Hi there! How are you today? Weekeeend (a)
Anyway ! Beta did not read it cause I forgot to send it to her (yes this time I am to blame), still, thinking that it would take her at least two days to read it, I'm putting it online now. So, any mistakes are mine, keep in mind English is not my first language, same old same old.
Disclaimer: Do not own OUaT or HP.
Enjoy!
Chapter III.
She woke up in the leaves. She wondered a minute, thinking that it was strangely comfortable, knowing the last thing she felt before dying was hard wood and some splinters. Still, she thought it was too comfortable to be a proper afterlife. Someone like her could not go to a nice place; she'd killed way too many people for that. So where exactly was she? She didn't imagine that last spell; it hit her square in the chest. She had to be dead. She wanted to check, though, wanted to open her eyes and see where the hell she was. But she was tired. She could sleep just a little while more, could she not? What was the difference? It was so comfortable anyway; she didn't want it to end.
Maybe she was dreaming. Yes, that had to be it; she was dreaming. All the more reasons not to open her eyes. She knew if she did she would see the awfulness that her life had become; she would be back there, in a world of pain, suffering, and darkness. She didn't want to stay in the darkness anymore. She wanted to run away from her life; she wanted redemption, forgiveness, and a second life. It wasn't asking too much, was it?
She felt like maybe it was. She brought so much pain and so much grief to so many people, why on earth would the world be good to her? Karma was a bitch, and she deserved every punishment, which would most certainly come. She had no right of asking a little bit of sympathy, and she had no right asking for a break. She didn't deserve it, she deserved just as much as pain and distress as the rest of them. She brought this upon herself; she knew it all too well. She thought there was no way for her to ever redeem herself; they couldn't forgive her, ever. And she was well aware of it.
Her mind focused on brown curls, a cute smile, and meaningful eyes. She wished she could have had a glimpse of her before she died, but she hadn't had the chance. Of course, when the Potter boy lay dead in the arms of that semi-giant, she looked at her. She wanted to apologize, say how sorry she was to the younger girl. She couldn't, though, because no matter how much she regretted it, this path had been her only escape. She didn't expect them to understand that, and she found that she didn't really care. But she cared about her. In her eyes, for a moment, she let her true self appear, and she watched her. She watched her for what felt like forever, even if it was in fact a few silly seconds. It had been a few seconds of relief, because she wasn't lying anymore; she wasn't pretending; she was just herself. But it couldn't last, and even if she didn't want to, she returned to the monster she had to make them believe she was; and she laughed. The Potter boy was dead. They'd won.
How wrong she'd been, she knew that now. Of course, she thought it hardly mattered anymore. She was dead, or at last, she really hoped she was. She couldn't face the world, she couldn't pretend again; it was way too tiring. She was done.
She fell back asleep, in that so welcomed slumber. She didn't dream, well, she wished she didn't. She kept seeing those eyes, so beautifully heartbroken. She wished she wasn't to blame for this, but she was, oh god she was; she hadn't killed the boy, but it was her fault all the same. She let it happen, she even found joy in it; except it was breaking the little Granger, and though she didn't know why, it made her regret the act.
Her rest was short, and she didn't quite understand why. She was dead, was she not? So why did she feel a wet muzzle against her cheek? She sighed, and moved a little from her so comfortable bed, tried to push away the annoying creature. Let her be, Jesus! She earned this much, at least, no? But the muzzle was restless and kept on bugging her, pushing her face just a little to force her to wake up. She did. She was not happy about it, sure, but she did wake up, in order to push the bloody animal away for good. Her fingers reached her wand, and she straightened up, pointing her piece of wood toward the … wolf?!
She gulped, suddenly trying to get distance between her and the gigantic animal. She'd never seen such a huge beast; and for that matter, she knew there were no wolves in bloody England. Then where the hell was she? Still, she felt magic coming from the animal, and wore her best crazy face then. It was magic, of course it was. A werewolf was it? She would kill it. It didn't quite look like the ones she was accustomed to, but no matter. She didn't have time to think; she couldn't even comprehend how she was still alive. She needed to kill the beast before it had a chance to kill her.
The animal took a step towards her, and her instincts kicked in. She waved her wand, sending a slicing hex at the monster. The thing whined, falling on the ground. She laughed at first, but then frowned. It wasn't like a werewolf to go down that easily. Something wasn't right at all. For a second, she lifted her eyes toward the sky, looking for the full moon. No such thing, alas, and she was entirely lost. It wasn't possible. It simply wasn't! She looked at the beast once more, and frowned more deeply, as it was no longer there. In its place though, she saw a young girl, looking harmless enough, except for the fact that she was a monster just a few seconds ago. Wand at the ready, Bellatrix stepped towards the girl, carefully. She didn't understand what was happened, but she hurt that girl — she could see now the blood flowing from her thigh — and she promised herself she wouldn't do that anymore. Old habits die hard though.
Except she wasn't exactly a girl, she was for and foremost a beast. A beast that could have killed her, that should have killed her, and yet didn't. Something strange was happening, and the crazy woman didn't get it. Why wasn't she dead? Why was there a werewolf in control, and without the moon? She bit her lip, and crouched near the girl, still threatening her with the point of her wand.
"How can you be a werewolf and not try to kill me?" she asked, looking now the younger woman straight in the eye. She was beautiful, there was no denying that; even for a blood monstrosity.
The girl frowned, her hands clenching her thigh in order to stop the blood from flowing too fast out of her. "Why the hell did you attack me?" she answered, getting a little angry. Sure, that must of hurt.
"A monstrosity like you has no right touching a pure-blood!" Bellatrix nearly screamed, getting back on her feet. How dare she, that girl! Didn't she know how she was? She could kill her so easily. She pointed her wand at her again, ready to cast another spell.
"Wait! Please! Don't do that again." The brunette pleaded, her hand shooting up in surrender. "What kind of magic is that, anyway?"
She tried to calm herself. She didn't know where she ended up, she didn't have a clue how that girl was, but she was tired all the same. The pretending had to end, and even if she was scared — that thing still was an enormous wolf — she had to stop. First step to redeem yourself: stop hurting others. She lowered her wand, then, and just fell on her knees on the ground, sighing. She was just so tired.
"Hey, you ok?" The werewolf asks, moving just a little bit closer from the kneeling woman. The wound at her thigh was already closing, thanks to her wolf.
The older woman sighed once again, biting her lip. "Yes … No. I mean … No. I'm not okay." She nearly broke down, raising her head toward the sky once again, her pale skin glowing slightly in the moonlight. She fought back tears. Bellatrix Black didn't cry. "Where is this? Where I am? Why aren't you afraid of me?"
The girl moved closer once again, and put a nearly shacking hand on the other woman's knee. She didn't know who she was, but she was dangerous all the same, and she didn't want to suffer another of those magical things again. No thank you. "You're in Storybrook, Maine. The second curse brought you here?"
Bellatrix dropped her eyes on her, then her hand, and her again. She frowned. Why was she touching her? Was that what comfort looked-like? "Curse? What are you talking about? Why am I in the States?"
The werewolf smiled, then. She wasn't from the curse, that was for sure; how would she now about the US? So … where was she from? "What's your name? I'm Red. But you can call me Ruby." She told her, her smile never wavering.
"Bellatrix. Bellatrix Black."
Ruby's heart nearly stopped as she heard the name. It was impossible. She heard it wrong, that's what happened. That woman, in front of her, could not be Bellatrix Black. Bellatrix was a character from a book. She didn't exist. She could not exist; there was no way. Absolutely no way. Though, now that she thought about it that would explain the wand. It would also explain the messy dark curls, the crazy look, and the leather corset. But no. Nope. This woman wasn't Bellatrix Black. She was dreaming, simple as that. Or she'd hit her head really hard. Hell … When she's gonna tell Emma she meet Bellatrix Black! No, she couldn't think like that, she just couldn't. This was not Bellatrix. The crazy Bellatrix. The one that killed Sirius Black, her own cousin, and then Nymphodaria, her niece.
Well … Deep down, she just knew it was she. Of course. How could it not? For this world, Ruby and her follows were Disney movies' characters, so why not a real Bellatrix. It was dangerous, though, to set a lunatic loose on Storybrook. If that woman were anything like the books then … They would have a problem. A big problem. An Evil Queen-like problem. Especially now that she witnessed first hand the older woman had magic, and powerful magic. A few words and you'd be dead. She thought a second of that passage of the book where the students have to levitate a feather, and she laughed. Bad thing to do.
The girl had the nerve to laugh. Her name used to create fear, not laughter. Had she become a joke? She twitched, her fingers tensing around her wand. She wanted to make her hurt. She nearly said the words, nearly; but she couldn't, that wasn't who she was; that was who they made her be. She wouldn't be like that anymore. But old habits die hard, and she wanted oh so desperately use the cruciatus curse. Still, she needed her to answer her questions, and help up grasp how it was she ended up in Storybrook, Maine. So she tried to calm her nerves, breathed deeply, and put her wand safely against her thigh. It would be easier to fight against if she didn't have the thing right in her hands.
"My name is funny, then." She couldn't help but say, placing her piercing eyes on the younger girl. The brunette stopped laughing immediately, seemingly remembering her place. Good. She'd still got it.
"Yes, I mean n-no! No. Not funny." Ruby stumbled a little bit, loosing all confidence. Just like in the books, she thought. So intimidating. "It's just, you remind me of someone, is all."
The witch arched her brow, not buying it for a second. Something was off with that girl, she could tell. "Sure. Now tell me, girl, why is there a werewolf abomination in the US? How is it you're not controlled by the Ministry?"
She looked positively curious, and Ruby had to fight a chuckle. She had to play the game, obviously. She saw that little gesture with the wand earlier, and she didn't want to know if the cruciatus curse hurt that much. That just wouldn't do. "Well the Ministry has no business with this town." She coughed away her discomfort, and continued. "Eumh, maybe you should come with me, back into town. You could use a … a shower." She wrinkled her nose, and Bellatrix frowned again. She should kill the insolent creature. She was a pure-blood. She was Bellatrix. How dared she talk to her like she was a commoner, a blood traitor, a mudblood!
"Careful girl, I have no problem hexing you again." Her tone was threatening, and she advanced slightly forward just to make her point. Truth was, she was exhausted, and she would kill for a bloody bath. She was not going to admit that, though. "Is it far away, that town?"
Ruby settled for a simple shake of head, and rose to her feet, offering her hand to Bellatrix. She knew everything she did near that woman was risky, but she was not going to change who she was.
The older woman stared at the hand for too many seconds and finally accepted the offered fingers, raising with as much elegance as she could master. She stumbled a little on her feet, than, and grumbled a curse, the werewolf catching her waist to stop her fall. The British woman clearly underestimated who tired she was. "L-Let go of me, filthy werewolf!" She tried to scream, but her voice came out broken and hoarse. Still, the younger girl knew better than to hold on to her, and so she let go. She turned on her heels, and casually strolled into the forest, sure the crazy woman would follow her.
After a few seconds at staring very darkly at the werewolf, Bellatrix shook it off, and went after her. She never despised her heels as much as she did now. She would stumble every other second, and curse, and sigh. Death was supposed to be more relaxing, not challenging. None on this made sense. Still, that girl seemed to bring some life back into the British, and she was not going to complain about that. She needed a kick, something to forget her Lord, to forget her eyes. She needed an escape, and when she felt that last spell hit her, she'd wished for a new chance at life. She didn't think it was possible to be granted such a wish, but it seemed that it still happened. And well, if this was her new life, then she needed to start it well. No more cruciatus. She'd miss it, though.
She suddenly laughed, her crazed laugh echoing into the forest. She'd won. Potter didn't, her Lord didn't; she did. She got a way out. She got a second chance to be who she was and not who they'd wanted her to be. She was grateful, she felt free: she felt good. It was good to be her, to finally be able to be who she was. Who she was meant to be. Maybe she could find love, in this new life; maybe she could find again what was lost. She hoped she could, anyway. The only thing she had to do was to fight Bellatrix, the monster, the crazy woman, and just be Bella. Sure, Bellatrix was this huge part of her, it would be hard to fight her all the time; but she'd try.
She didn't notice she'd stop, lost in thoughts, and that the werewolf was standing right next to her, looking concerned. Bellatrix shook her head slightly, a small smile gracing her lips. She finally took in the sight of the younger woman and lost her smile, frowning. "Well, what are you waiting for, filth? Show the way!" She barked at her. Change will be difficult, that's for sure.
Ruby couldn't help but smile, and she indeed showed the way out the forest. Soon enough, they ended up in front of Granny's. Good thing of Bellatrix not coming from the Enchanted Forest is that she didn't jump in fear every time a car drove by. Sure, it would be difficult to get her used to all the 'muggle' stuff, but not impossible. She will just be awfully smug about it. Still, she wondered when exactly she left. Because in the book; no one said any thing about her disappearing. Did she really go to Azkaban? Does the Dark Lord really exist? Oh, that would be bad, now wouldn't it? The werewolf shook her head, it wasn't the time to think about that at all.
As soon as they entered the town, Bellatrix couldn't help but grimace in disgust. All those muggles, everywhere. Muggle cars, muggle houses, and those TV weird things. She'd seen one, once, and didn't understand. It was early in the morning, the sun barely raising, but they were already out. Now, she was standing in front of a diner, and sighed. She didn't want back where she came from, but she had a slight idea that there where no pure-bloods in this hell-hole. The strangest thing has that on their way, at least a dozen persons said hi to the wolf. Didn't they know what a filthy creature she was? Didn't they at least care? It seemed not, and she didn't understand why. She still had no idea where she was, and why everyone seemed so weird. No one looked at her in fear, no one turned around once they saw her; and so she knew they weren't magical or she was indeed a long way from home. Her reputation had crossed oceans, and even in the States they knew to fear Bellatrix Lestrange. Well, Bellatrix Black; since the bastard was dead.
The witch felt a little tug on her wrist, and lifted her eyes to watch the werewolf trying to get her in the place. Reluctantly, she followed. Thankfully, the diner was empty, and the girl led her upstairs, to a room.
"Here, you can stay here for the time being." She fidgeted a little bit, seemingly not knowing what to do with herself.
"Well?" Bellatrix prompted, she was getting impatient.
"I… Nothing. Call if you need help. I'm just the door opposite from you." She pointed at the door, and then turned heels. It seemed she couldn't get away faster. That made the witch smile, satisfied that at least one person feared her, and she went inside the room, closing the door slowly.
She ran herself a bath, waving a wand to fill the bathtub with steaming hot water. She didn't know for how long exactly she'd been in that forest, but she'd guess it had been a while. She stripped slowly, letting her clothes fall carelessly on the floor, knowing she would have to at least wash them next. But not now. Now, she'd enjoy a simple bath. And that she did, lowering herself slowly in the water. She sighed in relief, her tired muscles welcoming the water like they never did. She ached everywhere, she now realized, and this bath was the best thing ever. She closed her eyes, and let herself drift off to sleep. She was so tired.
*** Meanwhile, in the opposite room ***
"Emma, you're not gonna believe who I just found in the woods!"
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