Chapter 10

A/N: Hey guys! Unfortunately it's Sunday which means that we won't be seeing each other until next week. But the good news is that I'm leaving you with another chapter. Read, review, follow, fave, and enjoy! Until next time dear readers.

Bellatrix huffed as she walked through the dense underbrush, regretting not putting a tracking spell on Lilith before she left, and tracking the girl's footsteps wasn't as easy as all of the books she had read had made it seem. She scowled hard at the thought of the now blue haired witch.

"If she thinks she can throw me off by deliberately making herself harder to track, then she's got another thing coming." She pushed her way to a clearing, and only belatedly realized that she was not alone. A deep growl to her right made her freeze and slowly turn her head. Her heart stopped as she saw the massive four legged beast. Her immediate though was werewolf, but she knew that couldn't be it. The creature had too much fur and looked too much like an actual wolf, a quick glance at it's hind legs told her that it could achieve bipedal movement.

"You fucking idiot." Lilith spoke, the two witches met eyes for a split second before returning them to the beast that was equidistant between them.

"Shut up, now's not the time. What is this thing?" Bellatrix hissed back as she tried to make an inconspicuous move for her wand.

"I don't fucking know! But whatever it is, it's obviously not friendly." A loud growl from the beast seemed to be confirmation of Lilith's statement.

"When we get out of this, I'm going to kill you with my bare hands." Lilith frowned as she watched luminescent blue eyes dart between her and Bellatrix.

"When and not if? You seem rather confident, is there something I should know?" Bellatrix replied nonchalantly, her wand just inches away from her fingertips. Her movement however, was just a bit too fast, and the beast roared before huddling in Bellatrix's direction.

"Nooo!" Lilith screamed as she scrambled to reach her best friend. She saw Bellatrix stand still in shock before cringing and screwing her eyes shut, too scared to watch her own demise. Lilith let out a growl of frustration as she struggled to think of a spell to protect her friend. She realized her reaction had been too slow and something inside her snapped.

Bellatrix flinched at the loud crack in the air, convinced it was the sound of her bones breaking. When she felt no pain following the sound she risked opening her eyes, which nearly popped out of her skull at the scene before her. A fox nearly twice the size of the wolf was now engaged in combat. There was a vicious clash of claws and teeth as the two animals wrestled in the clearing. The fox was having an easy time overpowering the smaller wolf, but the wolf wasn't backing down. The wolf lunged at the fox's neck intent on ending the battle, but was smacked down by the fox's paw. In the split second that the wolf's body hit the ground the fox was on it, grasping the wolf's throat between it's jaws and crushing it's windpipe without a moment's hesitation. The wolf's body slumped immediately, and Bellatrix watched as the fox's tails swished through the air, seemingly in excitement. She couldn't withhold the gasp she let out as she realized what that meant. The sound of her gasp made her the center of the Kitsune's attention immediately. Growling lowly, the fox approached, it's feral purple eyes glowing brightly. Bellatrix stumbled back a few steps before losing her footing and landed on her ass.

The Dark Lord wasn't usually one to make an impulsive move, but upon receiving a letter from Bellatrix, stating not only her's but the entire group of teens' interest in his offer he found that it was nearly impossible to not react immediately. He knew why the letter had been sent so suddenly and written almost desperately. He had received word from a very credible source that Roderick Bolton had been seen on the grounds. He winced, imaging what that must have meant for his daughter. A howl sounded of in the distance, but Voldemort continued on unafraid, The Forbidden Forrest was full of nasty beasts, but he was by far the nastiest. The sounds of the forrest seemed off, he wasn't quite sure why until a crack of magic echoed throughout the night air. Waves of magic crashed over him and the surrounding fauna and he was stunned only for a moment before changing his destination, if only temporarily. What he walked up on would be something he would always remember. A blue furred Kitsune leaning down to growl into the terrified face of Bellatrix Black, before all terror left the girl's features, replaced with awe and disbelief.

Bellatrix's heart thudded as she realized why the Kitsune had suddenly appeared, it's deep blue fur was the same shade as Lilith's hair. It explained why her hair had changed color, and she felt anger bubble up at the thought of some reckless schoolboy exposing a part of her friend's nature. She shook those thoughts away for the time being, she had to help Lilith get back to herself. She hadn't read much about Kitsunes but it was a very well known fact that they were highly intelligent creatures. Slowly, she raised a hand to the growling fox's nose and cupped her hand around it. The growling ceased, and the fox took a few more curious sniffs before jerking it's head away and lunging for Bellatrix's neck. Bellatrix yelped in shock as Lilith's cold and wet nose made contact, the quick inhales and exhales tickling her neck.

"I'm impressed, you must trust her a great deal." Voldemort spoke as he stepped out of the shadows. Bellatrix's eyes widened at e sight of the man now walking towards them while Lilith growled lowly and moved to stand in front of the witch.

"How do you know who she is?" Bellatrix asked suspiciously, as her eyes narrowed.

"I was informed of her...condition by her father." The Dark Lord answered smoothly, approaching with more caution at the mention of Bolton Patriarch.

"And what do you think of it?" Bellatrix shot back.

"I think that it is an advantage I could never pass up. Creature blood such as hers is extremely powerful, no matter how diluted." His gaze flicked from Bellatrix to Lilith's, both sets of eyes were filled with suspicion.

"I find that hard to believe, and even if it's true, she's not just some tool to be used. None of us are." Bellatrix said flatly, crossing her arms.

"You are correct, you are not tools, those of lesser potential..such as your parents certainly, but that was never my intent for you." Voldemort stopped his approach, standing a few feet away, and clearly with in range of an attack by Lilith.

"Seeing as our parents are drooling over you, how can we trust you?" Bellatrix continued her interrogation taking a step forward.

"From the simple fact that I know what it's like. To have your very existence despised, to crave the power to put an end to your tormentor's reign. To protect the ones you love from their own demons. I want to help you achieve that, and so much more."

"And what id it that you want from us? This clearly isn't being given away for free."

"I want the world; and I want you to help me take it. You'll get everything you've ever wanted, but first you must follow me." Voldemort said before turning and slowly exiting the clearing. Bellatrix looked to Lilith, the fox's head bobbed in agreement, and together they followed The Dark Lord further into the forrest.

Hermione flicked through the pages of Andromeda's diary frantically, but there was no mention of Bellatrix's disappearance, only of Lilith's punishment and the events leading up to it. Which meant that Andromeda, and maybe even the rest of the group had no knowledge of what was happening. Her stomach flipped, if she acted she would be directly effecting the timeline, but if this was the moment that changed everything, her intervention could mean the end of the war. Her stomach flipped again, as an image of Dumbledore flashed through her mind. The war was inevitable, and even worse, she was starting to become more unsure about who she wanted to win. The lines were blurry and it was only getting worse the more time she spent with the dark teens. She stared at the pages blankly as her mind ran through countless scenarios of how her actions tonight could impact the entire course of history.

"Hermione, are you alright?" The soft tone of Andromeda's voice pulled the hazel eyed witch from her thoughts.

"Y-Yes," She replied as she snapped the diary shut, hiding it's contents from the author.

"It's just...it's just that..." Hermione trailed off, still at a loss of what to do.

"What is it Hermione? You know you can talk to me, we're best friends." Andromeda's admission caused Hermione's heart to thump painfully in her chest.

"It's nothing..I'm just worried about Lilith is all." Hermione spoke slowly, her words tasting like ash I her mouth. She gave the girl a half smile and gestured to the common room, Andromeda nodded and walked beside her. For the rest of the night Hermione was plagued by the ramifications her decision would cause.