Yippee-I-O! More on the unlikely tale of Bellatrix and Lockhart. However, this is more of a Bellatrix tale. Ah, what can you do? I guess I'll stop the ramblings and get on with the tale. How does that sound?

Disclaimer: Own nothing but the truth. Eh…the plot also. Characters are JKR's and blah, blah, blah. Actual idea to put these two characters together was Tikvah Ariel's idea and blah, blah, blah. The rest is Deb-lil's and blah, blah, blah. Oh wait, I'm Deb-lil. We want to hear that bit.

Passerby in the Forest

Chapter 4

I'm Guessing you Know Who I am.

"Alohomora!" Bellatrix nearly laughed the incantation as she pointed it to the lock on the hospital ward door.

With a strangely satisfying click and thump, the door slid open.

"Hormone, where are you going?" Lockhart asked her. He was currently playing with the fallen hangings around the disturbed man's bed.

"I'm—I'm going to visit a friend, Lockhart." She smiled at herself for her little pun before slinking into the corridor and shutting the ward door.

Trying to remember the layout of the building, Bella moved in a westerly direction. No sooner had she turned one corner did she hear the slight thumping of footsteps from behind. Keeping her cool, Bella glanced around. There was no place to hide. The footsteps grew louder. Blood pounded in her ears out of nerves. Bella slinked into a shadowy niche in what was probably the nick of time.

The slow footsteps grew level with Bella. They belonged to a patrolman, who slowly stalked the halls…almost haunting them.

She held her breath as he passed, her heart palpitating. Then, to her horror, the patrolman slowly revolved on the spot.

Bowing her head, she prayed to the Dark Lord that he wouldn't spot her.

"Lumos," he hissed.

A thin beam of wand-light began shining. He flashed the beam into the shadowed niche diagonal from Bella. Meticulously, almost lovingly, he caressed the niche with the yellow light. Then he inspected the niche opposite Bella. She was next!

She closed her eyes as the patrolman traced the beam along the wall leading to Bella. He was so close…so close…five meters only…

There was a strange crash somewhere in the distance.

"Damn it," the patrolman cursed under his breath, "AST Healers can't control…Nox." His wand-light vanished; he turned on his heel, and departed. She could hear him grumbling as he slid down the hall.

Close call, Bellatrix sighed to herself. 'S all right. Shake it off…

With a quick shake of her head to clear it, Bella continued her quest.

She stalked the corridors, evading patrolmen and Healers alike. After a few minutes, she found herself at a stairwell. She poked her head around the corner, and then drew it back quickly. A patrolman was right there on the landing.

Bella cursed. She didn't dare do an Unforgivable for fear of it being traced. But a simple spell… she wondered, Could I get away with it?

There was no other way than to try. She poked her wand around the corner before following it with her head. "Petrificus Totalus!" She thought the words with all her might. Had she used her voice, she would have been screaming.

The patrolman was paralyzed before he even had time to register the sound of the spell flying from the wand. Bella kept her face covered as she headed down the staircase. She knew the Petrificus curse allowed movement of the eyes. She didn't want any witnesses to this.

At the bottom of the staircase, she noticed patrolmen doing rounds about what appeared to be a square. She watched them come and go for about five minutes. First came the red-haired one. He'd face the stairwell for a minute before departing. Thirty seconds later, a man with a big beard would take his place. He'd look around, revolving on the spot slowly. Forty-five seconds after he left, a tall woman would come. Then the cycle would repeat itself.

Bella waited until the man with the beard started around the corner. Now's my chance! Thought Bellatrix. She stepped out of the stairwell and tiptoed after the bearded patrolman.

Stealthily, she pressed her back against a shadowed wall. The patrolwoman would be coming around at any moment. Keeping one eye on the patrolman with the beard, Bella moved along the wall, careful to keep her breathing steady. When the patrolman reached the corner, he stopped. He did that stupid revolving thing again.

All too soon, the guards shifted positions again. Bella—more out of nerves than anything else—darted after the bearded patrolman. She didn't turn the corner with him, however; but continued along a straight passageway.

At the end of the chute was an alcove with desks and file folders. It was a nurses' station.

Again, to her horror, Bella heard footsteps come down an adjacent hall. Only…the steps weren't the slow paces of the watchmen—they were quick. Urgent.

With a surge of panic, Bella dove into the nurses' station and busied herself with a file folder.

The footsteps stopped just behind Bella.

"Oh, Healer," came a voice. It belonged to a young man, Bella decided. It was slightly squeaky; much like Rabastan's voice before he joined the Dark Lord's services. Her young brother-in-law had grown up so very much. "Healer?" The man repeated.

Bella smiled to herself, keeping her back to the kid. These Healer's robes were the best things she'd ever stolen! "Hmmm?" She asked, pretending to be preoccupied.

"Er—sorry to bother you, heh, heh," he laughed nervously. "I didn't realize anyone else was down here…except for the patrolmen." He giggled again—awkward kid—no doubt just out of Hogwarts, or some other educational abomination.

"Can I help you?" Bella inquired. She didn't even listen to him bumble on about something he needed. She worked on finding a map of St. Mungo's. Every second going by was another second that she could be caught by a patrolman or Healer.

"Er—Healer?"

"Yes."

"Er—can you tell me where I can find the Prinski file. You know, the man who sprouted antlers this afternoon?"

"Hmm, yes. I have it right here." Bella lied, fabricating a plan.

"Really?" He took an eager step forward just as she spun around.

Naturally, the young man was horrified to see the skull-like face of Bellatrix Lestrange staring at him from the neck hole of Healer's robes.

"Surprise." She whispered, pointing her wand at his face. "Silencio!" She hissed. His voice extinguished before he could scream.

She grabbed him by his nurse's robe. Roughly, she deposited him in a chair. He was very thin with large brown eyes, brown hair cropped close, and a bit of a rash on his forehead. His mouth was working feverishly, though no sound came out.

"Listen," She hissed, keeping a firm grip on both his wrists. (He had reached for his wand.) "I don't know what you've heard about me, but I can guess it hasn't been pleasant. And unless you want to end up like the lot you've read about in the newspapers, I suggest you keep quiet about this." She grinned wildly at his stunned face, revealing the mad glow that often flashed through her eyes. "Are we clear? Nod or shake your head."

The boy hesitated, but nodded.

"Now, I want a favor from you." She continued, disregarding the hesitation. "Point me in the direction of the Healer-in-Charge. My master requires a meeting with your master."

He squinted at her, clearly perplexed at the use of the word 'master' to describe his employer, but he didn't disobey. He raised his left hand and pointed down the corridor, before jerking his wrist upwards.

"Down the hall and up the stairs?" She asked.

Vigorous nods.

"You lie." She whispered, and his eyes widened. "You mean to tell me that if I go down that hall and up, I will reach the Healer-in-Charge?"

He nodded slowly.

"Hmm…and if I find you are hoodwinking me, I will hunt you down. I don't know when, but mark my words…It. Will. Happen. And unless you want the Dark Mark blazing over your place one stormy night, I suggest you tell the truth."

The kid raised his right hand and pointed down a corridor. Then he jerked his wrist downwards.

"Ah…that's better, isn't it? Not so hard, no?"

He shook his head rapidly; moonlight filtering in through the windows casting an eerie blue shadow on his face.

"Then you and me are done…for now. Petrificus Totalus."

His whole body went rigid, and he toppled out of his chair onto his back. His brown eyes watched her stalk away, fear evident.

Excitedly, Bella continued creeping along the hall. At the stairwell, she sprang around the corner so fast, that she scared the hell out of the patrolman.

"Stupefy!" She thought powerfully. He slammed into the wall hard. A small trickle of blood oozed its way from beneath his hairline.

She grinned savagely. At the top of the stairs, she knew exactly where she was. She'd been here before.

Adrian Liverwort

Healer-in-Charge

Raising the wand, she whispered the incantation Alohomora.

With another satisfying click, she pushed the door open.

"Expelliarmus!"

"Mobil Corpus!"

The two spells hit her so hard; she was knocked off her feet before the mobil spell could even pick her up.

Wandless, and hanging a foot of the ground, Bella stared around at her attackers. Two people stood with their wands raised. One was a small man, and the other was tall and haughty. They were Aurors. Behind them was a desk. A strange woman sat in front of it. She was Bella's age, and looked stunningly similar to Bella…right down to the evil eyes. The only difference was Bella's eyes held a glimmer of intelligence, whereas this woman was simply cold and evil. Behind the desk sat a man in lime green robes. He had shiny black hair, brown eyes, and a grin.

"Ah, Bellatrix. I was wondering when you'd pay me a visit." He said. "I just didn't think it'd be so soon. Luckily Dwalish and his friend came on such short notice…otherwise, you may have killed me!"

"It's quite a let-down." Bella agreed, not wanting to let him know how angry she was.

"Boys, let her down. Let's have a word with dear Bellatrix Lestrange."

Healer-in-Charge Adrian Liverwort laughed as the Auror called Dwalish let her down to the ground.

Ay. Bellatrix was so close wasn't she? Not close enough, right? Onto the reviewers!

BaGgE: Yes, each night in St. Mungo's is probably pretty loony. And you're right. Having Bella and Lockhart sing the moose-song in the same ward as the Longbottoms is…cruel. I almost didn't put it in. But then, Lockhart really isn't a bad guy, and he doesn't know any better when it comes to Frank and Alice.

I don't know if you've gotten my review on 'Shadow Boxing' yet, but just for the record, my Norwegian…relative…could not find a Crumple-Horned Snorkack. You know where he told me to go? "Sweden." You know what I told him? I said, "Bagge's already found that one from Sweden". And he said, "Ga hjem, Deb-lil!" Rude, rude, rude, rude, rude! Let me tell you…that was the last time I hunt for a Snorkack in Norway! It's Canada or Iceland for me next! What's the capital of Iceland anyway? Rjyukjavorvik? I can't remember. Just a lot of "j"s and "r"s…

Marauder4ever: You know the moose-song too? Ha ha! When I was at camp, we sang it to annoy people too! Sadly, it works pretty well. After the first 'Wa-oh-way-oh!', all the adults were like, "Why the hell did we teach them this garbage?" And to this day, I still sing it. They created a monster…ha. Glad you like my fic! Please write another too. I miss your crazy randomness.

Slim Shady: Yes, we all have our lazy no-sign-in days. It's all good. But no, unfortunately, I didn't make up the moose song on my own. It's a summer camp song that will stick with you your whole life.

Dead-Luthien: Ah, justice for D'Art. I don't know, maybe he's jealous of Romendancil from your fic. Before you think I've gone crazy, remember, grandpa's been having some pretty big scenes, and D'Art gets a little appearance. But still, a week with no junk food should teach him patience, respect, and self-control…hopefully. I too know what it's like to choke after an evil laugh. Good luck with that…and the hunt for an owl-free pub!

Goodbye for now. Next chapter will be last in this fic! (Some of you cheer, the rest cry.) Once again, reviewers of all sorts are smiled upon. Even flames, yeah. If you have pent up rage, you may take it out on me. Remember, I don't even know you. However, the nice reviews are obviously preferred.

Thanks!

Deb-lil