Chapter 1 : Pursuit and Expectance.
Bellatrix Lestrange, a name to be feared. No shame. No guilt.
Each raindrop had its own individual sound, but Bellatrix cared not for such things. All she noticed was the darkness, that sweet blanket of black created by the incessant rain. Her wild hair stuck, sodden and untidy as ever, to her pale, cold face, her heavy eyelids bearing the beautifully dark eyes that were forever emphasised by her long, curving eyelashes. Her long, black, silken gown clung, wet and trailing, to her slender body as she walked along the cobbled street… alone.
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Narcissa Malfoy was dressed in bottle green robes, hooded, to protect her from the heavy release of precipitation, cobbles causing her heeled feet to ache. She was sick and oh, was she tired of Bella, her venomous attitude and her threatening words… As her bitter tears cascaded down her slim face, she walked along the street, her murderous thoughts clouding all judgment, suffocating her conscience. Sliding her pale hand beneath her quickly dampening cloak, she took hold of her wand in her gentle grasp, allowing it to graze her thigh as she pulled it out into the open air. Glancing forward, squinting in the rain, Narcissa dipped her hood and quickened her pace, closing in on the dark silhouette of the woman in front of her. Her sister. Her Bella. Her, soon to be, victim.
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The rain was loud. It made all small sounds almost inaudible, even the harsh sounds made by Bellatrix's heels on the stones were masked by the rapidly falling water as it hit the dark surfaces nearby. Bellatrix slowed her pace, a cruel smile spreading across her shining, damp face… she drew her wand, still facing forward, simply waiting for the moment to strike.
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Narcissa quickened…
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Bellatrix slowed, even more…
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Narcissa lifted her wand and pointed it at the small of her sister's back, her aim nigh on perfect…
It happened quickly...
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Bellatrix heard a small, almost insignificant sound behind her…
"Hello, Cissy…" said Bellatrix. She spun around, her sinister smile filled with evil and elation as she stabbed the air with her wand, a jet of light soaring through the dark…
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Narcissa fell, knocked backwards by a great and sudden force, droplets of water flying from her drenched figure, falling along with the raindrops onto the cobbled ground. Recovering quickly, she raised her wand, which she had somehow managed to hold on to.
"Bella…Confringo!" she yelled, and the nearby lamppost exploded, flames reaching out at Bellatrix, blocking her from sight. Suddenly, the flames parted, disappearing in the downpour of rain, revealing the unscathed figure of her relative, wand in hand, head tilted downwards.
"Not quite, Narcissa…" and she lifted her head, showing her face… "Most certainly not 'Bella'." Said Nymphadora Tonks, her, at first, dark hair turning a livid shade of red…
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Bellatrix fought, flames and light flying from the small tip of her wand, her hooded foe twisting and dodging, her wand mercilessly casting jets of light and power. Bellatrix's cruel smile faltered, becoming a vicious snarl, lips pursed and hate sprawled across her beautiful, but twisted face.
"NARCISSA!" she screamed, her face contorted in rage, "Don't try to stop me!"
"Stop you from doing what, Ms. Lestrange?" said the familiar voice. Her challenger whipped back her hood, revealing her identity.
"You… you're not Narcissa!" breathed Bellatrix, disbelief in her heavy-lidded eyes.
"When you are quite finished stating the bloody obvious, Ms. Lestrange," said Minerva McGonagall, "I would appreciate it if you would listen to what I have to say."
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