Your Love Is All The Magic I Need
A/N: Don't own a thing, especially not HP. I hope you enjoy Chapter Nine. Italics denote thoughts. Bold is for spells.
Chapter Nine: Narcissa's exit strategy
Narcissa stood before her mirror. She applied her makeup with slightly trembling hands. Lucius, upon receiving a letter from Draco had struck her. Even now, she winced as she used her makeup to cover the bruised flesh under her left eye. Lucius had destroyed her collection of healing salves and magical foundation, forcing her to rely on her small supply of muggle makeup.
Crack! Lucius struck her across the cheek with the back of his hand, "You were seen with Potter! The plan was to be subtle! Being seen by everyone in Hogsmeade is not subtle!" Lucius said, his hand now on her throat, "When you get pregnant by that little cur, everyone will know! There's no scandal for him if everyone knows! The scandal is on you!" The hand on her throat threw her to the ground.
Lucius drew in a breath and began to pace, "You will need to back off for now. Give the idiots a chance to find a new shiny object. Hopefully, you've done enough that Potter will pine for you. You can send him letters, that will keep them from seeing you together." He spoke swiftly, forming plans to hold this current plan together, "We should be in the clear again by Yule if you do not ruin the plan again." With a final fit of rage, he used his wand to blast her makeup case by the vanity. "Clean yourself up. We have company coming soon." He said as he left her. Stunned, Narcissa had shakily risen, seeing the destruction of the lacquered box her mother had given her as a graduation present, she went under her bed and drew out a small much less ornate box. The one Lily Evans had given her during a charms study session over the summer holidays. This one had a small collection of muggle makeup.
Damn him...She thought as she drew in a breath looking at her face in the mirror. She had done the job of concealing the bruises. Not for the first time, Narcissa found herself thanking whatever powers exist that she was skilled enough with makeup to work essentially with out thinking. She hated her husband. More so now than she had ever hated him before. Before, he was just an idiot. But now? Now she was concerned that he would end up killing her. No one betrays a Black... She fumed.
Decision made, she decided to draft a letter to Amelia Bones. She would send it to her via owl. Lucius would pay for his actions. Once I have a way to keep myself out of the line of fire...
Not for the first time, Narcissa wondered how different life would have been if she'd been married to James Potter. He would have never raised a hand to Lily...of course, I'd probably be dead...That thought soured her musing. She hated Lucius, but if she'd been betrothed to James Potter, she would probably have died during the first war with Voldemort. I wouldn't have fought, I'd have fled with whatever children we'd had...but I have little doubt I'd have been found eventually.
She'd seen, firsthand in some cases, just how dogged the Death Eaters were when it came to hunting the enemies of the Dark Lord. There was nowhere I could have went...the Potters were under a Fidelius but even they had a betrayer in the form of Pettigrew.
She sighed and sat down at her desk. Drawing her quill, she began to jot down notes. Artifact after artifact, connection after connection. Everyone that she remembered from the old days that had managed to stay out of Azkaban. Every object her husband had kept in their vaults. By the time Narcissa was finished, she had three pages front-to-back.
She drew her wand and tapped it against the papers. Instantly the words vanished, hidden by her spell. That should keep unwanted eyes from reading this... She thought as she put the papers into her desk and locked the drawer with her wand. She would move forward with her own plans as quickly as possible. I'll send another letter to Potter if I make sure he knows of my mistreatment...the noble fool will be only too happy to 'rescue' me.
She looked down at her body, shrugging off the flimsy dressing gown she had been wearing she took stock. Pregnancy hadn't seemed to have affected overmuch. She was still reasonably trim, and firm in the places that matter... She thought with a smirk. She was a very beautiful woman, though she was very nearly forty she looked ten years younger. She tried to imagine the first time Harry would see her naked. Would his bright green eyes shine with the delight of a boy unwrapping his birthday gift?
She believed so. She allowed her hands to run down the length of her stomach, stopping just below her navel. She imagined an older Harry, well trained in how to please her, pressing a kiss to that spot, swollen with their child.
Scene Break
Auror Nymphadora Tonks was right, Harry thought, he needed the padding on his pants. Each spell she cast seemed to work through his every defense. His own spells, on the other hand, never seemed to get through. That was the point of this lesson. She was teaching him mobility and, once that part was complete, his reward would be the shield charm.
Tonks grinned as she watched Harry get up from the ground for a sixth time, "Nicely done Potter. You very nearly dodged the whole spell-chain." She said as she moved from dueling position to a more relaxed stance, "Let's get something to drink and then come back to the lesson. I think you've earned a short break."
Harry rose, dusting himself off. He was exhausted, which meant the idea of catching his breath and drinking something cool was very welcomed. Tonks led him down the path towards the gate leading to Hogsmeade, "Wait, I can't go down to the village-"
"Calm down," Tonks said holding up a hand, "You are an official Auror escort, remember? If I needed to, I could take you to London and no one could say a word because it's my job to keep you students safe." She chuckled, "That might be a fun trip, I know you went with Aunt Cissy, but I could take you to London one day, maybe take you to see the nightclubs. You are a magically recognized adult now after all."
Tonks was a very interesting woman, Harry mused as they walked down the path to Hogsmeade. Being an Auror meant she had to be at least a little disciplined. But, behind Fred and George, she was probably one of the most carefree people he'd ever met. Right down to the way she'd teased him during their practice session.
"Right then, I'm going to come at you like it's the last call, so you'd better be ready for me," Tonks called to him, sending a stream of colored lights at him.
Harry dodged the first set nimbly enough, but Tonks wasn't finished. Another jet of purple light streaked towards him. Harry threw himself away from it, but wasn't paying attention as a third streak, this one colored yellow, caught him in the chest.
"Typical Auror tactic, stunner, disarming spell, stunner. Moody called it the 'strong-arm sandwich'." Tonks said once she'd woke him, "The goal is to keep the criminal off balance. So, you shoot a spell that they'll recognize and avoid, then another one a little lower and faster, and finally when they are distracted, you hit them with an Auror caliber variant. A typical stunner wears off after a half hour or so, an Auror grade stunner stays on you for a few hours depending on the strength of the caster. I remember Moody hitting me with one when I was a rookie...he left it on me and I didn't wake up for six hours."
"Sweet of him to give you that kind of rest..." Harry muttered as he took her hand and stood up. Up close, Harry was lost in her eyes for a moment before blinking and standing back.
Tonks grinned, "Moody is a very grumpy, rude, and irritating man. He is also one of the bravest, most loyal people, and probably the best teacher I've ever had." She went back over to her spot, "Listen to what he says and you've got more than just a shot at winning this thing."
Harry blinked as the road turned and Hogsmeade came into view. He saw Sirius in his dog form trot out to greet them. Tonks scratched his head, "Well hello there, and how is my favorite mongrel today?" Sirius let out an irritated huff, causing Harry to laugh.
Tonks grinned at the sound, "Did you know when I was in fourth year, I didn't know if I wanted to be an Auror or to work at the joke shop here in the village? I made the mistake of mentioning to my mother. She thought it was a terrible idea. I mean she hates me being an Auror, but working at a joke shop-" Tonks shifted into a spitting image of her mother, "Oh Nymphadora, that's so undignified!" She said in an aristocratic tone before shifting back, "You can take the Black name from my mother, but you can't take the fanciness."
Harry looked at her, "How'd you do that?"
Tonks smirked and shifted into Harry's form, "Simple." She said in his own voice, "I'm a metamorphmagus. I can change my features without using a spell or potion. It's handy for my line of work. It does mean I can't ever become an animagus which stinks, but at least I always have the option of turning into my boss and giving myself a raise." Tonks then turned back into herself, "Neat huh?"
"I'll say it is." Harry exclaimed, "Just imagine all the trouble I could avoid if I could do that. Malfoy would be looking for me, and I'd look like someone else. I'd never have to bother with that little git ever again." The idea of being able to avoid the people he hated was a very, very tempting one. Even more than that, he wouldn't have to deal with Hermione's constant disapproval of everything he did.
They turned a corner heading down a different path towards the cave Sirius used as his hiding place. "Actually, before we get that drink, I thought I'd let my partner in teaching you spells give you some pointers," Tonks told him. Harry was confused until Sirius moved in front of him and shifted back into his human form.
"What? You knew he was-" Harry began, only to stop when Tonks held up her hand.
She nodded, "I knew the day I offered to teach you. He followed me, I gave him some of my sandwich. He brought me here and Bob's your uncle. Okay, I think your great-uncle was actually Charlus Potter, and your living uncle is that pig Dursley, but you get the idea." She said, "He gave me his Oath, that was good enough for me."
"It's true Pup. Dora is going to try and help me get my freedom." Sirius explained, "In the meantime, you and I are going to work on some curses. I have a bad feeling about what they are planning to put you through..."
Scene Break
That night Bellatrix lay on her cot, willing herself awake. If she slept she'd have dreams. She used to not have dreams, exposure to the Dementors kept that from being an issue. But now, free from them, she dreamed again.
It was always the same nightmare. The day Rodolphus found out about her affair with Remus Lupin. The worst day of her life. She'd woke up, a few weeks into their sham of a marriage feeling ill. The pattern had repeated daily until, sickened at the thought, she cast the revealing charm.
A soft blue light. She was pregnant. She hadn't allowed Rodolphus to touch her, which meant only one thing.
The baby inside her, her son, was the child of Remus Lupin.
Rodolphus had seen her cast the charm, hidden from her view. He had not been gentle. He had, in fact, subjected her to the cruciatus curse over and over again. He'd forced a miscarriage by torturing her.
Bellatrix blinked the tears out of her eyes.
Rage filled her. She would kill Rodolphus and Rabastan. She would take revenge for the son she never knew. She didn't know if she'd kill Remus for failing to kill her. A part of her, the part that been mostly dead for these past years, still yearned to kiss him again. But she didn't know if she could love him.
Amelia had told her that she would be moved to a cell at the Ministry. The information regarding Barty Crouch Jr had been deemed valuable. Barty Crouch Snr was now facing an investigation. If all went well, soon she would have a measure of freedom.
For whatever that would mean to her now.
