Disclaimer: Own nothing. Neither JK's work or "Not while I'm around," In Sweeney Todd. If I owned Harry Potter, Bellatrix and Hermione would have been together and I would have gotten a million WTF reactions from heteronormative fans and people just not comfortable with that dark a relationship, so lets move on.
Summary: Takes place before "Agememnon's Dilemma" and "Artemis's Jape," takes place during the first part of "Surreal." The second half of this story will take place after all of the others except for "What we know." Hermione is under no delusions. She knows what Bellatrix has done. She knows that Bellatrix is a murderer and torturer. She knows that the Death Eater is barking mad. She knows that Bellatrix would see her dead if not for the desire to prolong her suffering. But she would protect Bellatrix-even if it was against the Death Eater's comrades and from her own Dark Lord.
I'll send them Howling:
Hermione felt the warm trickle down the remaining pink flesh of her slashed back. A sickening sensation running through her as she slowly pulled herself to her feet.
She heard the voices through the thick mahogany door. There was clearly Bellatrix's pleading one, and his voice. Voldemort's harsh, disgusted voice ringing through the air.
"I trusted you, Bellatrix." He said, voice like a serpent's, making Hermione's skin crawl like a thousand insects were infesting it, "You couldn't keep the boy and his friend from escaping. Why did I trust you with this one small thing? I know now that I cannot trust you even with that. What is this mudblood we've captured worth without Potter?"
Hermione held back a dark hiss at the slur she heard. The tyrant speaking such nonsense was a half-blood himself. Such hypocrisy.
She stiffened when she heard Bellatrix's words. "Please, my lord," She whimpered, and Hermione had to stop herself from running through the door and putting herself between Bellatrix and Voldemort, "I did everything in my power to stop them. I beg of you. Forgive me."
"I do not forgive, Bellatrix." Voldemort's voice heightened in warning, "But I can be merciful. Find Potter. Find him. Bring him to me, and you shall be forgiven. All shall be well when you deliver the boy to me. But for now, you must be punished."
Hermione held her breath when she heard that.
No.
No, no she couldn't let Voldemort harm Bellatrix again. Not again. The Death Eater had been through enough already. She turned and noticed Lucius gulping down vodka by the door. She smirked. Great, a distraction. She was going to protect Bellatrix, at least she'd be able to now.
Nothing's gonna harm you,
Not while I'm around
Nothing's gonna harm you,
No sir, not while I'm around
Grabbing a silver statuette on one of the tables of a rearing back stallion, she flung it at the blonde wizard's shoulders. Not the head. She couldn't risk Bellatrix being sent out instead of Lucius after Harry and Ron. What if Harry, Ron or anyone for that matter got lucky and actually hit her? The statuette made impact, sending Lucius to the side. The startled wizard got up, furious.
His bottle of vodka and his glass crashed to the floor in pieces. "What-" He looked startled and got up, outraged, gripping his shoulder in pain. "You little mudblood-" He started, furious till Hermione vaulted a blue, white, black and red porcelain vase at him. He gasped, siding out of the way. The vase smashed hard against the bookcase.
There was movement in the next room and Voldemort came through, slit eyes narrowed. "What is going on in here?!" He demanded, stepping forward, bone-shaped wand drawn and aimed at Hermione and the still befuddled Lucius.
"I don't know, my lord," Lucius sputtered out, "Please forgive me. This mudblood just started throwing things at me. She's gone mad. A waste of bloody space, she is."
Hermione turned her attentions on Voldemort, smirking at him, a voltage of pain shooting through her heart that had nothing to do with any of her injuries dominated her when she saw Bellatrix through the doorway, still looking shaken. Her teeth clenched at the sight. Voldemort terrified Bellatrix. She loved him, was devoted to him, but all he did was give her abuse in return. She looked at the pallid reptilian face. She couldn't take Voldemort on like this, but she could at least divert his attention from Bellatrix.
"Hey, Voldie," Hermione laughed in his face, an icy thrill shooting through her that she was saying this to literally the darkest wizard known to the magical world, "Should really watch your guards. I almost cracked poor Lucius's skull open. Too bad he's so stupid. Then again, I guess you choosing him as a Death Eater just shows how stupid you are."
Demons are prowling everywhere nowadays
I'll send them howling
I don't care
I got ways
Okay, maybe that was pushing it. She suspected the killing curse wouldn't be too hard to imagine being flung at her now. However, those narrowed reptilian eyes fixated on her and within seconds, the black, twisted, bone shaped wand was raised.
"Crucio!" Voldemort exclaimed, hateful word spilling from ashen lips.
A stream of magic spilled from the tip of the wand, hitting Hermione hard. She might have tried to jump out of the way, were she not bleeding out from her back, all the strength taken out of her already. It had taken the last bit of her energy to pick up the horse statuette and the vase and throw them at Lucius. The curse slammed into her, the horrendous torture shooting throughout Hermione's body instantaneously.
Pain akin to being ripped in half flooded her already ragged, slashed and beaten form. She fell to the marble black floor, withering in agony. Her knees pulled up to her chest, her arms covered her chest as the destructive agony tore through her entire body. After what felt like a million years, the excruciating feelings passed. The horrifying inflictions ended, and she gasped, loosening her body over the floor, free of the curse, for the moment.
She rolled her neck around, getting her head to look upwards, eyes taking in the sight of Voldemort towering over her, staring harshly. He looked to Lucius and sneered, "A simple mudblood was a threat to you, Lucius. It really makes me wonder why I chose you to be one of my Death Eaters. I truly am disappointed." He then turned his attention in the opposite direction. To Bellatrix. Hermione's heart thud, terrified. No. She tried desperately to lift herself up and jump between Bellatrix and Voldemort, but she was too weak. The beatings, the torture and the curciotus curse had taken its toll on her.
Voldemort's firm voice, cloaked in silk came out, making Hermione shudder in disgust, "Bellatrix, I'm hoping you will teach this vermin some more respect. If not, teach her true humility. I leave her at your mercy. Do what you will with her, but do not allow her to speak out of turn again, or you will suffer for it."
Hermione barely could contain her hateful hiss at those words. Merlin, she hated this wizard. Hated him more than she hated Snape for killing Dumbledore even. He was scum and nothing else.
The timid words of, "Yes, my lord," from Bellatrix didn't help and only broke Hermione's heart further. With one last smirk at Hermione that made bile rise in the young witch's throat, the dark wizard raised his wand and there was a loud "cracking" noise and Voldemort disappeared in whirlwind of black swirls.
Bellatrix sauntered over, pained and frightened look disappearing in a second as soon as Hermione saw her, the pureblood's face hardening. Hermione winced. She hated what the pureblood world had done to her Bellatrix.
No one's gonna hurt you
No one's gonna dare
Others can desert you
Not to worry,
whistle, I'll be there!
Bellatrix lifted her head and glared at Lucius. "Malfoy, leave us." She sneered. Hermione shivered, muscles tensing. She wasn't sure her body could take another beating. She heard a huff from Lucius before he turned and his footsteps trailed off.
As he left, Bellatrix turned her cold, dark, hateful gaze to Hermione. Hermione tried not to gulp.
"You," Bellatrix spat, sending a vicious kick to Hermione's side, making the brunette curl up in more agony, "Who do you think you are, speaking to the Dark Lord like that?"
"Maybe he's your and Malfoy's Dark Lord, but he sure isn't mine." Hermione snapped back, voice strained in pain.
"Silence!" Bellatrix snarled, kicking Hermione again, this time in the back. Hermione nearly howled in pain as she reared back. "I am your protector! You will show me more respect!"
Hermione slowly turned to face Bellatrix and felt the grim smile tug at her lips. She wasn't suffering from Stockholm syndrome. She had feared that immediately when she realized her feelings for Bellatrix, but she knew now that it wasn't. There was a difference. She knew that while the only reason she hadn't been raped yet was because of Bellatrix, which she was grateful for, but she wasn't going to be tricked into thinking the madwoman was kind for it.
She wouldn't be stuck here, at the possible mercy of those same men that might violate her at any second if Bellatrix didn't keep her here. Were Bellatrix truly kind, she would have let Hermione go a long time ago. No, Stockholm syndrome was not an issue. She was in love with Bellatrix, she knew that now. And it was untainted by conditional sickness-thank Merlin.
"I am grateful that you haven't let Lucius, Pettigrew, either of the Lestrange brothers, or any of them near me, Bellatrix," She snapped, slowly picking herself up off the floor, despite her body being broken with agony. She lifted herself somehow off the floor and dragged her incredibly heavy body over to the fireplace, leaning her wounded body on its shoulder against the marble white mantle of the fireplace, "But I wouldn't be in this position if not for you." She met the outraged eyes of the pureblood woman, "If you hadn't held that knife to my throat, Harry and Ron would have rescued me. You are not my savior. But you are my protector," She smirked lightly at Bellatrix's furious look, "And thanks for that. And I want to protect you too." She narrowed her eyes at the laceration over the dark witch's thin left pale arm, splitting open the older witch's black leather coat and her ashen flesh.
Bellatrix noticed Hermione staring hard at the wound and hid her arm from the muggle-born's line of sight.
Hermione let out an angered growl, "He's hurt you again, hasn't he?"
"You mind your tongue!" Bellatrix hissed turning on the muggle-born again, taking a dangerous step forward, "You will mind your betters! My lord has only done what is needed! He will reward me for all my devotion. I am his willing servant."
"Yes," Hermione sighed pain stabbing her heart at hearing Bellatrix's blind loyalty to that sadistic madman that abused her-then again, perhaps she wasn't so different because of her loyalty to Bellatrix, "You make that quite apparent. Good to know by the end of the day, you're a strong woman but will always crawl to be at a monster's feet."
Demons'll charm you with a smile
for a while
but in time….
Nothing can harm you
Not while I'm around…..
Hermione was barely fazed as the hand slapped against her face, sending her reeling, her arms bracing herself against the fireplace for purchase.
"Keep your mouth shut, filth!" Bellatrix shrieked, blue eyes livid with hate, "You will respect my lord! He is greater than us all! You will show him respect!"
"Like he shows you respect?" Hermione asked, brushing droplets of blood from her lip-split open by Bellatrix's fury.
Bellatrix hissed same hand lashing out, gripping the column of Hermione's throat tightly, making the brunette suppress a flinch.
"You are really pushing it, muddy." She spat, crooked teeth grinding, "I will be his queen. I will be at his side forever."
Still, Hermione held her head high, locking her brown eyes with Bellatrix's cerulean ones, "At his side to be abused. He can't go around hurting you like that. You can't trust him. He'll stab you in the back first sign that something better is going to be offered to him, you'll see. He's unworthy of you."
Bellatrix growled, eyes blazing with hate, iron grasp tightening around Hermione's throat and the brunette felt the air leave her. After a few moments, when Hermione's vision started going dark, Bellatrix pulled her forward then tossed her carelessly to the floor, knocking the wind out of the brunette.
Hermione coughed out raggedly, weakly. She rose up, sitting on her rear, staring at Bellatrix defiantly.
"Shut your mouth." Bellatrix repeated dangerously, "You think you mean anything to me?" Hermione chuckled dryly, sounding like she was taking a breath. She was under no delusions. She knew what Bellatrix had done to people like her. She knew that Bellatrix was a murderer and torturer. She knew that the Death Eater was barking mad. She knew that Bellatrix would see her dead if not for the desire to prolong her suffering. But she would protect Bellatrix-even if it was against the Death Eater's comrades and from her own Dark Lord
Being close and being clever
Ain't like being true
I don't need to,
I would never hide a thing from you
Like some….
Hermione took all the strength she had left to pick herself up off the floor. She stood up straighter, brown eyes intense as Bellatrix gauged the muggle-born with angered befuddlement and denial. "Your lord will betray you. You mean nothing to him. He can charm you all he wants, but in the end, he'll hurt you. Don't worry, I'll get him for it."
Bellatrix's nostrils flared, raising her balled up fist, ready to strike, till Hermione threw her weight fully into one step, sending her towards the now startled pureblood, arms reaching out and taking one of Bellatrix's arm into each of her hands, pressing her head close to Bellatrix's forehead. For the life of her, it never stopped striking Hermione that Bellatrix was shorter than her.
"He'll never hurt you again," Hermione breathed against Bellatrix's forehead as her lips backed away, "You'll see."
No one's gonna hurt you,
no one's gonna dare
Others can desert you
Not to worry,
whistle, I'll be there!
The now shocked and stunned Bellatrix hissed, backing away, striking her fist against Hermione's lower jaw.
Hermione stumbled back, spitting blood out of her mouth. She coughed for a second, regaining her balance, blood leaking out of her mouth, a grim smile on her face as she turned back to the dark witch.
"You can deny it all you want." Hermione said, glancing at Bellatrix, still smirking before turning away as she headed out the door, "You're falling for your master's greatest act. He charms you, but you can't trust him. When he leads you astray, I'll be there to pick up the pieces. He'd better watch out then." She smirked back at the still baffled Death Eater, still bleeding out of her mouth and left.
Hermione tried to stroll down the thick oak stairs, passing through the hall, limping and barely waddling down, clinging to the railing fiercely, knowing she didn't have the strength to get down without falling due to her blood loss and injuries. She narrowed her eyes throughout the room, surprised that Bellatrix hadn't come charging behind her yet.
She smirked, copper roiling around in her throat and mouth. Voldemort felt invincible now. He felt like he was on top of the world now. He felt like he had Bellatrix's life and trust in his hands, but she would bring him to his end. She knew what Voldemort would do. Bellatrix didn't mean a thing to him outside of convenience. She'd show Bellatrix one day. And she would see who was truly loyal to Bellatrix then. She would see who valued Bellatrix. Voldemort was not going to get away with what he had done to her beloved Bella. Not for much longer.
Demons'll charm you with a smile
for a while
but in time….
Nothing can harm you
Not while I'm around…..