I'm incredibly sorry for how long this took, this chapter has been sitting 60% complete for a while. Life has a way of distracting us. I'm in the writing mood, so hopefully I'll have the next chapter up soon. I don't own Harry Potter.
WARNINGS: PSYCHOLOGICAL TORMENT, MENTION OF RAPE, UNWILLING CANNIBALISM, DRUGGING, CUTTING, AND TORTURE SPELLS USED ON A PREGNANT WOMAN. CONSPIRACY TO COMMIT MURDER, PLANNING TO COMMIT MURDER. and bad words a plenty
Blood location reveal – Locus Sanguis Revelare
Sorry for any mistakes, this chapter is unbeta'd.
Chapter Twenty-Five
DAY THREE – MONDAY
Hermione woke with a shudder and looked at the ground in front of her to see a man tied up in the puddle of blood. "What?" The man was wearing the same clothes as Meissa had been the night before. Her stomach grumbled as she realized that it had been a stranger under Polyjuice. "Monsters!" She yelled. "WHERE IS MY MOTHER?"
She heard a sound that was almost reminiscent of the trolley lady's cart on the Hogwarts Express. "Aww. Did the poor little baby cry herself to sleep before the filthy muggle turned back into a man?"
"Where is my mother?" Hermione demanded again as Bellatrix brought the cart to a stop in front of her.
"Oh, she's safe... for now. Potter had wards put up around her home. So I had to accio her hairbrush to get her hair for my trick. Very similar to what we did to get Severus's hair."
"Why did you kill that innocent man?"
"You're not going to leave here alive. But before I kill you I'm going to make you lose your mind." She gestured to both the muggle and the cart. "That 'innocent man' as you put it is just a tiny pawn in the plan." She flicked her wand and the body disappeared. "I can't have you starving before my game is over, so I've prepared a delectable snack for you."
"You know that the longer you keep me alive the higher the chances are that I'll be rescued, and you'll be killed. Again."
Bellatrix sneered at her, before a sickeningly sweet, yet taunting look appeared on her face. "Since you're so sure, eat up neice." She pulled the lid off of the plate with a flourish and it took all of the control Hermione had to not vomit. There was what looked like a pie, but it had a dismembered finger sticking through the top.
"Is that-?" Hermione faintly started before Bellatrix chuckled.
"Oh yes, it is. A pie made from some sorry fellow who crossed my path. You better eat up mudblood," She said, emphasizing the word. "We wouldn't want the baby to starve. After all, three days is a long time to go without food."
The Burrow had become the command center for their search and rescue team. Several members of the Order had popped in, to see if there was anything that they could do to help, and were given areas to search. Everybody had coins similar to what the D.A. had used during Umbridge's reign at Hogwarts, so that they could alert the others. Harry was at the dining room table with everyone who came in that morning. "We're containing our search to London, as that is the only place that the tracking spells have picked anything up."
"Why are we searching muggle London?" Someone asked. "We all know how much Bellatrix hated muggles."
"Diagon Alley and the surrounding Magical district have all been searched. We're narrowing in on eastern London, and south of the Thanes, but there's still a lot of area. They're probably in a warehouse of some sort, with plenty of internal walls to muffle noise." Harry said, cringing as he said it, because he didn't like the thought of Hermione being tortured.
The floo suddenly flared to life in the living room, and several heads turned that way, to see Rodolphus Lestrange standing in the doorway, clenching a Daily Prophet in his hands, and looking furious. "When were my wife and I going to be told that our daughter has been taken Hostage by a bloody psychotic bitch?"
"I didn't want you to have to deal with one of the p-."
"I'm sure you thought your reasons noble, but should anything have happened to my daughter or grandchild due to your negligence in informing me, I shall personally hold you responsible. Do you know nothing of Family Magic Potter?" Rodolphus asked, and then pointed at the clock that stood at the back of the room. "The Weasleys use it to locate their family members, with a clock. The Lestrange family, who earned their dark classification, have ways of tracking people, that if known would probably be banned."
"You're planning to use dark magic!"
"That sort of thing is illegal!"
"Why are you even here? Bellatrix-."
Rodolphus pointed his wand at the person who started to mention Bellatrix. "I'll answer in order. Yes, I'm planning to use dark magic, no the spell in question isn't illegal, the entire branch is, and I am here because my daughter has been taken, and I will go to any lengths to get her back in one piece. You all know what kind of person Bellatrix is, and what she is known for. What do you think she will do to one of the main people who helped destroy her master?"
"Don't you mean your master?" Someone muttered.
Harry looked at the woman who was sat next to Neville. "I personally took him to St. Mungos after realizing who he was. He was under mind control potions, and spells for over 20 years, which only started to wear off whilst in Azkaban, for something that had been done when he was consciously catatonic."
Neville looked around at all the angry faces. "He told me about a potion that isn't known in light or grey families due to how it's made. My parents will never be able to function on their own, but they have regained enough of their minds that they can speak. I have forgiven him for things that he has done, but had no control over, and I think that you all should do so as well."
Rodolphus took a moment to look at everyone. "Where is my son in law?"
"Severus hasn't stopped looking for her. He stops in and gives hourly updates on where the tracking spells are pointing him, and buildings he's searched. Growing up in the muggle world, he knows how to properly dress, and can remain undetected incase notice-me-nots wear off." Harry replied. "What are you planning to do?"
"If you had told me about her being abducted, I could have led us to her after 24 hours," he held up two vials of blood. "The spell requires blood from each parent, and 24 hours to settle on parchment. So we will need to continue tracking her through other means while it constructs a map. It's powered by ley lines..."
Hermione heard someone moving up behind her, but couldn't turn her head far enough to see them. "Who's there?" She yelled, but they didn't answer. She felt, more than she heard, them stop directly behind her. Opening her mouth to yell again, her head was grabbed and tipped backwards so that a potion could be poured down her throat. A hand clasped over her mouth so that she couldn't spit it out, and after a moment she felt all clarity of mind and horror leave her.
"Dearie, you haven't eaten any of your pie." Came a voice from in front of her after the hands on her head let her go.
"I'm sorry." She replied, trying to move her arms so she could eat, since she was feeling ravenous.
"Here, let me help you." The woman with dark curly hair, tied up under a candy stripers hat approached in her uniform, and picked up a fork of the cart that was sat in front of her. She picked out a bite of pie, and held it out to Hermione.
"Thank you, I'm so very hungry." She told the candy striper as she leant her head forward and ate the piece of meat pie. "Mmm, it's so good." She said after she swallowed. The candy striper continued feeding her.
"Do you like this potion?" The woman asked her as she fed her yet another bite.
"What potion?" Hermione replied after she'd swallowed it.
"Well, it's similar to the variation of Gregory's Unctuous Unction that I gave your father to make him think I was the person he loved. This variation will wear off in about another five minutes, and you just think I'm someone you can trust."
"You are someone I can trust, you're helping to feed me."
The candy striper gave her a slightly manic grin as she set down the fork. "I am so glad you feel that way, would you like a drink?"
"Yes, thank you, I'm quite parched."
A goblet was raised to her mouth with a drink that smelled faintly metallic. Hermione drank it down, and pondered at the taste. "What is it? It tastes like I swallowed metal." The woman leaned back on her chair however and just looked at her, as if she were waiting on something. "Why are you staring at me?" She asked, to no avail. Slowly, Hermione's senses began returning to her. When she'd regained all of her faculties, she looked between Bellatrix and the cart which had the remainder of the pie, and the goblet. She retched as Bellatrix knocked the goblet over, and the remainder of the blood in it spilled over the small white cloth that covered the top of the cart.
She screamed between retches, as Bellatrix laughed. "Thank heavens for the stomach soothing draught for expectant mums. I hope you enjoyed nourishing your child with that."
A voice spoke into her ear, "It was delightful watching you eat that pie."
Rodolphus was sitting at the table in the Burrow, watching the parchment that the spell had been cast on. The red lines were swirling along the page and solidifying, but nothing was fully defined. Severus apparated in, and walked quickly to the door. "You just missed everybody, they left for new areas South of the Thanes."
"Why-."
"I'm beyond furious that nobody told me, that you Severus, didn't tell me that my daughter was taken and that I had to read about it in the fucking Daily Prophet."
"I will not apologize for not telling you, when I've spent every moment since she was taken searching for her."
Rodolphus stood and put his hands on the table. "And I could have been searching for her too. You denied me that. I've spent years, not knowing that I even had a daughter, and when I finally find out, and start getting to know who she is she is taken by my ex-wife, and it crosses nobodies mind to tell me. I know that I have done some terrible things, most of which I had no control over, but I am her father, and you are so arrogant to think that you are the only one who can change, that you refuse to allow me that. I'm not the person who was in the Death Eater meetings. I'm not the person who did all of the things the Prophet says I did. I'm not the one that taught you to do the things you did while in Voldemort's service." He yelled, voice rising, alerting Ginny Potter, who'd been lying on the couch as her morning sickness had her stomach twisting with all the worry that she was feeling.
Harry had made her stay and rest after she'd gotten sick all over a bush. She got up to stand in the door. "The two of you need to get over yourselves." She told them. "Neither of you are helping Hermione by standing here arguing. I'll watch the map, and both of you should go out and search for her."
Severus turned to look at her, "Mrs. Pott-."
"No Sir. For seven years I've put up with your lectures, I've listened to you verbally berate my friends, and family, and now it's your turn." She took the stunned silence as a sign to continue. "When Harry realized what was needed to defeat Voldemort, he worked together with the D.A., we made sure the Order was called, and we. Won. We've fought Bellatrix before, my mother was the one who killed the bitch. We need to focus on Hermione right now, so put aside your arguments and disagreements, and go find my best friend."
DAY FOUR -TUESDAY pt. 1
Hermione awoke to the feel of something cold, hard, and thin running along her arm. She opened her eyes, and jerked away from the blade that was running down her skin, causing it to nick her arm a little. "Aww, the little mudblood is awake." Bellatrix leaned down and looked at the blood welling out of the small cut. "And shes bleeding too."
"WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS TO ME?" Hermione screamed in her face, causing her to laugh.
"You know why!" She screeched, slicing out with her knife, running down her cheek. Blood began welling from the cut as Hermione leaned away from the crazy witch.
"My Lady, you're going to want to cool off before you finish the bitch too early." Travers said, this time sans disguise. Bellatrix regarded him with a look of such hatred before turning towards Hermione and seeing the blood that was running down her neck.
"Travers, why don't you treat our guest to your particular brand of torture while I go kill some muggles."
After watching her storm off, Hermione turned to Travers with a look of defiance, though her eyes showed her trepidation. "Do you remember me bitch?" He asked.
"Yes."
He smirked at her. "Though we only met twice, I wasn't sure if you would. You and your trick almost got me killed. However, my lady saw fit to forgive me so that I could help her carry out her plan. I was to stay in the background, and upon her death, collect her horcrux, and then give it to an unsuspecting victim. By the time I found it, it was almost my darling nephews' birthday, so I decided then and there that he would be the sacrifice necessary to bring my lady back to life."
"How could you kill an innocent child? What did he ever do to you?"
His smirk turned to a sneer. "He did nothing. What I did wasn't to him, but to his father. I killed his heir. When he and the rest of his family die, which will be soon, there will be no more heirs left to his branch, and I will be able to claim my rightful place in wizarding society. No longer will the other Purebloods look down on me due to my parents mistakes."
Hermione burst out laughing. "Are you bonkers?" She had tears leaking from her eyes at the force of her laughter. "I was thought to be a muggleborn for nearly 9 years, when I found out I'm a Pureblood. From two of the Sacred Twenty-Eight no less. You can't even claim that, since your father was disowned from a minor house for marrying a muggle who shared the name with one of the Twenty-Eight." Her face snapped to the side from the force of the slap, and she looked at the extremely pissed look on his face with pride. "Did you work with Delores Umbridge? She tried something similar when your half blood master took over the Ministry. Except she claimed to be desended from the Selwyns, and look where that got her. Dead."
"I was there when Selwyn ripped her tongue from her throat for trying to claim he was related to her. I'm surprised you didn't question me saying we'd met more than once."
"I know you've been following me around, but that doesn't qualify as meeting. The only time that I've met your worthless arse was when I was polyjuiced as Bellatrix in Diagon Alley."
He approached her, and used his wand to finite himself, allowing his scent to waft over the surrounding area. He grinned evilly when she stiffened in the chair and leaned away. "I can tell by your reaction that you remember our second meeting now. I've been wondering for a while now," He ran a dirty hand down her neck smearing the blood around. "Did I take your virginity you stupid bitch?"
He ran his wand down the front of her robes, causing them to fall open exposing her bra and knickers. "This is a much nicer set than what you were wearing at the battle." He ran his finger down the cleft between her breasts, causing her to start trembling. "Do you remember what I told you after I was done?"
She shook her head, trying to lean away from him, though the ropes didn't allow much movement. "No, please."
"I said I was going to make you regret following Potter. Do you regret it yet?"
Fire lit in her eyes, "In case you forgot you piece of shit, Harry won, and your side lost. Your side lost so horribly that it's laughable that the two of you dumbasses are even attempting this. What are you even hoping to accomplish with a two person army. The remaining loyal death eaters are sitting in Azkaban without their souls. Voldemort is never coming back-."
"Crucio!" Bellatrix screamed, causing Hermione to scream, and strain once again against the ropes tying her to the chair. "AND WHOSE FAULT IS THAT YOU STUPID SLUT!" She threw the muggles she was dragging onto the ground.
"His own. He trusted the wrong people with the pieces of his soul."
Bellatrix raised her wand and looked like she was going to curse her again, but stopped when she lowered her eyes. A smirk appeared on her face, confusing Hermione. "You're leaking." She turned to Travers, "it won't be long now. Then we can kill the child in front of her, and leave her to die as she watches her itty bitty baby decompose."
The two turned away, casting a glance over their shoulders, and each sent a green curse at one of the muggles that lay at her feet, terrified about what was going on around them. Hermione screamed as she watched the light vanish from their eyes, and their bodies cease to move. Looking down, she realized what Bellatrix meant. There was a wet patch on each side of her bra, directly over her nipples. She was lactating.
THE BURROW
Everybody who had been searching for Hermione stood around the Burrows table, there were only five minutes left before Rodolphus's spell would be complete. Harry looked around at the group. "Most, if not all of us, were either in the DA or in the Order of the Phoenix." He glanced to where Rodolphus and Severus were standing. "Our mission is to get Hermione. The only two aggressors that we are aware of are Bellatrix, and Travers. We all know how vicious Bellatrix can be. What isn't common knowledge is that Travers is the cause of Damien Brunsmans death. He gave Bellatrix's horcrux to Damien, who is his nephew by blood, he was also an integral part in the McKinnon massacre." He looked at the people who were in the original Order. "I know that Dumbledore led the Order to stun and not kill, but these are two very dangerous people."
Kingsley pushed off from the wall and came to stand beside Harry. "The Ministry has determined that the general public cannot know that Bellatrix was back, for an instant. No one knows that it was really her that kidnapped our friend, wife, sister, and daughter Hermione. No one except the people in this room, and the Minister himself. This mission has the utmost secrecy, and if one of us has the shot, we shoot to kill. We cannot allow these to the possibility to escape."
"Are you telling us to cast unforgivables?" The same woman who questioned Rodolphus's spell the day before asked, indignant.
"No," Harry replied, "we're not telling you to cast unforgivables. But the minister has told us that they cannot escape, Bellatrix cannot go to trial, because we can't let anyone know how she came back. If Travers is sent to trial, he could tell everybody what happened, and the secret would be out. If anybody here is uncomfortable with ensuring the safety of our world, raise your hands and we will obliviate this conversation from your mind."
No hands were raised, but this woman still looked confused. "If we're not to cast unforgivables, then how are we to kill them?"
"One of the first spells you learn at Hogwarts, is Wingardium Leviosa. You can use that spell to throw someone off a cliff. If you've dueled before, then you should know what spells you can use to incapacitate your enemy and stay alive. If you're not confident on your ability you should stay here that way my daughter's life wont be risked by some idiot." Rodolphus sneered, before turning to the parchment on the table. Seeing it had gone blank, he started to reach his wand to it, as Harry was telling everybody the order in which to apparate, and to cast stealth charms on themselves first. He touched the tip of his wand to the paper and thought the spell "Locus Sanguis Revelare."