Secrets In The Dark
The Start of Something New?
An: Hey everyone, sorry its taken me a while to get this chapter out, but between fulltime work and trying to maintain life things seem to take different priorities lol. Hope you all enjoy the latest installment and don't forget to give me some feedback!
Harry rubbed his eyes in shock, maybe he needed new glasses, or perhaps he should go the muggle route and get contacts, 'Hmm that holds some merit,' Harry thought. But back to the shock; Bellatrix Lestrange was standing outside his house waving what appeared to be a white handkerchief? His shock quickly melted to anger and the air in his small bedroom took on a metallic scent to it. For the first time since he freed the snake at the zoo, Harry felt fully in control of his magical core.
He watched with furious fascination as Bellatrix made her way slowly up the walk to the front door. Grabbing his wand, Harry bolted from his window and made it down the stairs in record time. As he neared the door, he saw that it was already open, and to his deepest surprise, fully intact. Peering out the open door, Harry witnessed a calm and dare he say attractive Bellatrix? Looking at her now it was impossible to ignore the defining high cheek bones, the shinny black hair that looked oh, so soft. The delicate eyelashes that fluttered gently above pensive purple eyes that, unlike the last time he saw them were filled with a warmth that seemed to calm the mighty storm of emotions that flowed within him.
"Hello Harry," Bellatrix stated, "before you start casting at me, 'I swear upon both my magic and life that I wish you no harm, and desire only to talk, so mote it be!'"
Following her declaration, a bright flash of white light emitted from Bellatrix and after it fading showed her to be still standing and very much alive. To further prove herself, Bellatrix made a gentle sweep with her wand and conjured a single white rose completely out of thin air. Handing the rose to Harry, his part with much shock, she motioned gently to come inside the house. Stepping aside with trepidation, they made their way into the well maintained sitting room and sat across from each other, Harry in his uncle's preferred chair, Bellatrix on the couch. Huffing from the drawn out silence Harry continued to study his unexpected visitor, he noticed that she seemed to be studying him while trying to take everything in of her surroundings.
"Well, you said you wanted to talk, so talk." Harry stated in a cold, steely voice that betrayed that he was none-to-pleased to be in the same building as her, or that she was still breathing for that matter.
"As you wish Harry," Bella started. "Now keep in mind that everything I'm about to say to you is true, and as much as you don't want to believe me, please try ok? Well here goes, I should probably start with my seventh year at Hogwarts. I was top of the entire school and was well on my way to any ministry position that I wanted. I was sorted into Slytherin my first year and over the years managed to become quite powerful among my peers. However as the school year was ending I had finally decided on my career choice, I wished to become an auror." She paused as Harry scoffed in disbelief. "It's true Harry, despite what you may think of Slytherins or me, I wasn't dark. So I applied to become and auror and to no great surprise I was inducted in and soon began training. For two years I worked my way up the grapevine and managed to become fairly good at my job. As I was starting on my third year of being an auror everything went wrong. Voldemort rose to power and everyone was getting handed bigger missions then they were capable of accomplishing." Again Bella paused, this time to conjure a glass of water for her and one for Harry that he refused. "My superiors handed me my mission briefing and I was immediately aware that this would more then likely end badly. I was assigned to keep watch over the Lestrange brothers and inform the ministry of anything dark that they were up to. I followed them around for days; I took note of all their habits, happenings, and going ons. But it wasn't until the last day of my missive that I finally found what the ministry was looking for. The Lestranges were holding secret meetings for the Dark Lord's followers. Me being the experience auror knew that I couldn't take everyone in the room so I sent a patronus message to my superior requesting for back up to make a mass arrest. Once the others arrived we made short work of the death eaters and only Rodolphous escaped. The remaining death eaters were quickly arrested and sentenced to a remote prison named Utgard."
"So wait you were an auror?" Harry asked.
"Yes, I used to be one, one of the best in fact." Bella answered.
"So why did you get sentenced to Azkaban and why did you turn?"
"I was just getting to that if you had waited." Bella snapped at Harry. "Anyway, a couple days had passed after the arrest and sentencing, and I was walking the short distance from my apparation point to my front door when I was attacked from behind. I had failed to notice a lumbering shadow follow me to my front door and hit me with a silent body bind. As I fell backward I caught sight of my attacker, it was Rodolphous. He caught me and quickly drug me into my own house. He went straight for my bedroom and threw me on my bed, he uttered a short spell and my wrists and ankles were bound to the post of my bed frame. He pulled a shrunken chest from his pocket and enlarged it before delving into it to. When he came back from inside it he had a whole armful of materials. He went around my room and placed several arcane objects in various places before I realized that he was preparing for a ritual of some sort. Rodolphous make a small cut on my left wrist and took several drops of my blood as a catalyst. He added them to an inky black potion and it immediately turned a sickly green color. I was still under the body bind so Rodolphous had no problems forcing the potion down my throat, once it was all in me he began chanting and waving his wand over me. Before he finished I realized that he was attempting a mind block ritual, something that had been outlawed as dark magic several thousand years before either of us were born. He finished the incantation and I feared for what was next, for to finish the block severe injustice had to be preformed upon the mind being blocked. And to him there was only one way, rape."
Even though to Harry she was the enemy and a villain, he couldn't help but feel for her as a fellow human being. From hearing her story he could feel the walls and barriers of his hear t soften, although there was one thing that didn't make any sense to him. "So wait, he proceeded to rape you and complete the ritual of the mind block, but that shouldn't have stopped someone from knowing what had happened or that it wasn't truly you."
"That's all part of how the ritual works, Harry." Bella stated sadly. "For it to be fully effective the person its being performed on has to be the exact opposite. So an auror, or a dark wizard hunter to have their personality blocked would result in the opposite, a dark wizard, or in my case, witch."
"But its been broken, so how did it break?" Harry asked.
"Because of you, when we were in the Department of Mysteries, you battled my wretched husband Rodolphous and when you sent him through the clock it actually killed him. But that was only step one; after I sent my stunner at Sirius..." she was interrupted as Harry developed a stony look and cut her off.
"You stunned him?"
"Harry I may have had my personality sealed off, but I wasn't heartless, he was still family, and no matter what I couldn't have out right killed him because he was head of House Black. And if I'm not mistaken, you are now as well, but we'll get to that. Anyway, after I sent my stunner at Sirius and I took off with you in chase, you caught up to me in the atrium and used the cruciatius curse on me, that further helped the mind block to snap because as soon as Sirius fell through the veil, you were head of House Black."
Harry looked completely awed at the idea that he was head of the Black Family. He figured that Sirius would have left something for him, but never the whole family.
"That having happened and you being my head of house, you using the cruciatius on me was considered an act of punishment through family magic and that began to loosen the strength of the block. Anyway, with the binds loosened I was able to fight off the mind block and come back to my former, light self. However I can't have my name cleared until I have support from someone other than Narcissa, and even she doesn't know that I'm back to being myself again. So this is where you come in Harry; we both need an out yes? I've been observing your relatives for the past few nights and have seen their abuse and blatant hatred of you, if you desire and this is strictly up to you with no persuasion from me, and my only promise to help you become a stronger wizard, you can stay with me at the Black Fortress."
Harry was again astounded by what Bellatrix had offered. To think that a few hours ago he had wanted nothing more then to kill her for what she had done and what she had taken from him. Now he was actually thinking about her offer! There were many variables that needed to be discussed however first.
"That's all well and good Bella, but there are a few problems." Harry said.
"Oh, such as?" Bellatrix asked.
"Two things; one I'm still under age, I won't be seventeen until next July. And secondly only my magical guardian can say that I can leave this hell, and sadly that's Dumbledore, and I can guarantee that he will not allow me to simply walk away from here with Bellatrix Lestrange, mass murder and public enemy number two." Harry stated calmly.
Bella looked pensively at Harry before she smiled a large wolfish grin in a Sirius like manner that twisted his heart. "Harry dear," Bella started. "both are moot points, did you not listen when I said you became the head of House Black after Sirius died?" after his nod she continued, "that means that you are now an emancipated wizard as well as your own legal guardian."
Harry was dumbfounded as both his arguments were shot right out of the water. Sure he had heard of cases such as this happening before, but they had completely slipped his mind. After weighing all his options and having spent a great few moments deciding what he wanted, Harry stood and made his way out of the sitting room and to the staircase. Looking back Harry saw that Bellatrix had stood as well and had a look of such despair upon her face. Smiling Harry said, "You can wipe that look off your face, I'm coming with you."
AN: Hey guys and gals, don't forget to tell me what you think about the latest installment. I have to confess that this chapter has legit fought me tooth and nail to get done. I hope that everyone likes the approach that I tried to starting a new plot, and on a second note I have decided that this shall not be a Harry/Bella romance, but as of right now she will be the main female character until I can figure out someone else. As always R&R and I hope you enjoyed it. :D
