A hauntingly beautiful woman stood at the edge of the lake clutching a suitcase, her hair moving gently along with the wind like black ribbons in the air. A breeze whipped her full, black skirts into a frenzy, destroying her otherwise perfect profile. In one hand she held a wand. Bending down, she studied her reflection in the lake: heavy lidded eyes; a strong jaw and glossy, black curls.
The sudden disturbance of voices talking animatedly and footsteps coming near did not startle her. Instead, waving her wand swiftly, and chanting something (perhaps a spell) underneath her breath, her shadow shrank until it was a small, squiggly line that slithered into the tall grass.
A trio of teenagers walked towards a lake, one girl, and two boys. The girl was holding hands with a red-headed, freckled boy, while the other boy meandered over to the lake.
"Aw, Harry, what's with the straight face?" the freckled boy asked. Quietly, he added, "You know, my mum's faring perfectly well, what with the loss of..." He trailed off uncertainly, aware that this was sensitive territory. The girl patted his arm soothingly.
"It is almost our last week at Hogwarts. It's supposed to be bright, and cheerful… and well, right now, it's just drearily depressing," the girl replied, running a hand through her light brown hair. "Say, why don't we go back into the dormitory?"
The freckled boy rubbed his arms, and said, "Quite chilly outside isn't it?" even though it wasn't really, the breeze had stopped; since the sun shone down abundantly. "Wonder where my scarf is. I'm sure it was in my suitcase." The pair began to make their way back, stopping to attempt to drag their friend along.
"Harry, are you alright?" the girl asked, turning back. Conflicting emotions crossed her face. "You seem like you're in a daze." She motioned to Harry, who had stood near the lake for quite a while, his red and gold scarf blowing in the breeze which had started again.
"Hermione, I feel like Harry just wants to be alone for a bit. You know how he feels with all the casualties; he's blaming himself."
"Oh, Ron, but it doesn't feel right to just walk away," Hermione whispered, sneaking glances at Harry, "After all, I suppose that's not what friends are for."
The situation was beginning to become immensely uncomfortable for the two sides, although one was oblivious to everything.
Harry's thoughts raced as he stood at the lake. He was completely unaware of the snake that slithered from the grass. As he walked away, beady eyes of the snake followed him.
As soon as Harry was out of sight, the snake grew, until it became a woman dressed in black lace. Tossing her curls over her shoulder, Bellatrix Lestrange walked towards the direction of a tree. Once again pulling out her wand, she shrank herself until she was the height of an average seventh year student at Hogwarts. Donning the traditional robes of Hogwarts and draping a Gryffindor scarf around her neck, she pulled her hair into a sleek bun. She carefully laid her wand inside of her suitcase, then drew out another one, and taking her suitcase, she set off towards Hogwarts.
Hermione busied herself in the girl's dormitory by setting aside a week's worth of clothes and packing up the rest. Due to the school's state, exams were canceled.
"Hermione," Ginny came over. "Someone's knocking on the door. Should I get it?" There was no one else in the dormitory, and Ginny was more on edge than usual.
Hermione hadn't even heard, too lost in her thoughts. "I'll get it," she said, wincing at how her knees wobbled as she stood up from half an hour's worth of kneeling. Ginny readied her wand, as did Hermione. It was funny how careful they were, really; all of Voldemort's allies were all defeated or rotting away Azkaban. She crept up to the door, cracking it open only to find an unfamiliar figure. Reflexes took over, and she aimed a hex at the figure's face, but it dodged it easily. She took some comfort in knowing Ginny was behind her.
"Stop!" Hermione yelled. She spread her hands and legs out, blocking the entrance to the dormitory. The figure came closer, letting her see the brief outlines of a girl in a Gryffindor scarf and Hogwarts robes.
The girl laughed. "Why, hello to you too. First day here, and I almost got a hex in the face. Oh, just look at my luck."
Hermione felt her face reddening. "Sorry," she said. "We're all a bit cautious, if not too cautious, these days." She moved aside to let the girl in. "Hermione," she informed.
The girl glided past her without introducing herself, merely replying, "Oh, I know."
How did she know? Ginny wondered.
Hermione finally had a good look at the girl. Her hair was up in a bun and with heavy lidded eyes and a strong jaw, she looked more like a professor. "Excuse me, but what's your name?"
The girl's easy demeanor seemed to vanish, replaced by a familiar coldness that Hermione couldn't place, only to be replaced by a cheerful smile once again. "Bella," the girl replied, offering no more information.
From a side, Ginny thought of Bellatrix at the name Bella. But it couldn't be, she'd seen her mum kill Bellatrix with her own eyes. She quickly dismissed the thought.
Meanwhile, Bella was chatting quite happily with Hermione. Ginny caught snippets of the conversation. "My parents decided that Hogwarts was safer than the rest of the world, so they sent me here" and "Well, this is such a nice dormitory".
She wasn't Bellatrix, Ginny decided. She was too happy and bubbly to be the serene, lethal witch her mum had put an end to.
Hermione wrapped up the conversation, called Ginny, and they left to visit Harry and Ron. They had invited Bella, but she had declined, saying that she needed to rest after such a long travel.
Bella checked to make sure Ginny and Hermione were gone. She had learned a good deal of information from Hermione. It was time to put it to use. Unraveling her bun, and discarding her robes, Bella transformed into Bellatrix Lestrange again. Retrieving her wand from her suitcase, she disappeared out of the window, leaving no trace of where she went.
Hermione and Ginny found Harry and Ron at the bottom of the stairs waiting for them. Harry nodded in their direction. "Hey," he greeted them, seeming more cheerful. A portrait of a hippogriff behind him screeched, flapped its wings, flew into the next portrait, and promptly ate up the picnic that was laid before three ladies.
Indignantly, the first lady cried, "How dare you eat our picnic? Do you not know who we are? We are-"
The second lady, who seemed much kinder than the first lady, adjusted her position, and said, "Harry Potter!"
The third lady gave the second lady a queer look. "Margaret, are you feeling well? We are not Harry Potter, we are-"
"No, look!" Margaret shouted. "Harry Potter! He's right there! See?!" She shook her finger in Harry's direction.
All three ladies turned to look at Harry Potter. The hippogriff, taking advantage of the situation, polished off the crumbs, then ate a bit of the blanket for good measure.
"Harry Potter!" the first lady cried. "Oh, thank you! Thank you!" And she kept saying that, making Harry and his friends quite confused.
Margaret observed their expressions, and hastily explained, "Adalyn means the defeat of you know who-well, he's dead anyways… Oh, but you wouldn't know the terrors of the war for us ladies. Running here and there, quite exhausting."
Harry understood, but not knowing what to say, he managed a "Err, thanks, I guess."
"Harry, you're feeling a bit better, aren't you?" the third lady noted observantly.
"Yes, yes, just look at those rosy cheeks! And that smile! I daresay it's been days since I've seen you smile!" added Margaret.
Adalyn beamed. "Well, nice seeing you, Harry-and the rest of you," she said, nodding in Ginny, Hermione, and Ron's direction, "Goodbye for now; we better get back to our picnic."
Hearing this, the young wizards turned and hurried down the hall, hearing the indignant shouts of the ladies as they discovered the hippogriff's crimes.
They headed towards the mail room, chattering all the way, just like the friends they were.
Bellatrix flew into the Malfoy Manor, pushing open the two oak doors. Gliding smoothly along the carpeted floor, she stopped when she saw her sister, Narcissa.
"Cissy," she greeted, her voice dripping with fake sweetness. "Long time no see, ever since you left Hogwarts with that precious son of yours." Bellatrix sneered, referring to Draco Malfoy. "Anyways, I came here to see Lucius. Would you kindly direct your elder sister to him?"
Narcissa turned away. "Get out of my house," she whispered.
"Oh, poor, poor, baby. So scared," Bellatrix snarled. "Just like my sister. Fine. Do what you want. I'll go see him myself." Leering, she added, "You'll regret this when Voldemort comes again."
With that, she waltzed up the stairs in search of Lucius. Narcissa didn't bother telling her that Voldemort was long dead. Let her believe what she wants, she reasoned. As long as it doesn't affect me or my family.
Bellatrix strode down the hallways, twisting and turning. Oh, she knew her way around here perfectly well. This was once the headquarters, after all. "Oh, Lucius!" she trilled, thinking to have a bit of fun. "Come greet your sister-in-law!"
She swept down the hallways gracefully and came to a stop in front of Lucius's work room. She knocked on it, its sound reverberating throughout the hall. "Lucius!" she cooed. "Open the door!"
Down stairs, in the drawing room, Narcissa suppressed a grimace at Bellatrix's sickly-sweet voice.
Lucius flung open the door. "Get out! We will have nothing to do with you," he growled. Then he slammed the door in Bellatrix's face. Clenching her fists, Bellatrix warned herself to keep calm. She must get on their good side. "Farewell then, I'll see you tomorrow." And she waltzed down the hallways, and out of the Malfoy Manor, much to both Lucius's and Narcissa's relief.
Ginny and Hermione walked into an empty dormitory. They found no trace of where Bella went, except for her open suitcase which contained clothing, mostly spare Hogwarts robes. At that moment, the door was flung open by a smiling Bella.
"Where were you?" Hermione inquired. She had a look of utter puzzlement.
"Me? I was in the mail room, sending letters to my parents."
"Oh?" Hermione was really confused now. "We just returned from the mail room. I don't remember seeing you." She looked at Ginny. "Do you?"
Ginny shook her head. "No," she said. "I'm sure."