Chapter 4: Fix It... Or Else!
'4pm
Black Estate
Be there
or ELSE...'
Hermione inspected the narrow slip of parchment and a tiny box it was attached to. The author of the unsigned scroll wasn't hard to guess.
Two weeks passed since the dramatic court hearings that found Bellatrix Lestrange, who went back to using her maiden name, Black, innocent of any involvement in The Second Wizarding War. Her time served in Azkaban for the crimes against the Longbottoms was found sufficiently long.
Both Black sisters faded from the public view immediately after Bellatrix was set free.
Hermione didn't believe Black's story. She spent hours every day after finishing work on Hogwarts restoration looking for inconsistencies in Black sisters' story, imagining ways Bellatrix could have set it all up. After all, the evidence of Bellatrix's likely duplicity was in the faded M on Hermione's forearm. So Hermione searched for anything that could explain the magic of the chanted curse woven in her arm, and anything about the Isle of Tranquil. Both topics were very scarce as she discovered.
Hermione couldn't stop fretting since receiving the invite. The opportunity to get some answers was too tempting to miss.
So, after weighting all pros and cons Hermione found herself opening the small box and using the portkey inside.
The portkey landed Hermione in a small clearing. An overgrown path ran from the clearing deeper into the forest. Hermione shrugged, pulled out her wand, and followed the path. She'd already decided to meet the star of her nightmares. There was no point to delay now.
The gates to the estate appeared as if out of the thin air after several minutes of walking. They promptly opened when she neared. And so did the large double doors of the main building.
The elf greeted her and motioned for her to follow.
After several minutes of walking the two stopped in front of the open doors to a large study.
With a nod towards the entrance the creature disappeared.
Bellatrix Black sat behind the large desk staring at the window. She felt the mudblood's presence the moment the girl appeared on the enchanted land of her family's estate.
She knew the younger witch would show. The Golden Girl was nothing if not predictable in her curiosity and foolish bravery.
Bellatrix had a problem and she knew she could manipulate Granger to do as she needed. Granger would be compelled by guilt, by blackmail, or by hope at relief from the curse to do her best to achieve what Bellatrix needed.
Hermione noted that the witch looked much more put together than she had ever seen before. Almost as if she was a different person.
Then the witch spotted her and sneered in an all too familiar way.
'Mud-'the witch sneered.
To Hermione's amazement the witch stopped mid-word. Clamped her mouth shut and grimaced like she ate a lemon.
'Granger'
'Lestrange'
'It's Black now.'
Nothing else followed.
'Look if you invited me here to play mind games find someone-'
'You are a week late!'
Hermione turned to leave. So what if she needed a moment to think about the invite! She hoped she would be able to find the way back to the building entrance on her own.
The doors slammed shut trapping her in the room, and for the first time since appearing in the middle of the forest, she felt a true whisper of fear. She pushed it down.
'Seriously!' she whirled around glaring at the older witch. Or more specifically at the curly mane as Bellatrix once more turned to the window.
'I really don't care for your filthy presence inside my home,' the witch hissed.
'You. Sent. Me. the Portkey!' Hermione snapped each word slowly, hoping the witch could trace the cause and effect of the situation.
'So I did.'
Hermione started to doubt her own sanity. The conversation didn't follow any normal flow.
'The situation is clearly an error of judgment for both of us. So rejoice, I'm leaving! '
'No, you are not.'
'Why the bloody hell not?! Look, people know where I went, just so you know! I understand you must be bored here all alone but I have better things to do. I'm going to go… now.'
The witch giggled crazily, amused beyond the circumstance.
'Bored?! That's what you think this is about!' she shouted the last part and Hermione took a step back involuntarily.
'W-what then?'
Bellatrix took another sip of whatever was in her glass, and turned fully to glare at Hermione.
'My sister is here.' The dark witch seethed emphasizing each hissed word with a sharp tap of a long dark red fingernail on the wooden desk. 'Divorced. Disgraced. Wallowing. DO YOU KNOW how many divorces we had in the family?!'
Hermione's ears rang at the screech, and she just shook her head.
'NONE!' Bellatrix appeared to reach new levels in her pitch. 'You. Will. Fix. It!'
The last part was hissed, but it felt like a shout nonetheless. It was hard to think when the object of her night terrors was glaring and screaming at her like that! And the door was still seemingly locked. She inched towards it anyways.
'I- W-why is that my problem?! Wait, Mr. Malfoy left her because of what happened? Surely he understands it was not Mrs. Malfoy's fault.'
The dark witch narrowed her eyes and looked about to screech again.
'I thought you didn't tell Mrs. Malfoy about me.'
'For all good that did.'
'I don't understand…'
'My foolish sister told him! Told! On her own! And Lucy the spineless coward that he is would have been understanding if it was the Dark Lord… or another Death Eater… as if any of those snakes dared! But no! Cissy had to be honest with her husband! Honest! Who is ever honest with their husbands?! She told him of her belief that the imposter was a mudblood, and of what transpired. And HERE WE ARE!'
Hermione blinked at the witch wondering if Black even realized she just admitted to the knowledge she shouldn't have had.
'And don't look so excited, filth!' The witch grinned mockingly. 'I found my doppelganger diary.'
Right! Diary!
'And did that diary by any chance say how to get rid of the rest of the curse your doppelganger gifted me with?!' Hermione gave the witch a look making it clear just how much she didn't believe her story.
'And why would I bother to look, huh?'
Hermione gripped her wand tighter. She was so tempted to send some hex Bellatrix' way! But that would not end well, she knew that. Bellatrix would most likely take the opportunity to torture her, and then blame her for her trouble. In the eyes of the law, Bellatrix was now a semi-regular person, and a victim of the Ministry cruelty after all.
'Well, that's not my fault Mr. Malfoy has a fragile ego! What is it that I'm supposed to do?'
'You will make Narcissa stop her wallowing, show her life is just starting or some other crap you people are known for! or persuade her to move… wherever. Lucius certainly didn't leave her destitute! She has plenty of places to go! Did she not say she is in your debt for speaking for Draco and Lucy. So, collect it! Tell her you want her to live in Muggle London for all I care!'
'And why would I bother helping you? Again!'
'If you don't I'll make sure everyone knows of the events on one spring day in Malfoy Manor!'
'You would humiliate your sister? You will admit to your lie?'
'Do NOT test me! And it is not a lie. I have the diary!' The elegant hand waved dismissively in Hermione's direction. 'Now shoo! Go! I want her happy or out of the house! Or both!'
The doors banged open, and an invisible force pushed Hermione into the hallway.
'You are insane!'
Hermione spat in the direction of the disappearing from view witch, as the force kept moving her into the hallway and in the direction of the waiting elf.
'Not insane enough, apparently!' echoed mockingly in the hallway.
After a long moment of fuming next to the quietly waiting elf, Hermione managed to politely ask the little creature to take her wherever he was ordered to.
That is how she found herself standing in front of one set of the double doors on the third floor.
Lestrange... or Black... or whoever... was mad! The quest sounded innocent enough but impossible. How was she supposed to persuade Narcissa Malfoy away from her ancestral home? Hermione imagined if someone just waltzed into her childhood home and had the nerve to suggest she vacate the building... It was mad!
Hermione decided to just see the witch, say hello and explain that Bellatrix sent her. She would suggest Narcissa talk to her sister, and then head out before Bellatrix knew what happened.
So, she knocked, and knocked again after a couple of minutes of waiting, and then again in a couple more.
The door flew open non too gently.
'Bella! What is your-' Narcissa stopped the heated greeting when she realized it wasn't her sister at the doors.
Hermione observed as the impassive mask settled on the beautiful face. But it seemed off, strained, as if not fitting well at the moment, or at all anymore...
Narcissa was clad in long loose robes over a sleeping gown or something of the sort. Her hair was loose and free and slightly wavy around the face.
The witch looked comfortable, and at home, and...
Beautiful, helped her brain.
Hermione frowned. She seemed to still have some side effects of that blasted potion!
The witch pulled the gown tighter around herself at the scrutiny, and Hermione's eyes widened, and then widened some more.
'Uh…Mrs. Malfoy…'
That startled Narcissa of her surprised inaction.
'Black' the witch whispered mournfully, and apparated away.
Bellatrix didn't know what the mudblood said to Cissa and she didn't particularly care about the details. She would kill that pesky witch! First she would torture her, and then kill.
All she asked of the girl is to make it so that there was less of Narcissa on her nerves.
Less!
Not more!
Instead, not even ten minutes after the girl left on her quest, Narcissa showed up in her study, in person. Her sister reproachfully queried why she invited Miss Granger at such a time, surely her husband's estrangement wasn't the best time for entertaining.
The room immediately started to feel very small.
Bellatrix wanted to scream. And she would, she promised herself, but not at her sister. Narcissa was distraught enough all day everyday as it was.
What estrangement?!
It was a divorce.
Divorce!
Lucius didn't want to have anything to do with his, now, ex-wife. Never mind the fact that it is only thanks to the foolish-name-shaming-witch that he was even able to have a name to shame. Granger's testimony helped a lot, but it was Narcissa's heroic act that put a positive light onto the whole family, gave the public assurance that Malfoy family was redeemable.
Good riddance to the idiot as far as Bella was concerned.
Ah, and here was the young witch she was going to kill.
'Lestrange-Black-whatever, do you have any feelings! Any decency at all?! Mrs Malf- hm- Miss Black she is- How could you want to kick the heavily pregnant woman out of the house?! You sist-'
Hermione's eyes widened as she stormed further into the room and spotted the blonde witch there.
'Heavily' Narcissa repeated sadly to herself, and then zeroed on Bellatrix.
'You want me to leave?!'
Bellatrix tried to respond but nothing properly pacifying was coming to her mind. She glared at Hermione with a new level of venom.
Hermione noticed Narcissa's eyes turning even more sad and watery as Bellatrix struggled to come up with a reply. Before anyone found anything to say, the blonde witch coughed trying to hide a sob, clasped her hand over her mouth in a familiar to Hermione gesture, and once again aparated away.
Hermione narrowed her eyes at Bellatrix, but the other witch was faster.
'Now look at what you've done!' Bellatrix screeched at Hermione and propelled the half-empty glass her way.
'How is that my fault!' Hermione yelped even as she jumped out of the way, and pulled her wand out.
'Go and fix it! or I'll tell Cissa you committed worse crimes than calling her heavily pregnant! Go!'
'Well, now she knows how you feel.' Hermione snapped as she ducked out of the way of another projectile. 'Hopefully she'd leave… and never talk to you! I know I wouldn't in her place!'
A heavy bookend crashed where Hermione's head used to be just moments ago.
'I want her to leave on good terms you idiot! She is my sister! Go and fix it now!'
Hermione narrowed her eyes at the furious witch stubbornly.
'Or else…' Bellatrix hissed.
She glared at Bellatrix.
'I'm going to check on Miss Black, but only because I unintentionally upset her.' Hermione stressed the two key words, as Bellatrix made a face at her.
The young witch left the room with as much dignity as she could muster... walking backwards, just in case.
Now she just needed to find Narcissa, or the exit.
Whatever came first!
End of Chapter 4