I promise I don't totally hate Rose, but she's going to have to suffer a lot if she's going to become a better witch.
I AM NOT PROFITING OFF OF THIS. ANY RECOGNIZABLE PEOPLE, PLACES, AND/OR EVENTS BELONG TO J.K. ROWLING
Chapter 24
As soon as Rose felt her transformation taking hold, Jessie had recognized the sign and tossed a final smoke bomb, which also acted as a portkey. On the other side, Rose was tossed into the snow in a heap with Peppers. Sputtering, she wiped the snow off her face and transfigured Peppers before putting her ring back on.
"Holy shit, it worked!" Sirius whispered excitedly, and for once Rose didn't want to totally strangle the kid. James and Sirius had been tasked with finding the rune that held the blood ward in place, and once they did, they had to place a beacon for the portkey. The fact that the three of them were now milling around in the deepest part of a hedge maze told Rose that the boys must have found the spot.
"Alright, have you found the rune?" Rose dusted off her clothes and took out her wand. Sirius nodded and pointed to a grey stone, only about waist high, that was nearly buried in a hedge. Crouching in front of it and wiping away snow and caked on dirt, she could see the ancient scratched out warding symbols. Standing back, she pointed her wand at it and cast bombarda. Unfortunately, the spell rebounded and destroyed a massive section of the hedge maze, sending Rose sailing through the air, as well as James and Sirius. Groaning, Rose shook her head.
"You guys alright?" she called, and she saw an arm stick out of a hedge before giving her the thumbs up. James tumbled out of a shrub, cracking his glasses.
"Ouch. I bet they heard that. Is the rune gone?" he asked as he mended his glasses. Rose squinted through the smoke before growling in frustration.
"Nope, not a scratch."
"Then I suggest," Sirius started as he poked his head out of a hedge "we hit it all at once with our most powerful spells. That could work."
"Or," Rose took his hand and pulled him free "that could blow a massive crater in this maze and kill us in the process. I have an idea, but you might have to buy me time." she patted out a small fire on her shoulder before standing in front of the rune again and closing her eyes.
"What's she doing?" James asked Sirius, and Rose scowled.
"Shut up I'm doing magic." Rose focused on the small noises, the voice of the maze. She winced when she heard a lot of groaning, probably from the shrubs she accidentally destroyed parts of. It took a few moments, but she was able to reach out and coax the stems to grow and push towards the rune. The sound of stone cracking could be heard as the plants constricted around the rune and broke it into pieces. Feeling exhausted, Rose opened her eyes to see that the ward was beginning to break apart, glittering particles like stardust raining from up above.
"That was...actually really slow and lame. This is the cool magic Andy was talking about?" Sirius looked skeptical, but Rose didn't feel like dealing with the kid just yet. Instead, she gave him a withering glare before stumbling a little.
"Okay, I have to meet up with Moody and Shacklebolt, and you two need to get back to the party before anybody gets suspicious. Or more suspicious than they already are." she turned them around and pushed them towards the mansion. After they left, Rose looked up at the sky again, watching the barrier. Then she looked down and paused.
"How the hell do I get out of this maze?"
Jesse had mingled briefly before snatching an entire bottle of wine and fleeing the scene. He happened to pass the Aurors, as well as Moody and Shacklebolt, to whom he gave a cheeky salute before hightailing it back to London.
"Tell Rose to call me when she gets out!" he shouted before snapping the reins and disappearing into the night. They gave the strange man a brief confused nod before moving in close to the front door.
"The rest of you, cover and exits the second we get inside. We probably won't get all of them, but if we don't muck it up, we'll nab a few of them to make a difference." Moody ordered, and they all prepared themselves.
Inside, Andromeda was still busy bickering with Bellatrix when the dark witch stopped and her eyes shifted across the room quickly. Her left arm flinched behind her back quickly, and she fixed Andromeda with a murderous glare.
"We'll speak another time, Andy." she turned abruptly, but now Andromeda was confused by this change in emotion.
"Bellatrix, what is this about? You're acting strange." The brunette ran after her sister, and Bellatrix stopped to say something but she gripped her arm fiercely. Gritting her teeth in pain, she didn't look her sister in the eye.
"It's not important Andy, I-"
"Andromeda! Bellatrix! Where is your sister?" Suddenly, Druella was at the end of the hall, shouting to them, with Cygnus hot on her heels.
"Mother? What's wrong?" Andy felt dread bloom in the pit of her stomach.
"We don't have time, there are Aurors out front, we need to leave now." Cygnus grabbed Andromeda's hand and began dragging her away. Bellatrix followed them as well. Andromeda bit her tongue for a moment before deciding now was not the time to let something so simple slip between her fingers.
"I'm pregnant." she blurted, and Cygnus nearly fell on his face when he heard this. Bellatrix whirled, her eyes dark and wild.
"You lying bitch I knew something was wrong! It was the mudblood!" Bellatrix threw herself at Andromeda like a wild animal, disregarding the previous urgency. The sounds of panicked shouting could be heard from the ballroom. Druella was pale with shock, while Cygnus's face grew more red by the second. Andy needed more time, to at least hold her sister here so Aurors could capture her. Hopefully the others had been successful as well.
"It's true! I'm engaged to Ted as well!" Andromeda said with a chuckle as Bellatrix had a dagger to her throat.
"Cease this foolishness! Andromeda this is no time for games!" Druella insisted. Her mother looked like she was on the verge of tears, a pleading hand on the eldest daughter's back as she tried to coax Bellatrix away.
"Andromeda if what you say is true, then you know what will happen to you!" Cygnus threatened. Andromeda already knew the consequences, and she had made her peace long ago. In the ballroom, she could hear the sounds of people apparating, and of curses being cast. The sound of smashing glass made her wince. Bellatrix didn't ease the pressure on her throat.
"You lied to me." she hissed "You lied about everything, I don't doubt that you've been hiding other things from me." she bared her teeth.
"So what if I did? You're still grasping at something that might not even be there." Andromeda retorted.
"Why are you so insistent on trying to tell me that my feelings are wrong, and that I'm crazy?" Bellatrix demanded "You're a hypocrite!"
"Because you are crazy, Bellatrix!" Andromeda finally bellowed "As her friend, I can't allow Rose to just throw herself to somebody who would eat her alive! You became even worse than before, after she disappeared. How do you expect anybody to love that? You're twisted!" The sisters looked more like twins now, curls loose from intricate hairstyles as they screamed at each other. Cygnus grabbed his wife and dragged her away, leaving his daughters to fend for themselves. Bellatrix shrieked in outrage and slapped Andromeda across the face, spending her sprawling to the floor.
"Look at you! Hitting me! What happened to us? We were so close Bella, and then you fell apart!" Andromeda roared, taking her wand out and casting protego as her sister tried to kill her.
"I bet you were behind this attack, then too, weren't you?" the dark witch ignored her sister's interrogation as she mercilessly flung spell after spell. The walls were quickly covered in scorch marks, decorations blasted off walls. When Andromeda couldn't get up quickly enough, the crazed witch stomped on her ankle, grinding her foot down as Andromeda cried out in pain.
"Bella," Andromeda huffed "I saw how you held your arm. You have a mark then too? Just like the rest of those serial killers? Do you follow him now? The very same man who sought to hurt Rose?"
Bellatrix stopped attacking her for a brief moment, and a brief moment of sanity flickered across her face before she continued.
"I would commit the most unspeakable acts if it meant the person I loved could remain safe. What I chose to do with my life and allegiance is not your business, you filthy traitor!" Bellatrix's voice sounded strangled as she pointed her wand directly at Andromeda's head. The brunette stared her sister down, brown eyes alive with fire. And then suddenly, Bellatrix disappeared in a cloud of black smoke. Slamming her fist on the carpet in frustration, Andromeda sat up and determined that her ankle was broken. It was Shacklebolt that found her first and helped her to her feet.
"What happened here, are you alright?" Kingsley sounded winded as he picked her up and slung her arm around his shoulder.
"Bellatrix got away. What about the others?" Andromeda wheezed as she hobbled awkwardly alongside the much taller wizard. A rare frown crossed his face.
"Many of them escaped, mostly the high profile targets. I expect we'll have a hell of a legal case on our hands now. I hope your family doesn't press too many charges." he sighed. Andy didn't say anything to that, and instead made her way back to the ballroom with Kingsley.
Stopping to lean on a railing as Rose followed Sirius and James's footprints back to the manor, the sound of strong winds made her raise her head for a moment. She didn't feel a cool breeze, but she could hear voices now.
"Bollocks, that hurt."
"Shut up and come on, I'm not getting caught because your stupid arse can't cast a damn spell."
Rose crouched low and got off the stairs, creeping back into the maze where she saw two men from the party, fairly pudgy and similar in stature. The way they stood struck a chord in her brain, it was like it had been yesterday.
"Hey assholes!" she pulled out her wand, swaying slightly "You're not going anywhere." The men turned in shock before brandishing their own wands. Rose felt adrenaline fueling her every move as she dodged their spells easily and petrified both the men. The battle was quick, but now she was stuck in a maze with two large, possibly heavy men, and she felt exhausted after destroying the rune. The years of wasting away on a cabin floor had seemingly caught up with her. With the frigid winter air biting at her skin, Rose cast a bright red flair into the air as her eyes slid shut.
In moments, strong, lithe arms were hoisting Rose from the ground, and a warming charm was cast on her. With bleary eyes, Rose saw the dark curly hair in the pale light of the moon.
"Andy, you should be inside, get Ted to help me or something." she muttered, but nonetheless patted the woman on the cheek softly in thanks. Rose felt like she could sleep for a hundred years. Before she could move her hand, a cold, thin one covered hers, nails scratching slightly.
"Andromeda, you good?" Rose shook her head a little to clear the cobwebs, before she squinted to see better. Pale skin, full lips stained red, a slightly upturned and regal nose, perfect cheekbones, and eyes that were impossibly dark. They were half lidded as Bellatrix stood there, holding Rose to her. Tears started to roll down her cheeks. The brunette witch was shaking now, but not from the rain. All of her fears from the past few months had been dashed away as soon as Bellatrix had touched her.
"Bella?" Rose choked, and Bellatrix took the opportunity to crush Rose in a hug unlike any other.
"I'm never letting you out of my sight again." the dark witch sobbed into Rose's neck, a sound that she had never heard before. Bellatrix had been emotional, but never outright cried. The way the dark witch shook made Rose reach up a hand to stroke the shorter witch's hair.
"It's my fault too. I'm so sorry." Rose couldn't help crying either now. They stood there for what felt like years, holding each other and crying out the hurt they had amassed over time. With her hands knotted in Bellatrix's hair, Rose pressed a kiss to the other witch's forehead.
"I'll do whatever you want me to do, I don't care anymore I'm yours." she whispered feverishly against her mouth, but Bellatrix only pulled away slightly at this. Her hands flexed in hesitation before she put space between the two of them. Rose shook her head, face twisting in dismay as she felt like she was about to cry again.
"Bella please...please I'm sorry I left, don't do this again." she pleaded. Bellatrix kissed the knuckles on her hand before finally looking Rose in the eye.
"Rose, I have to do something first, before we can do anything." As she began to roll up her sleeve, the former Gryffindor could only stare in mute horror and disbelief as she gazed at the dark mark. Before it was completely revealed, Rose rolled Bellatrix's sleeve back down and shook her head.
"No, I have something that can get rid of this, and then we can figure something out. Bella you could work with me and the Order instead." Rose insisted.
"I'm going to kill him myself. Even if I die trying." Bellatrix clenched her fists "He's scum. They all are. I don't want to kill anybody, Rose, but by Salazar I will kill him for you." a shadow passed over the other woman's face.
"Magic like this is poison, Bella. Let me heal you and we can do this together." Rose urged further. Bellatrix let go and took a step back now, and it was like she had become an unrecognizable person. A crazed gleam reappeared in her eyes, and the hairs on the back of Rose's neck rose.
"I can get close to him, and take them all down from the inside, for you! I can be unstoppable." the dark witch vowed. Rose's stomach twisted uncomfortably. Bellatrix had a dangerous air about her, something that she couldn't quite contend with. Everything in her told Rose to draw her wand, to defend herself. But she couldn't do it. The smell of crushed pine needles and deep rich spices still lingered around her.
"You're not yourself, Bella. Come on, come with me, we can solve this problem together. Just like old times." she held her arms out, trying to draw Bellatrix in. A flicker of recognition and sadness crossed through the other woman before her face twisted in a mocking, cruel sneer.
"Andromeda said that as well, before she ultimately betrayed our family." she paused when they both turned their heads to see that somebody had happened upon the scene. Rose looked at the man standing there, in an expensive dinner jacket with dark hair and neatly trimmed facial hair. He was staring at Bellatrix, but his focus quickly shifted to Rose instead.
"And you are?" his tone was snooty, typical of pure-blooded snobs. Well, most of them except for the Black sisters. He looked at the fallen Death Eaters momentarily, then back between the two women. Bellatrix ground her heel into the frozen ground a little, looking like she wanted to say something rude, but she quickly reversed Rose's spell, much to the witch's surprise.
"Nobody important Rodolphus. Let's get out of here." she sniffed, brushing past Rose to hold one of the Death Eaters by the shoulder, preparing to apparate.
"Rodolphus? Wait, you're the prick she married?" Already hurt by Bellatrix, the fact that the source of the dark witch's distress was right in front of her dredged up more rage. While still exhausted from battling, she aimed her wand at him. She heard Bellatrix snort, while Rodolphus drew his own wand, visible confusion on his face.
"Stop playing around, the Dark Lord is waiting." Bellatrix grumbled, disapparating before Rose could stop her. Rodolphus looked to the man behind Rose, and nodded to him, but the witch was already prepared. With her empty hand, she threw Peppers at the throat of the man she had previously battled, ducking just underneath the spell-fire that was cast at her. Scrambling back to her feet, she cast a curse at Rodolphus, but he managed to block it before running around the corner, deeper into the hedge maze. Rose sprinted after him, taking a small swig of the pepper up potion she had with her. The ground was slippery as she tried to gain purchase on the icy gravel.
"I don't know who you are, or what your angle is, but I advise that you cease this foolishness before you get hurt, girl." Rodolphus's taunting voice could be heard somewhere in the maze. Unsure of where he was, her head whipped restlessly as she quickly became lost in the maze again.
"Come out and fight me, you little bitch!" she shouted back "Or I'll burn this place to the ground with you in it!"
When she didn't hear a response, Rose took a deep breath before lifting her arms and beginning the motions. In hindsight, she supposed that setting the hedge maze on fire probably wasn't the best idea. But she was furious. Angry with herself for waiting so long to get Bellatrix, pissed off because she tried to convince herself that she could have felt any differently about the other woman.
"I am so sick of this. I'm tired of running and hiding and waiting around! I'm ending this, starting with you!" Rose shouted again, and in one final swoop of her wand, a massive roaring fiendfyre was conjured up. It sounded like the roaring of a thousand lions as snow quickly became steam and the shrubbery was engulfed in flames. As the smell of smoke filled her nose and the ash began to rain down, she was vaguely aware of Peppers joining her again, having found his way to her. Based upon the deafening silence, she could only assume that Rodolphus had weaseled away with the other Death Eaters. With the silent cries of dying plants in her mind, Rose stood numbly, defeated once again. The fire tore through the carefully planned hedge maze, forming a fiery ring around the brunette witch as she watched the dark starless sky above her.
"To say that this has been nothing short of a flop would be an understatement at best." Moody growled as he stood around with Shacklebolt. The Black Manor was nearly entirely empty, save for a few confused guests who didn't get the memo. The Potters, for example, were standing near some stairs with James and Sirius while an Auror interviewed them. James's father was making the process difficult.
"My goodness, what a racket! I daresay, we haven't had this much excitement in ages! And you say this wasn't another fiasco paid for by Cygnus and his dreadful wife? It was so realistic!" the mustachioed man crowed in appreciation. James looked a little embarrassed, and for once Sirius kept his mouth shut.
"Have the others gotten anything useful?" Shacklebolt asked, glancing at Molly, Gideon, and Arthur, who all looked equally frustrated and exhausted "Where's Fabian?"
Moody shrugged as he rubbed his forehead "I haven't seen him at all. We should probably find him while we still have time. Merlin, if we don't get anything, I'm going to lose my bloody job." the sandy haired young man grumbled before making his way down the stairs onto the ballroom floor. Andromeda was sitting on the landing of another staircase next to Ted, who had showed up with the Aurors afterwards.
"Are you two alright? Kingsley said you had a bit of a run in." Moody asked, and Andromeda couldn't help but frown.
"All of them got away. My diversion didn't work, but I didn't want to risk Rose getting discovered before it was time. Bellatrix recognized her almost instantly. I underestimated her." she admitted, running a hand through her curls in frustration. Ted hugged her around the shoulders firmly.
"It's alright Andy. You and the baby came out of this safe, which is more than we could have actually hoped for…" he paused, looking at his fiance "Maybe you should lay low for a little bit after this. It's only going to get harder, and all that stress…"
"Speaking of stress, where's our favorite resident hermit? Wasn't she supposed to meet us back here after she got the barrier down? I didn't even see her back at the party afterwards. We really could've used the help." Moody sounded annoyed and frustrated, while Andromeda suddenly became worried.
"Have you asked James and Sirius? They were with her, weren't they?" Ted looked to the young wizards, and he was thankful to see Sirius trot over from his friend's side.
"Where's Rose?" Moody asked in a low voice, not wanting to betray the young man's involvement in all this.
"Last we saw her, she told us to go back to the party. But she wasn't looking too good, right after she crushed the runestone in the maze." Sirius explained.
"The maze? Andromeda, you have a maze?" Moody sounded like he was both impressed and simultaneously revolted by the show of pure-blooded absurdity.
"That's not the point, Alastor. We should go look for her." Andromeda went to stand, but winced and cried out in pain when she put weight on her broken ankle.
"I'll go find her. You stay here." Moody placed a hand on her shoulder and gently forced her to sit back down. Following her instructions, Moody weaved his way through the mansion to the back entrance. The smell of smoke was growing stronger before he saw an orange glow ahead of him. Running out to the veranda out back, he saw the mess that was once the hedge maze, still burning brightly.
"What in the ever-loving hell?" he cursed as he ran up to the fire, getting ready to cast aguamenti. However the flames rolled and roared, preventing him from getting any closer.
"Rose! Rose, are you in there?" Moody shouted, casting aguamenti and trying to force his way into the maze. Abruptly, the fire disappeared, leaving nothing but charred plant life and smoldering stones. Picking his way through carefully, Moody could see Rose standing by herself with Peppers around her shoulders. She turned to him, and shrugged helplessly.
"Sorry, I let her get away." Rose's voice was choked, and she began to sob again. Moody's face hardened as he thumped her on the back.
"Come on now. None of that. Let's get you back inside." he looked at the destruction around him one last time, a frown forming on his face.
When they finally returned, Andromeda looked at Rose with visible concern.
"Rose? You smell like a bonfire, are you alright?" she had Ted help her up and over to the taller witch, who just chuckled weakly.
"Sorry Andy, might want to tell your parents to redo their garden back there. Got a little...crispy." she wiped soot off her face uneasily. Andromeda looked like she was about to ask what Rose meant until the other witch noticed how she was standing. Rose grasped the hem of Andromeda's skirt and lifted it slightly, much to the other witch's embarrassment.
"This is broken. Maybe a pilon fracture, based on the way you're standing." she looked up at Andromeda "How did this happen? Did a Death Eater get the drop on you?" Rose dropped the skirt.
"You could say that. How did you know?" Andromeda looked impressed.
"I read a lot of books, and we were trained in standard healing practices back at Ilvermorny. At least in my old house we were." Rose explained "I could fix that up for you when we get back to Ted's place." she offered.
"Actually, as tired as we all are, there needs to be a final meeting before we split up." Moody interrupted, and the three of them looked at the Auror "And besides, we're still missing one of those pain in the ass gingers. Spread out and see if he's still here."
"Hang on a minute. Alastor, ye of little faith." Fabian's voice made them all breathe a sigh of relief as the gangly wizard came onto the floor, heaving an unconscious man behind him.