I have nothing to do with creating or profiting from the Harry Potter Universe. JK Rowling and Warner Bros. own the rights.

Chapter 36

Abraxas had known upon finding out that Bellatrix had followed and attacked Hera while she was with Lucius and the Shacklebolts that a summons was imminent. And questions… questions could be asked that would make people curious.

If Hermione and Lucius had just been with Kingsley, it might be more reasonable. However, the addition of Roland would have made it look suspicious to anyone. Despite his grief, Roland had agreed to publicly state he had only come when his son had sent him a distressed patronus. That still put Abraxas in the position of needing to head off Bellatrix.

Within thirty minutes, Abraxas was in Voldemort's lounge, shaking with fury. It was a credit to his occlumency skills that he was able to be even that calm. Currently, his daughter-in-law was at St. Mungo's where she may or may not recover. The word was that the child was lost. He had just left Roland Shacklebolt and Albus after coming up with a hasty plan. A plan that, he was sure, would make Hera furious if she found out.

"My Lord, Bellatrix's vendetta against my family cannot stand any more. I beg of you, let me end this!"

The Dark Lord was also angry. He had already cursed a houseelf to fly into the lit fireplace with enough force that the poor creature's head cracked open against the brick backing. The smell of its burning body would have turned his stomach at any other time, but Abraxas was too busy to give much notice. It was just a house elf.

"Patience, Abraxas. I am sure this can wait. Wouldn't you prefer to be with your family while I track down Bellatrix?" the Dark Lord said, voice smooth, despite the fire in his eyes.

Abraxas shook his head. "No. I want this dealt with. Now, if it pleases you."

The Dark Lord nodded. "Very well."

Abraxas reached his bared forearm out to the other man and didn't even wince as he called his followers. Rodolphus and Antonin were two of the first to arrive and looked at Abraxas with confusion on their faces. Others filed in silently, seeming to sense that this was not a meeting where socializing would be smiled upon. It wasn't until Cygnus Black appeared that Voldemort spoke from his chair seated in front of the fire.

"Rodolphus. Where is your wife?"

Rodolphus's eyes widened for a moment before he shook his head. "My Lord, I have not seen her since she left our home this morning."

"Cygnus. Your daughter. Where is she?"

Cygnus shook his head but was glaring across the room at his son-in-law. "I saw her a few evenings ago but not since. I am sure she will be here soon."

The Dark Lord nodded, thoughtfully, taking in the man's expression. "I am curious as to why you seem to be upset with Rodolphus, Cygnus."

Cygnus's glare heated, never leaving the gaze of Rodolphus. "Bellatrix did not inform you, my Lord, because she was sure that the personal problems of your servants would be of no interest to you. However, she informed me that she believes Rodolphus to be unfaithful to her."

Abraxas felt his heart start to beat faster. This could be useful.

"With who?" the Dark Lord intoned, quietly.

Cygnus smirked cruelly, looking at Abraxas. "That Elias bitch seems to have made a cuckold of your son, Abraxas. Her spawn could turn out to not even be a Malfoy."

Just then, the remaining house elf of the residence, led in Bellatrix Lestrange, shaking fiercely.. He practically ran from the room after a fearful glance at his coworkers body in the hearth, though no one paid much attention.

Rodolphus stepped toward his wife. "Telling lies to your father, Bellatrix?!" he said, angrily.

Bellatrix raised her hand to her husband, looking only at the Dark Lord. "My Lord, I have something to-"

"Caeslingua!" Abraxas yelled, whipping his wand at the woman. Blood spewed from Bellatrix's mouth as she fell to her knees, spitting her tongue onto the floor. "I will not hear your lies, bitch!"

Cygnus's wand was trained on Abraxas and a curse seemed to be about to be shouted when the Dark Lord stood up. "Enough!"

Abraxas still had his wand trained on Bellatrix, eager to end her life. Even more eager to make sure she could not report anything unusual.

"Abraxas. Cygnus. Lower your wands."

Slowly, both men did so, and Cygnus went to his daughter, kneeling next to her as she cried in panic. "My Lord! How can you let him do this!"

The Dark Lord shook his head. "I will likely let him do much more, Cygnus." Then, he addressed the room. "Roughly an hour ago, Bellatrix attacked Hera and Lucius Malfoy while they were walking into Hogsmeade with a school friend, Kingsley Shacklebolt. She hit Hera with a cutting curse to the abdomen. To my understanding, the baby is gone. We do not have a prognosis for Hera, yet, but we are hopeful. Lucius took her to St. Mungo's quickly, and then Bellatrix supposedly killed the Shacklebolt boy. His father arrived to see him gutted."

Abraxas glanced at Rodolphus and Antonin. Rodolphus looked pale and worried, staring at the Dark Lord intently. Antonin's wand was in his hand, and he was staring daggers at Bellatrix. The air seemed denser around him, the shadows in the room longer and more menacing.

The room murmured very quietly, and the Dark Lord continued. "While I do not mind the death of the boy, I am angry that it puts a face to one of our number. People will be suspicious of the Blacks now, and their associates. Bellatrix has put your identities in jeopardy."

The murmuring heightened a bit, voices seeming angry. Bellatrix was shaking her head frantically, spitting blood onto the floor.

"What I am even more angered with is the fact that Bellatrix perceived a slight against herself and took matters into her own hands against my most trusted associate. I would ask you what you have to say for yourself, but it seems Abraxas was a bit too quick to act."

Fortunately for Abraxas, Voldemort did not seem to be directing his anger toward him. It was reserved for the witch on the floor.

Bellatrix looked at the Dark Lord, still shaking her head and pleading. The Dark Lord turned his eyes to Rodolphus. "Is there truth to the story that Bellatrix told her father?"

Rodolphus shook his head, glancing quickly at Abraxas. "None, my Lord. Bellatrix has been becoming more and more distressed that she has not fallen pregnant yet. She has been tracking my movements and seeming less and less stable as time has passed."

The Dark Lord nodded. "Abraxas. Do you have an opinion?"

Abraxas glared at Bellatrix, wand firmly in grip at his side. "There is no sane reason to believe that Hera has been unfaithful to Lucius. They are both good friends to Rodolphus as he is to them. My grandchild is a Malfoy, a fact I am sure not even you would dare to dispute, my Lord. Bellatrix has always had an unhealthy obsession with Lucius. Many of us here have seen it."

Several heads nodded, and Antonin spoke up. "Bellatrix has always hated Hera. In our seventh year, she attacked Hera from behind when Lucius announced his intentions toward her. She's just as keen to kill Hera as she is to bed Lucius."

The Dark Lord looked at Rodolphus. "Lestrange. What are your feelings on this?"

Rodolphus looked around the room once. "Everything they say is true. I married Bellatrix because I had a contract to fulfill. I have been true to it, but I do not have any warm feelings for her."

"And if she were to die?"

Rodolphus shrugged. "I'd have the opportunity to find someone more capable and sane to create heirs to my family. With complete honesty, my freedom from this sham of a union would make me even more grateful to you, my Lord." Rodolphus's hands were twitching with excitement, his eyes locked steadfast on that of his doomed wife.

The Dark Lord smiled, then. "It seems everyone is in agreement. I was very clear in what would happen if I was disobeyed, and I seem to remember warning Bellatrix to leave Hera be many, many times."

Bellatrix shook her head frantically, trying to speak through her ruined mouth. The words were not discernable, but no one was trying to understand her anyway.

"My Lord! She is my daughter! I beg for mercy! Please!" Cygnus said, crawling toward the Dark Lord on his knees.

The Dark Lord tutted. "Cygnus, Cygnus, Cygnus… if you had raised them better perhaps you wouldn't have one off playing house with a mudblood and this sorry excuse for a daughter before me. You have hope with Narcissa. I suggest you do better with her while you still have time. She's always been the most beautiful and clever of the three anyway. Obviously the most sane. Now, in the interest of Abraxas and Hera's friends being able to see her soon- let us get this over with."

Bellatrix's muffled screams lasted for only thirty minutes before the Dark Lord dismissed the meeting, but several members left satisfied that justice had been meted out as well as it could be. Even if it couldn't be by their own wand.

Hermione knew that to rush things could have horrible consequences. It was always best to go into a situation with your eyes wide open and a plan firmly in place. At the same time, Hermione had never really operated that way in the most serious of situations.

She, Harry, and Ron had flown by the seat of their pants growing up, and it had always worked out… mostly.

This reasoning was why she was currently laid up in the rooms given to her and Lucius to use at Malfoy Manor while Lucius was doing what she wanted him to do. She was on strict bed rest for another week before she could return to school, and Adeline had insisted on having them there.

She was sure she could have convinced her husband to wait for her to accompany him, especially now that the threat of Bellatrix was gone. However, she just wanted it over and done with. Roland and Lucius had gone to retrieve the ring themselves, recruiting Mad Eye to be a third in case things went south.

They had left almost two hours ago, and Hermione was starting to get restless. Here eyes jerked up from the book of crossword puzzles on her lap, and she met the eyes of her father-in-law. She looked back down.

"Hera. You cannot be angry with me forever," he said, coming to sit at the chair next to her bed.

"Who says that I am angry?" she said, tersely.

Abraxas rolled his eyes, a gesture that would have made Hermione laugh if she had been watching to catch it or in the mood to laugh at all. "Surely you understand why I had to act so quickly. If she had been able to tell the Dark Lord that you had met with Kingsley and Roland and were in the middle of going somewhere with them… well, suspicions would have been aroused. The Dark Lord already had us trying to keep tabs on the Shacklebolts."

Hermione cleared her throat at the brief thought of Kingsley and marked "lacewing" for 7 down. "I know that."

"In that case, why do you insist on giving me the cold shoulder? Surely our family has been through enough to not add petty squabbles to the situation," Abraxas said, exasperation clearly in his tone.

Hermione put her pen down in the book and closed it, setting it on the nightstand. Slowly, she turned her full attention to Abraxas. "I wanted to be there."

"You were… indisposed," Abraxas said, quietly. In truth, as far as he knew, she was unconscious at St. Mungo's while Bellatrix was dealt with as healers fought to save her life for over three hours.

"I should have been the one to do it," she said, feeling anger seep into her tone.

"Might I point out that the Dark Lord was the one to kill her?" he said in response, putting his hands on his lap.

Hermione glared at him, then. "Yes, you have said as much. Why not track her down and bring her to me? Put her in the dungeons until I could deal with her?"

Abraxas sighed. "We have been over this. I had no idea where she had gone, but I knew she'd come when the Dark Lord called her. You know it would have been disastrous for her to get to him before me. We were extremely lucky that she spoke to Cygnus over her idiotic concerns over you and Rodolphus. If she had not, or if he had not called a full meeting… Everything went as well as it possibly could have concerning her death."

"I know that!" she half-shouted, gripping the sheets in her hands. Her silk robe felt hot on her now as her body temperature heated up in her anger.

"Why are you taking all of this out on me? You aren't yelling at Lucius. Circe, Hera, you aren't even yelling about Bellatrix!" Abraxas said, starting to feel himself grow angry in response.

"BECAUSE I CAN!" Hermione yelled.

"What's that supposed to mean?!" Abraxas said, standing up.

Hermione glared. "I can't do anything about Bellatrix because she is dead, and when I think of her I feel as if I am out of control. I can't… I can't deal with that yet! And Lucius… you of all people know exactly what Lucius went through to see me safe, and he lost a child, too! I can't be mad at him! It would ruin him… ruin us!"

"But it's okay to be rude to me?" Abraxas said, glaring in return.

"No! But it is safe!" Hermione said forcefully. Then, she was silent.

Abraxas regarded his daughter-in-law. As much as he hated to say it, she had a point. He wouldn't wish her anger to be on Lucius. His son was already struggling with guilt and pain he was all too familiar with. Where as the loss of Luciana had, in the end, made his marriage with Adeline stronger, he could see that it could easily have gone the other way.

After gathering his thoughts, Abraxas reseated himself, looking at Hera. Her eyes were downcast again, but he could see the tears leaking out. "I understand," he said, resolutely, causing her to look up at him in surprise.

"What?"

Abraxas nodded once. "I understand. Things are horrible now, but you know that we are nearing the end of this. You need to have your head on straight. Ultimately, your vengeance needs to be directed at our true enemy, but I understand. Take your time, but don't allow your anger to consume you. I'll give you your space, and if you need to yell at someone… let me know. We both know this time of rest and recovery will end soon, and your forced responsibilities will resume."

"Yes," she said, rubbing at her eyes.

Abraxas nodded and reached out to squeeze her hand. They both looked lost for words at the moment, but it didn't matter much. The silence was interrupted by Lucius walking into the room, holding a black velvet bag. "It's done," he said, coming to stand next to his father's chair.

Hermione felt herself exhale a breath of relief that felt as if it had been trapped inside for a long time. "And now, only the diary," she whispered.

Lucius nodded, a look of resolve in his eyes. "The diary. I'll get this to Dumbledore now and arrange the next meeting." He leaned down and gently kissed his wife's lips.

"We will end this, love. We will end him. For us. For her."

"For Seraphina," she responded in a whisper.

The wait had been long and arduous all around. Still, as Hermione sat in the small Order meeting after a week into her return to Hogwarts, she was still feeling the itch of anticipation as fresh as the moment when Lucius had shown her the Slytherin family ring.

The retrieval of the diary was imminent, but a firm plan had not been put in place. Hermione was all for pushing ahead, but not at the expense of more lives. They wanted to be sure that Voldemort was not suspicious of them and would not move the diary.

Rodolphus had done a remarkable job considering he was the key to getting the last horcrux and knew that it was important, if not exactly how important.

The Dark Lord had reportedly asked if the diary was still in his possession, and Rodolphus had confirmed that it was, but in a way that was blasé enough to make the Dark Lord think he didn't appreciate the gift that Rodolphus had been entrusted with. Roddy still had a slight tremor in his left hand three days later from the time spent under Cruciatus. He had promised to keep an even more diligent eye on the diary secured in his home, and the Dark Lord had seemed pleased.

Roland was struggling with the death of Kingsley, understandably, and Hermione was currently listening to him try to convince the members in attendance that it was in everyone's best interest for them to publicly out Lord Voldemort as the half-born orphan that he was.

"Albus, Bellatrix Lestrange would likely have not dreamed of following a half-blood had she known, no matter if her father was old school chums with the man! How many of his can we take off of the battlefield if they know him for what he is?"

Moody shook his head, "I agree we'd take some off, but those are dangerous Dark Wizards we can formally arrest if they show up to fight with him. If they run off, it only gives them the time to start a campaign of their own in the future. More danger now saves us all in the long run."

Albus sighed, "Abraxas, Hera- what input do you have?"

Hermione gave Abraxas the floor with a wave of a hand. He knew most of the Dark Lord's followers much better than she did.

"Sadly, I don't think it would deter most of them. They would have to fear the Wizengamot and a chance at Azkaban more than they fear the Dark Lord. They'll fight for him and his cause because it would be death not to do so."

"Their admission of guilt would see them in Azkaban for years, if not the rest of their lives!" Roland protested.

Hermione spoke up then. "If this was a time in the future, yes. There is both a good and a bad side to the fact that they as a group have not committed too many atrocities. We'd have to catch them in the act to be able to charge them seriously enough to demand Veritaserum be used. Without it, they could plead coercion or the Imperius curse. They are too slippery."

"Says the snake," Moody muttered under his breath.

Hermione glared at him, "I'm arguing your way, you nitwit." Abraxas was fingering the wand on his lap next to her, glaring at the man who loved his wife.

Albus interjected, attempting to stave off an argument between the Malfoys and Moody. "How many of them that would be put off by his status would you consider to be threats of joining up with whatever next Dark Lord came about?"

"They'd want muscle to throw their lots in with. Only a few of the current Death Eaters are powerful enough to themselves become Dark Lords even nearing the amount of power He has. Those ones are die hards that won't stop because they see the power in it even if they aren't the figurehead… in fact, they might prefer to work behind the scenes."

Abraxas nodded, "I agree. They are okay with not running the world themselves, as long as they get a piece of the action and their goals are met."

Albus looked at each of them before meeting Roland's gaze. "After all of this is over, we will let everyone know exactly who Lord Voldemort was," he said, smoothly. He ignored the winces of the two Slytherin spies in the room. "For now, I agree with your fellows. Now, shall we move on to the destruction of the horcruxes?"

Author's Note: I know it feels like I should have written Hermione and Lucius in the hospital, but I couldn't get it how I wanted it and got tired of dealing with the emotions of it. I hope to revamp this story in the future, fixing little things. If I am able to, I'll add in that scene later. Thanks for reading! Please review!