beta'ed, so if you find any grammatical mistake, please let me know. I'm working up some courage to ask my old beta reader if he can be my beta again (Please?)
This is AU and the characters might be a bit OOC. It will also contain lots and lots of femslash, maybe even a little slash and it will be graphic. You've been warned.
J.K. Rowling and Warner own everything but the plot.
Onto the story!
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Chapter one: Welcome aboard.
Bellatrix Black was having a nice dream. Maybe because she had been working at odd hours the last few days and this was the first time she had been able to just lie down and sleep for more than three hours straight.
Her room was lavish, all expensive silk and the best furniture money could buy. Being the best and most famous auror, second only to Alastor 'Mad Eye' Moody, the Head Auror himself, had its benefits. It also had some drawbacks, like spending last week on too much coffee and little sleep, chasing a group of smugglers who thought they could get away smuggling dragon eggs and unicorn parts to North America.
A muffled 'pop' roused her from sleep. "I'm not hungry, Mimsy. Please come back later," she mumbled, turning around, ready to go back to sleep.
The small domestic elf cleared her throat, "Mistress must wake up. Young Master Black is waiting for Mistress downstairs with a message from the Ministry."
With a small groan, the sleepy witch pushed her covers aside, brushing some black curls out of her face. "Please tell me you're talking about Regulus," she grunted as her feet met the soft carpet. If it was her cousin Reg, she could easily bully him into leaving her alone; the Ministry could send her an owl later.
"I'm sorry, Mistress, its young Master Sirius and he asked me to tell you it's important," Mimsy could almost smile. She'd been serving the Noble and Ancient House of Black for a very long time and watching those two interact was always a riot.
"What have I done to…? Wait, scratch that; I know exactly what I've done to deserve this," with a humorless laugh, Bellatrix rose from her bed, stretching a bit, "tell Sirius I'll be downstairs in five minutes."
"Yes, Mistress!" with another soft 'pop', the elf disapparated back downstairs.
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True to her word, five minutes later Bellatrix joined her cousin downstairs.
"Oh, look! The Great and Powerful Trixie is finally up," said Sirius, leaning on the door frame, "I'm honored."
"Charming as usual, Snuffles," she retorted, giving him a half-smile. "You have a full minute to tell me why I should be here instead of tying you back in your dog house and going back to sleep."
"Trust me, I'd rather be in my dog house; I had a relaxing evening planned out when Mad Eye summoned me and I doubt you're seriously going back to sleep, since you're decked in full mission gear." He paused, grinning, "Unless you got inside those tight pants just for my viewing pleasure."
Bellatrix rolled her eyes at Sirius' wolfish grin. "And here I thought you were against family traditions. You have 20 seconds left."
The dark haired wizard straightened himself. "Dumbledore is sending two of the newest Ministry recruits on an important mission and he wants the most capable aurors to escort them. You'll never guess who he's sending."
"I despise guessing games… 5 seconds"
"Harry! It's his first official mission. He aced his Auror training, but you already knew that," Sirius practically beamed; his godson was his pride and joy. "So, are you coming or do I have to beg first?"
The witch sighed. "Fine, fine, we'll go babysit your pup, but you owe me."
Sirius smiled. "You're the best, Trixie," he said, offering her his arm for Sidelong Apparition.
She slapped his arm lightly before taking it. "Stop calling me Trixie!"
Still smiling, he disapparated them to their destination.
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They appeared right at Hogwarts' gates, where a smiling Harry waited for them.
"Good morning, Miss Black," the boy had grown quite a bit since she last saw him, now nearly as tall as his godfather. He gave her a charming, boyish smile, "I'm glad you came along; Sirius said he wasn't sure you'd say yes."
"Good morning, Harry," she smiled back, "well, your godfather was almost right and I hate it when he's right."
"That was what I was counting on," Sirius joked, fixing his robes; it was barely September, but it was getting a bit cold already. "Is everybody here?"
"No, we still need to wait for-," a loud 'crack' interrupted the bespectacled boy.
A pink haired young woman apparated just a few steps away from them, managing to fall flat on her butt while doing so. "I'm ok!" she scrambled to her feet, a sheepish smile on her face, "Wotcher, Auntie Bella! Sirius, Harry. Sorry I'm late; had to finish a report for Mad Eye."
Harry smiled. "No problem, Tonks. Come on, Professor Dumbledore and Hermione are waiting for us; they're deciding what location we should hit first."
The walk to the Headmaster's office was filled with some small talk, mostly about clothing and new brooms. Curious eyes followed them; both Tonks and Harry were Quidditch legends at the school, both hailed as best keeper and seeker, respectively. The pink haired witch paraded a little, waving, blowing kisses in every direction, urging a blushing Harry to do the same.
The dark witch smiled; she would never say it out loud, but it felt good to be around her family.
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Hermione Granger was the poster child of academic excellence; perfect scores, pristine records and three Ministry departments fighting over her were proof of that. The only dubious instance in her records was a little confrontation with a troll on her first year. Her brilliant performance as a student allowed her Head of House to overlook said episode, leaving young Miss Granger with only the positive outcome; her friendship with Harry Potter.
Throughout her school experience, she had been dubbed "Ice Queen" by some of her classmates. She dated a Mr. Weasley briefly during her fifth year, and there were a ton of rumors about her and Harry, but besides that there were no known boyfriends, girlfriends or even crushes. She was simply too busy studying or bailing Harry out of trouble.
Contrary to popular belief, she had a crush on someone, a crush only Harry knew about, pushed behind by some more 'important' stuff. As she prepared her notes for the task ahead it never crossed her mind that her crush was about to walk through the door.
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Albus Dumbledore received them with a smile and a tin full of Lemon Drops, as usual. "I'm so glad to see you all here."
"I'm glad that, for once, I'm not here to be scolded," said Tonks, snickering.
"Me too," Harry chuckled, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose.
"Me three," Bellatrix quipped, much to the Headmaster's amusement.
"Hey! I was going to say that!" Sirius huffed, like a stubborn child, crossing his arms across his chest.
"Professor, where's Hermione?" Harry turned around, looking for his friend, "Oi, Hermione! We're ready!"
Hermione Granger emerged from the back room on the Headmaster's office, carrying several books and scrolls in her arms, messy hair, hands covered with ink stains. "Honestly, Harry, there's no reason to shout, I'm-" she stumbled, losing grip on all of her material in the process, and gasped when she realized exactly who was in the room.
"Merlin's beard! It's Bellatrix Black! It's Bellatrix bloody Black and I look like an unkempt idiot!" she thought, trying to regain her composure, "-eh…he…" she blurted out, "well, add blubbering to that too!"
Bellatrix couldn't help but chuckle; she had heard about the Granger girl. They were going nuts about her in the Ministry. She had even seen her a few times at her cousin's place, usually on Christmas, but never like this. It was funny, and a bit intriguing at the same time.
Harry moved to help his friend. Picking up her books, he couldn't help to whisper "What, Mione, cat's got your tongue? Or should I say, snake?"
Hermione gave him a horrified look, swatting him lightly. "Simply lost my balance, I assure you," she smiled, trying to cover up her jitters, "hello..eh Professor Dumbledore? I got everything we need, should we get onto the explanations?"
The Headmaster nodded, conjuring chairs for everyone. "As you wish, Miss Granger. Everybody, please take a seat."
The brunette bookworm sat a far as she could from the curly haired auror. It was one thing to get a fleeting glimpse of your crush at a Christmas party, but to sit in the same room with them and possibly working together on a very important mission? That was a different story.
"I've gathered you all here because I have a very important mission and I believe you're the most capable to carry it on," the ancient Headmaster opened one of Hermione's scrolls. "As you may notice, this old castle is turning a thousand years old in a few months. A celebratory feast is planned and we need every helping hand we can get," he smiled, showing the ornate writing on the scroll, "We're not in class, Miss Tonks, you don't have to raise your hand to get our attention."
"Force of habit, Professor," the pink haired auror blushed, lowering her arm, "I was just wondering; you're planning a party, but neither of us is known for their decorating skills. Why would you need four aurors and a young…whatever Hermione is right now, to plan a party?"
Dumbledore sighed. "Miss Tonks, I assure you I didn't call all of you to help me choose between forget-me-nots and yellow roses for the flower arrangements," this earned him a few chuckles, "the Minister, along with several staff members, have expressed the desire of showcasing the Founder's Relics at the feast; Gryffindor's sword, Ravenclaw's diadem, Hufflepuff's cup and Slytherin's locket."
It was Sirius' time to interrupt. "That would be amazing, sir, but weren't they lost after the Founder's death?"
"That's correct, Mr. Black, and that's why I called you here; I need the five of you to retrieve those items for the school. Sounds simple enough, right?"
"Yes, except they could be anywhere. It would take us years to track them," said Bellatrix, a bit disappointed; she was a warrior, not a dog to fetch stuff.
"On the contrary, Miss Granger's investigation came up with quite a few leads this past week," Dumbledore turned to Gryffindor's resident bookworm, "would you mind sharing those, Miss Granger?"
"Not at all, Professor," Hermione was still pretty nervous, but when it came to defending her work she was the best, "after reading many scrolls about the Founders and talking to some of the highest authorities on the subject, I was able to pin-point about a dozen possible locations for the Relics."
Bellatrix was impressed. "And you need us aurors because…?" she drawled, crossing her legs elegantly.
"It- it's not about you being aurors, Miss Black, although it helps a lot," Hermione silently cursed herself for stuttering, "it's because some of these locations are property of either the Peverell family, of which Harry is the last descendant, or the Noble and Most Ancient House of Black."
A look of surprised crossed Bellatrix's face; she wasn't really expecting that. She glanced at her cousin, who simply nodded. "Fine. When are we leaving?"
Hermione smiled, a sense of victory washing over her. She hid her excitement, focusing on packing her notes on her small beaded purse.
"What about today? I mean, we already have a nice amount of leads; it's not like we're walking around blindly," Harry got up and started helping Hermione, taking some scrolls from her, "Oh, 'Mione, you even made a list! Where should we go first?"
"Let me take a look at it, Harry," Sirius gently took the list from his godson's hand. He paled when he saw the first place on the list, "Harry, I think it would be wise to go back home now and have a fresh start tomorrow."
Harry groaned, displeased while Bellatrix shot her cousin a questioning look: Sirius was always up for a mission. "Sirius, let me see that paper," she said. It wasn't a suggestion.
He mutely gave her the piece of parchment, crossing his arms protectively across his chest.
"N° 12 Grimmauld Place," she read out loud, "do we really have to go there?" the dark witch asked, her voice betraying the fear her face didn't show.
"Well, it is the last recorded residence of Belvina Burke, née Black, one of the rumored owners of Slytherin's locket…is there a problem, Miss Black?" Hermione left her scrolls on Dumbledore's desk, carefully approaching the Black woman. Their eyes met and somehow Bellatrix could feel the sweet hazel gaze melting the icy fear the name of that revolting place provoked. She smiled at Hermione, a small, almost unnoticeable smile.
"That's the house I grew up in," Sirius' shaky voice got their attention, "and the last time we were there it wasn't nice at all."
"Oh, I wasn't aware Madame Black was still alive," Dumbledore busied himself with his Lemon Drops tin can, "she was one of my first students, quite feisty."
Bellatrix snorted. "Feisty? I can think of a few better names for that old sadistic bat," she paced around the room, "Miss Granger, are you positively sure we need to search that place?"
The brunette witch felt her resolve wavering a bit; as their eyes met again she could see the older witch's unspoken plea. "We do need to search there, eventually…but we can start somewhere else. Where do you think we should start, Miss Black?"
The Black witch visibly relaxed, scanning the whole list this time. "We could start with this Mrs. Hepzibah Smith; she's close to Diagon Alley."
"That's actually a wonderful idea, since it's pretty close to the next place on our list: Borgin and Burkes," Hermione retrieved the list from Bellatrix's outstretched hand, placing it back on her purse, "everybody ok? Professor?"
"I have faith in all of you," the old Headmaster sat down behind his desk, "I'm expecting to hear from you every time to come across something important. In the mean time you should follow Mr. Black's advice; go home and rest."
The brunette Gryffindor grabbed her purse, slinging it over her shoulder, "Good. We'll meet at the Leaky Cauldron at 9 o'clock tomorrow. Until then I hope you all have a wonderful day, Sirius, Tonks…Miss Black," she couldn't help a slight blush as she practically ran out of the room.
"Oi, Hermione! Wait up!" Harry excused himself with a polite nod, chasing his friend down the stairs, "you said we had to stock up on dittany!"
"Those are good kids, I'm telling you," Sirius chuckled, "a bit overenthusiastic, but good none the less. They're staying at my place so maybe you two could come over later for dinner. See you later, girls. Professor," with that, he left.
"Can I stay with you today, Auntie Bella? Mom gets a bit edgy whenever I get a mission, you know how she is," Tonks balanced her feet like a little girl.
"Yes, but please try not to help Mimsy with dinner again; she nearly had a heart attack when you dropped you Great-Uncle Alphard salad bowl," Bellatrix actually chuckled at that, "come on, we need to get going. Professor," she sent a curt nod his way.
"Miss Black?" he called after her, "one always must face their demons. It's the only way to move on."
She stiffened, but nodded all the same, leaving the office in a hurry. Tonks ran after her aunt, wrapping an arm around her waist. "What was that all about?"
"Nothing you should worry about, Dora," the eldest Black sighed, concentrating on the path below her feet.
Tonks snorted. "Yeah, and The Quibbler is a scientific magazine," she tightened her hold, "Come on, Aunt Bella; both you and Sirius lost it the moment you heard the name of that place. I know something is up."
"I think it's not really my place to tell you, Dora. May things happened there. Horrible things, at the same time," the Black witch nodded at Professor McGonagall as they passed by her.
"Oh, come on! Mom told me the exact same thing when I asked about my grandparents! Plus, I know something that you don't…Miss Black," the pink haired auror changed her hair to a light shade of brown, messy and longer.
Bellatrix sighed again, wrapping her arm around her niece's shoulder. "Fine, I'll tell you when we get home, alright?"
"That's more I like it."
The pair reached Hogwarts gate quickly and promptly dissaparated.
Bellatrix Black knew it was going to be a very long night.
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Next chapter: Bellatrix and Dora have a small chat. Dinner at Sirius: Hermione will be chocking on her wine many times. We'll meet lovely Hepzibah Smith and out heroes will plan a trip to Albania.
Thanks for reading!