AN: Shorter chapter, just set up mostly. I like to think that this whole story arc has come about by Harry's poor decisions. Anyway read and enjoy.
Disclaimer: See Chapter One.
Moody's House, Scotland, Near Strontium Village, 8/5/1997, 22:02
Harry stepped into the kitchen of the main house, Moody was sitting at the table drinking a glass of whiskey, he looked up when Harry entered the kitchen.
"Take a seat Potter." Moody said indicating the chair across from him.
Harry eased himself into the chair and mentally calmed himself for what was to come.
"I've been watching your camp, your working them to hard." Moody commented.
"I know, but there isn't much choice right now." Harry said tiredly.
"Aye, I've Been hearing rumors the new regime are planning to round up the muggleborns and put them in camps." Moody said gravely.
"That sounds like what Hitler did." Harry said appalled.
"That's exactly what he's doing Potter." Moody said bluntly.
"That's really bad." Harry said
"Yep but I've got more bad news for you, we lost three order members at the wedding, I don't know if you heard or not but Mundungus Fletcher, Dedalus Diggle and Charlie Weasley we're killed that night." Moody said quietly.
"What?! I hadn't heard anything about that, why are the Weasley's in my camp right now? They should be with the rest of their family!" Harry demanded.
"Molly is in a state right now, Arthur has been busy caring for her, I don't think anyone has told the other Weasley's to be honest." Moody said.
"How did it happen?" Harry asked sadly, he didn't know Charlie well, but he knew he was a good man and the others looked up to him alot, this was going,g to devastate them.
"Charlie and Diggle were paired together, they had the same orders as you and Susan did, they were holding back the East side. They ran out of Port keys after the attack began and we're trying to get a couple from the Prewitt side of the family outside the wards to safety, Charlie was hit with a killing curse but he gave Diggle enough time to get them outside the apparition wards, and they escaped.
Diggle was was hit with a cutting curse to the neck, and bled to death. Fletcher on the other hand was killed while trying to flee when the death eaters arrived, he always was a cowardly shit." Moody finished scowling at the last part.
"Well fuck!" Harry said, at a loss for what to do now.
"That sums it up perfectly." Moody agreed.
Harry sighed knowing it was time to bring up the reason he came here. " I have a counterstrike I want to carry out in a few months time, but I have to take care of a couple of things first." Harry said.
"Where are you going to strike at?" Moody asked curiously.
"Malfoy Manor on Halloween night." Harry answered.
"That's suicide, there is no way in and the wards are very strong, and the place is headquarters for the death eaters." Moody said aghast.
"Did you forget who I have staying in my camp, Narcissa can get us in there." Harry said simply.
Aye, but will she help you attack her own home?" Moody asked.
"She will, but there is a price." Harry answered hesitantly.
"And what might that price be?" Moody asked suspiciously.
Harry prepared himself for the inevitable explosion and spoke. "I have to get her son out of France before the death eaters get past the wards where he is hiding."
"That has got to be the stupidest fucking idea I have ever heard!" Moody shouted.
"I know it's a risk, but we can't let this opportunity slip our grasp." Harry said calmly.
"A risk, it's fucking suicide. The boy is marked meaning he is like a fucking beacon that will lead that noseless fuck to wherever you take the little Malfoy shit." Moody bellowed and threw his now empty glass at the wall.
"We have a way to remove the mark, I will be taking a small team with me and we will retrieve him. I'm not asking your permission, I'm telling you this as a common courtesy." Harry said bluntly.
"You can do as you wish Potter, but you will not drag Susan into this! And do not even think about bringing the Malfoy boy into this camp!" Moody roared.
"I won't, Susan knows about the mission, if she wants to go that's up to her. As for Malfoy I had no intention of bringing him here." Harry told him his own ire rising at Moody's attitude.
"Susan is not of age, I am her guardian and will not allow her to go." Moody thundered.
"She'll be of age before I leave, but that's between you and her, not me." Harry said simply.
"Who the hell do you think you are to come in here and tell me what my ward will or will not do." Moody demanded.
"The leader of the D.A, we are at war!" Harry said slamming his fist on the table before continuing. "This is a gamble I know that, but if this pays off it will be a major blow to the otherside. Susan is one of my best, if she wants to go with me I will not turn her away." Harry said defiantly.
"Yeah and if she gets herself killed then what? I see the way you look at her, it would tear you apart lad, trust me I know first hand." Moody said in a defeated voice.
Harrys chest seemed to tighten at the thought, Susan had become his closest confidant over the last few months. The idea of her getting killed while fighting was probably the scariest thing he could possibly think of.
"I can't control what happens Mad-Eye, she wouldn't listen to me if I ordered her not to come with me." Harry said in a defeated tone.
"Aye, she gets that from her aunt." That woman was the most stubborn person I ever met." Moody said fondly.
"I didn't want this conversation to go the way it has, but we have to strike back. We can't win this war by reacting, if we take down Malfoy Manor that will be a big blow to the dark lord." Harry said earnestly.
"Aye it would, but there are so many ways this can go tits up." Moody said.
"I've been thinking, there might be a way to thin their ranks a bit the week before we attack." Harry said.
"How's that, we can't hit the ministry if that's what your thinking. Even you-know-who knew that it was next to impossible to attempt a full frontal assault there. He had to take it from within, by subterfuge, which is not an option for us." Moody stated.
"Even I know that wouldn't work, no I have a much simpler plan." Harry said.
"Well, what the he'll is it?" Moody barked impatiently.
"We use the taboo, set up ambushes, and slaughter everyone who shows up when his name is spoken. The moron actually created a way to summon his people to us." Harry answered with a grin.
Moody's eyes widened and he actually grinned. "That could work, we probably wouldn't get anyone of note but could definitely cull his numbers quite a bit." Moody exclaimed.
"Yeah, we have almost three months to plan, Halloween seems to be a significant day to Tom,we might as well use that to make the insult even worse, when we sack his base of operations." Harry said.
"Alright, who were you planning on taking to France?" Moody questioned.
"Myself, Susan, Fleur, Bill, Fred, George and Neville then Narcissa to get us in and remove the mark, I would also like to pick up my brain while I am in France. do you have her current address?" Harry asked.
"I do, I was part of the team who snuck her out of Hogwarts when we got word of the attack on her family." Moody said.
"Good I want her back in the D.A, she could be a tremendous boon." Harry said.
"Word from the rumor mill is you and her had a falling out, what makes you think she'll agree to come?" Moody asked.
"Since when do you listen to the rumor mill?" Harry asked amused.
"Since I'm surrounded by hormonal teenagers, and I don't want to have to set up a nursery tent, I like to keep abreast of what's going on." Moody grumbled.
"Well my lot are two tired to walk after training, much less Scrogg, so you can rest easy, for now" Harry said with a grin.
"Right, well I still don't like the trip to France but if this pays off I'll be very impressed. Here's the Granger girls address, she's staying in the city of Bethune it's about fifty miles east of Calais, which I'm assuming will be your starting point." Moody said handing him a slip of parchment with her address on it.
Nodding in thanks Harry rose from his chair and said. "Good night Moody, I'll keep you informed of what's happening on my end." Harry said.
"Be sure that you do, if you get Suzie killed, I'll hunt you down and kill you myself." Moody said in a dangerous tone.
Harry nodded and walked out the door, he now had another conversation to have that he would not enjoy.
/A/D/W/F/
Teen Camp, Twenty Minutes Later
Sending a message to Susan he entered the boys tent and woke Fred, George and Ron. Bill had moved into his own tent with Fleur after the wedding so he sent them a message as well. He waited for them to get up and put on some clothes before he led them out by the fire pit.
"What's this about Harry?" George asked picking up on Harry's somber mood.
"I have some news but we have to wait on the others." Harry said softly.
Not long after Ginny, Bill and Fleur arrived and took a seat around the fire.
"Susan said you wished to see us?" Ginny stated questioningly.
Harry took a deep breath and spoke. "I just went to speak with Moody, I found out... I found out we lost three people Friday night. Charlie was killed helping people get out of the Burrow." Harry said quietly.
Ginny burst in tears and flung herself at Bill who was sitting next to her and was sobbing into his shoulder, Ron just looked lost saying "No it can't be, no" in a whisper over and over again..
Does Mom and Dad know?" Bill asked shakily, tears rolling down his cheeks as Fleur was hugging his other side sniffling quietly.
"Yes, your mom is not handling it well and your dad's been busy trying to keep her together." Harry answered.
Thanks for telling us." George said sounding so strange, their was no mischief in his eyes, they almost seemed blank. His voice was flat no emotion in it whatsoever it just seemed so wrong.
"Who was it that killed my brother?" Fred asked angrily.
"Doesn't matter, they are all going to die, I didn't know Charlie well, but from what I do know from the few times I met him, he was was a good man, and he will be avenged." Harry answered firmly.
"To right he will." Fred growled.
"Look take tomorrow off, go be with your family, I know they will need you right now." Harry said kindly..
Bill nodded and said. "Thank you for telling us, it means a lot."
"If I was in your place I'd want to know, for what it's worth. I am sorry this has happened to your family." Harry said sadly.
"You don't have anything to be sorry for, I knew having the wedding at the Burrow was a bad idea." Bill said and started sobbing into Fleur hair.
"George stood and went over to Ron and guided him over to Bill Fred followed and the Weasley All wrapped their arms around one another in a massive group hug and let out their grief for their fallen brother.
Harry felt like he was an intruder being there and seeing them like this and he eased away and let them mourn for their brother in peace.
/A/D/W/F/
Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Scotland, 8/10/1997, 17:09
Severus Snape was exhausted, the plan they had come up with to open Hogwarts had worked.
He was now headmaster of the school and he had finally finished unlocking the wards of Hogwarts, it was a very difficult process and he just barely accomplished it before succumbing to magical exhaustion.
Now he could begin planning for the new school year, he would be working with the Carrow twins as his defense and transfiguration teachers, the rest of the staff would remain the same. McGonagall would not return this year and Alecto Carrow was no where near competent enough to teach in Minerva's stead, that would cause problems for O.W.L and N.E.W.T students, but this wasn't his call.
The dark lord had commanded they be given a position to teach at Hogwarts, so it was out of his hands and h3 would make the best of it.
Severus was currently sat behind the headmaster desk, trying to catch his breath after the energy he exerted the earlier, he was tired..
He only hoped Potter would win this war, he detested all of his comrades and despised the monster he was forced to bow down to, he just hoped that by being here he could shield the students from the tender mercies of the Carrow twins.
His musings were interrupted by a leopard patronus entering his office and speaking in Potter's voice.
"We need to talk, shrieking shack ten tonight, come alone."
'Odd, Potter's patronus has changed.' he thought absentmindedly.
Should he go? It could very well be a trap, but somehow Severus didn't think so. No this must be important if Potter was reaching out to him. The school was empty for the time being so he could easily sneak down without being noticed.
With a nod he made his decision, Potter may have become very ruthless of late but Severus didn't think there was anything to worry about as long as he didn't initiate a confrontation.
/A/D/W/F/
The Shrieking Shack, Scotland, 8/10/1997, 22:00
Snape arrived via the tunnel under the whomping willow, and poked his head out the small door and looked into the room, he was shocked to see a small table set up with Potter and Narcissa seated and waiting patiently.
Harry looked over when he heard the door creak open and looked into Snape's eyes before saying.
"Thank you for joining us, please take a seat."
Snape walked into the room and took a seat across from him to the right of Narcissa.
"What do you want, Potter?" Snape asked bluntly.
"Information, specifically when is no-nose sending Lucius to France to capture his son?" Harry asked.
"The dark lord is out of the country, I am in charge until Bella awakens." Snape answered.
"She's still unconscious then?" Harry asked curiously.
"Yes, but how do you know that?" Snape asked, realization dawning on him but he wanted confirmation.
"That was my handiwork, I was at the wedding to provide protection in case of an attack, I saw an opportunity to repay her for my godfather, I took it." Harry answered simply.
"You hurt my sister." Narcissa gasped.
"I gave her a taste of her own medicine, nothing more." Harry answered.
Turning to Snape Harry said. "I need the date Malfoy will be sent to capture his son, if I pull Draco to early you will catch the blame for waiting to long to take action, however if I take him right as Lucius arrives...
"Lucius will be punished for failure to complete his task. Yes I would prefer not to receive punishment for your actions, I am planning on sending them there the fourteenth of this month." Snape answered.
"Good, I also need a place to hide him. Moody refuses to let him in our headquarters." Harry said.
Narcissa scowled at this. "He is being ridiculous, I can keep Draco out of trouble." She protested hotly.
"Draco would have a lot of enemies there, it would be best if he was hidden somewhere none would suspect, Hogwarts for instance." Harry said looking pointedly at Snape.
"Hogwarts is under the direct control of the dark lord, there is no place more dangerous for him to be." Snape exclaimed.
"Have you ever heard of the room of requirement?" Harry asked casually.
Snape's nodded thoughtfully and then replied. "That is an idea that has merit, nobody would suspect he was there, but what about his mark?"
Harry looked at Narcissa, who nodded and the spoke softly. "I may have discovered a way to remove the mark, I plan to remove it before we leave France. If it works Draco will be completely undetectable by the dark lord."
Snape really did look shocked at this revelation. "Are you sure you can actually remove it?" Snape asked, his voice laced with hope at the prospect of being free from servitude he had brought upon himself all those years ago.
"I am almost a hundred percent sure it will work." Narcissa answered confidently.
"Very well I will make sure the castle is empty on the fifteenth and I will meet you here to escort Draco to the room." Snape finally agreed.
"Thank you, oh one more thing Snape" Harry said.
"What is it Potter?" Snape asked irritably.
"Tell Dumbledore's painting he's a fucking asshole for me." Harry said jovially.
"Harry language." Narcissa chastised.
" I apologize Cissy." Harry said in an insincere tone.
She rolled her eyes at him. "You really remind me of my cousin sometimes." She said exasperated.
"And why do you wish me to pass on that message? Snape asked.
"Because I had lessons with him all year and not once did he mention the curse on his hand was slowly killing him." Harry answered.
"How did you know?" Snape asked.
"The same way I was able to deliver that message to you, the last time we spoke." Harry said standing up.
"It was a pleasure seeing you again Severus, take care of Draco please." Narcissa asked almost begging.
"I will, he is my godson. Take care Narcissa, Potter." Snape said as he stood as well and headed towards the tunnel back to Hogwarts.
"You too Snape." Harry said as he offered his arm to Narcissa, and once she took it he apparated them away to another random location before removing a portkey that would take them to headquarters.
"Thank you for what your doing Harry, this really does mean a lot to me." Narcissa said.
"Yes well, I am a man of my word." Harry answered awkwardly, not feeling he deserved her gratitude when he was only doing this for his own gain.
Narcissa nodded, then reached out and touched the old quill and Harry activated the portkey to take them back to camp.
/A/D/W/F/
Teen Camp, Scotland, 8/12/1997, :00:01
Susan was rudely awakened by a cheer of "HAPPY BIRTHDAY!" She jumped from her bed wand at the ready before she realized she wasn't in her tent, she was outside by the fire. Looking around she realized someone must have levitated her rack out of the tent, she was surrounded by all the members from both tents.
"We're taking a day off training tomorrow, happy birthday Bones, oh and by the way those shorts are really hot." Harry said with a smirk.
Susan looked down in horror, she always slept in really short boy shorts and a tanktop in the summertime, and almost as if on que she heard a camera shutter and saw the flash of blue light.
"Tonks if you make that into a poster I want one." Susan heard Harry say excitedly.
Susan scowled, she would not go down the way Harry did.
She quickly darted back into her tent and pulled on some pants and a pair of sandals, and then stalked from the tent toward the gathering of people near the fire, she located her target easily, the pink hair was hard to miss.
Susan readied her wand as she quietly crept up behind behind tonks and raised her wand to strike.
The pink haired Auror was laughing and talking with the group and wasn't paying attention when Susan summoned the camera out of her pocket. Tonks only noticed something was amiss when she felt her pocket move and turned around in time to see Susan's follow up spell impact her camera exploding it into thousands of tiny pieces.
"There will be no posters, of me." Susan said sweetly, and grabbed a butter beer off of the table and took a swig, before wandering over beside Harry.
"That's how you prevent posters being made." Susan said smugly.
"Damn, I was really hoping to get one, it would have looked great in the shower room." Harry said disappointed.
Susan blushed at the thought, but another part of her wanted to know how serious he was, if he really found her attractive or was just messing with her.
Tonks looked murderous, this was the second time she had been foiled in her ventures by Potter or Bones, and now she needed a new camera. 'Damn those two!' She thought angrily.
Susan's birthday party didn't get near as wild as the one thrown for Harry, they didn't have any booze and the twins were still subdued after Charlie's death, and they were usually the life of the party. The camp ended up heading to bed about three in the morning and Susan was just pleased so many people were here to celebrate her birthday with her and that she didn't have to worry about multiple copies of her scantily clad body being hung on the walls of the boys tent this time tomorrow.
/A/D/W/F/
Teenage Camp, Scotland, 8/12/1997, 13:00
Harry called a meeting with the six people he selected for the mission in France, he had cleared out the boys tent and held the meeting in the common area.
"I am about to ask all of you to accompany me on a trip to France, I know your not going to like the objective, but I can promise you it is important." Harry started off.
"Where are we going in France and why are we going?" Bill asked curiously.
"Calais first, we need to pick up a member of the D.A in Bethune, and then we're headed to Nice, where we have to retrieve Draco Malfoy before he is captured by his father." Harry answered.
"Why on Earth would we want to rescue the ferret?" Asked Neville incredulously.
"I made a deal with Narcissa, if I rescue her son, she will get us into Malfoy Manor." Harry answered.
"Well I already agreed I was in, you don't have to pitch it to me." Susan said.
"I really would rather you stayed here and run the camp while I'm gone." Harry told her seriously.
"Like hell I will." Susan said stubbornly.
Harry had been freaking out ever since he talked to Moody the other night, the thought of Susan getting hurt or worse terrified him and he had decided to try his best to get her to stay behind.
"We'll talk about this later, Susan." Harry said quietly.
He didn't know how he could convince her but he would talk to her after the meeting was over and try his best.
"I'm in, if I can be a part of the Malfoy Manor attack." Bill spoke up, cutting into Harry's thoughts.
"The Malfoy Manor attack will be everybody, from the Order and the D.A." Harry told him honestly.
"But we can't pull off that attack without rescuing the ferret?" Neville asked.
"Exactly, we should be arriving at the location about the same time as a group of death eaters, so this will be a very dangerous mission, we could go earlier but it would compromise our eyes on the inside." Harry warned.
"We're in, time to get some pay back for Charlie." Fred said with a vicious grin.
"To right dear brother, we'll go with you Harry." George agreed.
"I am in, I 'ave relatives in Nice, I know the area very well and I was dueling champion my last year at Beauxbatons." Fleur answered when Harry looked at her.
"Fleur maybe you had better stay here, this could be very dangerous." Bill said soothingly.
"Non, when I married you I became your partner, I will not be left behind while you go off and fight." Fleur said defiantly.
Harry looked at Neville curiously and asked. "Are you in?"
"Yes, I'm with you, but if the ferret starts running his mouth I won't be held responsible for what happens." Neville said flatly.
"I'll make sure Cissy keeps him under control." Harry assured.
"When do we leave?" Fleur asked.
"Tomorrow morning at nine, we are catching a ferry from Dover, from there we are headed to Bethune to pick up Hermione, then We'll make our way south by train. Cissa will lead us the rest of the way to the property the ferret is hiding in. We should be there by tomorrow night and can stake the place out to ambush the death eaters." Harry explained.
"So you are only bringing moi to guide you through France?" Fleur asked with a smirk.
"Well that and your not horrible to look at." Harry said deadpan.
Fleur giggled and Bill scowled at him.
"No flirting with my wife Potter." Bill said with in mock jealousy.
"Yes, Harry quit flirting with Fleur." Susan said with a touch of real jealousy.
"Well that's pretty much it, we'll be taking tents with us so we'll each be sharing a tent with someone." Harry finished up.
Everyone exited the tent except Susan, who waited for everyone to leave before speaking.
"Why do you want to leave me behind?" Susan asked.
"Moody, he said something the other night that has had me thinking." Harry answered.
"What did he say?" She asked.
"That if something were to happen to you it would tear me apart, I didn't realize it until then, but he is absolutely right. That's all I've been thinking about since then" Harry answered honestly.
Susan smiled at him warmly, then walked over to him and pulled him into a hug and Harry wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close her head rested on his shoulder and he could smell a fruity scent coming from her dark auburn hair that was so close to his face
"I'm a big girl Harry, I know how to take care of myself." She said softly into his shoulder, her breath tickled his neck making him shiver and his heart speed up..
"That doesn't really matter Susan, you can still get hurt and...
Susan silenced him by pulling his head down to hers and pressing her lips to his, Harry froze for a split second before returning the kiss and pulling her tighter to him and deepening the kiss his hands sliding down to her waist and hers going to the back of his neck he fingers carding through his hair. The need for oxygen forced them to stop and Harry took in a gulp of air.
"Wow" was all he could get out before Susan pulled him back to her and kissed him again, this time he felt her tongue begging entrance and Harry parted his lips his tongue meeting hers half way, his right hand slid of her waist and cupped her bum makinging her moan into his mouth. She pushed him back slightly and he fell onto the couch with her on top of him never breaking the kiss, they we're brought to a very sudden stop by a gruff throat clearing, belonging to the last person he ever wanted to get caught by in this position.
"I came by to drop of your return portkey." Moody said irritably.
Harry was looking at the floor his face beat red, Susan had hid her face in his shoulder.
"How long has this been going on then?" Moody asked bluntly.
"Since about five minutes before you interrupted." Harry answered.
"And today Is the twelth?" Moody asked.
"Yes?" Susan spoke up confused about that question.
"I won the pool!" Moody exclaimed with a gnarled grin
"What pool?" Harry asked uneasily.
"Tonks started a betting pool, for when you two would get together, the whole camp has a stake in it. I believe it's up to three-hundred fifty four gallons and two knuts." Moody said.
"Oh, I'm going to kill her." Susan exclaimed, that girl really was a menace.
"Not until she pays up." Moody warned.
"Why, you can't spend any of it right now anyway?" Susan asked confused.
"Not now I can't but when we win this war I can." Moody answered.
"Anyway here is your portkey it will take you to Inverness, that way the rest of you can head back here while Potter drops off the Mallfoy shit." Moody said gruffly.
"I have to find Tonks now, good luck with your trip tomorrow. And Potter, if you knock her up I'll make you disappear." Moody said exiting the common area leaving two blushing teens behind.
"Well that wasn't what I expected his reaction would be." Harry said outloud.
"Enough of that talk, I've been waiting for this for a month Susan said pulling him by his shirt back to her.
Harry captured her lips with his own and thought that he had been waiting to do this for a very long time as well.
/A/D/W/F/
Malfoy Manor, Wiltshire, England, 8/12/1997, 14:00
Bellatrix's eyes snapped open, she gasped loudly that dream had been so real, she dreamed she was eaten by a giant snake bursting out of the ground. How she came to be where she was now she couldn't remember. Her memories seemed so blurred, the last memory she could clearly recall was her wedding day back in nineteen-sixty-nine.
Well bugger she could pretty much bet that was a very long time ago, groaning she eased her self out of her bed and made her way to the loo, when she looked it the mirror she gasped in horror, 'what happened to me' Bellatrix thought in disgust.
"Elf!" Bellatrix commanded and very shortly a small female elf appeared in front of her.
"What can Mopsy be's doing for mistress Bella." the elf asked.
"Bring me one vial of tooth regrowth potion, one vial of hair regrowth potion an ten vials of nutrient potion at once." Bellatrix commanded.
Mopsy snapped her fingers and the potion she requested appeared on her nightstand, once Bellatrix confirmed the potions were all there she dismissed the elf.
Taking out her wand she cast a spell to painlessly remove all of her teeth, and the drank down the tooth regrowth potion.
She would have to wait about four hours to repeat the process with her hair because if the two potions mixed they could have unpredictable reactions.
In the meantime she began taking a nutrient potion every hour and spent the time in between taking a bath and making up for thirty years of not grooming herself properly.
Memories were starting to come back to her as time went by and by the time she removed all the hair on her body and was applying the hair regrowth potion to her scalp she could remember everything quite clearly, and more importantly why she had ended up in the condition she was in.
To put it bluntly, she had lost her fucking mind. She had ventured to far into the abyss and lost herself along the way, the really dark arts twist the soul and hers had been tied in a pretzel. She had experimented in the dark arts before her magic even had a chance to mature when she was in Hogwarts
Later on when she had joined the dark lord she had dove back into practicing magic that even her birth family shied away from.
The last memory she could recall was being held under a very powerful cruciatus curse, she could still feel it in her bones when she thought of what had happened before she passed out, whoever cursed her had pushed a lot of hatred into that spell.
Looking up she saw it was time and took another dose of nutrient portion, her hair was already shoulder length. now, the potion worked very quickly, her hair was now as silky and shiny as she remembered it in her twenties.
Finding a suitable set of robes she got dressed, once she pulled on her dragon hide boots she stood admiring her reflection in the mirror.
Her face looked full and healthy again, her teeth were no longer disgusting and rotting in her head but white and clean, her skin looked healthy and the madness was gone from her eyes. In short she no longer looked like a walking corpse.
Exiting her room she headed down the stairs, she made her way towards the dark Lord's throne room. Upon entering she found her brother in law going over parchment work behind a desk off to the far side of the room.
Lucius looked up and his eyes bulged in shock.
"Bellatrix your awake." He stated shocked at her appearance.
"Yes, I'm aware. Where is the dark lord?" She asked testily.
"He is abroad at the moment, he left Severus in charge until you recovered." Mucous answered.
"Well, I have recovered. Send for Severus at once. Then brief me on what has been going on in my absence." Bellatrix ordered.
"Of course." Malfoy said and called out "Mopsy."
With a 'pop' the little elf from earlier appeared before them.
"Yes master?" the elf questioned.
"Go to Severus Snape and tell him he is needed here immediately." Malfoy ordered.
The elf bowed before disappearing to carry out her orders.
"We have reclaimed Hogwarts, Severus has been made headmaster. The ministry has been rounding up what mudbloods we can find. And we are working towards taking control of Gringotts." Lucius began explaining.
He was cut off when Severus entered the room, he walked towards them and stopped starring in shock.
"Yes Severus, the bitch is back. Now what is happening with Hogwarts. And is there anything importrant I need to be made aware of?" Bellatrix asked cutting to the chase.
Snape was really taken aback, Bellatrix was completely lucid, he could no longer see that unhinged madness in her eyes, she now had a look of cool calculating intelligence, and her mannerisms were more like Cissa. That was a very scary thought, at least when she was deranged she was like an attack dog, now she was truly someone to be feared.
"I have appointed Alecto to teach transfiguration and Amycus to teach the dark arts. I was planning on sending Lucius to retrieve his son the day after tomorrow and I have finally learned the identity of who cursed you." Snape finished answering.
The last thing Snape said peaked her interest. "Who was it that cursed me?" She asked.
"Harry Potter, he was in disguise during the wedding and he was responsible for most of the fallen death eaters that night, as well as attacking you." Snape told her.
Bellatrix's eyebrow raised in surprise. "Well I did tell him he had to really mean it when casting an unforgivables, he definitely listened. Still he is the dark lords to kill, so I can not seek vengeance from him.
My nephew however is fair game, we shall leave tomorrow, I believe he needs a lesson in loyalty." Bellatrix said decisively.
"If there is nothing else, I wish to return to Hogwarts." Snape said.
"Thank you Snape, I will personally make sure this mission goes with out a hitch."She said after a moment's thought.
Nodding Snape quickly made his way out, once he was outside the wards he apparated back to Scotland.
/A/D/W/F/
Teen Camp, Scotland, 8/12/1997, 23:08
Harry was awoken by a doe Patronus standing over his bed when Harry's eyes opened it spoke in Snape's voice.
"We need to talk, same place, right now."
Harry jumped from his bed and pulled on his clothes and trainers, and rushed out the door stopping he hesitated a moment in thought before sighing and sending a message to Susan.
He waited for her as patiently as he could and after what seemed like an eternity, but was probably ten minutes Susan appeared fully dressed and looking at him expectantly, he started heading to the ward line Susan walking by his side before he spoke.
"I just received a message from Snape, something important must of come up, he wants to meet, now." Harry said.
Susan nodded and sped up her pace after twenty minutes of walking they reached the area were it was safe to apparate from. They both spun on the spot and disapparated to Hogsmeade.
/A/D/W/F/
Shrieking Shack, Scotland, 8/12/1997/ 23:37
Harry and Susan appeared directly in front of the shack, Harry waved his wand over the door and it opened easily. Entering the rundown building they saw Snape pacing back and forth looking very agitated.
"Bellatrix has awakened, but she is very different than she was before. She has moved up the date of the attack to tomorrow, and she will be there personally." Snape started explaining without preamble.
"How is she different?" Harry asked.
"She seems to be very sane now, and she was scarily intelligent in her younger days. It seems you answered an age old question.
If a sane person can be driven mad by the cruciatus, is it not also plausible that a mad person can be driven sane?
But all the same I wish you had just killed the bitch instead of playing with her." Snape said irritably.
"Well we have to go tonight then." Harry said' before sending of a Patronus to Narcissa.
"What about the team?" Susan asked worriedly.
"We don't have time, we can apparate to Dover and fly across the channel and then make our way to the property. If we move quick we can make it by morning." Harry said.
Susan nodded and turned to Snape. "May we borrow some brooms from the school." She asked.
"Yes" he said before requesting an elf to bring them three school brooms.
"What is the emergency?" Narcissa asked entering the room with Andromeda and Tonks following behind her.
"We have to leave for France tonight, Bellatrix has awoken and pushed the date forward to tomorrow." Harry summarized.
"Fuck!" Narcissa swore in a very unladylike manner.
"We're leaving as soon as we get some brooms, if we hurry we can beat them there." Harry said.
"Count us in" Tonks said.
Andromeda nodded her agreement. "Yes I haven't seen my sister in years I'm sure it will be a nice reunion." She said dryly.
The elf popped in with three brooms and Severus asked for him to retrieve two more.
"There is something you should know Narcissa, Bellatrix seems completely sane. She will be far more dangerous than she was before." Snape warned.
"I know, I grew up with her." Narcissa said primly.
The other two brooms arrived and everyone grabbed one and exited the shack.
"We're appatating to the cliffs of Dover." Harry said before disapparating.
His final thoughts were that he hoped they all came through this alright, the initial plan was scrapped so now they had to wing it.
AN; I got to thinking, what's worse than insane Bellatrix, Intelligent calculating evil Bellatrix.