The Christmas Haunting of Bellatrix Black
Christmas Eve, 1978
Bella arrived home a little before midnight from a party for two with her current lover. She hadn't had so much fun since the Christmas Feast her fifth year at Hogwarts when she and a group of Slytherin girls donned masques to conceal their identities and went on the prowl. Bella's gang of eight picked up seventh-years from other Houses and snogged them senseless behind the many statues populating the halls. When they became bored with that, the girls searched out couples enjoying some private time in the garden and vanished their clothes, leaving them in compromising positions in their underwear. The finale of the evening consisted of racing naked in the moonlight down to the shore of the Black Lake, dipping a toe in the frigid water, and racing back to the Slytherin common room. Those were the days.
She dressed for bed in a black lace and silk nightgown. After Bella summoned a glass of white Burgundy to her nightstand, she cast Incendio at the logs in the fireplace in her room, and climbed into bed to sip her wine. Her eyes grew heavier and heavier.
Shortly after midnight, the sound of labored breathing awoke Bella. The heavy smell of Firewhiskey permeated the air, causing her to sneeze. She squinted and looked around. Ghosts were common in magical households so Bella was not surprised to see one sitting in the overstuffed chair near the fireplace. He settled his heavy robes comfortably around his feet at the floor.
"Great-great-whatever-the-hell-you-are," Bella greeted the ghost. "I thought you were stuck in portraits. What are you doing here?"
"Sometimes I am allowed to carry a message to a family member in need," responded Phineas Nigellus Black. "That is why I'm here tonight."
Bella focused sleepily on the former Headmaster. "I'm in need?"
"Or maybe I was bored," he said. "Death is never as exciting as they make it out to be. I thought you could humor an old man and accompany me on a little tour."
"All right, I guess," mumbled Bella. After all, she did enjoy middle of the night adventures. She stood up, grabbed a shimmering cream-colored wrap, and put her hand on Phineas Nigellus' proffered arm. "Let's get to it."
Bella and Phineas floated through a mist. She expected to be cold but was surprised at how comfortable the temperature was. Soon the mist cleared and she could see a scene unfolding in front of her.
It was Christmas break and the Hogwarts Express had just pulled into King's Cross. An energetic first-year with long black curls ran down the train steps, jumping from the last one to the ground. She waved enthusiastically at a small group of four.
"Mother! Father! Andi! Baby Cissy!" she shouted. "It's been the best year ever. After I was sorted into Slytherin, everybody was afraid—"
"—Bellatrix Black! Mind your manners," Mother admonished sharply. "You're acting like a shrieking banshee." Her mother frowned and shook her head. "You can't shout your business across the platform."
The scene shifted. The family gathered around the dining table where a light tea was served by their young elf-in-training, Onyx.
Mother asked, "How are your marks, Bellatrix? I hope you are at the top of your class as all Blacks have been at Hogwarts."
"Yes, Mother," Bella's younger self responded. "My favorite classes are Defense Against the Dark Arts and Charms. Sometimes I play pranks on students from other Houses. I haven't been caught yet. It's funny, really. They all believe me when—"
"Well done, Bella," her father interrupted. "I have to get back to work but you tell Mother all about your little classes and friends."
Mother pursed her lips. "I have a fitting for a new set of dress robes. Tell your sisters, dear."
"I'd rather show them."
Bella followed her first-year self and her sisters to the front parlor and the window overlooking the street. "I don't remember any of this," she told Phineas.
"If you did, we wouldn't be here," he said dryly.
She rolled her eyes and watched "Bella" point to the window.
"What do you see?"
"People walking through the snow," Narcissa responded.
"Correct. Now I'll show you the pranks I've played at school. No one will be hurt. Yet. They'll laugh, you'll laugh. It's going to be fun."
"But you're underage," Andromeda said. "What if the Ministry finds out?"
"They won't. Watch." Bella caused people to slip and fall on their arses. Dogs turned somersaults. Pedestrians were splashed with water from the curbs even though it was freezing and there were no puddles to be found.
Narcissa jumped up and down and clapped her approval at everything Bella did. Andromeda said she was bored and went upstairs to read.
Bella couldn't stop giggling at witnessing her pranks that Christmas. She turned to Phineas. "Damn, I was talented at an early age, wasn't I?"
Phineas gave her a thin smile. "We need to get back for your next appointment. Put your hand on my arm."
The mist swirled and faded. They were back in Bella's room. She frowned. "What did you mean by "next appointment," and why did you say I was in need?"
"That will become clear in time." Phineas was fading away
Mumbling about eccentric ghosts, Bella crawled back into bed.
Just as she was drifting off to sleep, a bright, glittering light enveloped the room. Bella opened her eyes, feeling she needed sunglasses. At the foot of her bed she saw a being so stunning she could hardly stand to look. Squinting helped a little. It appeared to be part man, dressed in shimmering robes with shoulder-length blonde hair. His sparkling wings hung down his back and delicately brushed the floor. He stood patiently, watching Bella.
"Who, I mean, what are you?" Bella demanded. He was the most frightening thing she'd ever seen and the most wonderful.
He chuckled in a rumbling, rich voice. "I'm the angel Gabriel. Well, technically, I'm the Archangel Gabriel. At your service." He bowed.
Bella was awed. Sexy. Are all Gabriels gorgeous? Is it a characteristic of the name? "Ahh, OK, really, what—what are you doing here?" Bella stuttered nervously. Seeing an ancestral ghost is one thing, but an angel—excuse me, archangel—is highly unusual. What did one do with an archangel?
Gabriel shut off that glittering effect. Looking like a regular man in white robes, he said, "I lost a bet to your ancestor Phineas Nigellus. He asked me to come and visit you. So, here I am."
Bella stayed sitting in her bed. Since when did angels gamble?
Gabriel reached out a hand to take Bella's. "Let's go. We've got ground to cover."
The light grew blinding once more, and when it subsided, they stood in a professional kitchen with early morning sunlight streaming in the windows. Her lover, Gabe, wore a Father Christmas hat as he helped his staff prepare a huge breakfast of sliced ham, bangers, caramel rolls, scrambled eggs, waffles, and other goodies. Bella's eyes lingered on the fit of his jeans. She was getting hungry and not just for food.
"Hey, boss, should I start another batch of rolls?" a woman asked.
"Yeah, that would be great." Gabe smiled. "Ron at the Waterfront Mission said whatever we bring they'll gladly eat."
Bella shook her head. Why give food away when he could sell it?
The angel whispered to Bella, "I always enjoy visiting one of my namesakes. This Gabe has been through so much, but he still has a heart big enough to give to others. He's a good man. Will you be able to live with this much goodness? Do you deserve to?"
She pretended to yawn. "Do you have anything else to show me, or is this it?" She didn't have the Sight, and she wasn't going to psycho-bloody-analyze her relationship. It felt good.
The angel did his blind with light act and transported her home. She fell into her bed with a thump. What a cheeky angel! Is he saying I'm not good enough for Gabe? How rude! Angels are supposed to keep their opinions to themselves and have better manners! I wonder if I'll have any more visitors. I've seen the past; I've seen the present. If the future's coming up, I'm pouring myself a drink first.
Bella waited impatiently. She was anxious to see her future, but she also wanted to sleep. She gulped down half her glass of wine.
Dream interpretation is a bogus part of magic, but if it's a good dream I can appreciate it. I can believe.
Bella's head kept nodding. In one of those moments when she jerked awake, she saw a shadowy, hunched over figure, at the foot of her bed. Whatever it was wore a long, hooded cloak.
Getting used to this game, she cleared her throat. "I'm not even going to ask who you are. I'll bet that you're here to take me on a trip to teach me something. Am I right?"
She heard some grunting noises coming from under the hood. When the figure reached out its gloved hands to Bella, she gave it her hand. Unexpectedly, the figure spoke clearly, "Welcome to your nightmare, Bellatrix Black."
"Yeah, yeah, you're real scary," Bella said with a sneer. "Let's go. I hate missing my beauty sleep."
With a swift movement, the figure snapped its fingers and they moved quickly through the cold night mist. "Don't you carry warmth with you? It's too damn cold out here and I forgot my wrap," Bella complained. The figure turned its hooded head towards her but didn't say anything.
At that moment, they landed hard on a stone tiled floor. She looked around the large foyer of what appeared to be a mansion and glanced through the huge door into a formal dining area. Where am I? Who are these freakish people?
Pacing near the head of the large oak table was a man who looked part snake: he had a nose that was only two slits. A woman with long, graying black curls and clothes fit for a slag sat wild-eyed halfway down the table.
Is that me? Bella recoiled at the thought.
"Now, Master?" the woman asked. "Please, please, let me kill them."
Hanging suspended in air over the table, upside down, were two men. They'd been Stupefied, their looks of terror frozen in time. "Yes. Now!" said the snake-man.
His voice was familiar; it belonged to the wizard who called himself the Dark Lord.
The woman rubbed her hands together in glee. She slowly drew her wand out of its sheath and kissed it lovingly before casting Killing Curses. They men tumbled lifeless onto the table. "That's what you get for being Aurors and trying to hurt Poor. Wittle. Bella."
Merlin! It was her!
Bella frantically asked her guide, "What is the meaning of this? The Dark Lord isn't a sideshow freak and I would never look that bad. Never! This isn't my future. "
The shadowy figure turned in her direction. "If you do not change, it will be."
"Change? Why? I don't kill people."
Come," he said. Before she knew it, they swirled back through the cold darkness. Once again, she landed with a thump in her bed.
"You're a gobshite," Bella said, although she was alone in her room. "You're all gobshites." She started to laugh. It was that damned story she'd been forced to read in Muggle Studies one year. She must have been thinking about it for some odd reason and had a bad dream.
"Bah humbug," she said, before gulping the remaining wine in the glass beside the bed and settling into bed determined to sleep and not dream.