CHAPTER 29 - AN UNUSUAL TEAM

UNKNOWN LOCATION

Bellatrix Lestrange was in that state of nothingness known as hollow by the magic folk. It was a state that came about as a result of the body of a witch or wizard being constantly flooded with core draining potions and strong spells designed to keep a person docile. It was akin to the prolonged effects of the Dementor's kiss but just that, one had conscious recognition of his surroundings.

As she lay sprawled on the cold stone floors of her cell, all she could do was blink and stare out of the window into the bleak atmosphere outside. She had tried to force her mind to cast a spell, but anytime she tried, a searing pain shot through her body resulting in a total shutdown of her system. She could black out for hours only to wake up in her sorry state.

She heard the cell doors open and after a brief shuffle of footsteps, someone occupied the cell with her.

Rodolphus Lestrange she thought to herself and licked water that dripped from the leaky ceiling from her lips.

"Bellatrix Black," he said in a silky voice and banished her against the wall. Bellatrix snarled like a tigress in a trap and wished to Merlin for a tiny spark of magic to blow her attacker into bits. Rodolphus traced his wand along her face and underneath her clothes and gradually down towards her nether region. She looked at him unconcerned and made no noise as he started working his wand inside her.

"How do you like that?" he whispered and banished her across the room again. He shoved his wand inside her and all he received was a bored look from the mad witch.

"You back stabbing whore!" he hissed and tortured her below. Bellatrix rolled her eyes at him and started cackling to his surprise.

"Is that all you've got? Fucking little cry baby! Torture me!" she hissed and slammed her forehead against his nose. He jumped back and aimed his wand at her.

"STUPEFY!"

She dodged the spell brilliantly and crouched on her feet like a hunter in the jungle and sneered at Rodolphus.

"You were never a man," she spoke slowly and moved to her side with each minute that passed. "You were just a bully and all it took was Potter's cock in my mouth and a show of power from him to show me all of yous were scaredy cats!"

"REDUCTO!"

She leapt to her left and rolled on the floor to avoid the spell and cackled again.

"Come on Rodolphus, show me you are a man!" she taunted and swore when her knees gave way as a spell hit her chest.

"Even in this state, you are still impressive," he whispered when he drew to her side. He held her head in his hands and took a deep breath of her hair.

"Master Rodolphus sir," a quiet voice came from behind them.

"What is it?" he snarled and glared at the intruder. "There's been an attack sir at The Bar. Harrison and the others all murdered," he said slowly.

"Tut tut tut," Bellatrix whispered loudly and cackled again. Rodolphus cracked her ribs with a spell causing her to wheeze and laugh in pain.

"That is impossible Rodolphus. We both know it's like Zonko's for Death Eaters," she said through fits of painful coughs and sniffed.

"Is the Dark Lord aware?" The messenger nodded his head gravely.

"That place was swarming with Death Eaters. How did this happen?"

"Whoever did it was smart. Revealing dust could not identify the perpetrator sir, but he did leave a message in the air."

"What did he say?"

"That the work of art was proudly brought to you by err-"

"What was the name man?!"

"I am trying to remember sir. It was a weird one." Rodolphus moved to him in a flash and grabbed his throat.

"Think harder!" he hissed and released him. The messenger coughed and rubbed his sore neck in comfort.

"Berry Goosemonk. That was the name in the air, Berry Goosemonk and he done it with one of the murdered guy's wands."

"Leave us," Rodolphus ordered and turned to face Bellatrix.

"You'll die at my hands soon dear Bellatrix, after the humiliation you put Rabastan and I through," he muttered and turned to leave. Bellatrix growled softly from where she lay but she could not get on her feet to fight him. She watched him leave and shut her eyes in anger when the cell doors swung shut.

"Berry Goosemonk. Oh Potter you're coming home!" she hissed in joy and slapped her palms on the cold floor in glee. As she lay on the floor thinking about what Harry was thinking at the current time, she felt a tingling sensation around her head.

"What in fuck?" she muttered and crawled to the window for fresh air.

If you can hear me, stay close to the window at all times. The natural air is the only thing that can counter the poison in our system.

Another searing pain shot through her body and she recoiled to the center of the room and again, the drowsy weakness she was accustomed to, took office.

"Oh Longbottom you beautiful bastard," she muttered as she stared at the blood smeared ceiling. Although she was hollow, a smile formed on her face as she lay there and Bellatrix Black started singing he's a jolly good fellow in a loud dreadful voice that echoed through the corridors outside.

12 GRIMMAULD PLACE

Harry took off his coat and removed his bloody clothes in a heap on the floor. The elves had anticipated such a bloody return and had prepared a hot bath for him. As he sank into the tub, he let out a deep sigh and reflected on the violence he had inflicted a few hours ago. He looked at his face in the mirror and washed it with water and stared at himself again.

"What the fuck happened today?" he muttered and held his head. He could feel that the violence he engaged in was unlike anything that he had ever felt. The rage and power he exhibited was something else and he knew it.

Your thoughts are distracting young master

Something is wrong mate. Something is fucking wrong and I don't know why

The strength you showed today is nothing new. It has always been a part of you and the presence of Daphne Greengrass boosted it. You already know she had a part to play in your life no doubt

What did she do?

That dear boy is something you should ask her. I don't think she would be able to face you in your current state. It's best if you focus on getting your friends first

Don't you know where they are?

I am not omniscient master Potter. Tom Riddle and I are cut off. I only feel what he feels and see what he sees when he's in the school and he is not

Leave me alone then

Harry sighed again and made dancing water figurines from his bath.

"I must confront the bitch once and for all," he said loudly and started to wash his body.

Somewhere in the house, Daphne was also contemplating what happened a few hours ago. As she got out of her clothes, she felt a sharp pain envelope her body and gradually it become excruciating. She hissed in pain and swore when her skin started to stretch and fold before her eyes. She clutched the sink tightly and spat saliva from her mouth in pain. She raised her head to the now steam covered mirror and growled when a wrinkled looking figure stared back at her. Her skin continued to stretch and burn, causing her pain and through it all she refused to scream as she collapsed unto the cold floor, writhing about in pain. After another three minutes of torture, Daphne's skin took form as it were and a younger looking figure stared back at her when she got to her feet.

"I can't keep living this way," she muttered when it was all over.

She tried to move to the tub and winced in pain with the first effort. She fell hard on the floor and lay there sobbing softly in frustration. Slowly she got on her knees and crawled to the tub, using great difficulty to finally collapse into the water prepared for her. The hot water seemed to burn away her pain and her anxiety and as she lay there, she reflected on her relationship with Harry Potter. She chuckled when she thought about how strangely, the hatred they had for each other had dwindled to an understandable working relationship. It was understandable which to her was surprising, but it was laced with traces of hate.

"Would I be able to tell him after all this time?" she wondered and increased the warmth of the water with her magic. As the vapour filled the bathroom she drew it inside her nostrils and let it out for a depiction of what her inner self was saying. The vapour swirled slowly in the air and formed a dagger.

"I think I am a backstabbing bitch," she muttered and chuckled softly. "How in Merlin's name is that possible though? He's speaking in Parsel because of me!" she hissed in frustration to herself and punched the wall with her fists. She shut her eyes and cursed Harry for thwarting her efforts to find Sybil Trelawney.

"He's such a jerk at times," she muttered and proceeded to applying healing oils to nurse her sore skin.

A few minutes later, she joined Harry who was sitting in the decaying dining room eating cold turkey and potatoes. She joined him without uttering a word and ate her dinner in silence.

"It is quite unfortunate that I cannot give you all the fancy treatment you deserve. I'm being hunted and all," he said with his mouthful of food.

Daphne chuckled and waved off his apology. "I also chose to come here Mr. Potter, there's no need to be sorry."

"I just remembered my actual house is almost like this so there'd have be no difference right?" She giggled softly and took a sip of water from her goblet.

"Anyway, since you have Bellatrix's location, when do we move in?"

"I need to do some extensive scouting before. It will take some days but we would have at least two days till Christmas when I'm done."

"Don't fuck this up Greengrass," Harry said quietly.

"You have my word," she responded and they continued eating in silence.


Narcissa Malfoy appeared out of nowhere in the middle of the street and scanned the vicinity for signs of danger. When she was sure that nobody had followed her, she walked to a door and tapped it gently. She could hear shuffling of feet coming from inside the house and some hushed voices.

"Who is it?" a timid female voice called out. Narcissa remained silent and banged on the door this time. It immediately swung open and she lowered her eyes at her host.

"Mrs. Malfoy?"

"Miss Parkinson," she replied coldly and stepped inside the house. She took off her gloves and stepped aside to let the witch pass.

"Take me to him."

"Who are you talking about exactly?"

"Do not play games with me girl, if you do not wish to die by the hands of the Dark Lord you will do as I say!" Narcissa barked and shook her head as Molly Parkinson led the way up the stairs. Narcissa followed her quietly and like a concerned mother, was anxious to ensure her child's security. Molly led her into a large bedroom where a recovering Draco Malfoy was being spoon fed by Gregory Goyle.

"Leave," she said quietly and they all left them alone.

"Mother," he drawled. "How did you find me?"

"I am your mother Draco! I know where you are no matter what cloaking spell you put on yourself!"

"What do you want?"

"Do you have any idea the amount of trouble you are in? Everyone is looking for you to answer why you failed to deliver Harry Potter to the Dark Lord!" Draco widened his eyes and groaned in discomfort.

"The minute I get better, I will find the bastard Potter and end his life once and for all," he hissed. "There's no stopping me. I stabbed him with a cursed blade close to his heart. There's no way he would survive that," he added.

"Harry Potter just killed everyone at The Bar. There's no proof that he did it but that is the only answer. Going after him after what he has just done is dangerous," Narcissa advised.

Draco banished his bowl of soup at his mother who deftly sent it flying the opposite direction and glared at him.

"If you do anything stupid as to get yourself into trouble, you cease to be my son. Rest and recover your strength. I will find you a Resistance stronghold you can liberate to find yourself in the Dark Lord's graces. Go contrary to this and you are on your own," she warned and stood up to leave.

"You cannot talk to me like that mother! I am no longer a boy!" he barked at her as she left. Narcissa shook her head as she descended the stairs and felt her heart break into pieces at the path her son was taking.

"He won't survive this war with this mentality," she muttered as she walked out of the house.

UNKNOWN LOCATION

Rabastan and Rodolphus entered the cells and stood there while watching their beautiful prisoner. Bellatrix was on the floor muttering a little, laughing a little and singing a little to herself as she carved her name on the wall by scratching her nails furiously on it. She pretended not to take notice of their presence as she sat there and carried on with her work. Her prison robes were filthy and her hair was dry and unkempt and covered her face.

After a while, Bellatrix turned around slowly and looked at them from underneath her hair and hummed gently.

"The brothers Lestrange," she whispered. "Come to have at me?"

She flicked her hair back and showed them her pale ivory skin made ruddy and bruised by the harsh nature of her surroundings and sneered at them. She snarled lowly and licked her dry lips but despite her savage look they both knew that Bellatrix Black was the most beautiful and wildest thing they would ever see in their lifetime.

Rodolphus scratched his chin and knew within himself that, there was no denying the fact that he could not get over Bellatrix Black. The girl who disgraced him and brought shame to his family.

"You tampered with the memories of Crabbe and Goyle. Yes or no?" Rabastan asked quietly.

"Yes, yes I was," she muttered in a bored tone and waved them off as she got on her feet. "I had fun to be honest. Fucking Crabbe pissed himself as he hang upside down," she said and cackled in amusement.

Rabastan hit her with a Cruciatus hex forcing her to her knees and all Bellatrix could see was blood in her eyes.

"Do Narcissa and Astoria work for the Order?" he asked and focused on causing her pain. She could hear a ringing noise in her ears as she writhed about on the floor and in response she slammed her face hard on the cold floor and cackled.

Rabastan lowered his wand in alarm and studied Bellatrix carefully. Rodolphus drew his wand in anticipation of any attack and stood his ground, poised for an attack.

"Thankfully, she's not in chains. She could use it as a weapon," Rodolphus muttered.

"You were always walking about like a frog was up your ass but you were just so stupid boy-o" she said through gritted teeth and cackled.

"Stupid stupid stupid," she sang and clapped her hands in delight.

"Fucking bitch!" Rabastan hissed and prepared to attack her. When he aimed his wand at her, there was a loud hissing sound and Lord Voldemort materialized from the shadows looking at the scene before him with his red eyes.

"I see you have already started without me my loyal servants," he hissed and held his head gently. He drew his wand and traced it in the air and chuckled.

"Leave us," he hissed and Bellatrix rolled about on the floor muttering nonsense and laughing at the Lestrange brothers as they left. When they were gone, Bellatrix slowly got to her knees and smeared the blood from her nose all over her face.

"I knew you were coming my lord. Those idiots didn't, but I did. That is why I got myself bloodied up for you," she said teasingly and hissed in pain as a curse hit her.

"I have always appreciated your gifts Bellatrix, but for your betrayal you would have been my queen to rule this world by my side." Bellatrix screamed in pain and rushed to the window for a sniff of natural air but Voldemort banished her to him and squeezed her neck.

"Would you fuck me with your magical cock," she whispered as she felt the life slipping from her. She kicked and struggled in the air but to no avail and next thing she felt was her head hitting the wall. She could feel her body battered and bruised and for the first time, she could hear Neville screaming in pain a few cells away from her.

"What do you want?" she asked as she started coughing blood and grabbed the window bars for fresh air.

"What was that old fool planning since you last met him?"

"Dumbledore? The fact that I'm with Potter does not mean I enjoy meeting his friends and family my lord. You should know that," she responded and chuckled briefly. She continued to stay by the window and with each breath she held the bars tightly despite the amount of pain she was going through.

"Do not lie to me child," Voldemort hissed and ripped her clothes with a wave of his wand. Bellatrix smirked dangerously with her back towards him and when he banished her, she used the last of her new found energy to counter him and scratched his face with her nails, drawing blood. Nagini attacked her but missed and Bellatrix scratched him harder this time, drawing more blood.

Voldemort grabbed her face in anger and cut her open with a severing hex. As the blood pooled from her body, he threw her on the floor and disappeared the same way he came. With the last amount of energy she had left, she put her fingers stained with Voldemort's blood inside her mouth and closed her eyes as the life began to leave her body.

12 GRIMMAULD PLACE

Harry and Daphne were in front of the fireplace and they were ready to go on a hunt. It was snowing heavily outside and the wind beat mercilessly at the old house. A few windows rattled here and there, a few objects fell off from their places and Kreacher was the first responder to put it back in place. Harry tapped his feet to the rhythm of a song he was listening to through his earphones and Daphne watched him curiously the whole time. Daphne had finally got an overview of the prison they were to break into and all they were waiting for was extra hands.

Daphne heard a quick tap at the front door and nodded at Dobby who made for the door. A few seconds later, Narcissa walked into view with Sirius, Nymphadora and Astoria Greengrass. They were all draped in dark clothes and had grim looks on their faces. Daphne took a deep breath and dragged herself from the chair to address them. Harry paused the music and placed his phone in his pocket.

"It has been awfully long and we don't have much time so I'll get straight to it. Bellatrix is being held up somewhere within the Hill of Lost Screams. The building is hidden but I have a way of locating it when we get there. Inside, there are just rows and rows of cells mostly empty but where Bellatrix and Neville are being held is at the East Wing of the old prison. During the Goblin Revolution, most goblins tortured wizards and witches there and there's a lot of residual magic inside the prison itself."

"We might lose most of our magic once we are inside," Sirius added and nodded his head in understanding.

"Well said Mr. Black sir," Daphne responded and Harry smirked because all he could get from her was another Professor McGonagall in a murderous mood.

"Is there a fix?" Harry asked.

"The elves should be able to spell us temporarily and since they both owe allegiance to you, I do not see how this undertaking would fail," Daphne answered.

"Technically, Dobby is a free elf and Kreacher is cool with me because Bellatrix asked but fine." Harry signaled for them to come over and after minutes of whispering and chanting and deep concentration, the elves nodded that their job was done.

Daphne took an eyeball from her pocket and palmed it gently. "Everyone hold a part of me," she ordered. When they were ready she closed her fingers around the eyeball and they were gone in a flash of white light.

They were now standing on a hill that faced a fortress made purely from stone.

"How are we seeing this?" Nymphadora asked.

"Daphne here took out her victim's eyes as a locator. That's another way she broke the Fidelius charm and got the location," Astoria answered simply.

"How did you find whoever it is you found?" Sirius asked causing Narcissa to stare at Daphne for a response.

"I have my ways Mr. Black," she responded calmly and scanned the dark horizon. The wind was blowing strongly and bit at their faces with all its might. Harry tightened his great cloak around him and took another sip of tea from his flask and passed it to Sirius.

"Astoria tells me that he isn't at Hogwarts, making this place the only place he's likely to be since it's just two days before Christmas," she explained.

"Is that blood pouring from the door?" Narcissa asked. There was a huge wooden done cast between the rocks and blood had soaked it completely, seeping from every inch of the door and unto the grass.

"Yes it is. The bloody door that bleeds every day. The goblins really did their fair share of dark deeds. That's elf blood and human blood. The spell they used is so powerful that it cannot be undone."

Harry picked a watch from his pocket and checked the time before putting it back. He took the flask Sirius offered and took another gentle sip.

"Werewolves?" he asked.

"None of them are here. It is important that we make use of the low number of Death Eaters present and do a clean job." They all nodded and watched as Daphne, Narcissa and Astoria transformed into men from a Polyjuice potion.

"Let's go," Narcissa muttered and led the way down the hill.

Harry finished his tea and handed his flask to Kreacher. He put on his watch and set his phone up for music but decided against it especially if there were some magical creatures around.

"Take my phone Dobby." Harry turned to leave and Kreacher grabbed his leg.

"Kreacher?"

"Goblins and elves are sworn enemies Master Potter," Kreacher said in a low tone as everyone got ready to leave. "We cannot enter the building with you because the residual magic they left will weaken us but Kreacher and Dobby will be awaiting you outside."

"Of course mate. I will bring them out I promise." Kreacher nodded at him and the two elves watched as the Boy Who Lived jogged down the hill to deliver his friends from certain death.