A/N: Another chapter written, shorter than my quota has been but I'm satisfied with it. I ended where I wanted it to at the least. Not much in the way of world-buolding really, but half the fun for me is writing this attempt at a slow burn relationship. The last time I managed it it lasted eight chapters and was the entirety of the first Five anights story I put up here on the site. I'm trying to see if I can outdo that, but I doubt it. We'll see. Thanks for the growing number of peeps who like this, it really keeps me going knowing I'm writing something you all enjoy in one way or another.
Chapter Three
Hogwarts Arrival I:
New Faces
Negron Household, August 31st, 1975..
Nick waved his wand, shrinking several books before packing them into a small box that stored itself easily inside his trunk, the footlocker enchanted so it was in theory a pocket dimension with practically limitless space inside. This was the last day before his departure to Hogwarts for would be his final (and technically only) year of Wizarding schools, and he was determined to have some fun while he was in this time and circumstance. I wonder if she's all.. Nevermind, I guess. He thought, seeing the parchment relaying his and Bellatrix's concealed conversations activating as purple script appeared, scrawling itself across the page of parchment.
Morning! You have everything?
Nick used his wand to control the quill attached to said parchment, writing out his reply. Yeah. Have you heard from Lucina?
The day before, Nick had gotten a particularly nasty Howler from the girl, having found out about the arrangements being made between Nick and her father and rightly having her own opinion on the matter, calling Nick a bunch of names he had never even heard of. Bellatrix was then his best option at figuring out the girl.
I have, she showed up at my house last night. I did not tell her you had already told me of such plans. In fact, she does not believe we know each other, judging by how she was ranting off at me about how loathesome and cruel you must be, being a Gaunt.
I'm not surprised. I feel highly insulted, but not surprised. She'll find out on the train, then, I'm guessing?
Mhm. Plus, you already know about the rumors starting to go around, don't you?
Nick indeed knew. Alongside the article detailing their short fight against the Death Eaters at the Leaky Cauldron, there was another article detailing how it seemed the young Lord Gaunt and Lady-to-be Bellatrix Black were more than cozy as the picture of them sitting at their booth in the pub laughing was spread across the page. I do. Seems school will be pretty interesting.
I agree, because you'll be there, Nick.
I don't know, I figure I'll only make danger more dangerous, honestly. Well, let me finish my packing, you're too distracting.
Same Time, Black Manor..
Bellatrix smiled at Nick's reply as she let out a soft laugh. I'm distracting you, huh? She thought, suppressing her giggling from getting too loud or else her father would hear her. Since the other day, he had adamantly forbid Bellatrix from leaving the house until it was time to go back to Hogwarts, knowing his daughter's penchant for trouble would repeatedly lead her back into Nick's circle, as much as she seemed to want to be involved in that. Although he didn't mind that course of action, he had to let Nick know he wasn't about to let his daughter just go blindly into such a situation again.
That hadn't stopped the memories of her doppelganger from being present while she slept, although they never revealed much of anything in the way of why this was happening to her. She had learned, however, that whatever feelings Nick harbored for that girl that looked so much like Bellatrix were mirrored by Trixie, according to several small scenes she had witnessed. And now, with just mere hours until she would see the Gaunt Lord again, Bellatrix had quietly realized that those feelings had been blossoming within her as well, explaining the odd attraction she had felt towards Nick since that day in Diagon Alley. And now, knowing what she kept feeling, Bellatrix found it hard not to want to explore that feeling more. The problem there lay with Nick and his insistence being close to him would be worse for her than being brainwashed into the monster she had been shown.
I'm not going to go Dark, and I sure as hell won't let anything happen to Nick. If only he would pull that wall down and really let me in. Even if he's displaced through time or dimensions or whatever the hell happened to him, he has people there for him..
Yeah, he does.. Came another voice, one strangely similar to Bellatrix's own as the girl looked around her room. "Who's there?" There was no answer as Bellatrix sighed. "I'm going all sixes and sevens, aren't I?"
You know, I never did understand that expression.. Came the voice again, but Bellatrix got no answer yet again when she asked once more. "Whatever, I have to make sure I'm ready." She said, looking into her closet for an outfit to wear until it was time to change into her school robes, deciding to ignore the voice that now seemed more than happy to share their opinion on Bellatrix's clothes.
Don't you rich bitches have anything plain to wear?! Jesus Christ. Bellatrix knew the upcoming year at Hogwarts was going to be very different than it had been for the last six years.
King's Cross Station, London, 10:45 am..
Bellatrix arrived on Platform 9 ¾ along with the rest of her siblings and instantly her head spun around, looking for any sign of Nick. "Bella, relax. Your little boyfriend may still be yet to arrive." Sirius said next to his twin sister, nudging her shoulder.
"He's not my boyfriend." Bellatrix huffed, her face flushed as the voice sounded off again inside her head. He will be..
Bellatrix screamed mentally as the Blacks moved towards the train, the scarlet red engine steaming in preparation of the journey to Hogsmeade and Hogwarts by extension. Then, she was pulled to the side of her siblings as she found herself face to face with Nick, a smile playing on his lips. "Hey." He greeted.
"Hi." Bellatrix said breathlessly, making her siblings laugh behind their hands as Bellatrix blushed deeper.
"Aw, you're so cute together, though." Narcissa said, beaming at her oldest sister as Bellatrix pushed Nick away gently.
"Cissy!" Don't be mad. I never thought I would agree with Narcissa Malfoy of all people.. The voice was starting to grate on Bellatrix's nerves. Hard. She would have to explain it to Nick and see what he thought of the matter.
"Nick! Good to see you! So, when should we expect wedding invitations?" Sirius quipped. "I need to RSVP to that event." He cackled even as Bellatrix put him in a full body-bind hex, the girl stepping over her brother's prone body.
"Boys. Come on, Nick, before the train gets too full and we can't find a compartment." Nick, laughing at Sirius' plight, followed after her.
"Sorry, Sirius, old boy. Sisters know how to take us boys down more than most." He called out, undoing the jinx on the young Black as he and Bellatrix approached the train. "Was that really necessary?"
"Sirius needs to grow up, find himself a girlfriend so I have a reason to tease him now and then." She had a fond smile on her face, showing she wasn't being cruel to her brother, just the more responsible twin.
"Hmm. Maybe. Wait, hold on, why are we separating? I should have an eye on all of you." Bellatrix smiled at the sweet sentiment. He wanted to help as many of them get out of the year without whatever drove them apart in his remembered timeline.
No shit, Bellatrix. Not to mention that history you saw is fictitious. Nick isn't truly from this reality, and you've been suspecting it for days, ever since the attack at the Leaky Cauldron..
"Well, for one thing, Lucina loathes Sirius, and you need to talk to her, don't you?" Bellatrix smiled, making Nick's right eye twitch at the way she read him so easily.
"Yeah, I do.. Stop doing that!" He replied. "Doing things she would."
Bellatrix frowned. "I'm sorry, honey, but you agreed to this." Stop the flirting! Oh, sod off. I'm here with him, not you. Great, now she was technically arguing with herself. "Now come on. Lucina only sits in one compartment, so it won't be hard to find her." She linked her arm with his as she led Nick on the train.
They passed through a couple of cars of compartments before coming to one whose door was already closed. Bellatrix tapped her wand to it in a rhythmic pattern, the door opening by itself a moment later as the Black heiress dragged Nick into the compartment with her, closing and locking the door.
Nick knew Lucina just by her grey eyes, storms that narrowed as she saw Nick. "You!" She stood up, glaring angrily at Nick. "How dare you put Bella in danger like that! She could have been fucking killed, you wanker!" Oh, she is not like Lucius much at all.. Nick thought as he chuckled nervously.
Bellatrix went to stand between her best friend and Nick. "Lucy, stop it! Nick isn't the enemy here!"
"Like hell he isn't, Bellatrix! Did you know my father is so intent on getting rid of me that he signed me away to him?!" She asked furiously, pointing at Nick.
Bellatrix, to her credit, stayed incredibly calm despite her friend's shouting as she cast a muffliato to the compartment. "Yes, I know. Nick told me all about the arrangements, and how it's to stop you from joining those arseholes going around killing people just because of who they are, all for our stupidly outdated belief that us Purebloods are above all others when students like Evans prove that blood means nothing when it comes to how powerful a person's magic is or can be." She looked at Nick, her main rant finished. "We're all the same where it matters, Luce. And Nick is credited as helping me realize where my thinking was going wrong.."
Lucina rolled her eyes. "That's easy for you to say, Bellatrix. It's obvious, between your letters over the summer and from that article the other day, that you and Gaunt have some close connection."
Nick snorted from his seat. "Oh, it is so much more complicated than something as simple as a relationship." No one said anything, and he realized Lucina had been waiting for him to continue. "Oh, that was it. Lucina, what I agreed to is that you're to be considered a part of House Negron- and by extension Gaunt of course- as my adopted sister, nothing more. I'm really not looking for something like that anyway, and Bellatrix knows that. She has her own, personal reasons for being aligned in my thinking." He said, watching her still angry glare morphed into one of guilt, which didn't last long and was instead replaced with one Nick knew as being defensive, a defiant pout.
"Well you can't just parade around otherwise Muggle London with one of society's highest ranking and eligible bachelorettes, you know! It looks bad on her."
"Lucy, I can handle myself, thank you." Bellatrix glared at her friend, a look telling her she would explain later. "Now, I'll stress this again, Lucy. Nick is not our enemy. And, frankly, it's my choice whether I want him in my bed or not-"
And now I'm tuning this conversation out.. Nick thought as he sat back uncomfortably, now contemplating whether or not letting Bellatrix in was a good thing after all.
Two Hours Later..
The girls, thankfully, seemed to forget about him fairly quickly and for quite a while as he fell asleep to the feeling of the train rolling. Bellatrix glanced over at him every few moments, smiling at how peaceful he looks asleep, as opposed to the stressed out and (rightfully) paranoid visage he usually wore. Lucina didn't like seeing her friend otherwise so distracted. "Where's your head at, Bella?" The blonde asked.
Bellatrix looked at her best friend. "What do you mean?" Bellatrix had explained everything she felt Nick would allow, which meant none of his true backstory and past, and Lucina still wasn't fully buying it.
"This seems too suspicious. Firstly, you just happen to bump into this deviant the first day he was even living here across the pond from America, and not just once but multiple times that day alone. Then, you looked into his mind during dinner and he still isn't pissed off at you? How do you have this boy so wrapped around your finger?"
That would be my doing..
Sod off, bint! "I don't, he's the one looking out for me so much. I'm just trying to help him do what he keeps saying he's trying to do.. Lucy, he knows things people our age can't possibly know, and trust me, the things I saw inside his mind are .. Scary, to say the least and what I saw of the future, our future.. Wizardkind needs him, if things can be changed from the darkness that hung over it."
Lucina looked at her, bewildered. Bellatrix was always a passionate girl, but the level she intended on believing and even fighting for this stranger of a boy and his cause made no sense. They had known each other for only a month at best. "Bellatrix, aren't you worried you're taking this too far, too soon? You're going to have Rudolphus out for Nick's head, and then where will you be?"
Bellatrix scoffed. "I'd love to see him try, Nick would have him knocked out in less than a handful of spells if it came to a duel."
Lucina hummed, thinking her best friend was definitely going nutters at this point. "You're being mad as a hatter, you are."
"You're just jealous I spent more time with him than with you over the summer."
"Whatever.. You feel that?"
Nick's eyes opened as he felt the spike in magical energy approaching the compartment they were in. Bellatrix seemed to feel it too, as her eyes widened and looked at the door, a concentrating look on her face. With the train having been in motion for about an hour already, her hair bounced with the slight turbulence caused by the engine running down the railway tracks.
Knock! Knock! Knock! Came the sound from the compartment door, followed by a muffled voice. "Black! Malfoy! Open this damned door, I know the heir Gaunt is in there with you!"
"I really hate the fact I'm a Gaunt only because I hate the name itself." Nick muttered, much to Bellatrix's amusement as he cast a disillusionment charm on himself, making him invisible as Bellatrix opened the door to find Rudolphus Lestrange standing there, his younger and possibly even more deranged brother Rabastan standing behind him alongside the seventeen year old Severus Snape, making Nick him to himself as the three looked around.
"Well? As you can see, Nick isn't here. Hasn't been for a bit, actually. No idea where he's gone, either. He doesn't tell me anything about what he does, really."
"Oh, really? That's not how it looks in the Prophet, even days after the initial article." Cackled Rabastan as Rudolphus stepped into the compartment, making Bellatrix lean back into the cushions of her seat. Any further, she would probably phase through the wall into the next compartment.
Rudolphus sneered at the black haired girl, Bellatrix scrunching her nose in disgust at the absolutely horrid breath of the Lestrange brother. "Yeah, the papers have started calling you the Whore of Slytherin, cozying up to the new heir of Gaunt House so quickly."
"Oh, go jump off a bridge, Rudolphus! What I do is of no concern of yours!"
"That's not what my father says. He's already in talks with your mother about having us married by next July." He sneered again. "So you had better stay away from Gaunt. Rumor has it you offered your life to him as a sex-" Rudolphus didn't finish his sentence as he was ripped away from Bellatrix and instead pinned to the other wall, Nick appearing from under his illusion with his wand pointed at the opposing boy's neck.
"The Lady told you to back off, asshole." He said, the girls gasping as the other boys tried getting into the compartment only to bounce off of a ward Nick had erected.
Rudolphus spat onto the floor of the compartment. "Oh, so you're the new Lord. You don't seem like much. Pretty neat tricks, though, staying hidden like that. Scared to face real wizards?"
Nick smirked. "I'm as real as they come. And for proof of that, stay away from Bellatrix. And Lucina. Neither of them are going to work for my shit cousin and his doomed to fail goals." He declared.
The young Death Eater grinned maliciously. "Oh, he already put out a bounty on you, shitehead. Their weight in galleons to whoever brings you to him. Half of hers, too." He said, glancing at Bellatrix, who looked shocked.
"None of you pricks are touching a hair on Bellatrix's head, nor mine or anyone else who decides I'm the one in the right."
"Yeah? And what would you be oh so right about? You're just an upstart from the States. Bunch of lazy cunts, you lot are. Haven't heard a great idea come from an American Wizard in years." He laughed, Nick smelling the other boy's breath now, like he couldn't be bothered to brush his teeth.
"Ugh, what crawled into your mouth and died? A fucking Quintaped? Haven't you heard of personal hygiene? Oh, actually, let me take that back. Death Eaters only give a shit about their supremacist agendas, right? Well let me tell you all something. If things keep going this way, half of you standing here will be in Azkaban while the other half of you fools parade around unchecked. You're all a fucking plague, despising those who are unlike you in any little way. You say it's just about blood but blood and power aren't synonymous. In fact, I bet none of you even know what the definition of a Pureblood is in our society, as written and defined by Merlin and the earliest generations of our kind."
"Go on then, educate us if you're so damned smart, you fucking tosser." Rudolphus said, attempting to get out of Nick's grip only to have the American boy push him harder back into the wall.
Nick chuckled darkly, his eyes ablaze. "Oh, you have no idea of the knowledge I possess. Or the skills. You Death Eaters, always thinking you're above everyone. You know who else thought that way? Fucking Hitler. He might have been a Muggle, but he did exactly what fucking Lord Moldybutt is already starting with. And knowing what I know, I'll be damned if any of you idiots actually survive the year if you keep following him. Or even worse, lose those you care about, maybe even love." Nick had turned his head and was staring into Snape's eyes, the young man the subject of Nick's words. "Stick with me, though? Then our kids won't have to live in a world where us wizards are in an even worse decline in population. Compared to now, you don't even want to know how bad that decline really is.
"You see, Rudolph, do you mind if I call you Rudolph? Whatever, I don't really give a shit either way. If you and that inbred degenerate you call a brother survive the year, with me here, it'll be a miracle. My point is this: Muggles, as hated as they can be, are necessary for us all to live and function as a working society. The Pureblood families are starting to run low on heirs and the number of family members as it is, all that marrying your cousin nonsense making you all more and more infertile as the generations go. The Blacks are lucky, there are five otherwise healthy wizards and witches going out into the world after the school term, but most other Sacred Twenty-Eight families only have one heir, if even that. Then, look at families such as the Weasley clan. They have a lot of kids, but they were fine marrying into the Muggleborn families, or the ones that showed magical talent more recently."
"Why are we even getting a stupid fucking lecture on the train?" Asked Rabastan, sneering and chomping at the bit to get inside the compartment. "What does all that have to do with the Dark Lord?"
Nick contemplated whether or not to reveal to these other boys that Voldemort himself wasn't a Pureblood by their personal definition, but decided there would be a better time for that. "It's because he wants you out there, killing Muggles and Muggleborns. Well, you really have to think about that plan, don't you? After all, if you wipe out all of the non-magical folk, then you're only digging a deeper grave in the inbreeding gene pools. Like, seriously, do any of you want to wind up with kids that are growing second heads or carrying deadly, terminal diseases that might very well kill those kids before they even attend Hogwarts? Having a Squib in your family is perfectly fine, too, because they may not have magic but more often that not the children of such parents wind up even stronger than either parent would be alone.
"To make this rant short, I am proposing that all of you who want to make a deal with the devil really think about the state of things. Bellatrix knows where I'm coming from and agrees. Muggleborn or Pureblood, the blood is always going to be the same color. The same substance keeping us all going. The magic we as wizards covet? It's in everyone's blood, as the world was first enriched with magic in times long forgotten. Now get the fuck out of here, and I don't want to see you, any of you, near these girls again or I will send your manly bits to your parents neatly wrapped up and with every offense catalogued." He said, tossing Rudolphus out of the compartment and slamming the door shut again.
Lucina had been watching with wide eyes, scared of the threat Nick laid out for the otherwise bullies of their school. Bellatrix smirked at her best friend. "Now do you think he's just a tosser?"
Lucina hummed again, nose in the air. "Maybe. I've yet to really see him perform."
"Oh, here we go. I need some air." Nick said, getting up and leaving the compartment. Bellatrix sighed.
"Great, now he's gone. You scared him off, Luce. Are you really going to be like that right now? After he defended us from Rudolphus and his lackeys?"
Lucina looked at her. "I was the one pawned off to another family, Bellatrix, and not even to get married. I have no reason to respect h as you seem to."
Bitch, if you'd seen the shit Bellatrix has, I would-
"You'll see, Lucina. He may not be the man you wind up marrying, but he sure has the best intentions at heart." Bellatrix said, ignoring her other voice. "For you just as much as anyone else he seems fit enough to offer his friendship and protection."
"But Bellatrix, how can you trust him so easily? Why are you making it out as Nick being your best friend instead of me? You obviously trust him enough to almost get killed for him!"
Just fucking tell her! Guaranteed she won't stop this argument without knowing some of the truth..
Bellatrix felt her eye twitch. She knew the voice was right, but Nick had told her not to mess with telling people future events. It messed the timeline up even worse, and she herself already knew enough for drastic change to occur. Despite her upbringing, she had read such classic Muggle literature as the Time Machine, and knew the risks changing anything in the past had on the future. Thankfully she had hidden the book from anyone in her family who would think lesser of her such as her mother. No, she's too volatile about him.. Nick has to earn her trust before I even consider that. Now leave me alone! You shouldn't even be here.
If I could, I would.. The voice replied in a sing-song tone.
Bellatrix groaned inwardly. "Just watch, Lucy. Give him a chance, for me, if nothing else. You'll see why I choose him over the alternative, and why. His little speech before? That's not what anyone thought a Gaunt would say, you know? But Nick did, and now his cousin is scared. The Dark Lord, the most powerful dark wizard with the largest following since Gellert Grindelwald, is scared of a boy our age. Really let that sink in, won't you? I'm going to go find him, before he finds another fight."
As the other girl got up, Lucina reached out and stopped her, the blonde's hand firmly gripped on Bellatrix's arm. "Wait, Bella." Bellatrix relaxed, turning back so Lucina wasn't pulling her arm. "I'm sorry, alright? I thought the year could go without worry, but then I hear you're hanging around with him and everything has started falling apart." It seemed she had finally noticed the gleaming orb of black stone hanging around Bellatrix's neck. "Did he..?"
Bellatrix nodded, thumbing the onyx like she'd been habit to since she'd first received the gift. "Yes, Nick did. It's a protective charm. Part of why I trusted him was because he knew how much Bella likes shiny things." She giggled.
"Wow, I haven't heard you talk in the third person in a while. You like this boy, don't you? Like really like, not like it was with Harris in fifth year."
Bellatrix laughed again, hollowly this time. "Don't bring up that prat. But, if you must know my personal business, you nosy bint.. Yes, I really think I do." Bellatrix looked back towards the door again. "But even then, something is stopping the both of us, and I have a pretty good feeling I know who it is. Now let me go. Not everyone is as skittish towards a threat made to their face than the Lestrange brothers."
Lucina frowned but let her go. "Fine, just don't come crying to me if he winds up doing something incredibly stupid."
"Oh, I'm sure he will. I'll just have to be there to get him out of trouble then, won't I?" Bellatrix left the compartment, Lucina now fully alone.
"You better know what you're doing, Bella. I trust you, but him? Not so much." She said quietly to herself as she looked at the landscape passing the train by.
In another compartment further up the Express, Sirius sat laughing with James and their friends Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew. Suddenly, the door was yanked open as Bellatrix stood in the doorway. "Siri, have you guys seen Nick? He got into it with Rudolphus over me of all things and then left the compartment in a tizzy."
"No, haven't seen him since you dragged him away from the rest of the family, Bella. You say he fought Lestrange over you?"
Bellatrix sighed. "Yes, he was saying something about being contracted to me once mother takes over the family. Like that's ever going to happen."
"I don't know. Dad's been looking worse for wear lately. Plus, he knows to never put you with Lestrange. You'd wind up lestrangling him before the wedding night is over!" The others cackled along with him as Bellatrix groaned.
"Boys. Well, if you're not going to be any help, sod off." She said, closing the door and muttering to herself under her breath. "Stupid boys and their equally stupid jokes. Asinine, every one of them."
Except Nick, but then again he's acting differently here than back home..
"Fucking shite, get out of my head!" She shouted in reply to the faceless voice, scaring a compartment of what looked like first years as she passed by their compartment in her search for Nick.
"Finally! I didn't think you meant it literally when you said you needed some air." Bellatrix said as she finally found the enigmatic boy, standing at the railing at the very back of the train.
Nick turned his head away from the landscape and let a small smile play at the corner of his lips. "Yes, well, I didn't want to allow some poor student's chocolate frog to hop out the windows in the compartments, you know? Some people get very upset when they lose their chocolate."
Bellatrix hummed, a giggle behind it as she stood next to him. "I guess you're right. Bella hates losing her chocolate."
"I can imagine. I'm sorry if I stepped out of line before. I know you can handle your own problems, especially from the likes of those neanderthals."
Bellatrix giggled. "You know, I don't really mind being the princess here and there, either." She said, her eyes conveying a look Nick thought he recognized but couldn't be sure of.
"Maybe, but I'd hate for it to seem like I was only taking advantage to look good for you."
"Ha! Yeah, right. If you're looking good for me at all, it's for me only."
"Bold today, aren't you? We talked about this, Bella.."
"I know, alright? I get it, but you know the rumors are only going to blow more and more out of control with each passing day. And, you'd look at it differently if you knew what I know.." Who I keep hearing in my head.
"Would I? Bellatrix, I don't think there's much I could see or know that isn't already known or possibly changed. I'll admit, things here are a bit different as opposed to the timeline you saw in my mind the other day."
That means it's working, right? You trying to change the- oh, hello." Bellatrix said, turning and seeing a younger student exit the train.
The young girl froze and looked over at Bellatrix and Nick, gasping in recognition, her brown eyes widening comically. "Oh my God, you're the heirs Gaunt and Black, aren't you? The Prophet's been having a field day with you two."
Nick groaned. "Yeah, we know. What's your name, kid?" He asked, feeling like he knew this person yet the name escaped him.
The girl smiled. "I'm Argenta Moon, sixth year Hufflepuff."
"Oh dear, I'm so sorry." Bellatrix said, hand over her heart dramatically as Nick rolled his eyes.
"Come now, Bellatrix, don't tease her." Nick said, now knowing this had to be Lily Moon's mother, surprising him since Lily was a very lesser-known character from the novels and movies. He held his hand out. "Nice to meet you, Argenta. I'm Nick Negron, Lord of House Gaunt."
Bellatrix followed suit. "Lady Bellatrix Black. Pleasure."
"Lady-to-be, Bellatrix. Your father isn't dead yet, after all."
"Semantics. So what brings you out here, Argenta?"
"The train ride always overwhelms me. Too many new faces and an ever-shrinking number of familiar ones."
"Understandable, there is a lot of magic present in the world, and the number of wizards and witches increases every year. Eventually, I don't doubt the world will be in harmony between Muggles and Wizards if this trend keeps up." And I don't fail in stopping this war or at the least stemming the number of those killed..
"Yeah. I didn't disturb you both, did I? It seemed like you two could have been having a personal moment."
Both seventeen year olds blushed and looked away from each other. "N-no, there's nothing going on back here, least of all with the two of us." Nick said, waving Argenta's comment off as Bellatrix giggled.
"Yes, that much is true, unfortunately. Nick, maybe we should head back inside? I want to check on Cissy, Andi and everybody." She asked, suddenly looking at him with a look that told Nick she did have something else on her mind.
Nick nodded. "Yeah, of course. Sorry to leave so suddenly, Argenta. Family is important, you understand."
Argenta nodded, her dirty blonde hair bobbing in the wind. "Of course. See you guys at the castle!" She waved to them as the older teens ducked back into the train.
Nick took them into another compartment, wanting to sit for a moment as he noticed the young boy reading Dracula. "Sorry, didn't know this one was occupied. Fan of Muggle works?" Nick asked, pointing to the book as Bellatrix stood by the door.
The boy startled at his accent but nodded. "Yeah, but I'm from a non-magical family, so it's more a home comfort."
Nick nodded. "That's very true. Seems a bit advanced for an.. eleven year old? You're a first year, aren't you?"
Another nod as the boy relaxed in his seat. "Yeah, but I've been studying all my textbooks all summer, trying to get ahead of the curve."
"Good plan. I had to do the same for the classes I'm going to be taking this year, myself." Bellatrix raised an eyebrow at him. Nick seemed more than adept at magic as it was- whether from another world where he wasn't a wizard a not- to even need to study. Not like she usually had during the summer holidays. "What's your name? I'm Nick Negron, and this is my friend, Bellatrix Black." He introduced them both, Bellatrix nodding with a smile at the boy.
He returned the smile in kind. "I'm Robin Lux, nice to meet you both. So, what are you two suddenly doing hopping into my compartment?" Both older teens looked at each other while the younger boy snickered. "What? Couldn't get away from others to have a proper snogging session?"
Nick laughed loudly, even as Bellatrix's face heated up since she was hoping for such a thing. She was tired of wearing Nick down to let her in. He'll give in soon enough. I almost had him back in our world.. Her eyes twitched again as Nick spoke. "No, no. Jeez, everyone makes it seem like I claimed you or something, Bella."
Bellatrix hummed but said nothing, thumbing the onyx pendant yet again. Only this time, her thoughts were on Pureblood etiquette, particularly such things as the actions one made during a betrothal or while courting another. Technically, she realized, Nick had claimed her with the necklace, even if it was only meant as a protective charm.
"Well, you two look like you could be a couple, so even if you're not there will always be rumors, won't there?"
Nick was taken aback by Robin's words, another quote that he'd figure he wouldn't hear at all, this time from one of his closest guy friends, Leon. Actually, now that Nick thought about it, Robin did kind of resemble Leon. "You know what, Robin? That's a sensible way to look at things. And you're right. But, we really should find another compartment. Not for snogging, get your young mind out of the gutter, but we have some things I feel we may need to talk about."
Robin looked crestfallen. "Oh. Alright. Will I see you around the castle?"
Nick nodded while Bellatrix smiled softly. Maybe Nick really was right, about magic being inside everyone. Looking at this young boy, this Muggle that possessed that which the Purebloods sought to control with force and homicide, she could see what Nick meant. Everyone was the same underneath it all, whether they came from nobility such as them, or the more common folk like Robin and other wizards. It made her endear herself to Nick's cause even more as she nodded along after a moment. "Of course. And if anyone messes with you, you tell them to come find Prefect Bella in Slytherin. Believe me, I know how to make people back off where they're not wanted." She said, slipping back out of the door.
Nick shook his head as he saluted Robin in farewell. "Until Hogwarts, bud. And don't worry about her, she's only scary to those she dislikes." And it seems she's taken a shine to one such Muggle today.. He thought as he closed Robin's compartment back up.
Bellatrix was waiting for him outside, a pout on her lips. "You know, you may as well just kiss me anyway, if everyone's going to think we're off snogging in a corner of the train somewhere."
Nick chuckled. "Oh, you'd like that, wouldn't you?" He teased.
"Yes, I would, actually," She gasped and looked down, having not wanted to say that out loud. "So, that Argenta girl was pretty cute, in a pixie sort of way. And little Robin is going places, with his nuggets of wisdom." Bellatrix commented, noting that Argenta was almost a foot shorter than Bellatrix herself was. "My argument stands, though. For the kiss."
"Don't start, Bellatrix. You're feeding the rumor mill, reacting to her question like that. People are going to think something is up between us." Nick said, stopping them in the space between compartment doors.
Bellatrix smirked as she tugged his shirt to the side, bringing him inside one of the compartments and against the door that slid closed behind them. "And what if I said I want them to think that? That, maybe, I want that to indeed happen?" She asked with a quiet giggle as her lips hovered dangerously close to Nick's ear. "You feel it, don't you? That pull towards me that scares you enough to keep me at arms length instead, fearful of a future you yourself won't allow to happen."
Nick's eyes widened, remembering such a conversation he had once had with Trixie back in middle school. Breathlessly, he managed to reply. "You know I do.. I can't trust that this won't still end badly for you, whether or not I die in this fight. I can ignore that pull, Bellatrix. You should too."
He's lying through his fucking teeth and you know it! You have my sixth sense about him, after all, weirdly..
Bellatrix frowned, shaking her head. "No, Nick. I don't want to ignore shite, alright? I feel things when I'm with you that I've never felt with anyone, not even my family. You're wrong to think it won't devastate me if you go walking to your death against the Dark Lord.. in fact, I'm scared to even admit that your death, at this point since I've grown to know you, admire you.. That might very well send me over the edge and I would still become a version of that psychotic bint." Nick sighed knowingly. He had thought of the same since the other day. Bellatrix noticed his reaction. "You feel it too, don't you? Yet, you keep me at a distance."
"Bellatrix, it would be wrong.." He regretted the words as he saw the flash of sadness cross her emerald eyes, still looking into his. "Don't get me wrong, alright? You are a gorgeous young woman, but you already know why I personally think so, don't you? Believe me, I realized it as soon as I figured out I could extend that jinx my mother put on us, but.."
You need to tell him, you know. Him and I know too much to know that any secret like having your otherwise non-existent best friend's voice inside another's head is need-to-know, crucial information. You're smart enough to know that, aren't you? Details are important..
Bellatrix knew the voice was right and had to say something. "Nick, I-"
Nick was too into his rant already, however. "And now it's so obvious there's an actual connection that seems to have already existed even before I woke up in this world, as made evident by your insistence to be near me which we still can't explain. Honestly, the situations pretty fucking loony as it is but then-"
"Nick, I need to tell you that-"
"Don't get me started on how many ways I can muck up the situation, either. I have the knowledge of a world that can make this present turn upside down in a heartbeat. One wrong move and I can kill you or, as we established, destroy this amazing Bellatrix that I have gotten to know this past month or so but even then I can't make a move because it feels weird when you look so much like-"
"Ugh! Nick! I've been hearing Trixie in my head ever since the other day with the jinx situation, not to mention I've been dreaming of her.."
Nick shut up and turned to look at her slowly. "You can-" Suddenly, the entire train seemed to shake as an explosion boomed outside as the power of the Hogwarts Express shut down.
To Be Continued..
