Drabble written for the Interpretation challenge posted by Mysteriousflower
Inspirational song : Underneath Your Clothes, Shakira
Pairing : Hermione/Bellatrix, T
Hermione looked over to where her lover was warming up in front of the flames of their Manor's ancient fireplace, stretching like a lazy cat on a sunny day.
Most would have believed that the woman she had decided to spend her life with after the Battle of Hogwarts was not likely to be similar to a nice, gentle domestic pet like that. They would continue seeing her as a wild animal, even though she had redeemed herself from her former evil deeds by killing her master during the Final Battle, and then rebuilding half of the castle of Hogwarts directly on the funds of the Black family inheritance.
No, too few were able to forgive her all she had done, and they maybe were right. But if Hermione had learned one especially important thing from the great wizard who had been Albus Dumbledore; it was that everyone deserved a second chance, that humankind was intrinsically good, it just fooled itself once in a while.
She knew why Bellatrix had made the first life-changing decision of her life, the day she had become a Death Eater. She had explained that a long time ago to Hermione. She had sought power above any other things in life then, choosing it over love and reason. She had wanted to do something of her life and become someone, no matter what it would take to do so. She had just decided to shine on the bad side, where she had been the most brilliant shadow.
She had undergone the most massive change in her personality while rotting between the walls of Azkaban prison. She had not been driven mad by the loneliness or the shame while in her cell, she sure was not bothered by that anymore; her soul was too shattered to feel any of that. What had finally made its way into her those entire fourteen years was something she had not felt since she had been a child; it was guilt. Overwhelming guilt that made her profoundly hate who she was and the monster she had become.
When the Dark Lord returned and freed her from her half-life, she could not escape joining him again. She was too weak, mind and body, to try to run away. Following this man was the only thing she had ever known since she was seventeen and had first lost her innocence by doing the task asked of her to acquire the Dark mark; to torture another human being to death. That night she had cried all the tears of her body when she came back to the Black family house. Her father made her understand the hard way how intolerable it was for her to be so weak about something done for the Greater Good, for Blood purity. Her own father had almost inflicted the same treatment she had used upon the Mudblood she had tortured, leaving her half-dead on the kitchen floor, with the House elves to clean up the traces of her "Toujours Pure" blood. A month later, she was married with Rodolphus Lestrange and had also given up on ever hoping to truly love one day.
Her only comfort during her years as a Death Eater was the presence of her sister Narcissa, who was her shelter whenever she needed. Nobody would know about that though, it was obvious none of the Black sisters were going to make clear their affection to each other: that was a weakness, and weakness was unacceptable for a Black.
It was her sister's decision which made her finally take a move for the Good. When she understood Narcissa had let her master believe the Potter boy was dead, she had been on the verge, during one brief moment, to tell the Dark Lord. But then she had met her sister's eyes and she had seen the despair in them, she all of a sudden thought back on her years in prison and the desire she had felt to change then, and she decided like that, maybe on a mad impulsion, to act heroically. She knew the 'Boy who lived', even with all the luck in the world, would never triumph on her Master and at the last moment, when Harry was about get hit by the worst of the Unforgivables, she threw herself in the line of fire, saved the boy by sending the spell back to its owner and pinning Harry to the ground. In a flash, Voldemort was dead by her own hands, falling on the floor, his cold inhuman eyes meeting hers in a last, incomprehensive gaze.
It had took a long time for the authorities to decide if they should let her go, if saving the wizarding world like she had done could be enough to balance the horrible deeds she had committed.
With the testimonies of Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, and a few others, including Headmistress McGonagall, who had believed the fact she had changed, she was able to be let go. Some thought it was a mistake and others thought she had already served enough years in Azkaban in the past.
People would never accept her dating a war hero though, and she kept her developing feelings for a certain brunette hidden deep inside herself during at least five years, all the while befriending her a little more with each passing week. Little did she know Hermione had felt the same, until Minerva McGonagall stepped in, deciding they both needed a little push. Minerva had been one of the firsts to forgive Bellatrix too. She had known her as a student and always held her someplace in her Teacher's heart.
When Bellatrix finally engaged with Hermione, the morning after the first Christmas she had been invited at the Burrow, she told her she wanted to take the name of her young love, wanting to put behind forever the names of her father Cygnus and of her husband Rodolphus, whom she had always hated.
Who would have thought Voldemort's former most faithful would have taken the name of a mudblood of all people.
It's true, Bella thought looking back at her love with a loving smile: You never know what you can expect when you let someone creep underneath your clothes and in your heart.