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"So its settled then." Harry looked between the two women sat at the table with him. It had taken the best part of two hours to formulate a plan, iron out all the finer details and finally agree on it.
"It just seems so...simple, the Carrow's are thick that's for sure, but are they thick enough to fall for this?" Hermione asked, worried that it was all going to fall apart last-minute. She didn't want him walking into a trap or an unfair fight, he was a talented wizard and capable of looking after himself. But against three death eaters, on his own? She wasnt so sure.
"It's the best plan we have 'Mione, it gets us close to them and, we will find out exactly where they are keeping Draco." he answered his best friend hoping to ease her worries, he understood her fears. He was the only real friend she had left. And after what happened with Ron, who could blame her for worrying about him getting hurt.
The plan was to make the head warden of Azkaban believe that Lucius needed to be moved to the hospital wing of the prison. Harry, who will be snuck in during the shift change, will be waiting under his invisibility cloak, and will then take a dose of pollyjuice potion to replace the ill man in his bed, Malfoy senior was to be kept at a secure location until his son was back home.
The warden will be told Harry and his men have gone on a raid across the country, there by giving him the window needed for the Carrow's to get into the prison and take the two men they wanted. Harry would be taken straight to Draco, and once he was secure, he will activate a portkey sending the blonde home, and bringing his men to him.
"If all goes well Mrs Malfoy will have Draco back home very soon. Malfoy senior and crouch will be returned and placed under maximum security and hopefully the Carrows will be joining the rest of their old mates behind bars, as for the head warden, I'm sure he will enjoy becoming a resident in his own prison." Harry smirked sarcastically at his remarks. He thought the plan was ingenious, simple but effective.
"Well, if there is no other way, and your sure it will work I suppose it is settled." she said sighing.
"I'll send for my men, Bellatrix, you should tell your sister what's happening." He said standing up and getting ready to leave.
The dark woman had stayed mostly quiet during the planning, only adding bits of information when needed. She nodded at the boy and pointedly looked at Hermione. If she was to speak to her sister, she would need the book back.
"You can use the dinning room Harry, if you our your men need anything call for Shilo." She said as she watched him leave then turned to the dark woman who was still staring at her.
"It's in the library, top draw of my desk. Let me know as soon as she answers." she said standing up and going upstairs to her room.
Bellatrix sighed, what ever had been between them, was gone. The book had made sure of that, if what the girl said was true, and she read it cover to cover, then she knows her true feelings for her, but rejects them. She stood and went to tell her sister of the plan. Bellatrix felt like a fool, she had laid herself bare in the letters to Narcissa, Hermione had read every agonising word confessing her feelings, but still acted as cold as ice towards her. Maybe, once this was all over, before she is thrown back into prison, she will get the opportunity to talk to the girl. Until then, she had a nephew to rescue.
Hours later, Hermione was woken by a banging on her door. Dragging herself out of bed, she swung it open already knowing who was on the otherside.
"You don't have to be so damn loud." she groaned as she walked back to her bed.
"I've banged on your door for ten minutes. Cissy has replied." the dark woman said as she handed over the troublesome book.
The brunette rubbed her eyes and read the response intently.
"So, they are going for it on Wednesday. Have you told Harry?" she asked passing the book back.
"No he and his men left some time ago, he said something about preparation." she answered. Bellatrix had debated whether to wake the girl and tell her or wait till morning. But, Hermione said she wanted complete honesty, and to be informed of anything straight away. This is why the ex death eater found herself standing at the foot of her bed at three a.m.
"I'll tell him in the morning, there's nothing more that can be done now." she said staring at the woman, waiting for her to leave. She was exhausted, since she had read the letters exchanged by the sister's, since discovering that she was being used, she felt drained. What ever she felt for the older woman needed to be pushed aside, it wasnt real to Bellatrix and instead of allowing her heart to break, she closed it off, it was the same reason she hadn't cried. There was nothing to cry about, all these weeks of dancing around each other was for nothing, it had all been one-sided.
"Can we talk for a minute?" the dark-haired woman asked quietly looking the brunette in the eye.
"What about?"
"This." she said holding up the copy of dark magical creatures.
"No." she said firmly. She refused to discuss anything personal with this woman. She had no questions for her, she knew why she had done it, understood to a point too. But she wasnt about to sit there and listen to Bellatrix trying to talk her way out of it.
"You say you read it, then you obviously know.."
"Yes, I know everything. You made it perfectly clear in there how you felt about me. How you feel about me. But don't worry, this will be all over soon. We will be out of each other lives for good." Hermione hissed at the shocked woman. She got up from the bed and went to stand in front of her. "When this is over, and if I decide not to report you, I will be handing you over to a different case worker." she said then lunged forward quickly and captured the stunned woman's lips with her own, kissing her hard. It was nothing like the one's they shared in the past, this was cold and painful, the force the girl used was causing the woman's lips to press against her teeth. When the brunette stepped back she was frowning. "One, for the road." she said, she got back into her bed and turned her back leaving the dark woman confused. She was sure she saw something in the girls eyes, regret maybe. But regret about what, that kiss? All of them? Starting the rehab scheme with her? She couldn't answer any of her own questions. Shocked, she left the room and went to her own bed.
When Hermione heard the door click shut, her walls crumbled. A rush of emotion over took her, and her heart broke into pieces.
The rest of the night was host to the sounds of the young woman's sobs. She couldn't stop them, no matter how hard she tried. She had been made to fall in love just to be used and manipulated. What hurt the most was that Bellatrix never actually liked her, even as a friend.
By six a.m. Hermione gave up any attempt at getting back to sleep. Climbing out of bed, she threw a robe around herself and went down to the kitchen, hoping breakfast would distract her for a few minutes.
"Morning 'Mione." Harry said. He was sat in his usual seat at the table going through a stack of papers. He turned to asked if she had slept well but one look at her face stopped him.
"Hermione, what's up you look exhausted. Have you been crying?" he said. She hadn't removed her make up before bed last night. Her tears had left black track marks down her cheeks and smudges around her eyes.
"No, I'm fine. How did your night go." she said deflecting the question and turning his attention back to his planning.
"It was fine, everything is in place. We just have to wait for Mrs Malfoy to do her part and then we are ready." he answered frowning at her, whatever was wrong, she obviously wasnt ready talk about it.
"Oh, she answered early this morning. They are planning to try again on Wednesday morning, you may have to spend the night in there." she said as she made two cups of coffee and took them to the table. She had discreetly wiped her face at the sink before sitting down.
Harry groaned, the many times he had visited the prison, the walls rang with the screams and rants of the inmates. He couldn't imagine spending an entire night within its confines. But he knew he had to, with no definite time given there was no telling when the Carrow's would turn up.
"You could make one of the others do it you know." Hermione suggested. She didn't want him putting himself in unnecessary danger.
"I've faced worse, besides Greg will be in there with me." he said taking a sip of the hot drink Hermione had made. He watched his friend for a moment, she looked pale and had dark rings around her red eyes. "Mione are you sure you're ok?" he said gently, reaching over to squeeze her hand.
"I'm fine honestly Harry, I'm just worried about you." she said giving him what she hoped was a convincing smile.
"I'll be fine, home before dinner time." he grinned cheekily at her.
"I know you deal with dangerous situations all the time, but this... Feels different somehow." she finished quietly she couldn't explain the twist of fear in her stomach, because she didn't understand it herself. She always worries about her best friend when he went on a mission, but this time it felt as though something terrible was going to happen.
"It's probably because of Bellatrix." he said under his breath, but he should have known she would hear.
"Pardon, what do you mean by that?" she snapped defensively.
"You don't know?" he asked, shocked that the older woman hadn't told Hermione what had been arranged between him and her. She shook her head and raised her eyebrows waiting for him to tell her.
"She's coming with us, when the portkey activates she's in the first team to go over, she's bringing Draco back." he explained.
"Are you mad? How could you agree to that? She could be a liability Harry. Her magic is bound, how the hell do you expect her to defend herself should anything go wrong?" she practically shouted at him.
"Calm down, she's going to be fine. As soon as I find Malfoy, the portkey will be activated right next to him, she will be in and out." he said defending his decision, he had come to trust Bellatrix over the last few weeks. He thought this would be the perfect opportunity for her to finally prove herself to the ministry, maybe even be signed off the program.
"No, I am her guardian and I forbid it." she said determined to keep the woman out of the fight. Even though he said she would be part of the confrontation, there was no guarantee.
"Actually, you're not, you sent me a letter asking me to take over remember? I accepted and sent notice to the ministry." he said surprised that she could have forgotten something like that.
"Yo..why didnt you say something yesterday?" she said quietly, with everything that had happened the day before she had forgotten. But she had thought Harry would have questions before he agreed to it.
"We were a little preoccupied, besides I thought you were taking steps towards you and her... you know. I didn't want to embarrass you." he explained, a grin spread across his face. It had taken a while to see it, but the two of them were sort of perfect for each other. No one else could challenge and engage his best friend the way the woman upstairs could. And it seemed to be making Hermione happy.
"Well, there is nothing going on between us, neither will there be, so you can sign her back over to my care." she snapped angrily. The thought of yesterday made her stomach twist, they had been ready to take the next step. Would Bellatrix still have gone through with it, even after getting everything she needed and passing it to her sister. That was a question she would never know the answer to.
"I'm not going to do that Hermione, things like that can't be swapped and changed on a whim. It doesn't matter anyway, when we get back I'll be recommending her full release. I believe she is ready to live among society again." he replied just as angry. He couldn't understand his friends sudden hostility. He thought this was what she wanted.
"You can't make that decision without my last report and you know it." she said scowling at him. How dare he make such a rash decision, he hadn't even been her guardian for twenty-four hours yet, and he was already trying to get rid of her.
"Why are you being so difficult, this is what you wanted. Once she is signed off and the scheme is seen as a success, you get your transfer." he said standing up, he couldn't deal with her when she was in a mood like this. He was trying his best to be understanding but everyone has their limits.
"Just sign her back to me Harry, don't let her go on Wednesday." she got up too coming to stand in front of him, shouting in his face "Please."
"I said no, I'm not backing down on this. What the hell is wrong with you, make up your mind what you want instead of changing it every other minute. Why is it so important for you to be her guardian? Why don't you want her to go on this mission with me?." he shouted back, he was fed up with it and wanted answers. "Come on, why, what's happened that makes it so vital she stays here?"
"Because I love her!" she shouted, eyes wide open in shock at her unintended confession , she brought her hand to her mouth and gasped. She hadn't planned to say it, but the words tumbled out before she could stop them, she had ment to tell him about the weeks if plotting and deception.
"Shit." Harry whispered after a stunned moment of silence. He knew the pair where physically attracted to one another, he had no idea it ran deeper than that. "When did that happen? I thought you two were just...you know, after a quick fumble."
"I don't know." she sighed as she slumped down on a chair. "But nothing will come of it, she doesn't feel anything for me."
"How do you know? Have you told her?" he asked sitting opposite her.
"No I havent and neither will you." she said firmly looking him in the eye.
"So how do you know she doesn't feel the same if you havent said anything to her?" he asked.
"I..I read her diary, she is just after a quick shag." she lied, but she couldn't tell him about the book or what was in it, even though less than a minute before she was ready to spill about everything. Even her own part in the lie.
"Oh." was all he could offer.
He was quiet for a time thinking everything through. He looked up and rubbed his friend's arm.
"Mione, I've made my decision, she will still be going with us. We could be taken somewhere she knows well. But I promise she will be safe." he said as he stood up. He wasnt going to argue about it anymore, he had made his choice and would stick with it. This would be a good thing, he would be able to sign the dark woman off and she could move out of his friend's home, space is what the brunette needed, and he would make sure she got it, even if his application for her release was denied, he would move her into his new home.
She nodded but didn't look up as he left. She placed her arms on the table and rested her head, hoping the thumping inside of it would stop.
Five minutes later Bellatrix walked in not looking better than Hermione felt.
"Are you alright Granger?" she said stopping in the doorway to check on her, but still keeping her distance.
Hermione looked up and shot daggers at the woman. "Why didn't you tell me you were going with Harry?" she snapped.
The older woman rolled her eyes and cocked an eyebrow in a way only she could. " It no longer concerns you, besides you were in no mood to talk last night as I recall." she said walking in to kitchen area to make herself a cup of tea. If the girl was going to act as if nothing had happened between them, so was she.
"if this is how you want things to be, then fine, so be it." she snapped, stood up and stormed out the kitchen. It was time to get ready for work. And as she was nothing but a work colleague to the dark witch, she was no longer obligated to escort her to the ministry. She left as soon as she had showered and dress, not saying anything to either of her housemates.
"Sign this, and this." Bellatrix said placing two pieces of paper in front of Hermione on the desk. The pair had been in the office together all morning and these where the only words spoken between them.
"What are they?" the brunette asked not looking up from the report she was composing.
"Purchase order forms from the lab, Longbottom needs supplies." she answered walking back to her own work space and taking a seat.
Hermione signed them and slid them to the edge of the table without checking them, even after everything that had happened, subconsciously she still trusted the dark woman . After a moment of rummaging in her draw she pulled out a thick envelope and walked over to the older witch.
"This is yours, it's was delivered this morning. Your accounts have been released, congratulations, you're a rich woman again." she said holding out the official ministry letter for the dark woman to take.
Bellatrix looked up and held the girls stare for a second before taking it. God those eyes, she thought. She bent her head again to continue her work before Hermione could notice the slight flush in her cheeks , but after a minute she felt the young womans eyes on her.
"What was the favour you were about to ask your sister for before I walked in the other day?" she asked. It had crossed her mind every time she replayed the discovery in her mind.
"What does it matter?" she answered, that was a question she didn't want to give the answer to, especially not to the woman stood in front of her now.
"I want to know Bella. You may as well tell me, I have practically no authority over you anymore." she said almost gently, for a split second she forgot she was angry at the witch.
Bellatrix closed her eyes and sighed, she knew it would be one more reason for the brunette to be mad, but she asked for it.
"If the Carrows where to succeed in bringing the dark lord back, I wanted my sister to tell him..." she paused for a second, took a deep breath and looked the girl in the eye. "To tell him, it was me that gave Dumbledore the original tip-off about the horcrux's."
Hermione gasped, she couldn't believe it. There was no way Bellatrix Lestrange would have betrayed her lord, give up his secrets and weakness.
"When did you tell Dumbledore, I thought no one knew." she asked quietly.
"Only two people knew, and I didn't actually tell your precious headmaster. That was Snape." she snapped, the girl was being slow today. Her own anger and frustration from the weeks of planning, deceptions and work, were beginning to surface. She needed an outlet, a release for all of it.
"Why would you have your sister tell him that then? He would have hunted you down and killed you!" she ranted. Everything people had said about Bellatrix's sanity was something Hermione had always questioned, she never once thought that the woman was mad, just fanatical. But she started to wonder if it had all been true. To tell the darkest, most evil man the world has known, that his most loyal and trusted follower had betrayed him, was suicide.
"I know." was all the dark witch said as she turned away and carried on with her work.
"Bellatrix, stop that, talk to me. Why would you want him to know that, do you want to die?" the brunette asked fear and worry bubbling inside of her.
"No, of course not. But if you hadn't found out, if they succeeded, yes. What kind of life would I of had? I had three options, the rest of my life doing what I used to do, a life sentence in... That place, or death. I didn't want my old life back, I wouldn't handle going back into that cell. What choice did I have?"
"Me, you could have told me everything. I would have helped you, I am helping you." she argued back tears stinging her eyes. How could some one like the woman sat in front of her, someone so physically and mentally strong , had fought in two wars and survived her father's years of abuse, just give up?
"And risked losing Draco? I could never do that to my sister." she answered quietly, anger seeping away at the sight of the girls tears. Tears shed for her.
"Dont go." she whispered, pleading with her eyes. She knew Harry could take care of himself, so could Bellatrix, but not with the restrictions they had placed on her magic. She could be seriously hurt or worse, killed. With what she just heard, how could she know for sure it wasnt just another way to end it.
"I need to make sure he gets back to Cissy, no matter what."
"Please." the brunette said, tears finally falling down her cheeks.
Bellatrix stood up and gently cradled Hermione's face in her hands. Slowly wiping the tears away with her thumbs.
"I'll be ok." she said quietly. "I promise." Then she kissed her. Gently moving her lips against Hermione's. It was tender and sweet. Nothing like the lustful, passionate kisses they shared before. Nothing like the brunettes parting kiss the previous night.
Hermione wrapped her arms around her and reciprocated, parting her lips and darting her tongue across the other woman's. Bella let her take the lead, let her tongue dominate her own Hermione needed it, she needed it. The brunette tried to pour her feelings into Bellatrix through the kiss. How she wished that the older woman felt the same.
She remembered every word written in the book. Every hurtful and derogatory comment that had been made, she suddenly pulled their mouths apart.
"I won't do this Bella, I won't let myself be used or hurt." she whispered, tears still falling. She dropped her arms from around the other woman and walked away.
Hopefully I'll be able to get one more chapter out before Christmas.
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Thank you xx