The Dark Corners of the Earth

Chapter 12 – Wasted Years

1st of October 2003 – St. Petersburg, Russia – Buyan island, Hermione's private quarters

'Bloody hell, I've been burgled!' was Hermione's first thought upon slowly awakening in her bed. Indeed, 'stripped' would be the best way to describe the current state of her room. All her books, her bookcases, any and all furniture was just... gone. All that was left was the bed she was laying on... and even that had all the unused pillows and the nightstand removed. Honestly, she was surprised that there was still wallpaper up on the walls.

Hermione groaned as she sat up in bed. Of course, her dresser was gone too, as well as the clothes it contained. Great. Just great.

Thankfully, she was still dressed from the previous night. Memories came flooding back. Being held, being kissed... oh, that wonderful kiss. Bellatrix, of course, was nowhere in sight. Though Hermione supposed that was a small mercy as she still had no idea how to face her. Beautiful, terrifying Bellatrix Black.

While she rubbed her forehead, she was started to see something moving from the corner of her eye. She started to one side, snapping her head towards the movement. It revealed a female house-elf looking straight at her.

The house-elf looked up at her with big eyes and mumbled a greeting in Russian. Now, even though she had been at the palace for months, all communication was in English on orders of Bellatrix. As such, she had only very basic knowledge of the Russian language and certainly not enough to communicate with the house-elf, which were exempt from that rule.

"Uh, I'm sorry, I..."

The house-elf cocked her head and motioned for her to step towards her. It was obvious that the elf wanted her to come with her. Seeing as washing up was out of the question without towels and fresh clothes, Hermione did so. The elf took her hand and immediately she went through the sensations of magically transporting to another location.

When she came into being once more, she found herself standing in the middle of a large and cozy room. All the books she had gathered were neatly stacked upon rows of beautiful ancient oaken cases along the lines of the room. A cozy fire was roaring in a gothic looking fireplace surrounding by a reading chair and a sofa. The floor was carpeted, with various rugs spread about the place. Near the large open windows was a massive writing desk, adorned with a series of expensive looking quills. A small bar with several bottles of wine were near the desk. Aside from that, though some of the classy furniture looked to be ancient, the entire room smelled of 'new' and was lacking any speck of dust.

While Hermione regarded this study with mouth agape, the elf had apparently excused herself. Suddenly, two hands lay on her shoulders from behind, sliding down to rest on her upper arms. Undoubtly, it was Bellatrix who parked her chin on her shoulder and let out a brief purr. It made a shudder go through Hermione's body as that familiar mix of alure and terrifying returned in full force.

"Do you like it?" said Bellatrix, more of a statement than an actual question. She was supposed to like this and, honestly, she did.

"It's beautiful," replied Hermione. "Where... where is this?"

"It's in my private wing," said Bellatrix. "I had one of the nicer sitting rooms converted into a study worthy of you."

While Bellatrix was tracing patterns over her upper arms with her nails, Hermione composed herself. It was hard to concentrate with butterflies fluttering in her stomach due to Bellatrix's closeness. Yep, she was still in love.

Hermione had to admit that she was rather flattered. Her old office back in Norwich was something akin to a broomcloset. However, there was one thing which made her wonder.

"I don't see a bathroom," said Hermione. "Or a bed. Where is my dresser?"

"Oh, you silly little goose," Bellatrix let out playful cackle. "You'll be sleeping in my bedroom. With me."

That little tidbit of information almost made Hermione jump through the ceiling. She turned around to face the dark witch, expecting to find the usual smirk of triumph whenever she had pulled one over on her. It wasn't there. Bellatrix's expression was utterly serious.

Hermione swallowed hard. Honestly, she hadn't given much thought to whatever this... thing... Bellatrix was pursuing would lead to, but from the sultry smile the dark witch was giving her was giving her a fair idea.

Feeling her cheeks flush warmly, Hermione stammered a response. "D-don't you think t-that is moving a bit... fast?"

Bellatrix frowned, cocking her head slightly. "No," spoke Bellatrix in a confused tone.

"I mean..." Hermione stepped away from the dark witch, needing some space for herself. "I, uh, we've only just... started... kiss... I... How about something like dinner first, hm?"

That confused the dark witch. "Dinner," she repeated, letting the word roll over her tongue as if trying to analyze its meaning. "Dinner?"

"Dinner," Hermione nodded. "To... start things slowly."

"Slow," Bellatrix raised an eyebrow. "Slow is boring."

Hermione shifted uncomfortably. "Even so..."

"Very well," said Bellatrix, raising her chin imperiously. "If it pleases you..."

Less than half a minute later, Hermione found herself sitting opposite to Bellatrix in a luxuriously decorated private dining chamber within the private wing... where she apparently lived now too. In front of them was served a lavish breakfast with meals ranging from toast to tea, to baked beans to bacon and eggs.

The food wasn't the problem; it was definitely delicious. However, there was a palpable silence in the room which was distinctly uncomfortable. Hermione wasn't the only one to notice this, it seemed.

"Well?" Bellatrix said with a certain edge of frustration.

"Well what?"

"Say something!" Bellatrix hissed.

Hermione blinked. "Uh, well, what do you want me to say?"

"Make small talk or somesuch," Bellatrix returned.

Okay, small talk. She could do small talk. "Nice, uh, weather, we're having?"

Immediately, Bellatrix turned irate. "Are you taking the piss? It's cold, damp and cloudy. Come on, make more small talk."

"We just did."

Hermione winced when Bellatrix smashed her fork down onto the plate with a responding clang. "Well, then make BETTER small talk!"

Hermione closed her eyes, already having had enough of this. "This is pointless," she said while rising from her seat. "Enjoy the rest of your day," she added, letting coldness slip into her voice. As she turned to leave, a single word stopped her in her tracks.

"Wait."

It wasn't an imperious command or a threat. It was spoken almost as a whisper, a plea. Hermione turned around and was surprised to see a startling amount of vulnerability in Bellatrix. The dark witch avoided her gaze, looking down to her plate while apparently struggling to figure out what to do next.

"I know," said Hermione while sliding down into her seat once more. "I… this is awkward for me too."

The dark witch looked at her intently. "I don't know how to... 'woo' someone. The only person I have ever pursued... well, let's just say that it didn't end well."

Voldemort. She was talking about Voldemort, of course. Hermione couldn't help but feel sorry for Bellatrix; to be in love with someone who didn't understand what love even was. These days, whenever Voldemort was mentioned, the dark witch showed nothing but disdain for him. Hermione supposed that was a small mercy; if Bellatrix had gotten over her obsession with Voldemort, she had the capacity to improve herself. Still, this left her with one burning question.

"If he was the only one you pursued... does that mean you never fell in love with anyone else before?" Hermione asked.

Bellatrix shook her head. "Fall in love? Sure. But pursuing? No."

"Truly?" Hermione frowned. "Nobody? Not even in school?"

Bellatrix shrugged. "Most of my life was laid out for me by my parents. I had suitors, but I never… dated. I didn't see the need. I was to marry a man my father had matched me with right after graduation. Duty to my family, to our pure-blood ideals, went before everything. I first met Rodolphus a few days before the wedding."

"God," Hermione shook her head with distaste. "How could any parent do that to their own child? It's abhorrent."

Bellatrix snorted. "You don't have to tell me twice. My marriage was as empty as could be expected."

"Was he… abusive?" Hermione asked carefully.

Upon hearing this, Bellatrix gave her an odd look before bursting into laughter. And then more laughter. In fact, Hermione was getting rather embarrassed when Bellatrix was laughing so hard that tears started run. "Oh, my, my, my, do you honest think I'd let him?" she spoke while still chuckling. "If anything, I was the abusive one. But what about you, hm? Any passionate love-affairs to speak of?"

Hermione almost snorted. "Hardly," she replied, making it sound more bitter than she had intended. "There was... some romantic interest, but people weren't exactly lining up."

"People are idiots," said Bellatrix. "Not worthy of someone like you."

That compliment made Hermione blush slightly. "I never really had time for... love. What with the rise of Voldemort, the horcrux hunt. And then the war after that."

"Fair enough," Bellatrix shook her head. "I was hoping, though, that you would have some more experience with wooing people than I have."

"Sorry to disappoint," Hermione said.

"In that case, how about we finish breakfast, head over to the sofa and snog like a couple of randy teenagers?" Bellatrix raised an eyebrow. It wasn't so much a joke as an actual suggestion.

"I have a better idea," Hermione said nervously. "How about... we go on a date?"

Bellatrix raised an eyebrow. "A date?"

"Yeah," replied Hermione. "It's not that hard. Just... take me somewhere nice."

The dark witch seemed to struggle with the concept for a moment. "The sofa isn't nice?"

"You know what I mean," said Hermione. Until she realized that Bellatrix probably didn't know what she meant. "Just... spend some time together. Get to know each other a bit more."

"Take you somewhere nice, hm?" said Bellatrix. "How about... the garden?"

Hermione smiled, and looked wistfully out of the window, in the general direction of St. Petersburg over the water.


1st of October 2003 – St. Petersburg, Russia – Kosoi Pereulok shopping street

Thankfully, Bellatrix knew how to take a hint. It was late morning on a relatively quiet Wednesday in a quaint little shopping street of a wizarding quarter in St. Petersburg, and the weather had improved since this morning. The wizards and witches of St. Peterburg walked all around them, cheerfully shopping, chatting or enjoying one of the many cafes. All in all, it was a rather idyllic. If it weren't for the Walpurgis Union propaganda everywhere, it wouldn't be very distinguishable from home.

Of course, this idyllic image was in stark contrast to the image Phoenix Alliance propaganda painted; if the propaganda was to be believed, all wizards living under Walpurgis rule were miserable, beaten-down and oppressed people. Then again, that was exactly what the Union saying about the wizards living in Phoenix Alliance countries and she knew that wasn't true either.

Bellatrix walked next to her, both having donned a cloak which would magically hide their identity. That was probably wise, considering they'd probably get mobbed by a group of the dark witch's many followers. For her part, Bellatrix actually seemed almost as nervous about this date as Hermione was.

They eventually found themselves on the outside balcony of a pleasant little cafe. The table they were sitting at was nicely private and the view of the ocean and the city skyline was fantastic. In the distance, hidden from Muggle eyes but very much visible by wizards, was Buyan island. It was nice to see it from a very different perspective.

Two delicious and inviting luxury icecreams in a long-stemmed glass stood on the table. Eating icecreams on a date was very much cliche, but considering it had never actually happened to her before, it wasn't such a bad thing.

"So this is what a date is like, then," Bellatrix mused while popping the cherry on top of the icecream into her mouth. "Huh."

"You like it?" Hermione asked, finding it surprisingly hard to keep the excitement out of her voice.

"I certainly don't hate it. It's... different," said Bellatrix. "Though I'd probably be giving all my bodyguards a heart-attack for being out of the palace on my own if they knew."

"I have to admit I had some help," Hermione said, as she had been the one to guide this date along. Though she had spent some time on a date with Ron very briefly, she got most of her information from a library source. She produced a book and put it on top of the table. The dark witch frowned, turned it around and read the title.

"The Lonely Hearts' Guide to Dating," Bellatrix repeated before dropping the book back on the table. Hermione quickly took it and replaced it in her bag to once again focus completely on her icecream.

"Thank you for giving my parents a new home," said Hermione between bites. "You didn't have to do that."

"Eh," Bellatrix shrugged. "We can easily afford it. Besides, there's not much call for dentists at the palace. Truth be told, I ordered Lovegood to find your parents solely for the reason to convince you to join our side. What happened was... unexpected."

"I'll say that again," Hermione offered a weak smile while Bellatrix took a bite from her icecream. "Do you mind if I ask you a personal question?"

"Ask," Bellatrix shrugged. "I might or might not answer."

Hermione put down her spoon while looking Bellatrix in the eye. "Have you ever... had a relationship with a woman before?"

Bellatrix narrowed her eyes slightly. She fell silent for a bit, and appeared to be in conflict with herself. The dark witch looked away, eyes darting towards Buyan island. "There was a girl. In Azkaban," Bellatrix whispered softly. "And spare me any 'witches in prison' nonsense, thank you very much. I get enough of that from Antonin."

"I'm not judging you," Hermione spoke sincerely.

"I suppose not," replied Bellatrix. "In that place of utter misery, we found joy with each other."

"What was her name?"

"I don't remember," said Bellatrix. "I don't remember much at all, in fact. I know for sure that she existed, though."

"What? How is that possible?"

"Dementors," Bellatrix's expression twisted into an odd mixture of rage and sadness. "Happiness, joy, love… the dementors took it all away from us. I can't remember her name, I can't remember her face. It's just... snippets, feelings, flashes."

Hermione bent forward, listening intently.

"She was some sort of Ministry worker who had embezzled some number of galleons or somesuch," said Bellatrix. "There was some sort of shortage of space so I got her as a cellmate. Oh, I wasn't happy about it at all. She wasn't worthy to be in my presence. She was a petty half-blood criminal while I considered myself a pure-blood martyr for my lord. I made her life hell, and forced her to stay in her half of the cell."

"Half?"

"Well, not exactly," said Bellatrix. "It was more like a corner."

"A corner."

"A very small corner."

Bellatrix shook her head. "Shared misery creates a bond, though. I'm not sure how it happened, but I remembered that we once had something… flashes of long talks in our cell, holding each other, kissing, making love, being happy. That was before the dementors fed on us until they were like bloated ticks. Oh, took their time, no sense in eating the entire meal at once. After the dementors fed, we sought each other's solace. And the cycle began again. But every time they fed they took more and more from us until there was nothing left. No memories, no feelings, just emptiness. And when her sentence ended, she was released and I stayed behind.

"Oh, god. I can't imagine those terrors," Hermione shook her head.

"It's why I don't allow the use of dementors as weapons of war," Bellatrix snarled and slammed a fist on the table. "I want Azkaban wiped off the face of the Earth! I want to find a way to erradicate every single dementor and utterly destroy them all! That Snape uses them to launch terror attacks on our civilians is very telling, don't you think?"

Hermione knew that Bellatrix didn't care much for being pitied, but at the same time realized that Bellatrix had had a truly awful life. She reached out and gently laid her hand over Bellatrix's fist. "I'm so sorry."

"There's that look again," Bellatrix's lips curled up into a brief smile. "But enough about me, hm? What about you? Have you ever been with a woman?"

"No," Hermione shook her head. "Like I said, I, uh, haven't had much experience."

It was then that Bellatrix looked at her intently. Suddenly, the dark witch threw her head back and let out a ladylike giggle. "Oh, Merlin! That can't be true, can it? You're a virgin?!"

That made Hermione sputter. "W-what does that have to do with anything?"

"Ah-hah! So it's true," laughed Bellatrix. "And you're twenty-two years old! Awww, you poor, poor thing."

"I've just... I... Look, I've always been really pre-occupied and busy. Diplomatic incidents don't solve themselves, you see?" said Hermione. "And there was this little thing with stopping the rise of Voldemort and... Look, why am I even defending myself?! There's nothing wrong with being a virgin."

"Really?" Bellatrix winked. "I half expected you to at least have had let the Weasley boy have a poke at you."

"Oh, don't be crass!" Hermione huffed. "And we were having such a lovely day! Honestly, I thought you were more mature than this! But I suppose class, style and sophistication is too much to ask from one of the most powerful women in the entire wizarding world! Yes, Hermione Granger is a virgin. Hah, bloody, hah, let's all have a bit of a laugh at the twenty-two year old virgin. Are you happy now?!"

By now, Bellatrix had laid her head on the table while her body shook from laughter. "Oh, Merlin," laughed Bellatrix. "You should see the look on your face!"

A rather incredulous Hermione just sat back and let that sink for a bit. And then she smiled. And snorted. And finally laughed. "Oh, god, you're a terror." It seemed Bellatrix had gotten over her nervousness and was once again testing Hermione's defenses. Thankfully, she wasn't overly malicious about it.

"Don't worry," Bellatrix smirked. "I have plenty of... experience. I wasn't exactly a faithful wife."

"Come again?" Hermione asked, too late to stop herself from the horrible double-entendre.

"Oh, definitely," Bellatrix spoke with a husky voice while giving her a sultry look.

"No, I meant," Hermione caught herself. "I think I heard you say you didn't date."

"Hah!" said Bellatrix. "Sex and dating are two very different things, sweet thing." The way she winked at her after that statement made the young witch feel somewhat uncomfortable.

"Right," replied Hermione. "Sorry I asked now."

With the icecreams well and truly finished, Bellatrix sat back in her chair and watched Hermione expectantly.

"Okay, what's next?" Hermione asked.

Bellatrix smirked slightly, giving her date a studious glance. She bent forward to look her in the eyes. "You're the one with the guidebook," she grinned. "You tell me."

Hermione felt a bit uncomfortable under Bellatrix's stare. She quickly took out the book and started leafing through it, desperately trying to find a section that was applicable to their current situation. Her hands started to tremble while Bellatrix never stopped staring at her. Good god, the intensity in her eyes. Unable to bear it anymore, Hermione slammed the book to the table. "You're making fun of me, aren't you?" Hermione crossed her arms in a feeble attempt to stare her down. When Bellatrix's grin widened considerably, she had her answer.

The book was quickly cast aside. "Let's... just stand at the railing and watch the sea for a bit?"

And so they did. The couple stood at the railing overlooking the Gulf of Finland. The sun was out now, despite it being an autumn day, and reflected off the water. The smell of the lilies hanging from the railing tickled her nostrils as Hermione looked at Bellatrix.

"This... is nice," said Bellatrix. Hermione could only agree.


1st of October 2003 – Central Australia – Paddock Sprung Magical Community.

Harry Potter closed his eyes as he enjoyed the cool of the night. The arid climates of Central Australia wasn't all that good for his British sensibilities, but the cooler nights were much better. Consequently, night time was when the Australian wizarding community became alive.

Even though Central Australia was lacking in any number of Muggles, wizards thrived. Here, in the middle of the outback, and spread out over the entirely of the region, was the largest wizarding community in all of Australia. Villages and houses were spread out, even mostly located underground, but were connected through an complicated network of portkeys. The result was a tight-knit, friendly and somewhat direct community of opinionated witches and wizards.

It was all less urban and stiff-upper lip than it was back home. Today, Harry had been invited to join a night-time celebration around a bonfire by the aboriginal neighbor of the house he was staying in. He'd been told it was some sort of ceremony to honor the ancestors. However, there was also a barbecue being held... very Australian. All in all, he was quite happy to have ditched his motel room and rented an underground apartment, even though he was paying it from his own pocket.

The wizarding world never ceased to amaze him and he'd certainly promised himself to return here with Ginny at some point.

He even got used to silly things like hanging a small mirror around his neck. The reason for this, as he was told, was to ward off hypno-scorpions. Without that little mirror around his neck, coming across one of those hypno-scorpions would have him under a trance in seconds and he'd spent the rest of the week scavenging around the underbrush to catch crickets to feed to his new lord and master. If Australian fauna was terrifying, Australian magical fauna was even worse. Apparently, the hypno-scorpion was a lesser threat... the tales of the levitating cassowary and the stealthy landshark had Harry looking over his shoulder quite often.

At least Harry had started to enjoy himself somewhat, even though the hunt for Hermione's family had not gone quite as planned. There's been so few leads that he'd been getting somewhat desperate, though he supposed that was because Hermione had been very thorough with wanting to protect her family.

"'Arry, mate!" sounded the familiar voice of Rollo, his contact with the local aurors whom had become his friend. "Figured, I'd find you here. Tasting the local produce?"

Harry looked down at his plate. Fresh from the barbecue, he had eaten quite a bit of the meat already. "It's delicious, Rollo."

"You do realize that's snake, right?" Rollo chuckled.

Harry frozen for a moment, looked down at this plate and then back to Rollo. "I'm still going to eat it."

"There's a good lad!" Rollo laughed. "Anyway, my mate at the AFP came through. We have a promising lead on your girlie's family. A married couple from the UK settled in Yamba at the East coast around the time the Grangers disappeared in the UK."

"What?" Harry's eyes grew wide. "What are we waiting for?"

"Calm down, calm down, mate!" Rollo held up his hands. "I'm having some of my blokes confirm it first. We don't want another repeat of Sydney, now would we?"

The young auror closed his eyes and nodded. One of their first leads had pointed in the direction of Sydney, which let to a week long wild goose chase through the Southren territories. "I suppose. I'm just... worried about my friend."

"I know, I know," said Rollo. "Let the interns do the wetwork for a change. We'll know more in a few days. Anyone been giving you a hard time?"

Harry instantly knew what Rollo was talking about; ever since the asinine news of the 'Muggle-born children reclamation law' came in from the UK, the reaction in Australia had been one of swift condemnation. Every pundit was talking about it and the reaction had been overwhelmingly negative, especially when the news was amended with the fact that UK considered itself a pioneering nation, and the intention was that the other Alliance nations should adopt this law as swiftly as possible.

"I've had some... confrontations," said Harry. "But those ended quickly when I told them what I think of that idiotic law."

"Yeah," said Rollo. "We can be a rather direct bunch, can't we?"

"Sometimes I think the world has gone mad," Harry shook his head.

Rollo snorted. "The only people who've gone mad are the tossers in the UK Ministry. We're no longer a colony, we're not longer ruled by the British Ministry of Magic. They need to realize that."

Harry popped a bit of barbecued snake in his mouth and chewed a bit. "Do you think the Australian Ministry will actually adopt this law?"

Rollo let out a laugh in response. "Have you seen the reactions? There's going to be a revolution if they do and they know that. Nah, it's more likely that we'll say our goodbyes to the Alliance if you ask me. To be honest, Barmy Bellatrix never really bothered us. Sure, New Zealand is Walpurgis territory, but we've always had a friendly rivalry with them. I wouldn't say we're in a state of war, even. Being on the other side of the world from the troublemakers has its advantages, mate."

Harry nodded. Australia itself was untouched by the war, having only sent troops to Europe. New Zealand had done the same. The young auror adjusted his glasses and promised himself to do some traveling when this war was finally over. There was so much to see and experience in the wizarding world.

But first, to find Hermione.