Breaking the Window
Chapter 48: Monsters
Bellatrix was in a most uncomfortable position. Her plan to wriggle free by syncing up her flow of magic with that of the rope was abandoned when she spotted her wand lying on top of a desk some ten meters away in the hallway beyond the living room. Her tactic was to loosen the magic rope just enough to twist her hand towards her wand.
Here she lay, her body twisting, her arm in an awkward Z-shape while struggling against a rope which was cutting off the flow of her blood. She drew in breath through clenched teeth, her body drenched in sweat from the exertion. She let the magic flow through her arm and the tips of her whitened fingers. From beyond the hallway, she could hear the ticking of her wand against the wood of the desk as it started to vibrate.
"Oh, please," Bellatrix hissed. "Merlin, Circe, Salazar, Andros, Maeve, PLEASE!"
Bellatrix was acutely aware that she was taking far too long with executing her escape plan. At this point, Rodolphus might be returning at any moment. If he did, well… she didn't really want to think about what could happen.
So, she tried again. And again. Ever hearing that taunting ticking sound. Until finally.
"YES!" Bellatrix exclaimed when her wandless accio did its thing and the wand came flying right into her hand. She folded her hand against the hilt and took a few deep breaths. After the moment of joy had passed, she started folding her hand downward. All she had to do was to tap the rope with the tip of her wand, which was easier said that done with her wrist being bound so tightly.
After a few fruitless attempts, she was startled when the door to the house in the woods was thrown open. Her heart sank: she had taken too long. Immediately, she searched for a place to try to toss her wand to, but before she got the chance, Rodolphus strode into the living room with a hand on the back of the neck of an older muggle man she recognized as the reverend Frost from Hermione's church. Rodolphus threw the vicar into the room where he fell to the ground and froze the moment he saw Bellatrix with her wand in hand.
Rodolphus grew silent for a moment, then calmly strode to the side of the bed. With surprising gentleness, he slid the wand out of a frightened Bellatrix' hand and tossed it into the room.
Bellatrix didn't even see the blow coming, but it was delivered with such force that it snapped her head back and sent a tremor through her entire body. She was left reeling, seeing stars and finding it hard to breathe… hard to think. She could taste blood and her jaw hurt. Something sharp was in her mouth which could only be part of a broken tooth.
"You made me do that to you, Bella!" he roared. "YOU MADE ME!"
He paced around, throwing his hands into the air. "I am trying to be a good husband! I am trying to make you see the Dark Lord's greatness and this is my reward?! DISOBEDIENCE?! REVOLT?!"
He was upon her in a flash, grasping her neck. "I understand that you are young and therefore fickle, BUT DO NOT TEST ME AGAIN! You only need you womb to do your duty and that's all you need! Not your legs, not your arms, not your tongue, not your ears and not your eyes! DO YOU UNDERSTAND ME?!"
Bellatrix fought to keep her breathing under control. Would he… would he really?
"Now, you'll be happy to know I've found ourselves a nice vicar!" he snarled, hoisting the man up. The vicar looked as if Rodolphus had plucked him right out of the middle of a service… and knowing him, that was likely the case. He was still wearing that cassock thing and a green priest stole around his neck.
"Wha…" the vicar stammered. "Bellatrix? What… what on Earth is going on?!"
Rodolphus ignored the questions and hoisted him to his feet by pulling on the nape of his cassock.
"Right," Rodolphus demanded. "Marry us!"
To his credit, the muggle vicar took one look at Bellatrix bound to the bed and shook his head vigorously. "No, I will not!" he spoke, barely hiding the fear in his eyes, but still standing to his principles. "The poor girl is obviously not here of her own free will and I will not be party to this."
The muggle was brave, Bellatrix had to give the old man that.
Rodolphus sighed heavily and took out his wand. "Don't you hate it when they struggle, Bella? IMPERIO!"
Immediately, the vicar visibly relaxed, seeming in a trance. His protests fell silent and he simply stood there smiling.
"Marry us!"
Reverend Frost scraped his throat and easily fell into an oft performed routine. "Dearly beloved. We are gathered here today in the sight of God to join together this man and this woman in holy matrimony, which is…"
Bellatrix looked around, desperately seeking a way out of this predicament, only for her to receive another blow to the face.
"Bella, relax!" Rodolphus hissed while the vicar continued rattling on. "This is SUPPOSED to be the HAPPIEST DAY OF YOUR LIFE!"
Her will being sapped by the reeling blow, Bellatrix took a few deep breaths. There had to be a way out. She had to find it.
She had to.
It didn't take long for Hermione to figure out that she had been deposited smack-dab in the middle of the Forbidden Forest. Likely deeper than she had ever been.
Hermione had hardly ever gone further in than the mere edges. Even the Fae Mirror, for all its wonders and powers, had been relatively close to the edge in a safe area of the Forest and yet had managed to go undiscovered.
This said a lot about the Forbidden Forest, a place which was still mostly unexplored by wizards and witches. The thickness of the canopy allowed for little light, stifling the air around her. The Forbidden Forest was a place of dark magic and she could feel it all around her, twisting the trees and fouling every breath she took. There were places where even the centaurs wouldn't enter, and this would be one of them.
She also aware just what was roaming these woods. Something which had had it in for her and Bellatrix from the moment they'd met it and something which would have no qualms about entering this section of the forest. Sure, the chances of running into it in a forest this size were reasonably small, but she didn't want to spend any more time than necessary.
Zipper seemed confused for a moment, and ill at ease. He buzzed around a bit, hovering for a moment as if trying to gauge a direction. After Hermione marked the other side of the portkey tunnel, another knothole, with the marker and put up a conch beacon, she decided that following Zipper would be as good as any. The wasp seemed to be good at picking up a scent and she did see some marks on the ground which looked as if something… or someone… had been dragged over it.
A moment of confusion come over her. Hermione shook her head her head while walking and decided to keep going, only for Zipper to start flying in front of her, blocking her path.
"What?" asked Hermione. Zipper simply blocking her until she turned around.
A few moments later, there was more confusion. She found herself walking again with a steady pain. Once more, Zipper blocked her path until she turned around. Hermione stopped in her tracks. This place looked… unfamiliar. This hadn't been the direction she'd been headed in. Curious she took out her wand and roved it about while following Zipper. Eventually, she detected a strong curse laid upon the land. Zipper wasn't affected, but anyone who'd hit the curse would be confused and walk off into a random direction to get lost in this darkest part of the forest.
She'd done so twice. If Zipper hadn't been here, she'd be walking though the forest disoriented and confused forever. A flick of her wand and the curse was disabled.
Hermione followed Zipper, leaving more beacons along her path and was surprised to find a house deeper in. It looked to be partially overgrown hide its presence, but it otherwise looked like quite a stately two story upscale hunting lodge. The luxury stone building looked to be hundreds of years old, but surprisingly well maintained. She'd expected to find this sort of building somewhere on a hill at the outskirts of a village, rather than in this deep forest.
Zipper buzzed and Hermione became acutely aware that two people had apparated right near the front door of the building. The young witch dove behind a fallen log and hoped she hadn't been heard. When she dared to look, all her anxieties flared up all at once.
Rodolphus Lestrange.
What did it have to Rodolphus Lestrange?!
The man seemed to be dragging along a vicar. Wait. Was that Reverend Frost?! What was happening here?!
Hermione watched from her hiding spot as they went inside, Hermione closed her eyes and forced her body to stop hyperventilating. In that moment, she was back on the cold ground of Malfoy Manor, rolled up into a ball while whimpering as that awful man rained blow after blow after blow upon her with the fireplace poker.
But she was not that girl anymore. And Trix needed her.
So she steeled herself and crept towards the house. She pressed her back against the wall and slowly turned to peek inside. To both her delight and horror, Bellatrix was there. Though she was safe and sound, relatively speaking, she seemed to be tied to a bed in the living room.
Hermione reached into her satchel and took out a note, scribbling on it a request for help. She turned to Zipper and tied it to one of his legs with a bit of spellotape. "Zipper," she whispered. "Go to Hogwarts. Find McGonagall. We need all the help we can get."
The giant wasp seemed torn for a moment, turning towards the window to look at Bellatrix, then turning back to Hermione.
"Zipper," Hermione whispered. "Please…"
The giant wasp looked at her with understanding in his intelligent eyes. The wasp shot straight up and then, above the canopy, shot off in what she presumed was the direction Hogwarts was in as fast as his wings could carry him.
Hermione realized she had to do something. With Bellatrix tied to a bed and a kidnapped vicar in the house, it wasn't hard to deduce what the next step would be. Crippling fear, however, caused her to pause and freeze up.
Then, everything changed. When Rodolphus punched Bellatrix against the cheek so hard that she could hear the impact from the other side of the room through the window.
Disbelief.
Then… anger. A rage of the like she had never felt before in her entire life. Seething didn't begin to describe it. Bellatrix, the girl she loved, lay whimpering on the bed
And then, he hit her again.
Hermione's hands trembled. Not from fear, but from rage. The anger inside of her was stronger than she had ever felt before. Hermione knew she could be bossy and snippy, or even downright vindictive. But this was different. A pure primal rage which had been building up inside of her for years burst to the surface, pushing away all fears and doubt. Her chest heaved, her head pounded and her heart exploded in her chest. She knew what she had to do.
Hermione grasped her wand and with sheer determination, strode right into the building without a moment's hesitation. She was literally seeing red when she bounded about the corner with heavy strides, the words of the vicar sounding in her ears.
"If anyone objects to this marriage, let them speak now or forever hold their peace…" spoke the Reverend Frost.
"I OBJECT!" Hermione yelled out, her hand wrapped so tightly around her wand that her knuckles had turned stark white.
"Hermie!" Bellatrix exclaimed while both Rodolphus and Frost turned around.
"Hm, that never actually happens," said the Vicar, muttering to himself. "I should look up the protocol before we continue."
"SILENCE!" Rodolphus roared. "How dare you intrude… wait… I know you. Ah, yes! YES! The little mudblood girl! Have you come to play again? Ah, you mudbloods are always such gluttons for pain and punishment."
Hermione waved her wand, freeing the vicar from his trance, before holding her wand in front of her face, indicating she was challenging him to a duel.
Rodolphus grinned and matched her movement, accepting her challenge and actually looking forward to it. But the moment he moved his wand to his face, Hermione pumped her hand forward and blasted a bolt of energy straight into him. He yelped as he was knocked off his feet and flew back into the wall.
"Not so weak, now am I?" Hermione shouted at him. "Now that I'm not unarmed and you don't have a poker in your hand!"
Rodolphus hissed when he jumped to his feet and retaliated with magic of his own. A rage-filled Hermione put up her barriers and barely blocked it.
"FILTHY MUDBLOOD!" he shouted. "You usurpers know nothing of our rules! You defile the noble act of duelling!"
"FUCK YOUR RULES!" Hermione shouted back. "AND FUCK YOU!"
And then, the duel started in earnest.
The location to duel is was far from ideal: it was close quarters fighting, filled with furniture and Bellatrix, being in a central place in the room, was right in the line of fire. Thankfully, the vicar was taking care of that, as the made kept his head down after the spells started flying and started to try to cut her free with a knife he had found.
"TRIX IS MINE!" Hermione shouted. "YOU WILL NOT TAKE HER FROM ME!"
Her rage gave her offensive spells an extra bite of power, while her defensive spells suffered due to lack of focus. She'd been hit several times, in her shoulder, her chest, her stomach, and had suffered several nasty looking magical burns. But aside from a few pained grunts, she barely even noticed and shrugged them off.
By now, the vicar had freed Bellatrix and the curly-haired witch was frantically looking for her wand. Good. Hermione could let loose now.
A bolt of lightning shot from the tip of her wand, smashed through Rodolphus' barrier. Hermione took a step forward, only to bit hit with blinding pain. So… he had used an unforgivable on her. The pain was intense, but the anger within Hermione was so great that she barely felt any of it, shrugging off the white searing feeling of hot needles penetrating every inch of her skin. The cruciatus curse wasn't real pain, but just an illusion of pain. And Hermione didn't have time or patience for figments.
"I'm not afraid of you anymore! You're not half as scary as you think you are. What does it feel like to be bested by a mudblood, hm?!" she smirked. It was a taunt, clear and simple, but Bellatrix had taught her that taunts were part of every duel.
"ENOUGH of this farce!" Rodolphus snarled. "Time to end this! AVADA…"
Hermione was prepared for that. The young witch, aimed her wand downward and willed a large part of the wooden floor to be ripped into the air and levitated it in front of her just in time to form a barrier for the sickly green bolt headed straight towards her to be blocked. The force of the impact caused the entire room to shake, with splinters of wood flying all around her. With a grunt coming from the depths of her lungs, she propelled the remainder of the section of floor into Rodolphus with bone-crushing force, immediately following up with an assault of her own.
She pumped her hand forward again and again, waving her wand as if she was a mad orchestral director. Spell after spell impacted with Rodolphus, causing him to cry out as the magic shred through his body.
As he lay on the ground bleeding and panting, she willed his wand to fly into her hand where she deftly snapped it and threw it over her shoulder. With wand aimed at him in a trembling hand, Hermione stepped towards him.
"This… this can't be!" Rodolphus grunted, trying to get to his feet but failing to so after it became clear that one of Hermione's spells had shattered his knee. "THE DARK LORD NEEDS HIS MOST FAITHFUL SERVANT!"
Even in her anger, her heart was light. After months upon months of night terrors, self-doubt and endless trauma, she was finally free.
Bellatrix, having finally gathered her wand, stood next to her with wand raised. Bellatrix gave her the warmest of smile and it only made Hermione's anger return: if it had been up to that delusional monster, she never would have seen that warm smile again. He was too dangerous, too destructive and too delusional to leave alive.
At that moment, her two companions realized what she wanted to do. Perhaps they saw it in her eyes. Bellatrix fell silent and nodded grimly. "You have won the duel. You have the right to decide his fate. Do what your heart tells you," she said.
The vicar, however, had a different opinion. "Hermione, please don't," started the man. "I won't lie, I don't understand half of what's going on here, but the man is defenseless and at your mercy. Do not take an action you can never undo. If not for him, then for yourself. There are different ways to dispense justice. Hermione, I've known you since you were a baby. This isn't you."
Of course, a vicar would say that, now wouldn't he?
Reverend Frost spoke true. Hermione wasn't really practicing, but the Church was basically a glorified community center in British society and had spent plenty of time there in her youth. Still, he simply could not understand Hermione's anger, her memories of the pain and suffering inflicted on her, the traumas and the fear she had had to live with. No. No, her course of action was clear and there could be only one outcome.
Hermione turned her head, and just knew how to end it. She reached out her hand and, magically, the fireplace poker came flying into her hand. She knew she wasn't nearly as physically strong as him, but a quick application of magic soon changed that. With both her poker and her arm wreathed in magical power, she was about to start.
"Hermione, no!" Frost pleaded.
Bellatrix was quick to counter. "Don't listen to him! Eye for an eye!"
Well. Who was Hermione to argue with that?
The poker slammed down first at Rodolphus' jaw. He cried out and spat out teeth. And, did it feel good. Another blow followed. And another one. Hermione cried out from the intensity as the poker-head slammed into one of his knees. Rodolphus whimpered and rolled up into a ball to protect himself, crying out for Hermione to stop.
And she did. For just a moment.
Hermione squatted down, poker in hand, and spoke softly. "It's scary, isn't it?" she said. "Being at helpless and at someone's complete mercy. You want nothing more than the pain to stop, but you know that won't happen. Difference between you and me is that I never begged. I knew it wouldn't matter. I had figured that out quick enough. You still haven't."
Again, Reverend Frost made an attempt. "Hermione, please. Stop this madness."
"Quiet!" Bellatrix hissed and pressed her wand against his chin. "This is her moment!"
Hermione ignored them both.
"Did you know that I often had thoughts about ending my own life?" asked Hermione. "I did. Not because anything you did to me on the floor of Malfoy Manor, oh no, don't flatter yourself. Rather, it was that entire war you and your retarded friends started. You lost. Spectacularly. And you're not willing to let it all go. I've learned that it's time to stop living in the past. Took me a wild time-travel jaunt to do it, but I learned. As for you, you could have just avoided all of this but just STAYING THE BLOODY FUCK away from my Trix! But like the blood-purity obsessed moron that you are, you just couldn't. You did this to yourself."
He opened his mouth. "The… the…"
"Oh, it speaks!" Hermione chuckled eerily. "Come on then. Out with it."
"The Dark… Lord… will… will…"
"Voldemort is dead," said Hermione. "And he's never coming back."
"YOU LIE! HE WILL! HE WILL! BELLATRIX AND I WILL BREED HIM AN ARMY!"
Hermione turned her head to Bellatrix, before turning back to look at Rodolphus. She rose to her feed and, in a split second, sent the magically enhanced poker right between his legs with bone-shattering force.
"I don't think you'll be able to anymore," Hermione shrugged as the whimpering, crying heap of a man. "You know, I'm rather ashamed of myself that I was ever afraid of you. You're pitiful, really. Pathetic. You just can't take what you love to dish out."
She stood over him, poker in hand, smiling down at him. "Your broken body will heal, for the most part. Mine did. But your mind? You'll be crying out in your sleep from the nightmares, the shame that you, a proud pure-blood paragon, had been utterly defeated, tortured and mutilated by a filthy little mudblood girl. That will haunt you until the day you die. You'll question yourself at every turn. It will haunt every quiet moment you have. You will wonder if your life is even worth living. But no, I am nothing like you. I will be kinder."
Hermione turned the poker around and aimed the sharp pointed end towards the whimpering, crying man.
"Hermione! Don't!" pleaded Frost.
"DO IT!" Bellatrix shouted over him.
"Rodolphus Lestrange," spoke Hermione with eerie calm. "I grant you mercy."
She raised the poker and, with all her rage and hatred, prepared to bring it down on his skull with magically propelled force.
She managed to, however, before… something… happened.
Hermione never quite realized what was happened. There were shouts. Screams. The entire house shook. Wood splinters were flying all around her. Something bumped into her, causing the poker to fly from her hand.
Something grabbed her by the wrist.
She was thrown up into the air.
There was a pop from her wrist.
Hermione landed on the hard ground.
Things got a little hazy after that.
How quickly things could change.
While Hermione was too filled with rage, Rodolphus too wounded and the vicar too confused, Bellatrix did notice something was off. A sound of thunder sounded in the distance and it seemed to be getting closer. She tried to listen over the shouting, only to notice that the house… no, the ground was shaking.
The next thing she knew, something big crashed through the wall of the house, sending massive amounts of stone, wood and shards of glass inward as a huge, pitch-black shape entered the living room with dazzling speed.
The black unicorn.
It was here!
Its massive body tossed all furniture aside as it skidded to a halt, colliding with Hermione. Before anyone could react, the massive carniverous unicorn had clamped its massive maw around Hermione's hand and, with a whip of its head, threw her across the room. Hermione landed in a crumpled heap right at her feet.
Everyone was momentarily frozen. The vicar stared at it in fear while Rodolphus seemed gobsmacked. The black unicorn snarled, raising its lip to reveal rows of bloodied sharp teeth. But Bellatrix only had eyes for Hermione. She lay on the ground, bloodied, her wand hand gone.
On her wrist, where once had been a hand, was now nothing but a clump of torn flesh, crushed bone and frayed skin. Bellatrix didn't have to be a genius to realize that Hermione was losing blood at an alarming rate. Still, Bellatrix was wise enough not to move just yet. The black unicorn was dominating the room, glaring as if deciding whom to consume first. Oppressive silence filled the room.
Merlin, she had never been this close to the creature without running from it. She could see the many scars it its ashen skin, the muscles rippling underneath it, the baleful clustered eyes. This creature was ancient, a massive predator from a bygone era, resistant against magic and physical harm alike. It make her happy that there was only one of it.
Then, for once in his life, Rodolphus did something useful. He made a noise by accidentally kicking against a fallen lamp while trying to drag his broken body. Immediately, the Black Unicorn snapped his head towards him, his massive horn tearing through the wooden panelling decorating the living room wall.
This was her chance!
"Hey!" she hissed to the vicar. "Help me with her!"
To his credit, the muggle vicar kept impressing her. Silently, the two of them each took an arm and threw it over their shoulders, getting ready to carry Hermione up the stairs behind them. The Black Unicorn was blocked the front door and, to be honest, it wasn't as if they could actually outrun the creature. Not with Hermione in the state she was in.
Rodolphus yelled out a few expletives before attempting to throw a wandless spell with a broken arm. The spell travelled the short distance to collide impotently against the beast's head. If she didn't know any better, Bellatrix thought that the creature seemed to be insulted by the gesture.
The last thing Bellatrix saw before they rounded about to the second landing leading up into the house was the Black Unicorn taking slow steps towards him. But Bellatrix wouldn't dwell on that. Upstairs was a corridor with a series of rooms on either side. Bellatrix dragged Hermione into first door she saw, which turned out to be some sort of office, while the vicar dove into what looked to be a bedroom through the opposite door.
Bellatrix grabbed a cloth from the desk and wrapped around Hermione's bleeding wrist. A quick application of her wand pulled the cloth so tight it made for a good make-shift tourniquet. She silently pulled Hermione underneath the desk and saw that the vicar had found a hiding spot in a cabinet. Before he closed the door, she put her fingers to her lips, motioning him to be as silent as possible.
Silence.
Oppressive, heavy silence.
All Bellatrix could hear at first were Hermione's shallow breathing. Honestly, Hermione was in very bad shape and looked to have slipped into hypovolemic shock. She had gone deathly pale, her skin had gone cold and clammy, while her lips were turning blue. Worst of all, she was slipping in and out of consciousness and was rife with delirium. It was hard to judge how much blood she had lost, but it was a lot. It didn't help that Hermione was covered with magical burns from the duel.
Bellatrix had thought about apparating the two of them out of there, but apparation could be bumpy under normal circumstance. Bellatrix was certain that Hermione would not survive apparation in her current state.
So, Bellatrix held on to Hermione to warm her up and kept as quiet as possible. With any luck, the murder-unicorn would lose track of them and go back into the woods.
It was then that she started to hear the screams from downstairs.
Ever increasing screams. Mixing with another sound. Crunching?
No.
Munching.
Merlin, Rodolphus was being eaten alive.
Bellatrix closed her eyes and clutched onto Hermione when the screams from downstairs intensified to a point that they didn't even sound human anymore. Then, there was gurgling. Then, nothing.
No, not nothing. There was still the munching. The tearing of flesh.
Then. More silence. The creature was obviously done with its meal. Bellatrix kept absolutely still, hoping against hope that they wouldn't be noticed.
More sounds she couldn't place. Something heavy on wood. Something scraping through…
MERLIN! The damn thing was coming up the stairs!
Panic gripped her by the throat as felt the entire house shake as the creature was forcing its massive body through the stairwell. Of course, she had been foolish to think the Black Unicorn would simply let them go or ignore them. This wasn't some mere beast: it was intelligent. Evil. And it held grudges.
Bellatrix gripped her wand tightly, glancing at a near-delirious Hermione. A Hermione who was obviously dying. The curly-haired witch was determined not to let this creature have either of them.
Frighteningly enough, the corridor was too small for the creature, but it was pushing itself through nonetheless, shattering stone walls and pushing everything aside. And it was pushing forward with consummate ease.
The vicar had also noticed the disturbance and Bellatrix quickly motioned for him to stay where he was. The curly-haired witch took note of the sounds and the positioning of the warped walls to judge where the creature was. She knelt down by the doorframe and swifted pointed her wand to the corridor.
"BOMBARDA MAXIMUS!"
A massive explosion sounded, rocking the entire house. A harsh whinny-like roar sounded when the creature found the floor exploding underneath it. By the now, the house had endured so much structural damage that it started to shake and groan. The unicorn fell a story down, only to be swiftly covered with a pile of stone, wood and debris as half the building collapsed on top of it. Bellatrix was thrown to the ground as part of the floor shifted and when she opened her eyes, she saw that half the office she'd been in was now open to the elements.
"Hermione!" Bellatrix yelled and, to her relief, she was still underneath the desk. The vicar had survived as well, and was swiftly at their side. He put two fingers on her neck to feel her heartbeat and swiftly pulled his surplice from his cassock to wrap it around Hermione in an attempt to keep her warm. Apparently, the Frost knew what he was doing.
"Oh, poor, poor soul," whispered the vicar while regarding the bloodied cloth around her wrist. "What on God's green Earth was that creature?"
"Don't let her die," Bellatrix told the man. "I have to go deal with that thing or it will end all of us."
"So God help me, I will preserve her," said the vicar.
"T-t-trix," sounded from Hermione. Merlin, her voice was so weak. She didn't even open her eyes. "D-don't… don't leave me…"
Bellatrix whispered. "I have to," she said, brushing her lips against hers. Cold. So cold. Hermione attempted to kiss her back, but fell back weakly. Bellatrix kissed her on the forehead, before standing up at the edge of the collapsed building, jumping down on the pile of debris with wand in hand.
There was a distinct crushing sound as her boots landed on top of the remnants of stone. From this vantage point, the sheer amount of damage done to this house first by the monster and then her bombard became clear. Less that a quarter of the house was left standing, one corner of the once proud hunting lodge. Her desperate act had done its job, but it was pure luck that the entire house hadn't come down on her and Hermione's head outright.
Today was the day she was happy she hadn't worn boots with higher heels, which she often did to look taller than she was. In fact she promised herself that, after today, she would never wear boots with high heels again. Because today was the day she needed to run for her life.
The Black Unicorn exploded from the pile of debris that covered it, pouncing in her direction with an open maw of blood-stained teeth with alarming speed. It was only a quick instinctual magic impulse which saved her life: the magic flew from her wand and flitted her two meters to the right, narrowing avoiding a grisly fate underneath the creatures claws, bulk and weight. The creature instantly turned while Bellatrix ran as fast as her legs could carry her.
The first order of business was getting the thing away from the defenseless Hermione. Bellatrix ran through the Forbidden Forest, any random direction being as good as any. Tree after tree zipped past her and the beast was in hot pursuit. She heard the ground shake behind her, she heard smaller trees and underbrush being splinters, she heard the distorted whinnies coming every closer. She threw curses over her shoulders in random direction: she didn't think she was actually hitting anything and she didn't dare look over her shoulder to take better aim but she hoped she might slow it down somehow.
One thing was sure: the thing was gaining on her and there was no way she could outrun it. A loud tremor behind her, and Bellatrix finally looked over her shoulder.
Just in time to see a massive, opened maw and razor sharp teeth mere inches away from her. Bellatrix yelped turned her head forward, looking for a way out. Apparation was the way out and she waved her wand up just in time before the maw would slam closed around her neck.
Bellatrix in a tree, sat on a branch some ten meters away. Her momentum almost caused her to topple down to the ground now ten meters below her. Immediately, she hissed in pain when she felt a tug on her arm. Looking at her bicep, she noticed that a twig was now fused with her flesh. Bellatrix grunted as she pulled on it, slowly pulling it from her body and leaving a small bloodied tunnel through the length of arm.
All things considered, worse things were known to have happened during panicked apparations. And it was still better than being caught in that things' jaws. Quickly, she surveyed her surroundings, quite aware that the murder-unicorn was already stalking towards the tree she was in. For a moment, the thing looked up with its baleful clustered eyes before… it ran off.
Bellatrix gulped: that wasn't good. She would need to find a better spot soon. Hell, she needed a plan. But when she noticed a sandy clearing in the distance next to a brook, an idea started to form.
More rumbling in the distance. Fast approaching rumbling. The thing, of course, had been building up speed. Bellatrix already had her wand in hand when it collided against the trunk of the tree, smashing it to splinters. The tree toppled and Bellatrix was already falling when she apparated away.
She grunted when her momentum caused her to crash into the sandy ground. Safe for now. Bellatrix chuckled to herself: safe was a flexible concept at the moment, but it would be a bit before the Black Unicorn would find her again. The curly-haired witch got to work immediately. Using her wand, she willed all the water from the brook to rise up into the air into a massive globule of floating water. She splashed it down upon the sandy ground, using her magic to force the water in good and deep. She furthered it up by applying plenty of sticky charms, ending up with a large, deep bit of quicksand as sticky as tar. The only thing left to do was to disguise her trap with an illusion of normal forest floor.
Not a moment too soon as the Black Unicorn stepped out from the treeline.
"There you are," Bellatrix whispered, wand to her side. "No more running. Now we fight."
The Black Unicorn seemed to understand, glowering at her with before lowering its horn and contorting its lips into a snarl.
The Slytherin in her was giddy with anticipation: a few more steps forward and the thing would be defeated without her ever having to raise her wand. Unfortunately for her, things were never quite that simple.
Bellatrix was startled to hear the sound of people approaching from the left-hand side, too near the unicorn for comfort and was downright horrified when she saw it was her father and Ron Weasley swiftly approaching.
"Bellatrix!" shouted Cygnus.
"Where is… WHAT THE FLIPPIN' HECK IS THAT?!" Ron shouted. The unicorn took advantage of the situation by stepping forward and slamming right into Ron, sending the young man flying into a tree. He fell back to the ground on his chest and lay there unmoving. Meanwhile, Cygnus fumbled with his wand, causing a massive fireball to shoot forth. It engulved the creature, setting it momentarily ablaze with magic fire.
It didn't last. The fire was snuffed out unnaturally fast. The air was momentarily filled with the smell of burning flesh until that too died out. In fact, the creature's surface wounds were already healing.
The Black Unicorn reared up and stamped both its claw-like hooves into the ground, sending out a magical wave across the ground, knocking Cygnus off his feet. Bellatrix looked on in horror as the creature took steps towards her downed father with jaws distended. She knew what it had done to Rodolphus: she would not allow her father to suffer the same fate.
She raised her wand and a bolt of lightning hit the Black Unicorn in the side. "HEY!" she shouted. "IT'S ME YOU WANT! COME AND GET ME!"
The creature turned its head, snarling before letting out another distorted whinny.
"Yeah," Bellatrix grinned. "Come on. Come get the tasty, tasty witch-meat!"
It turned and charged towards her… right into her trap. The creature let out a surprised yelp, findings its limbs tangled in sticky tendrils of quicksand. Its fearsome massive bulk now became its enemy as it only made it sink into the bog quicker. The Black Unicorn lost its grip and struggled against its inevitable fate, but it was too no avail. It sank and it sank and it sank.
Bellatrix allowed herself a satisfied smirk when the creature gave her one last look, six orbs glaring at her with utter hatred before its head sank unto the pit. There was one last bubble of air before the ground went still.
It was over. It was finally over.
Bellatrix rushed to her father's side, who was already near Ron.
"Father!" Bellatrix yelled before kneeling down next to him. Her father, frail as he was, seemed mostly unhurt, but grimacing.
"The boy is fine," said Cygnus. "He'll have a headache, but no bones are broken."
"Hermie," Bellatrix gasped. "Hermione! She's hurt. Badly. I… we need to go to her."
Cygnus smiled and pointed up. Apparently, he had spotted them earlier than Bellatrix had. Immediately relief washed over her when she saw a formation of broomriders passing over, following Zipper as he was leading them back to the house. With McGonagall at the head of the formation, Bellatrix knew she could relax: they would reach Hermione long before they would. They would save her.
The adrenalin had taken its course by now, and Bellatrix started to feel the pain of her experiences. Strained and torn muscles, the wound on her arm and her face felt… and likely looked… like one big bruise.
Her father gave her an intense look. "Who hit you?" he asked slowly. "What happened."
"Rodolphus… He was the one who kidnapped me," said she. "He wanted to use me as a brood-mare to breed an army of new followers for the Dark Lord. It's as insane as it sounds. I disagreed and, well, you see the result."
Cygnus closed his eyes and sighed through his nose. "I'm sorry, Bellatrix. I'm sorry for everything."
"Father?" asked Bellatrix.
Cygnus merely smiled at her. "Be happy with Hermione, Bella," he said. "She's a good match for you. The best."
"Father…"
"I'd be proud to welcome her as family," he smiled. "I can't imagine anyone who'd love you more than she does."
Bellatrix chuckled. "Wait until you hear what she discovered about our family history. It's wild."
"Oh?"
The conversation never went any further. The puddle of quicksand parted and out came the massive creature, having apparently jumped after reaching the bottom of the pit. Immediately, Bellatrix and Cygnus got to their feet when the enraged creature started tearing itself loose from the tar-like tendrils of enchanted soil.
Bellatrix was ready for a fight to the death as the creature regarded both of them. It seemed to be… grinning at them, if she hadn't known any better.
"Bella?" whispered Cygnus. "Remember when your mother and I taught you and your sisters to skip rope?"
Bellatrix nodded and touch the tip of her wand against her father's. A magical string started to take shape: her father whispered some words and the tiny string started to radiate intense magic, turning bright red.
The Black Unicorn took another step forward. Bellatrix steeled herself while her father took a position near one of the trees. A concerned look seemed to be telling to her be careful.
If careful was even possible around a carnivorous beast like this.
Suddenly, the beast charged again. Bellatrix stood her ground and flitted two meters to the right at the very last moment. The hulking beast charged right into the now taunt magical string, carving through skin, flesh, bone and everything in between just as father and daughter whipped it up.. The beast let out one last surprised whinny before collapsing onto the ground in multiple pieces as the magic string did its grisly work.
Surely, it was dead now.
Bellatrix and Cygnus stood over what was now a pile of flesh, organs and severed limbs. Its long face was missing its jaw, its forward legs lay severed and its torso bisected along its length, laying in a fast spreading pool of dark red blood.
Until that pool started to slowly retract into its body. Tendrils for flesh lashed out for the severed parts. The body was stirring as its parts were reconnecting and rebuilding itself.
"Can nothing kill this thing?!" Bellatrix exclaimed.
Cygnus aimed his wand, a stream of the coldest ice appearing from nothing. Bellatrix understood what her father was doing and added her wand to the effort. Together, they bombarded the body of the beast with endless amount of cold, freezing the entire area.
It had worked. The body stopped moving as it lay frozen and encased in a thin layer of ice. "That should hold it for a while," said Cygnus. "Long enough for the Ministry to come collect it."
"What would they even do with it?" Bellatrix sighed.
"If they're wise, they'd find a way to destroy it permanently."
It was at that moment that Ron stirred. "Bloody hell, my head," he muttered while Bellatrix helped him to his feet. "Where's that thing… oh, block of ice over there? Sorry I missed all the fun."
"I wouldn't exactly call that 'fun'," said Cygnus. "I'm too old for this nonsense."
"The others were flying in that direction towards the house," said Bellatrix. "I say we follow. Oh, Ron? If you're still looking for Rodolphus, you will find bits of him inside the creature under the ice."
"Pass," Ron muttered.
Hermione. She couldn't be dead. She had to be alive. Bellatrix focused only on that.