Tethered To the Story We Must Tell
Chapter 2: Time Skip (Year 4)
Nina POV:
Why are they so annoying? Still holding on to a friendship that ended years ago.
I can't wait to get out of this stupid Charms class and meet Bella in the common room. Charms was a drag, most of the spells we learn are practical and don't really need any training. Just about anyone can cast these stupid spells. Most of them, I learned in my 1st or 2nd year.
Now in my 4th year, I am at the age of raging hormones. Every boy is running around like a dog, and every girl is just about ready to be taken.
Professor Hagrie is lecturing non-stop about something I couldn't care less about. I mean I'll pass it anyway. I always do. I quietly gather my books and silently slip out of the class, ignoring the looks from my old best friends Tearra and Tammy.
I make my way down to the dungeons, avoiding any teachers trying to catch students out of class.
I enter the Slytherin common room, and much to my delight, the only person there is Bella.
She has her back turned away from me.
"Took you long enough." She says still not looking at me.
"Sorry about that, had a hard time trying to sneak away…Charms class is a drag." I reply, walking over to her.
I flop down on the sofa and plop my feet on the table, "Professor Hagrie is an awful teacher."
Bellatrix smirked at my comment, "Well of course she is…that's what happens when you have a mudblood trying to teach purebloods…they bore us because they shouldn't be teaching us anything. They should be serving us…nothing more."
"While that may be true, we still have a long way before we can claim anything. I've been thinking about when we were kids. When your mother and father came to sign the contract to have my brother marry Cissy, remember?" Bellatrix looks at me, and smiles.
"Of course I do. We met that day remember? How can I forget?" her response makes me blush.
I know I like Bellatrix. I love everything about her. She's beautiful, and while she'll always tell me that she thinks I give her a run for her money, I disagree. Bellatrix is beautiful in every way, and her magic is extraordinary. I think that's what attracts me to her most. It's almost like she and I are one. Together, we're invincible. I know it's wrong for me to long for her, to love her the way I do, but I believe we were destined to be together. I shouldn't be having these feelings. If my parents knew, they'd certainly disown me. Not to mention how my boyfriend, Rabastan, would act if he found out.
"You've really got to learn Occlumency You wear your thoughts and emotions on your sleeve. It makes you easy prey for a predator." Bellatrix is smirking, and I knew that she read my thoughts. Panic starts to settle in, "What did you see, Bella?" I ask urgently, my heart is pounding in my chest, and I almost being to shake.
"Relax. I only tuned in at the end…something about Rabastan finding out about your little crush on someone else," She says raising a perfectly shaped eyebrow, "Okay, well, we've got work to do. Unforgivables, remember?"
"Yeah. Finished learning them all a week ago." I say letting out a sigh, while my mouth pokes out in a pout.
"Don't pout, Nina. You'll move on darker more complicated magic soon. The Unforgivables are just the beginning…but for now, show me."
She walks past me, and I immediately follow her like a lost puppy. We stop at the door of the girl first year dormitories. Bellatrix pushes the door open like she owns the place and I follow behind her with my head held high. Everyone must still be in class because the Slytherin sleeping quarters are completely deserted.
Bellatrix walks to the bed in the far corner by the window. Beside the bed is a small cage containing a rather large toad and I know what Bella's plan is.
She steps aside and I am standing face to face with the animal.
"Go on then. You can do it, Nina." I take out my wand and point it at the frog.
"Do you want me to start with imperio?" I ask, and Bellatrix shakes her head, her beautiful curls moving back and forth with her.
"Imperio's for novices. If you can do Crucio, I already know you can perform Imperio."
I nod my head. I can do this. Anything to please Bella…my Bella.
I point my wand at the horrid creature. My cheeks heat up as I feel Bella move closer to me. I can feel the magic radiating from her body and it makes me smirk.
Anything for my Bella…
"Crucio!" Immediately, the creature begins to twitch and its body contracts with horrible convulses. I hold the spell there for some time, drunk on the feeling of our magic. Drunk on the feeling I feel right now with Bellatrix standing so close to me.
"End it. End its miserable life." I hear Bella whisper in my ear, it sends shivers down my spine from her hot breath tickling my ear.
"Avada Kedevra!" a jet of green light flashes from the end of my wand, and the creature is lying motionless. Dead.
"Well done…your magic feels so amazing…I just wanna…" Bellatrix grabs my arm and slams me down on one of the random beds. My heart is pounding rapidly. She climbs on top of me, straddling my waist.
I look at her beautiful brown doe eyes. God she looks like an angel, an angel of death.
"Bella wha-" I am cut off by Bella's soft lips on mine. I hesitate for a moment, but then I kiss the goddess back. Our lips move in sync and I feel her tongue rub across my bottom lip. I grant her access and our tongues fight for dominance. Bella begins rocking her body back and forth and we both moan in unison. God she feels so good.
I run my hands down her body and rest them on either of her sides. She breaks our kiss and I pout in disappointment. That is, until she started kissing my neck. I moan loudly.
Bella starts unbuttoning my shirt, leaving my bra exposed. She starts kissing down my chest and stops at my bra. She moves her hands to pull my breasts out from under my bra. Pushing my bra underneath my firm breasts, she kisses my nipple, then, Bella softly flattens her tongue over my hardening nipple. She moves her other hand and slowly massages my other breast, my nipple hardening at her touch. I throw my head back in pleasure. How can something so wrong, feel so good?
Bella takes my nipple between her blunt teeth. "Oh god, Bella…That feels so good!" I moan. I feel her smile against my breast.
"You're so beautiful, Nina. Moan again for me…" Bella says softly, quickly kissing my lips.
Before I could we were rudely interrupted.
"Bella?! What...What's going on?" Narcissa asks, her blue eyes widened and her mouth agape. I push Bella off of me as I try to fix my bra and shirt.
Narcissa is frozen in the doorway. I turn to Bella, who looks like she's about to explode. Oh god…what if she tells my brother Nick? What if Nick tells my family I nearly had sex with another person of the same sex? I'll be disowned!
"Bella—" I start, and she puts her hand up to stop me.
"Go, I'll meet you…just go, I'll take care of this…" I nod my head. I'm still skeptical, but I listen to her wishes and head through the door. Narcissa glares at me as I walk past, but I choose to ignore her. I have more important things to worry about other than an eleven year old sending death glares my way.
I walk through the green themed common room. I spot Rodolphus, who is Bellatrix's boyfriend, and also my boyfriends' brother. He waves me over. I mentally shutter. I almost had sex with his girlfriend.
"Hey you!" He says smiling, and my fear instantly fades. I return his friendly smile and move to sit next to him.
"Hey Rod. What's up?" I ask putting my feet up on the table in front of me, crossing my ankles. Rodolphus smirks, and I laugh. He and my boyfriend always laugh at my ability to make myself comfortable anywhere I go. A habit my mother always scolded me for.
"Just wondering how my favorite, friend that's a girl, is?" He says nudging my shoulder. I laugh. I need to forget about what happened between Bella and me. That's a dangerous game we played and I know the consequences. Besides, Rodolphus is a great friend, I care about him, and I love Rabastan, don't I?
"You know I'm your only "Friend that's a girl," I chuckle, "But I have to get going soon. I have Defense Against the Dark Arts next, and Professor Jacklesmith hates it when I'm late. So, what's up?"
"Professor Jacklesmith is just angry because you know everything he's teaching and then some. I know it's extremely early, but Mother wants you to join us at our Christmas ball. I know you're probably wondering why I'm the one asking, and I'm sure you already know it's traditional for the eldest born to do the invites."
"And As I'm sure you know, I have to have my Mother's permission. I'll write to her tomorrow and ask, I'm supposed to be staying with the Blacks before Christmas, and my parents are going to join us on Christmas day. I'll let you know by the end of the week." I say standing up and making my way to the table that I had most of my books spread out on. I sigh as I begin to gather my books in a pile.
I hear Rodolphus chuckle, "You act as if you have the weight of the world on your shoulders. That stuff is a breeze for you, you're already ahead of all of your classes by at least a couple of months. You could literally sleep all day and not go to class for months and still be okay." Rodolphus says matter-of-factly.
"Yeah, tell my Father that. Dumbledore wrote to him and told him that I wasn't attending classes and how "displeased he would be if my grades slip because I'm such a talented student and he'd hate to see my talent go to waste." We both laugh toward the end of my little impression of Dumbledore.
I try to stall a bit before going to Professor Jacklesmith's class. I hope Bella "handled" the situation. I can't have Cissy spreading rumors. That's the last thing I need right now.
After a few minutes of silence Rodolphus starts another conversation. "Have you seen, Bella?" I freeze.
"She…she was with Cissy." I say, and as soon as I finished, Cissy comes storming down the steps. She brushes past me and her shoulder bumps into me.
"Cissy!" Bella screams after her, "Apologize now, or Mum will hear about how disrespectful you've been to your pure-blood elders." Bella threatened.
"Sorry." She says to me before turning on her heel and storming out of the common room.
I turn my head to Bellatrix, and I find her looking my way as well. I raise an eyebrow at her, hoping she'll understand my silent question. Bella nods her head. She handled it. That's all I needed to know. I feel my shoulders relax instantly. I quickly said my goodbyes to Rodolphus and Bellatrix before practically running out of the common room.
I am contemplating whether or not I should go to class. Rabastan decided he was going to skip 3rd period today anyway, so I'll probably spend my time with him.
I need to forget.
Later that day:
I'm in the library studying wandless magic. I didn't need much practice. I've already mastered it about an hour ago. I sigh before closing the book. I really need a challenge. I get bored too easily with the simple magic they teach here. The only person the truly seems to understand that is Bellatrix. That might be because she can feel my magic. Just as I can feel hers. When we touch, I feel a jolt of electricity. It feels like a different kind of magic, something deeper and darker entirely. Something I only feel with her…
I have yet to ask Bellatrix if she gets the same feeling. I was afraid she'd laugh or think I was insane, but after what happened between us today, and what she said to me, I'm more curious. She said, my magic, "Feels so amazing." I wonder what she meant by that, I never got the chance to ask her before things got a little heated. I look at my watch. Almost time for dinner. As I get up and begin gathering my notes and papers, I feel someone grab me and slam me into the nearest wall. I'm ready to attack. Hell, I just learned some wandless spells not long ago. I look at the assailant, and my eyes immediately soften. Bella. Of course it is. I understand now why I didn't notice her presence, she feels too familiar to me. Almost comforting.
"What the hell, Bella?!" I whisper loudly at her, "I could've hurt you!" She chuckles at my anger.
"Yes, but you didn't. That's all that matters…" She leans in and kisses me softly on the lips. I pull away confused. "What's gotten into you Bella? Don't you understand? We will be disowned, Bella! Disowned!" I say whisper desperately.
"I don't care…" She replies looking into my grey eyes. She's not thinking. She's being irrational, she doesn't mean this, and I don't want Bella to regret her decision that she made while she was in the moment. "Let them…" Bella says and moves her head to capture my lips again. I lean into her for a minute, and I slowly kiss her back. What am I thinking? I push Bella off of me and move from against the wall. I glare at her.
"Bellatrix! You may be fine with this," I whisper loudly, my voice becoming louder by the second, "But I'm not. And you shouldn't be either. You have Rodolphus, I have Rabastan. Not to mention you're betrothed to him!" I say and she scoffs.
"Rodolphus and I are good friends, but we will be married in thename only. Nothing more. I don't love him." I look at her in disbelief.
"He loves you though, Bella. You can stand there and say you don't love him and that you'll be married in the name only, but don't for a second act like you don't know that Rodolphus loves you. I see the way he looks at you. He doesn't see any other girl the way he sees you…don't let that go…" I say softly. My eyes pleading with hers.
"Then don't you act like you don't want to be with me. I saw what you were thinking earlier! I see the way you look at me when you're with Rabastan! All those sneaky glances, the affection in your eyes when you watch me! You love me, so don't try to act like this is one-sided!" she whispers a bit louder. Luckily, this side of the library is disserted. It pains me to lie to her. If only we could be together…
"I'm sorry Bella, I had some time to think…I still care about you as a friend, but I can't be with you, Bella. I'm sorry." I start to walk away from her.
I'm sorry Bella…Please don't hate me…I love you.
"Nina! Don't you dare walk away from me!" She screams after me, I continue to walk. I hear her voice break a bit while she's screaming for me. I can feel her emotions. She's hurt…so hurt…and it's killing me. It's my fault. I hurt her…
"Nina! If you walk out that door I'll—" I hear a vase break and I cringe as I continue to walk out the door. I hear Madam Prince yelling at her to calm down, and I hear shelves being tossed around the room and more vases being broken. Oh Bella…
When I am far enough from the library, I let my tears fall. I make sure the hallway is empty before my sobs continue. I slide down the wall and put my knees to my chest, tears continue to fall. Please be alright, Bella…
I skipped dinner that night. I locked myself in my private dorm room and cried myself to sleep. Rabastan tried to get me to come out. He pleaded with me and that only made me cry more. He told me that he heard from Rodolphus that Bella was sent to the hospital wing. He said that professor Dumbledore believed that she should be under constant surveillance because she lost control over her magic. They even told me that she had to be sedated because she was breaking things left and right. Rabastan begged me to come out. He promised me he wouldn't ask what happened. When it was clear I wasn't coming out, he told me that he brought me a plate of food from the kitchen. I didn't eat it though. I think he stayed by my door all night, waiting, at least it's Friday night and there are no classes tomorrow. It makes me feel horrible, he really cares for me, and here I am falling in love with Bella. I can't help how I feel. Tears start streaming down my face when I think about her. I broke her…and I hate myself for it.
Rabastan tried to get my brother to come and get me. Nothing worked; I was unresponsive. Around 12am, Rabastan told me that if I didn't come out for breakfast later, then he would be forced to tell Professor Slughorn. I ignored him.
I sat and stared at the ceiling for two whole hours, thinking. I tried to focus on Bella, to see if my connection to her would allow me feel what she's feeling. Nothing. She's either still knocked out or she's feeling exactly how I feel and I can't differentiate the two. I finally move to look at my watch. It's nearly 3 o'clock in the morning. I sigh. I can't take this anymore. I have to see her. I need to know that she's okay.
I was able to find my way into the hospital wing without being caught. I search the beds quietly. Why are there so many people in the hospital wing this morning?
I walk all the way back to the last bed and I see her. She has her eyes shut, and her curly dark hair is hanging loosely over her shoulders. I freeze when I see that she's tied to the bed post. I can't leave her like this…
Choking back my sobs, I move closer to her and sit on the chair by the bed. I reach my hand out to softly stroke her cheek. I had no idea she was this unstable…if I had known I wouldn't have rejected her...seeing her this way, I realize that she means more to me than my fear of getting caught and disowned by my family. If it means that Bella will be okay, I would sacrifice my life for her.
"Come to break me again?" Her quiet voice snaps me out of my thoughts. If it weren't for her beautiful brown eyes staring at me intensely, I would have thought I imagined it. I realize my hand is still rubbing her cheek and I move it and rest it on my lap.
"Don't be like that Bella…I didn't know…I'm sorry okay? I'm sorry I hurt you." I feel tears swell up in my eyes.
"Do you love me?" Her voice is so fragile; I almost cannot believe that it came from her. My eyes soften. Of course I do.
"Come on, Bella. You know how I feel about you…" I mentally slap myself. Why is it so hard for me to tell her I love her? Just let go, Nina…let it go.
One more look at her eyes, that are usually bright with intelligence, mischief, and dare I say, even a bit of darkness; are now filled with emptiness and maybe even a little despair.
"Of course I love you, Bella. I'm just afraid. If…if we do this, we can't tell anyone. Not yet…someday, just not now."
"I…I love you too. I always have. When I saw how close you were to your mudblood friends during your first year, I thought I lost you. Then we started having daily talks that turned into study sessions, and training sessions, which ended up turning to us spending every free minute we had together. Haven't you noticed yet? Together we can do anything…I feel like I can conquer the world when you're by my side." Bella says, and I feel my heart slowly melt at her words.
"I'll always be here, Bella. I won't ever leave you again, okay? I promise…Always and forever." I lean over and place a soft kiss on her lips.
"Always and forever." She repeats her eyes never leaving mine.
I realize now that this was meant to be. She and I were destined for each other, and I'll be damned if I let her get away. We will be together forever. If Bella wants the world, hell, I'll give her the world. If Bella wants a pet dragon, she'll get a pet dragon, but most importantly, if Bella wants us to be together, then I'll never leave her side. She is mine, I am hers…anything else is unthinkable.