A/N: So I'm posting this sooner than I said I would. Oh well! I'm stunned at the interest this story has garnered; I find the polarity of the reviews very interesting. Some love it while others are highly critical. All I can say is that I'll continue to write it the way I have envisioned it and hope that I can at least keep most of you interested in continuing to follow it.
My vision of Dumbledore in this fic is a man who is detached from any morality. He sees himself as above that human frailty and as such does not see people as people but as tools and a means to an end, thus his treatment of Harry and the manipulation of the faculty and student body. I know this is a point where some of you have really felt that I have "gone wrong". To me he is a little bit Caesaresque.
Well enough explaining. I hope you enjoy this next chapter of Passageways and would kindly leave me a review on what you think!
Chapter Four: The Roommates
Harry's stunned eyes went from staring at the tip of a wand to the most gorgeous girl he had ever seen, even though the girl had a look of deadly determination it did nothing to take away from the obvious beauty before him. She had long wavy black hair that cascade down her back in gentle waves; her features were fine and aristocratic in nature. Her eyes were a startling violet that just sucked you in. Her complexion was fair and her skin looked incredibly soft. Harry had an almost uncontrollable urge to reach out and touch her full red lips.
Bella forced herself not to roll her eyes at the dazed look and goofy grin of the boy in front of her. She knew she was an attractive young woman and had many boys try and woo her for her affections, but none had measured up to her standards of an ideal suitor or her station as a member of an Ancient house.
Bella gave a quick smack to the top of his head with her wand to get his focus back on the here and now. "I'll repeat myself only once more before I start hexing. Who the bloody hell are you and what are you doing here?" She asked with a firm tone, her wand now pointing at his chest just above his heart.
"Ouch! What the bloody hell did you do that for?" Harry yelled rubbing the top of his head that was smarting from the wand lashing he just received.
"To get your attention! Now are you going to answer my questions or am I going to start cutting off things you might miss." She stated with a scowl and a look in her eyes that Harry could tell she meant business.
"My name is Harry…as if you didn't already know." He replied tersely to the raven haired beauty, his hand still rubbing the spot on his head that she had whacked with her wand.
"A little full of yourself aren't you…Harry is it? I haven't a clue as to who you are. I've never seen you before now." Bella responded.
"Yeah right. The whole bloody Wizarding world knows who I am, so don't give me that tripe." Harry groused.
'Whatever!" Bella spat. "You just go back and tell Rudy and the others to leave me the hell alone or the next time I see him I'll do more than crush his twig and berries."
"Who?" Harry asked confusion clearly on his face.
"What year are you and what house are you in?" Bella barked keeping her wand on him.
"You're kidding right?" Harry asked incredulously.
Bella closed the distance between him placing the tip of her wand against his chest right at heart level. "Do I look like I'm kidding?! Now answer the bloody question!"
"Fine! I'll play along. I'm in Gryffindor, as if you bloody well didn't know, and I'm a fifth year. And while we're on the topic, what exactly is your name and in which house and year are you in?" He replied tersely.
She looked at him skeptically. He was in her year and a Gryffindor but she didn't remember ever seeing him in any of her classes she shared with the lions. If he had been she would definitely remember him, after all he was arguably one of the better looking boys she had ever met, and there was no way she wouldn't remember those eyes they were in a word…entrancing.
Bella shook her head to clear her errant thoughts, angry at herself for letting herself get distracted by a handsome face and a pair of gorgeous green eyes.
"You don't look like any of the fifth year Gryffs that I've ever seen in the castle. So who are you really?!" She asked, her eyes narrowed dangerously at the boy in front of her.
"What are you playing at?" Harry asked a bit bewildered, he could tell from her eyes that there was no sign of recognition in them. "I've been attending Hogwarts since first year." Bella just stared blankly at him. "I answered your questions, how about you answer mine."
Bella stared back at the boy and he did seem to be somewhat familiar but she could not place him. His features were similar to those of the Blacks especially the aristocratic bone structure in his face and the black hair that was prevalent among Blacks. The eyes were all wrong and he had broader shoulders, males of the Black family tended to be tall with thin builds.
Noticing he was waiting on her to say something she let out an exasperated breath and spoke. "My name is Bellatrix, a fifth year…Slytherin."
Harry stiffened somewhat, it did not go unnoticed by Bella. She saw his hand jerk like it wanted to go for his wand but he did not make the attempt. He was a typical Gryff she figured as the enmity between the two houses was evident in his new posture.
Harry knew he had just let his emotions affect his body as the girl in front of him had responded to his body's sudden betrayal of emotion and was now slipping into a more defensive posture herself.
"Look, I mean you no harm." Harry told the girl in a voice he hoped sounded sincere. "As you know your classmates and I have had our differences. But I don't recall you ever being a part of their actions against me. Come to think of it I can't recall ever seeing you with any of the fifth year Slytherins, or seeing you ever in the castle before."
Bella observed the sincerity in his eyes and became puzzled herself at who this young man was and what trouble he had with Rudy and the others.
"I don't mean to be rude, but what was your name again?" Harry asked softly. Something about her seemed familiar now, but he was having trouble placing her.
"Bellatrix, Bellatrix Black." She told him.
Harry's eyes went wide as he was suddenly struck by the remembrance of where he had seen her before. It had been on the Black Family tapestry back at Grimauld Place. The woman in the tapestry was much older than the girl in front of him, but there was no mistaking that it was her. But that wasn't possible; Bellatrix Lestrange would be near forty years old now.
Harry stared at the young beautiful witch in front of him and was at a loss as to what to think or say. If this wasn't Bellatrix she was a dead ringer for her. But why would she call herself Bellatrix Black though, it did not make any sense to him. Just then something ridiculously improbable popped into his head. 'Why not?' He mused. 'Stranger things have happened, although I can't think of any at the moment.'
"Bellatrix…uhm…may I call you Bellatrix?" Harry asked respectfully. She gave a curt nod in acquiescence.
"May I ask you a question that may seem a tad bit strange, but nonetheless I think may be important?" Harry began.
Bella looked at him strangely, but she shrugged her shoulder and motioned him to go ahead. "Uhm…what year is it?" Harry asked almost apologetically.
"You're joking right?" She looked at him as if he were daft.
"Just humor me for a minute." He asked again.
"It's 1971 of course, what are you a simpleton or something?" Bella stated sarcastically.
Harry fell with a thud as he landed on his backside on the floor and just stared up at the witch who backed up a couple of feet but still having her wand trained on the young man now sitting cross legged on the floor in front of her.
"No bloody way!" Bella heard Harry exclaim. "No feckin bloody way!" Harry repeated.
"What are you going on about?" Bella asked irritated. Harry rubbed his face with both hands a few seconds later and he looked up at her.
"You're not a ghost or anything like that are you?" Harry asked her in serious tone.
"No, I'm not a bloody ghost! I'm seriously beginning to think you are mental whoever you are." Bella replied. Harry to her astonishment just chuckled.
"Maybe I am, because what I'm thinking can't be sane." Harry stated shaking his head back and forth.
"Are you always this irritatingly cryptic or is it just for my benefit." Bella replied with impatience, tapping her left foot.
Harry laughed again. "I suppose even if I were, I'm not as bad as Dumbledore." He chuckled.
Bella's eyes narrowed at him again. "Well!"
"Well what?" Harry replied.
"Well what the hell is going on in that head of yours! Sweet Maeve! I should have just blasted you the moment you came through the door!"
Harry chuckled again. "Okay okay, you might want to sit down for this, because as daft as you think I am now you're really gonna think I am once I explain why I think it is we don't seem to know each other or have seen each other in the castle." He grinned his patented lopsided grin, which caused Bella's stomach to flutter for a moment surprising her momentarily.
'What the hell was that' she thought to herself.
"Bellatrix what year were you born in?" Harry asked and then added. "It's important."
"September 15, 1955…why?"
"I was born July 31…1980." He stated in serious tone.
Bella looked at him and raised an elegant eyebrow. As Harry had expected she began to laugh.
"You are mad aren't you!" She chuckled shaking her head at him. "1980 you say…what are you going to tell me next, that-that you are a time traveler coming back to right the wrongs of the world?" She grabbed her stomach as the laughs came hard and fast.
Harry looked at her silently his eyes showing to the world that he was serious. "Would it help you to believe me, if I gave you a wizard's oath?"
Bella sobered up instantly after Harry's statement. She looked at him skeptically. Like most purebloods she was taught of the seriousness of a wizard's oath and how you didn't give one lightly, it had serious ramifications on not only your magic but your life as well.
"Are you serious? You do know what will happen if you give your oath and you are lying?" She stated in a grim tone.
"I do." Harry replied in the same tone. "Bellatrix, for me, today's date is September first…1995."
"That's…that's impossible." It came out in a whisper. "It's September third 1971." She affirmed.
The two teens sat in silence for a few minutes, each with their own thoughts on how this was possible. It just didn't make any sense. Bella spoke first breaking the silence.
"If what you're suggesting is true, how can we both be here in the same room at the same time but twenty-four years apart, there has to be some natural or magical law that would not allow such a thing to happen." She stated shaking her head and gesticulating with her hands.
"I've learned to never underestimate magic or this castle. For example I think the castle might be alive." Harry offered to a skeptical look from Bella who raised both her eyebrows in doubt.
"Just let me explain my thought process, okay." Harry stated with his hands up entreatingly.
"You know how the stairs tend to move of their own free will, classrooms moving around and appearing on other floors without warning. And just today I was lead to this room by this floating golden orb that I have never seen before and it spoke to me in a woman's voice and told me how to enter this room."
At this declaration Bella sat up straight. "That happened to me as well today. I was looking for a place to be saf…ahh…to sleep. And this golden orb spoke to me and lead me here as well. Speaking of which why are you not in your common room?" Bella asked glaring at him.
"Oh…well…I've been sort of banished from my house." Harry grunted.
"Banished?"
"Yeah it's something I would rather not talk about." Harry stated flatly. "What about you? Why are you not in your dorm room?"
"I'd rather not talk about it either." Bella stated.
"Fair enough." Harry replied.
"So back to your theory." Bella encouraged changing the awkward topic.
"Well…what if…" Harry paused here knowing what was to follow sounded completely mad. If he heard it from someone else he would probably tell them that they watched too many Sci-Fi movies. "…what if somehow the founders created this room as some kind of time portal? Or perhaps a place that is not affected by time maybe a space where time doesn't exist?"
"I have not ever heard of anything like that being remotely possible. There are so many flaws in that theory I don't know where to even begin." Bella stated matter-of-factly.
"It was just a theory." Harry shrugged. "How else do you think it could have happened?"
"I'm not entirely convinced that this is happening. This could all be some elaborate prank…a prank." Bella whispered the last word to herself looking closely at Harry again, and then it dawned on her. Harry looks a lot like her prankster of a cousin little Jamie Potter.
"What is your surname Harry?" Bella asked suspiciously. He did look like a mix between a Potter and a Black just like Jamie did. But Jamie was an only child. Could there be another branch of the family out there that she did not know about that also shared Potter and Black blood.
Harry didn't like the look in Bella's eyes and wondered what he should reveal. Bellatrix according to Walburga had joined the Death Eaters. He didn't think she was at this moment because she was wearing a short sleeved shirt and there was no Dark Mark on her left forearm. And according to Walburga all Death Eaters were branded with it.
Although she did not bear the mark didn't mean she wasn't sympathetic to him now. 'What year did Voldemort become active anyway?' Harry mused.
"Why is my last name important for you to know?" Harry asked cautiously.
"Let's just say I have a "theory" and your surname could prove or disprove that theory. Besides, I gave you my surname; it is only right and proper that you give me yours." She asked suspiciously.
"Why would I make up a story like this Bellatrix, there is nothing that I could gain from misleading you." Harry offered.
"Maybe, maybe not. But I'm not in a trusting mood at the moment. Now are you going to give me your name or do I need to force it out of you?" She threatened bringing her wand back to bear on him.
Harry went for his wand and had just clasped it when he heard Bella's voice call out the stunning spell. "Stupefy!"
Harry waited for the red light of the spell to hit him but it never came. He looked up at Bella who was looking at her wand in confusion. It was all the time needed for Harry to raise his own wand and point it and Bellatrix.
"Well it seems that we are at a stalemate. I was serious Bellatrix when I said I meant you no harm. But since you have a hard time trusting me at the moment I suggest we both put our wands away and discuss this like two civilized people." Harry suggested.
Bella snorted and rolled her eyes. "My wand stays right where it is."
"Look." Harry said exasperatingly. "What will it take for you to believe that I am not a threat to you or trying to prank you?"
"Nothing comes to mind as long as you're unwilling to give me your surname and some hard evidence of you being from the future." She stated emphatically.
"Fine. Can we at least be comfortable?" Harry stated nodding over to the two chairs by the fire. Bella gestured to the chairs with a mocking half bow and a wave of her hand toward them.
The two teens made their way over to the chairs and faced each other. Harry warred with himself on what to disclose. On one hand he was wondering why he was trying so hard to get her to believe him. Was it because he was lonely and desperate for a friend or maybe it was just to diffuse a tense situation before it got worse?
Maybe it had more to do with being Lord Black, and Bellatrix was technically family, and Walburga had taught him the importance of family loyalty and the Blacks were almost fanatically loyal to each other. Should he tell her about him being Lord Black? Would that solve the problem or exacerbate it?
Should he disclose his real surname? His parents would be first years now if he had his dates right. What would Bellatrix do with that information? And could she change the past concerning his parents? Also, and perhaps the most intriguing question was, is she in his time or was had he gone back to hers or perhaps neither? There were just still too many unknowns. Finally coming to a decision his eyes focused on hers and spoke.
Harry took a deep breath and focuses his thoughts. "My title…is Lord Hadrian James…Black, head of the House of Black." Harry could tell that Bella was about to unleash a verbal assault of impressive magnitude on him by the way her face reddened and her eyes tightly squinted. Before she could unleash however, Harry concentrated on the ring finger of his right-hand. Suddenly a large silver ring with a black opal with the Black coat of arms etched into its center appeared.
Harry raised his hand and quickly showed the ring to Bella. She froze with her mouth open about to challenge Harry's assertion when she saw the ring on Harry's finger. It was to her utter shock the head of house ring for the House of Black.
"As you are undoubtedly aware, only the legitimate heir to House Black can place the ring on his finger without dying on the spot." Harry stated firmly.
Bella was completely gob smacked. She sat and alternated staring at Harry and the ring on his hand. She was well aware as all members of her family were that only the Head of House was able to wear the ring. She had just seen Uncle Orion two days ago and he was as healthy as a hippogriff. That meant that the impossible seemed to be true, Harry could be from the future and…was indeed Lord Black.
Her years of Black Family inculcated training asserted itself and she dropped to her knees in front of Harry. "Forgive me my Lord for not believing you. I humbly apologize for my attempt to stun you and for my lack of decorum when we spoke. I pray thee consider my ignorance to your position before assigning punishment for my offenses."
Now it was Harry's turn to sit speechless. He looked down at Bella who was on her knees with her head bowed low. Harry shook himself and gently lifted Bella's chin. Bella looked up at him and saw confusion and was it mirth?
"Bellatrix there is no need for that. As far as I'm concerned we are family and I won't have my family kneeling before me." Harry stated firmly.
"But my lord I have behaved in a most…"
"Stop Bellatrix! I told you who I was not to assert authority over you but to prove to you that what I have told you is the truth. I am from a different time than you." He lifted Bella up from her knees and guided her back to her chair.
"I believe you my lord. That also explains why my spell didn't work." Bella began softly. A member of the Black family could not knowingly use magic to harm its Head of House, it was old family magic.
"Please Bellatrix, it's just Harry no more of this "my Lord" tripe okay."
"Yes my…yes Harry." Harry smiled an appreciative smile. Bella returned the smile and Harry's stomach seemed to flip at the dazzling smile of the young witch.
"What do we do now?" Bella asked.
"Well I am curious about something." Harry stated with a contemplative look.
"What about?" Bella asked looking at him, wondering offhandedly what the relationship was between them. Was he a cousin or a maybe a nephew, she was old enough to be his…mother! Her eyes widened at the possibility.
Unaware of her musings Harry answered her question. "I'm curious if I am in your time or if you are in mine or are we in both or neither." Harry stated scratching the back of his head.
"I hadn't thought about that!" Bella replied thankful for the interruption to her disturbing thoughts. "How do you suggest we find out?"
"Well, when we leave the room we'll obviously find out whether it's one time or another. But seeing as its past curfew I suggest we wait till morning and then we can go from there."
"Seems reasonable." Bella stated.
"Now how about you show me around this wonderful room?" Harry asked wanting a break from their heavy discussion and a chance to reorganize his thoughts.
For the next hour Bella showed Harry where her room was and where the other bedroom was. They discussed briefly the coincidence of the room having two bedrooms. Harry was amazed at the size of the bathroom and tub/pool in the center of it.
Further exploration of the room revealed many other amazing things to the teens. For example they found a large book on a pedestal in one corner of the room where they discovered if they wrote what subject or book they were interested in on the blank pages, that book or a book on the topic they desired would appear.
By accident they both discovered another feature of the room. Harry was looking at the Gryffindor color scheme in his room and it filled him with anger bringing to mind the betrayal of his house. He had vocalized that a nice forest green motif would suit him better. Before their eyes the colors changed.
That began a small game between the two, where they would ask the room to change certain things like furniture or lighting. When this was met with success they began to try and find the limits of the room. To their astonishment the room could appear anyway they asked for. It became a library with thousands of books, an armory with weapons from every age of man. It became a forest meadow then a starry night on the savanna.
It was nearly one in the morning, when the two tired teens sat cross legged across from each other on the rug covered floor just in front of the fire place. Each stared at the other, simultaneously realizing that there were still questions that needed answering.
"Sooo…" Bella began. "..The future huh?" The curiosity was evident in her voice.
"Yeah." Harry said with a shrug. There was an awkward pause as the two teens tried to formulate questions that would not sound idiotic to the other.
Bella frustratingly blew a strand of her curly locks out of her face. "This is ridiculous!" Bella whispered but was loud enough for Harry to hear. She was dying to get some answers and finally just decided to go for it.
"So are we related then, like am I your mother or something?" Bella asked Harry who had a dumbstruck look on his face.
"What!?" Harry gasped, taken off guard by the seemingly random question. "No, no you're not my mother." Harry replied shaking his head and allowing a chuckle to escape his lips.
"Well that's a relief." Bella stated with a relieved sigh, eliciting a raised eyebrow from Harry.
"What do you mean by that?" Harry asked, feigning insult. Bella laughed and just shrugged her shoulders and gave him an enigmatic smile.
"Seriously though…are we related? I mean I guess we have to be related since you are Lord Black, and Uncle Orion is the current Head of House Black in my time. So you must come through his line either from Sirius or Reggie. Am I right?" Bella asked.
Harry was not sure how to reply to that or if he even should. How much damage would happen to the time line by disclosing future events? Hermione had told him in their third year that interfering too much in past events could have disastrous results.
The events surrounding the use of the Time Turner to rescue his Godfather from the Dementors kiss came to the front of his thoughts. Hermione had gone on and on about not running into their past selves that it could cause irreparable damage to the time space continuum, or was that something he had heard from a SciFi show. Anyway it was suppose to be very bad either way.
Deciding on just giving her the bare minimum, at least for now, that could change…depending on what, he did not yet know, but he left it open as a possibility.
"My Grandmother was a Black which gave me the bloodline, but there were…a series of unfortunate circumstances that made me the head of House Black in my time." Harry replied with a slight hitch in his throat as the thought of his godfather's soul being sucked out by the guards of Azkaban entered his mind.
Bellatrix Black was not just a pretty face but also extremely intelligent and it did not take her long to formulate a scenario in her mind and she vocalized it.
"If you're not from Orion's direct line…then something must have happened not only to him but to Sirius and Reggie as well, as they would be the heirs apparent. If Orion's family was wiped out somehow it would go to his nearest sibling's family. Uncle Orion had only three other siblings. My father, Cygnus Black, who is the youngest, Aunt Cassiopea is the next oldest to him, that leaves Aunt Artemis just under Uncle Orion. No, maybe another generation back." Bella was running through all the family members in her head.
Harry's eyes widened as he watched as Bellatrix was making the connections. He began to worry that his secret would no longer be a secret in the matter of mere moments. How could he have been so careless? Family was everything to the Blacks and of course every Black is well versed in their genealogy.
Bellatrix looked deeply into Harry's eyes as she ran through her relatives' names and who they had married. Aunt Cassie has never married but that doesn't mean she couldn't before 1980. Harry stated that he wasn't her child, however he could be from Andi or Cissy, but she did not think he was. Something about him just told her that he was not from one of her sisters or he would have been more familiar with her, at least that was what she hoped.
Bella gasped as she looked closer at Harry's facial features, she could see her great-aunt Dorea in his cheek bones and skin tone, but what clenched it was that Harry had a small mole behind the earlobe of his left ear in exactly the same place as her Aunt Dorea. The messy unruly hair looked just like her uncle Charlus and her cousin James! James was an only child; Aunt Dorea couldn't have any more…that meant!
"MERLIN'S BLOODY BEARD! YOU'RE A POTTER; YOU'RE LITTLE JAMIE'S SON aren't you?!" Bella had jumped to her feet knowing she was right and was further vindicated when Harry's face showed a mix of fear and shock written all over it.
"Sweet Morgana!" Bella crowed. "I knew I would figure it out!" She bounced around their commons room celebrating her superior intellect. That was until she was forced to stop at a wand which was pointing right between her eyes.
"Aaahhh…whats up…Harry?" Bella gulped as she saw her third-cousin's eyes were set hard and unblinkingly glaring at her. She tried to back away but found herself pushed up against the back of one of the chairs.
"You shouldn't have done that Bella." Harry spoke so softly that it came out as barely above a whisper. "It was better that you did not make that connection. That information is too dangerous to have." Harry growled, thinking of all the horrible possibilities of Bellatrix a known supporter of Voldemort in his time would do with that information.
"W-what are you talking about Harry?" Bella asked in confusion and trepidation as the wand continued to be pointed at her head.
"This just complicates things.' Harry said more to himself shaking his head.
"What is complicated? We're family Harry, why would knowing that we're related be dangerous? Or are you concerned with what I figured out about Uncle Orion and his family?" Once again Harry's memories replayed some of Hermione's warnings on time travel. A little bit of foreknowledge could completely change the past and alter the future as well.
"Knowing the future can have unexpected…"
"Consequences." Bella finished for him. The two teens again looked at each other, both of them wondering how to proceed. "Look…Would it help if I said that I won't say anything about this to anyone?" She asked.
Harry raised an incredulous eyebrow at the dark haired girl. "You're a Black Bella; of course you're going to use this to your benefit." Harry stated, recalling one of the many lessons Aunt Walburga gave him on using any advantage to benefit himself and his family.
Bella looked at him with interest. "I have had some tutelage in Black Family philosophy." Harry smirked. Bella couldn't help herself and grinned widely at Harry.
"Harry…" Bella started, not believing she was about to offer what she was about to offer. There was just something about him that told her she could trust him, and she trusted few people, that is to say just one person…herself...okay maybe her sisters. So to feel this way about someone she had just met a few hours ago was something completely out of character for her.
Violet eyes stared into green as she considered all of the ramifications of what she was about to do. There were so many ways that this could come back to bite her in the arse.
"…if I give you a witch's oath to not reveal anything you tell me or any secrets you reveal to another soul without your express permission and…" Bella went on knowing that Harry was about to interrupt her. "Or use said information for personal benefit unless you say so. Would that allay your fears about me?" She asked in all seriousness.
Harry stared at her for a long moment deliberating on what to do. Everything seemed to be moving too fast. Not eight hours ago, he had barely gotten off the Hogwarts Express. Friendless, alone, and not knowing what the school year would bring he made his way to the castle. He felt all the malicious and hateful stares following him as he took his seat in the Great Hall. Ron's outburst had not entirely been unexpected but it hurt just the same.
Then being led to this magical room and finding it occupied with the infamous Bellatrix Black. Although their meeting had been uneasy and a little tense at first, it quickly moved to strange and then to almost comfortable as they explored the room together and now back to tense. But even so, looking into her eyes there was something that said…trust her.
Harry wonder if there was not some higher power at work here, something beyond reason why he was lead here and why she was lead here. Maybe there was a purpose…'maybe he thought too much!' Harry mused with a dry chuckle.
Coming to a decision he looked at her, shaking his head…"You don't need to make an oath." Harry said with a half smile. "A friendship should start with trusting each other." Bella smiled at the raven haired boy but immediately took out her wand.
"I Bellatrix Adien Black pledge on my life and magic not to betray the secrets of Harry James…Potter." Here Bellatrix gave him a smirking smile. "Unless he gives me permission to do so, nor will I use information which he may reveal for personal gain unless he gives his permission to do so. So mote it be."
"Bella! You didn't need to do that!" Harry growled.
"I know but I didn't want you to have any doubts about me." She replied. "I'm still waiting Harry." Bella stated waiting for him to accept her oath.
"Oh! Umm…so mote it be." A blue light flared around both teens as Harry sealed her oath.
With the oath made and Harry's anxiety calmed the two teens seemed to relax again. Bella began the dialogue once more and asked about Harry's obvious anxiety about the future. It had not slipped her notice that Harry seemed to react almost viscerally to her making the familiar connection. She knew there must be a story there and hoped that Harry would one day tell her about it, but until then she could only speculate why it concerned him so.
Eventually exhaustion overcame the two teens and they retired to their respective bedrooms. It had been a bizarre day with a lot of highs and lows for both, and tomorrow promised to be just as interesting as well.
As the two teens drifted off to the land of Morpheus a bemused golden orb hovered over each teen in turn. Never had it taken an interest in the personal lives of the students before, but if it could set these two on a path of discovery together, the evil that has and would grip the Wizarding world for over two decades could be destroyed before it became a real threat to wizard kind. She had set the stage but it was up to the two protagonists now who would decide where the story would go.
oooOOOooo
Saturday morning came way too early for Harry as he stumbled out of bed. For a moment he panicked not recognizing where he was. It definitely did not look like his dorm room in Gryffindor Tower. It was then that he remembered the night before, and that he was no longer welcomed in Gryffindor House.
"Oh yeah!" Harry chuckled, as last night came back in complete clarity. 'Mysterious magical room, Bellatrix Lestrange…Bellatrix Black he reminded himself. At the thought of the raven haired beauty his mind began to wander where most hormone fueled teenage boys' mind would go and had the typical early morning reaction.
"Okay stop! Stop! Stop!" Harry told himself. "You barely know the girl and she's family…in around about way, not to mention that she is older than your own parents. Besides that girl is way out of your league! Not to mention she became the most dangerous witch in modern history." He told himself.
He made his way to his water closet which was not part of the larger bathroom that connected his room to Bella's. After his morning ablution he exited his bedroom to find that Bellatrix was already up and dressed. She was sprawled out on one of the large couches lying on her stomach reading one of her text books. Her legs were bent forward hovering over a well put together posterior; her ankles were crossed as her legs bobbed up and down.
Harry froze at the site in front of him. The fifteen year old Bella was wearing a pair of red short shorts that showed off a pair of extremely long and sculpted legs that ran all the way up and disappeared into the tight shorts that hugged an incredibly firm looking arse. To add to Harry's loss of blood to his head was her tight black tank top. With an arm tucked under her breasts as she propped herself up somewhat to read her book, it left an incredible view of milky white globes of femininity that threatened to fall out of the stretched cotton fabric.
"Flies my lord."
"W-what?" Harry stuttered.
"You'll catch flies if you leave your mouth open like that." Bella coyly smirked. Harry closed his mouth with an audible pop.
"I-I was just…uhm…just looking for s-something." Harry stuttered, blushing furiously and looking anywhere but at where his eyes had been moments before.
"I'm sure you were my lord." Bella giggled her eyes full of mirth. 'Boy's are just too easy.' She mused as she sat up placing her book down.
"I thought we had an understanding about the 'My Lord' thing." Harry stated a bit more in control of his voice and taking a seat in front of the lovely witch who was giving him an appraising look.
"Sorry…Harry." Bella smiled mischievously causing Harry stomach to flip again. Harry wondered why this kept happening. He'd never experienced this when he was around other girls. He reasoned it off; it must be just the odd circumstances they found themselves in. She being from the past and all and knowing of her future reputation as hardcore supporter of Voldemort. Yeah that must be it.
"So, what is the plan then Harry?" Bella asked crossing her legs in front of her Indian style.
"Well, I would like to know what has happened, you know how are we here at the same time and are we in the same time together or I don't know…it's just all a bit confusing…don't you think?" Harry rambled.
"Well I guess the only way to find out in which time we're currently in is to leave the room and find out who's about." Bella offered.
"That's what I was thinking as well. But you should probably change into your Hogwarts robes." Harry offered.
"Why? Don't I look good in what I'm wearing now?" She said with a pout. "Am I that hideous?"
"What! No you're gorgeous…I-I mean you look n-nice, you're legs are…not that I was staring! I mean…I just…Oh!" Harry blushed furiously as he spun around feeling completely had as he heard Bella laughing musically and singing.
"You think I'm go-o-orgeous, you want to da-a-a-te me, hug me and k-i-i-iss me!" Bella danced around singing mirthfully, enjoying how flustered she got the young lord.
"I did not say that! I-I was just…all I meant was…oh Bollocks!" Harry griped, he then spun on his heel and returned to his bedroom slamming the door behind him. Bella cackled victoriously and returned to her own room to get dressed.
Bella didn't know why she was teasing Harry so much. She was not a flirt…well not a huge one anyway but she just couldn't resist teasing her new roommate. He looked so cute when he was blushing red; it really brought out the color of his emerald green eyes.
Upon some reflection as she got dressed, she was stunned to find how quickly she felt comfortable around Harry, comfortable enough to playfully tease him. She was not one who made friends easily; she liked to keep people at a manageable distance not letting them get to close to her either physically or emotionally. But with Harry it was so effortless that it was amazing if not odd. She would have to think more upon this.
Twenty minutes later she exited her bedroom dressed in her school robes, although it was a Saturday…well at least in her time, many students wore them while on school grounds. She found Harry by the large bookcase looking over the many ancient tomes that were stacked there. She cleared her throat to get his attention.
Spinning around with her arms out to her sides, she asked. "More to your approval my lord?" She teased with a small curtsey. Harry rolled his eyes and just grunted which evoked another giggle from Bella.
"Just kill me now." Harry groaned. "Well, should we head to the Great Hall and see who's about." Harry offered.
"I suppose, since I got all dressed and everything." Bella replied with a smirk. They then turned and approached the large door that lead out of the room and stopped.
They both looked at the door and all the amusement and jocularity of a moment ago was gone. Back were the harsh realities of the worlds they came from. Harry was thinking about how he was still the outcast of the school, exiled from Gryffindor, friendless and looked upon with suspicion and disdain.
Bella's face fell as she remembered the attack on her person last night, and the threat that her housemates had made. Rudolphus for all his lack of any social graces was a powerful wizard and with his brother and the others they were a force to be reckoned with and they did not take any defeat lightly. They would be out to 'teach' her a lesson.
Simultaneously the two teens looked at each other, each seeing the reluctance in each other's eyes and each wondering why that reluctance was there in the other. Neither had given the other a complete story as to why they were refugees in the magical room and not in their own house dorms. It had been an unspoken agreement not to pry and so neither had.
It was obvious to them both now, that whatever the other one was dealing with was serious enough to make them apprehensive about leaving the safety of the room and that gave them some common ground to perhaps come to an understanding of each other.
"Well, ready?" Harry asked turning his head to look at her.
"Yeah." Bella stated after a brief pause nodding hesitantly.
"Let's not tell anyone about the room just yet, yeah?" Harry stated.
Bella nodded in agreement, no sense in letting others no where her safe haven was.
"To the Great Hall then?" Harry asked.
"Sure." Bella responded emotionlessly.
Harry reached for the handle of the door and pulled it open. The teens stared out into the empty hallway and both sighed in relief at no one being around to see them. The two of them with determined looks stepped out into the empty corridor.
"Well here we go…Bella?"
"Harry?" Bella spun around only to find herself alone in the empty hallway.
oooOOOooo
