Chapter 11: The Figure at Hogsmeade

Harry's feet were pressing onto wet grass, as he marched across the fields. A few hours ago, it had rained after a nearly full day of pleasant sunlight, and Harry knew that the washed out jeans he was wearing beneath his robes would carry a great abundance of stains once he had walked out of the fields, and onto the grass-free roads that led to Hogsmeade.

While he walked across the fields, he squinted his eyes to get a clearer view of where he was heading, as it was quite humid, and the water vapor in the atmosphere had produced a cloudy film over his lenses. To his side was the Forbidden Forest, and as he marched forwards, the mostly large coniferous trees of the forest began to give off the illusion as though they were becoming smaller and smaller in size – perhaps, a bit more inviting as well. The sky was still dark, though a few hours were left till' dawn. White foggy clouds floated past the waning moon, hiding it for a few seconds, causing the sky to appear as black as Snape's robes – spreading chills through Harry.

He could feel dampness in his armpits; caused by the warmth that swathed his atmosphere, by the time he had reached the perimeters of a rarely used dirt road that led to Hogsmeade. An image of the red diary flickered in his mind, while he pondered of ways he could get to 12 Grimmauld: He knew he couldn't use the floo network, as one could only get out of 12 Grimmauld by floo – Apparition was of course, out of the question – so that left Harry with only one method of transportation, the Knight Bus.

Harry scanned his current surroundings: The Forbidden Forest was to the distance. A handful of large trees were spread across the perimeters of the dirt road, though they were not as gigantic as those in the Forbidden Forest. The foggy white clouds Harry had spotted were now floating past him once more, enveloping his surroundings in even further darkness.

He glanced back for a few seconds – Hogwarts loomed in the distance, giving him a faint sense of security and protection. Sighing outwards, Harry stepped on the dirt road, and began to march forwards: He had decided on going to Hogsmeade, thinking it would be safer if he summoned the Knight Bus there, as quite frankly, he did not find the thought of waiting near the Forbidden Forest, beside a dirt road, in an area where it seemed that not a single soul breathed, quite comforting.

oOo

A silent corridor greeted Bellatrix after she had marched out of her chamber. Her high-heels harshly glided against the granite flooring of the corridor, as she tried to find a way to get to the nearest exit that would take her to the fields where she had spotted Harry. Soon, she headed to one of the spiral staircases.

Not before long, Bellatrix began to realize she had forgotten how perplexing Hogwarts really was. She found herself back at where she had started, and groaned. Sighing in irritation, she darted her eyes down to another set of spiral staircases that were floating in mid-air. Then suddenly, she heard a sound in the corridor she had assumed only she was occupying. Her hand had immediately thrust in her pocket, and her fingers were curled around her magical instrument, as she wrung her head around to where she had heard the sound: At the very end of the corridor, below a large painting of some snoring knight, was a cat with a scrawny and skeletal body, staring at her with its bulging and lamp-like yellow eyes, as though it was trying to mock her for walking around in circles.

A few seconds later, Bellatrix understood to whom the cat belonged to: Argus Filch, with his thinning hairline and arched back, had appeared in the hallway. He was striding down the corridor, cursing profanities at Peeves, while his cat marched behind him – unaware of Bellatrix's presence, until he walked past her. Immediately, his jaws dropped open, and he slumped backwards, leaning against the wall, as though nearly hanging onto it would give him some sort of protection. Slightly amused by his reaction, Bellatrix asked: "Which staircases will lead me down to the fields next to this tower?"

Filch was gasping for air. He avoided looking at Bellatrix with his eyes that were just as protruding as his cat's. He lifted a trembling hand and pointed at the staircases floating in mid-air near her. Bellatrix glared at him for a few seconds, though her attention began to fly elsewhere…

As she stared at the petrified expression on his face, her mind began to waver into thoughts that circled on the faces of the people she had tortured by Voldemort's orders.

'Voldemort,' the name entrenched into her mind; a snake slithered in her thoughts. The snake's slit-pupiled eyes bore into her mind, enlarging into a foggy figment until it blasted into pieces, while hisses of the name nearly all feared continued to blast through her thoughts: Voldemort… Voldemort… Voldemort…

Darkness loomed over her surroundings, drawing her in entirely. Filch's horrified face began to blur and fog until she found it no longer before herself…

The pain etched in the voices of her victims, as they pleaded for her to stop with the horrors she was inflicting on them, rumbled through her mind. They leaked like venom into her thoughts. Her chest began to rise and deflate riotously. She felt her knees wavering, and legs weakening. A faint flicker of an image of Filch's face shot into her mind, constraining her into a disposition where she was half in the present, and half lost in her thoughts – thoughts that were consuming her, and eating her inside-out – "LEAVE!" she screamed aloud at them.

"Ye – yes," she heard a weak and pathetic voice—the thoughts dimmed and dimmed, until she found herself staring at the space Filch had occupied moments ago. Turning to her left where she heard violent footsteps, she found the caretaker scrawling away out of her sight, believing she had yelled at him.

Once Filch had disappeared, Bellatrix shook her head coarsely, and swept her long dark locks with her slender fingers. Glancing with her enlarged eyes at the spiral staircases Filch had pointed at, she began to storm down them, shortly finding herself in another corridor on the ground floor. A large oak door loomed at the end of the corridor, and she strode towards it, half here and half in her mind – hearing the hollow and distant cries of her victims…

The door sprung open, and she felt a rush of warmth hailing towards her, embedding her with perspiration. She stepped outside, and was met with the wet fields she had spotted Harry marching on while in her chamber. Scanning her dark surroundings for Harry, she was met back with nothing. She began to trudge forwards on the wet grass, her heels shoving down into the muddied fields, making it hard for her to walk forwards with ease. After a few minutes, she slipped her heels out of her feet, holding them in one hand, as she walked forwards bare-footed with her wand in her other hand. "Lumos," she incanted, and her wand sprung with light at its tip. She swung her wand this way and that, realizing she could perhaps find Harry's footprints rooted onto the wet fields: To her contentment, she spotted footprints.

After trailing the footprints, she found herself in front of a dirt road that Harry had arrived at minutes prior to her coming. More footsteps were fixed on the dirt road, which too had turned into mostly sludge due to the rain. Little stones, twigs and pebbles lay on the road, and so Bellatrix flung her heels down, and plunged her feet back into them with a large groan, while thinking of where Harry could be heading in the wee hours of morning.

As she began to trek forwards on the dirt road, she casted the hood of her robe over her head: It was a habit learned from being the Ministry's most wanted for so long… But, she was now a former Death Eater. Former. Bellatrix scoffed at the writers of the articles whom had labeled her as a former Death Eater.

No, she still was a Death Eater.

To be a Death Eater meant more than being Voldemort's supporter. It meant eliciting euphoria from the cries of your victims… it meant having a thirst for power – for the cries that horrified those that were weaker...

Filch's face spiraled into Bellatrix's mind, and she realized – as she continued to trudge forwards on the dirt road sluggishly, her heels wavering – that she had felt a flash of jubilation at Filch's horrified expression…

Because, she was tainted – once one embraced the darkness they had within, it was hard turning back to the light.

You were tainted by darkness forever.

Tainted.

'I was always tainted.'

Bellatrix was tainted from birth – she was born a Black... Black – the colour of death.

And Sirius, he too been born a Black. He had tried running away, but his past had haunted him. One could not simply run away from what ran through their veins. The Black blood pounded through Sirius – the sins of his ancestors coursed through his veins. And so, the past had caught with Sirius, leeched onto him... 'I – his past... killed him.'

Andromeda.

'Sweet little Andromeda.'

A Black, she too had been. And, she too had run away.

Was her past after her?

Was it going to catch her and consume her... that is if it hadn't already?

Andromeda, almost the striking image of her eldest sister – but never her eldest sister. Andromeda, always yearning to be like Bellatrix. With her observant brown eyes, she would try to immolate whatever her eldest sister would do. From the way Bellatrix styled her hair, to the clothes she wore, to the way she even smiled, Andromeda tried to absorb every aspect of her eldest sister, and then reflect them. 'If only she had known,' Bellatrix thought. If only Andromeda had truly known how horrifying it would have been to be her eldest sister, she would have never desired it so.

'And perhaps now she knows', Bellatrix contemplated. 'Perhaps now she knows...'

'But she'll never know everything.'

Andromeda would never know the full horror of being Bellatrix Black.

By now, Bellatrix could see the late Victorian houses, and shops of Hogsmeade below a hill she now stood upon. The dirt road she was walking on would turn into bricks after a few minutes, and she would stop seeing Harry's footprints. Bellatrix needn't worry though – a derisive smirk surfaced on her face, as she found whom she had been searching for: Harry was standing beside the street before her, near the entrance of Hogsmeade, as though he was waiting for someone or something.

oOo

Harry was standing idle on the sidewalk waiting for the Knight Bus. He was glancing around his environs with his striking green eyes, staring at the various shops, all with 'closed' signs hanging behind their windows. It had been a few minutes, and the Knight Bus had not made its appearance. Confused as to why it was taking so long for the bus to appear, Harry drew in a sigh, and began to get fidgety: He thoughtlessly twirled his yew wand with his hand, as he waited impatiently for the bus.

Then, he heard an unexpected sound seep into his surroundings. Crunching his eyebrows for a few seconds while pondering over the sound, Harry came to the conclusion that it sounded like a woman's heels tapping against the ground. Waiting for it to stop, thinking it was just a sound accidently created by the wind, Harry found himself disappointed: The sound had continued to grow in breadth. He quickly turned himself around to where it was issuing: Approaching him was a woman with a hood casted over her face. She was wearing slim-fitted robes, and had a slender but curvaceous figure. He knew of one woman with a curvaceous figure at Hogsmeade – Rosmerta. Was she Rosmerta? On second thought, Harry changed his mind: This woman was much taller than the landlady of the Three Broomsticks, and her figure was much more eye-catching as well – little did Harry know that this woman was Bellatrix.

He stopped twirling his yew wand, and for a few seconds thought of pointing it at the woman headed his way, but decided against it – she didn't seem much of a threat. However, the woman had caught on what he had formerly planned on doing. She chuckled. "A duel against me, Potter?" she hissed. The moonlight slowly began to reveal her face, as she approached nearer. Harry had heard that sardonic yet silken voice before. He viewed the long dark curls hanging beside her half-hidden face.

'Ten inches away. Eight away. Six inches away. Four inches away.' Bellatrix was now only an inch or two away from Harry. He watched her in a stunned form, as she pulled down her hood, and revealed her face. Her lips were coiled into a faint smirk, but her eyes were dead, though after deeply looking into them, Harry could spot faint curiosity in her otherwise vacant black pools.

'Merlin,' he thought.

He had been caught.

At least, Snape hadn't caught him. On second note, he might have preferred being caught by Snape than her.

He was waiting for Bellatrix to say something – be at anything, but he noted that her eyes were now glued elsewhere: Her dark eyes had enlarged, and she was viewing something from behind Harry's shoulders. Feeling confused, his thoughts escaped his lips when he asked, "What is it?"

Bellatrix didn't respond, she began marching forwards, past Harry, as though he didn't exist. Harry turned around, crunching his eyebrows, and began to follow her. She looked back. "Get away!" she hissed, it was an order – more of a warning now that Harry thought of it, but being ever-reckless, he could care less.

Unexpectedly, he spotted a figure in the dark– a tall figure of what seemed to be a young man, walking slyly into an alley: Bellatrix was following him, as though she knew who he was. "Who's that?" Harry called.

She wrung her head around to face him, and stopped in her tracks, as did he, and viewed him for a minute or two. "Get back to Hogwarts, '' she then said, breaking the silence.

"No," Harry replied, firmly – he would not be wavered from his decision. Seeing this, Bellatrix huffed in, having no time to waste, and began to march onwards again with Harry resuming to trail her as well.

oOo

"Who is he?" Harry asked, referring to the figure she was following.

They were now closer to the alley the figure had disappeared into. Bellatrix stopped in front of one of the shops near the alley. She turned around to Harry, took in a deep breath, and for a sheer second Harry thought he was going to be met back with her usual snaps, but his theory had turned out incorrect. "Draco," Bellatrix said.

Harry's mouth sprung open. After collecting himself, he responded – "In his compartment, I overheard him speaking about Voldemort and how—" He stopped speaking when he noticed that Bellatrix had winced when he had said Voldemort. He stared silently at Bellatrix, as she reeled her face away from Harry, and began to slowly march near the alley, pretending she hadn't flinched at Voldemort's name.

Shortly, the two of them peeped into the alley: Harry found three figures standing at the very end of it. The alley did not lead to another street, but rather the back of a dilapidated house. Harry very well knew that one of the figures was Draco; he could see Draco's sleek blonde hair shining under the moonlight. He overheard Bellatrix – for a second, he thought she was speaking to him, but later on realized she was mostly speaking to herself. "It's a safe house," Bellatrix whispered. "It's one of the safe houses for Death Eaters at Hogsmeade."

"Of course," Harry inadvertently commented.

Startled, Bellatrix looked up to Harry: She hadn't realized Harry was nearly a head taller than her. In the Department of Mysteries, she was sure he had been inches shorter. She took two steps back, and pulled Harry with herself, realizing the two of them had been far too near the front of the alley. "You can see it?" she asked, alarmed.

Harry tilted an eyebrow, feeling confused. "Yes, of course. Why wouldn't I — "

The two of them were speaking in whispers. "Because," Bellatrix interrupted, "only those with the Dark Mark are able to see safe houses."

"I—oh—so why can I see it?" Harry stammered.

While he viewed Bellatrix as she bit her lips in contemplation, he realized this had been the first time the two were conversing to each other in a civilized manner. A sudden torrent of anger directed towards himself, rushed through him – had he turned his back on Sirius? But – Sirius had wished for her to remain safe. However, she had stolen from him the closest link he had to family: Harry's hands morphed into fists – just as she had stolen a certain boy's parents…

'Thief,' he thought.

Bellatrix gazed at Harry and noticed the fire burning in his green eyes. She knew Harry detested her – but for a few minutes she had completely forgotten their animosity when they had viewed Draco in the alley, and while she had pondered over why he was able to see the safe house. She turned her gaze around, away from Harry and his green eyes that raged with hatred, and tried to focus on Draco and why he had been asked to go to the safe house for Death Eaters at Hogsmeade.

And then it sunk in.

Draco's arm had to be etched with the Dark Mark, as how else would he be able to see the safe house? Lucius had failed at retrieving the prophecy, and Draco had to pay for his father's failure, and perhaps – Bellatrix apprehended, Draco had to pay for his aunt's treachery as well.

It made perfect sense.

Her chest felt heavy, as certain words from a particular sister sprawled into her mind – "You turned your back on your family so easily, Bellatrix. Do you not know what you've done?"

Was this what Narcissa had meant? Was Draco on a mission – a mission Bellatrix knew would be futile, for why else would the Dark Lord sent him on it?

Bellatrix turned around to Harry, and noticed that his eyes had lost the rage she had seen in them moments ago. She gazed down at her chest, and found it rising and falling harshly – she was breathing roughly—

"Bellatrix?"

Bellatrix raised her gaze away from her chest, and looked up at Harry. He had said her name with such gentleness – his tone had been as comforting as a soft blanket. While feeling startled, Bellatrix realized he had never called her by her first-name before. Since when had they been on first-name basis? Her eyebrows coiled, her voice was as cold as Harry's had been warm, "Let's go, Potter, before Draco walks out—"

She felt Harry's vigorous hand curl around her wrist, and found herself being pulled to his back. Confused for a sheer second, she fumbled and moved her head a bit to Harry's side…

And there, before her – she found a familiar lined face staring at her with a façade of fondness: It was Yaxley. "Ah, Bellatrix – how nice to see you!" the Death Eater smiled, his face half-hidden behind his robe's hood. He had his wand pointed directly at her. "You've never turned down a duel. And, oh! I see you with Mr. Potter. How interesting... How very interesting to see you by his side… "

"Shut up!" Harry shot back, his reaction unforeseen by Bellatrix.

Yaxley ignored Harry's response, but he turned to point his wand at Harry instead of her, though his eyes were conversely glued on Bellatrix, whom Harry shielded with his back. Harry still had his hand curled around her wrist, and whenever she tried to move away, he would fling her closer to his back.

The Death Eater drawled on, "I must ask, why are you two out at such a time? I never knew you were interested in young men whose breaths still smell of milk, Bella."

Immediately, upon hearing those words, Bellatrix plunged her hand into her pocket to grasp her wand. "Move away, Potter!" she hissed. Turning her attention towards Yaxley, she said corrosively, "Of course I'll duel you, Yaxley."

Yaxley was correct – Bellatrix had never turned down an offer for a duel.

She was suddenly startled by a voice she wasn't expecting to hear – "No," Harry had stated, firmly. "Apparate us out of here. Don't be rash – we're right in front of a safe house for Death Eaters. There could be more."

Bellatrix did not heed to Harry's orders. Instead, she placed the tip of her wand by his neck. "Potter – remove your hand from my wrist," she hissed, but Harry did not wince at all by the touch of her wand's tip. She felt enraged, and forced the tip of her wand deeper into the nape of his neck. Her breaths touched his earlobe, as she whispered, "Now… " Her voice trailed off, she had found familiar grey eyes settled on her: Draco had appeared by Yaxley's side. The hand she was holding her wand with sharply fell to her side, her wand slipping away from Harry's neck.

She heard her nephew speak. "Ya – Yaxley," Draco whispered. "I – I don't think this is the right time for a duel, we're near Hogwarts – there could be more. Not – Not now, please."

Bellatrix crunched her eyebrows: Was Draco trying to protect her? She viewed her nephew, as he looked back and forth from Yaxley to her and Harry.

"Are you frightened, Draco?" Yaxley inquired of Draco. "The Dark Lord will win, it shan't matter if you're expelled from a mud-blood loving institute."

"But the Dark Lord," Draco retorted, "wouldn't want it. Not now. You know this."

Bellatrix felt Harry's fingers squeeze her wrist snugger: Her hand began to feel numb. However, she was far too engrossed by the chat that was taking place between Draco and Yaxley to really care. She viewed Yaxley: His hood had fallen, and she could see that his eyebrows had wrinkled, making his face appear even more lined than before.

Yaxley looked away from Draco, and turned his gaze back to Bellatrix. A very thin and cutting smirk sprung on his face. "Well then," he said. "Perhaps, next time." And then, before Bellatrix could react with a sharp response, Yaxley had wrapped his hand around Draco's arm, and with a pop, the two of them had vanished into thin air.

Her hand had now completely gone numb. Having forgotten Harry had his hand enveloped around her wrist, Bellatrix gazed below to see why she couldn't feel her hand. There, she noticed Harry's hand wrapped firmly around her wrist. She tried to pull away, while Harry, whom had also forgotten he had been holding onto Bellatrix so firmly, turned around to face her. He wavered, as he looked into her dark orbs.

The two were blankly staring at each other for a second or two – both looking into each other's eyes that glistened with similar questions. Harry suddenly realized his hold on Bellatrix, and let go. "I'm sorry," he mumbled, though soon apprehending he had just apologized to her, and feeling angry with himself for doing so.

Bellatrix had immediately spotted vehemence in his eyes, but hadn't responded to it. She brushed her fingers around her wrists, on the faint silver marks she had carved there years and years ago, though now temporarily hidden by bruises caused by Harry's firm hold. Pulling down the sleeve of her robe, she covered her wrists, hoping Harry hadn't seen those scars. Then, she looked up at the sky: A faint and thin orange line had appeared in the otherwise dark sky – it was early dawn. "We should get going," she said. Knowing that it was impossible to Apparate into Hogwarts, she began to walk away, back towards the hill with the dirt road that led to one of Hogwarts exits.

Harry caught up to her side. "We should inform Dumbledore," he said to Bellatrix, "of Draco and what we have seen."

Bellatrix snappily spun her head around to Harry. He watched her dark eyes, and realized the woman striding beside him was none other than Draco's aunt. And from her eyes, he could tell that she didn't wish for him to inform Dumbledore of what they had seen. "But – he's a threat!" he exclaimed.

Bellatrix gazed at Harry for a few seconds, alarmed at how he had spotted her thoughts in her eyes. Quite frankly, Bellatrix thought she did not care much for Draco – she found him exasperating. He was not only the spitting image of Lucius – something that quite infuriated her – but he shared many traits with him as well. However, he was Narcissa's son – Cissy's child – Bellatrix began to remember a certain day…

Bellatrix was sitting on her knees on the marble floor of Malfoy Manor, beside the bed Narcissa was sprawled upon; it had been more than six hours since Bellatrix had been seated in such a position, her knees simply ached. "Bella," Narcissa whimpered, as the span between her contractions began to lessen. Narcissa held more firmly onto Bellatrix's hand – "Bella!" she cried, a tear streaming down her face.

Narcissa had always been such a weakling. Bellatrix brushed her blonde locks away from her perspiring and agonized face, and tried to smile at her. In those few seconds, she remembered Narcissa's face when she had been a child, when she would read bedtime stories to those blue eyes, and assure her that there weren't any monsters under her bed and in her closet.

Bellatrix kissed Narcissa on her forehead. "It'll be alright, Cissy. Don't worry," she whispered, gently. However, this time, Bellatrix was lying to Narcissa, unlike the times when she had assured her there were no beasts or dangers under her bed and in her closet. Bellatrix, with eyebrows furrowed in concern, turned her head to the mid-wife. The mid-wife gazed back at her, shaking her head mildly with a thin frown; Narcissa hadn't noticed the silent conversation between Bellatrix and the mid-wife.

"My chest, Bella – my chest," Narcissa complained, she was breathing rapidly. Bellatrix shut her eyes, trying hard not to cry, and turned to face Narcissa again. Narcissa was suffering from a uterine rapture – it meant she would not only go through a terribly painful labor, but her baby could die and she could too.

The mid-wife tapped Bellatrix on the shoulder. Bellatrix sprung her head away from Narcissa to her – the mid-wife was holding a potion in her hand. "A blood replenishing potion, she needs it."

Bellatrix nodded in response, and gazed down at Narcissa, taking the vase from the mid-wife's hand. "Cissy," Bellatrix whispered, "you need to drink this." Narcissa, meanwhile, had her eyes closed, tears mixing with perspiration on her face…

"Will we be standing here all day?"

Bellatrix winced.

For the past few seconds or so, Harry had been watching her, startled by how idly she had been standing; he had known from her expression that she had been adrift in her thoughts.

While he viewed Bellatrix, she responded with a blank stare. Slowly, she was beginning to comprehend where she was and with whom. Then, she turned around to face Hogwarts, and began to march forwards on the dirt road, while remembering the last few bits of the memory…

"She lives," the mid-wife said to Bellatrix, while a sleeping and pale Narcissa lay on the bed she had just delivered her child on. Bellatrix smiled in relief, hot tears that she had restrained fell down from her eyes. The mid-wife opened her lips to speak again, "However, she won't be able to bear more children–"

The news cut like jagged knives into Bellatrix's heart. Bellatrix wiped her tears away, her eyes enlarging. It had always been Narcissa's dream to have plentiful children, and a large family: Narcissa would never see her dream morph into reality...

Bellatrix nodded her head coarsely, while the mid-wife handed her the little bundle wrapped in a blue blanket. Lucius was on one of his business trips overseas, and Narcissa had delivered her child without his presence: It had pained Narcissa terribly to be without her husband, and Bellatrix had been infuriated by Lucius's absence – how could a man leave his heavily pregnant wife behind, and go abroad? He was such an insensitive, pompous arsehole ... 'Merlin knows what Narcissa sees in him," Bellatrix mused.

Her dark eyes glanced down at the little bundle the mid-wife had handed to her. The infant had alert grey eyes. He had made Narcissa suffer so, but Bellatrix could not help but smile down at the gurgling child. 'How deeply Rodolphus desires to have an heir', Bellatrix thought, as she stared at the infant in her arms.

However, Bellatrix was internally joyful at Rodolphus's inability to have an heir, no matter the harsh suffering she would go through due to it...

For, Rodolphus – like her father – was a monster.

Bellatrix knew she would not be able to bear having a child of his in her womb…

"Where are you going?" Harry's voice reeled into her head.

Thunderstruck by his voice, Bellatrix turned around to face him: He was standing beside one of the entrances to the school, staring at her with large and confused eyes. Meanwhile, Harry once more knew she had been wandering in her thoughts, like a phantom lost in the life it had once lived.

Glancing at her surroundings, Bellatrix realized she had nearly gone into the Forbidden Forest; the forest's large trees were just a few feet away from her. Turning away from the forest, she trekked towards the entrance Harry was standing by, while the sun slowly began to rise above them.

Shortly, the two of them began to march past the corridors where busy-bodied students were making their way to the Great Hall to have breakfast.

oOo

Hermione was seated next to Ron who had a grim expression on his face. He was staring inertly at his schedule, while Hermione searched with wide eyes around the Great Hall in an attempt to find Harry. "Are you sure he said he was going to go to the Common Room?" she asked, reeling her head around to Ron with crumpled eyebrows.

"Yes, I'm sure," Ron replied, for the hundredth time.

The Great Hall was erupting in chatter as students stormed in, and seated themselves at their allocated tables. Hermione spotted Crabbe and Goyle walking towards the Slytherin table, and to her surprise she didn't find Draco amongst them. She turned her head around to Ron. "Draco's not accompanied by Crabbe and Goyle," she whispered to him. "Do you think Draco and Harry – might've run into each other?" she asked.

"I-don't-know," Ron mumbled, as food sprung onto their tables. He slapped his schedule onto his lap. He frowned. "Snape in the morning – just great. Just great," he grumbled, as he spread some jam, and peanut butter on his toast.

"RON?" Hermione bellowed. "How could you be so calm while Harry has disappeared?"

Ron whirled his head around to Hermione, only to have his mouth leap open as he viewed something behind her. "Er'mion'ee," he gasped, while some bits of toast he had chewed on plopped out of his mouth, and dropped down to his plate.

Hermione wrinkled her nose. "Ron, that's disgusting!" However, she turned frantic when Ron continued to stare beyond her shoulder. She turned her head around to where Ron's eyes were seated: Bellatrix and Harry had walked into the Great Hall. She noticed that the two of them had grass and mud stains around the edges of their robes.

While Bellatrix strode towards the staff table, Hermione watched Harry, as he turned around to the Gryffindor table, and arrived before her and Ron with a forced smile on his face. He seated himself beside the two of them, and grabbed some orange juice and a chocolate muffin, as though nothing at all had happened. "Where were you?" Hermione asked, cooping an eyebrow.

Harry turned around to her with a mouth half-full. "Huh?" he slurred, as he swallowed the muffin he had chewed on with some orange juice. Hermione wrinkled her eyebrows: Harry was hiding something.

Harry noticed the look on Hermione's face, and knew acting dumb wasn't going to staunch her inquisitiveness. "Oh, I just went for a walk," Harry said, lying.

Hermione tilted her head. "With Professor Black?" she snapped.

"She caught me – I went out to the fields for a walk when it was barely morning," he quickly retorted, telling half the truth.

"She caught you?" Hermione raised an eyebrow, unsure if he was being truthful or not. "So, do you have detention?"

"I – er – Bella– Black – uh yes, she did give me detention. Today, after my last class," he stammered, choking on his muffin, while realizing that he had to get away from Ron and Hermione for around an hour or two after his last class, under the pretense that he was going to have detention with Bellatrix. Now that he thought of it, why hadn't Bellatrix given him detention—

Hermione had interrupted his thoughts. "You're telling me she of all people let you slip by?"

Harry stared inelegantly at Hermione, as he stuffed the last bits of his chocolate muffin into his mouth, while he wondered – had Bellatrix even informed Dumbledore of the incident that had taken place in her compartment?

"What's your problem Hermione?" Ron joined the conversation – he had finished eating his toast, and was now munching on a sandwich. Hermione swelled her eyes at Ron in fury. "Calm down – eat something!" Ron barked, as he viewed the enraged look on Hermione's face. Breathing harshly, Hermione turned around and smacked some cream cheese onto her toast. "What a wonderful start to the school year," Ron then commented.

Meanwhile, Harry had turned his attention away from his bickering friends to Bellatrix: She had seated herself beside the staff table, and had her elbow placed on the surface of the table, while her slender hand cupped her head, and her other hand twirled a spoon around in a hot beverage. Harry knew she was lost deep in thought like she had been on their way to Hogwarts. As he continued to view Bellatrix, he soon found her lifting her gaze from her cup of coffee to the Slytherin table – Harry knew exactly why. He turned his head around, and found Crabbe and Goyle and Draco's others friends, all conversing with one another dynamically without Draco's presence.

After a few minutes of watching the Slytherin table, Harry turned gaze back to the staff table, where he assumed Bellatrix was seated – he found the seat she had occupied empty. His eyebrows furrowed, and he turned around to Hermione and Ron who were munching on their foods, both quiet and solemn. "I have to go to the lavatory," Harry lied to the two of them, slipping out of his seat. Hermione turned her head around to him from the toast she had daubed with cream cheese. Harry stared back at her – knowing she was doubtful of the excuse he had given to her and Ron. "What?" Harry chirped, faking a smile. "Are you going to come with me to the boy's lavatory?"

Hermione rumpled her eyebrows, and turned her gaze around to Ron. "Ron, go with Harry," she said.

Harry was about to tell Hermione he could go the lavatory on his own when Ron puckered his lips in anger. "Why should I follow your orders?" Ron snapped, and with that, he removed himself from his seat, and walked away from her – sitting beside Seamus, Dean and Neville further down the Gryffindor table…

Neville…

A knot formed in Harry's stomach, he viewed Neville for a few seconds, before turning away from the Gryffindor table, and heading out of the Great Hall to find the woman who had driven Neville's parents into insanity.

As soon as he had walked out of the Great Hall, he spotted a long mane of silken black curls disappear into the adjacent corridor to his right. He began to stomp forwards, when he heard a familiar voice call him from behind – "Harry?" It was Luna.

Harry turned his face around to Luna, and stared at the young witch with dreamy eyes. "Oh, Luna. Hey!" Harry forced a fake smile, though he was feeling slightly irritated by her sudden presence.

Behind Luna, a group of her fellow Ravenclaws marched past her into the Great Hall, and they all giggled when they spotted 'Looney Lovegood'. With them, Harry spotted Cho Chang. She was trying hard not to join the wicked conversations her friends were having about Luna when her eyes had spotted Harry. However, when her friend – Marietta Edgecombe – who had her face covered in heavy makeup to cover the pimples that spelled 'Sneak' – asked Cho why she was acting so odd, she began to laugh with them. Meanwhile, Luna pretended not to notice, and at that moment, Harry suddenly realized Cho was nothing more than a pretty girl.

He turned his attention back to Luna. She was still standing before the entrance to the Great Hall. "Hey Luna. Want to have breakfast with me outside by the Qudditch field?" Harry asked, after having seen that Luna was tormented even by her fellow Ravenclaws, though he would have much rather preferred to find out where Bellatrix had disappeared.

"No. It's alright, Harry," Luna smiled back, and then she said something else that was a bit inaudible to Harry amidst the commotion of students heading to the Great Hall, but Harry swore he had heard Luna say something along the lines of: 'You should go after her. She's hurting, Harry.'

Author's Note: So that was Chapter 11. I looked over it once or twice to edit any errors, but if you find any typos or grammatical mistakes, please feel free to bring them to my attention. Anyway, I hoped you enjoyed reading this chapter. Feel free to leave a review – your reviews truly mean a lot to me! =)

And to my dear reviewers that I can't reply back to using the private messaging system:

LittleLeStrange67: Thank you so much for leaving a review in my previous chapter!

Guest: I'm not too sure right now if I should do the de-aging thing, as currently I wish to explore how a 16 y/o boy could form a relationship with an older woman. But you never know, and I might do it later on if it somehow helps progress the plot. :)