Chapter 2
They sat in the same place. Rodolphus held his wand again, glad that it did not break in the fall and did not get lost. He created a range of warmth around them. Hermione twisted a branch picked up from the ground with her fingers. An ant crawled at the tip, reeling in circles as Hermione twirled the branch. Rodolphus felt peaceful.
"We have little time," said Hermione. "You have to go back and report my death. But before that, we need to do something".
She left the branch aside. The ant seized the moment to escape.
"You need memories. You-know-who owns the Legilimency. Prof ... oh, Snape too. I don't know if they'll want to test you, but you should be prepared for this opportunity. You need to be able to show your memories even in a Pensieve, if need be."
"How do you plan to do all this?" he wondered what she was came up with. Looks like she wasted no time while he was passed out.
"We're faking my death. My wand remained in the estate along with the sword of Gryffindor, I am an easy target."
"I'll find your wand or get another," it was unlikely that her wand would be immediately destroyed, as there was a shortage of wands in the wizarding world due to the abduction of Ollivander. Perhaps he could persuade the master to make one wand if he couldn't find her wand.
Her face lit up with joy, "You will make me very happy. But now is not about that. I have a large supply of candy from Weasley twins. Candy that causes a variety of unpleasant symptoms."
Hermione laid out the contents of her bag: small but colorful cardboard boxes. The bright inscription of the manufacturer was striking in the first place: «Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes». Rodolphus studied them while listening to the explanation of the use of each thing. However, the titles spoke for themselves. There were candies here that could cause fever and nausea, nosebleeds and fainting, and even enlarge the tongue.
As Hermione moved on to the plan, Rodolphus frowned more and more.
"First you gotta swallow the Fainting Fancies to justify a long absence. Due to the fact that Dobby died halfway to the destination, we were both thrown in a random place, and you passed out. The effect of Fainting Fancies will pass after few minutes, so you will wake up soon. This is the beginning of the show."
She pushed the box of Fainting Fancies forward.
"I will be close behind the trees. To make it easier for you to find me I will make some noise. It will look like we were at a distance from each other and I didn't find you and didn't take your wand."
The girl sighed, as if the words themselves demanded huge efforts from her.
"Can you create a flash like Crucio or Avada?" She waited for an affirmative nod before continuing. "You will find me and use a simple spell to begin with. I will try to escape. You will use a fake Crucio. It must hit me. I will quietly swallow the Nosebleed Nougat. After a little torture, you will kill me. This last part needs some work. We need something to convince everyone of my death, but I must stay alive."
She was sure that everything would work, Rodolphus found her plan too complicated.
"Do you understand that it will still look quite different from the real Unforgivable Spells?"
"Let's hope no one notices this. I'll swallow a couple of Fainting Fancies and it'll look like I'm dead."
She pulled a lock of hair behind her ear. Her hand was still bleeding, drop by drop her blood was draining from the cursed wound, something had to be done about it.
"Why don't we make it easier? I have a suggestion: I come to my senses and, looking around, I find you in a pool of blood, because you landed on a cobblestone with your head."
His plan was easy, she should have looked for simpler solutions, not directing theatrical scenes.
"It's not cruel enough. HE should be pleased with you."
Rodolphus laughed sadly, "He will be pleased by the very fact of your death."
"I'm not trying to satisfy the sadistic tendencies of this bastard," Hermione protested, coughing slightly. Rodolfus waved his wand and offered her a glass of water, she gratefully accepted it and took a sip of water before continuing. "In fact, I would also prefer to choose your version, but there is just one thing," Hermione objected.
"What?" he asked.
"In your version, I die by accident, "she explained patiently. "In mine — my death is your personal merit. If you kill me the way He likes best, you will gain more of his trust. You will strengthen your position and in the future it will play into our hands. Your loyalty will be undeniable. I want Him to trust you completely. So you can get all the information we need. We will need all your power and the best possible position among the Death Eaters."
He didn't argue with her. What could be easier than being who you have been all your life?
When the plan was ready and they agreed on a sequence, he took the Fainting Fancies and swallowed it. He instantly lost touch with consciousness.
When the effect of the candy passed, he woke up. The birds had long been quiet, the forest was getting darker. Evening was approaching. Rising to his feet, Rodolphus looked around. A shadow flickered between the trees, and he followed. His footsteps were noiseless, and he raised his wand, preparing to attack. And when Hermione came into his sight she was not running fast enough as they had agreed. His first simple spell missed. Then he continued to play his part. "Crucio," Rodolphus said without intention. Spell didn't work without a certain mood and intention. Immediately he casted a non-verbal bright red flash from the arsenal of illusionists at children's parties. The color of the spell was different from the real Crucio, but maybe no one will notice this stupid detail. Perhaps the meticulous Snape would, but Rodolphus was not going to let Severus rummage through his head under any circumstances. Even so the risk was great. The Dark Lord knew the Unforgivables better than his own five fingers.
Hermione collapsed with a restrained cry, she should have writhed in agony. Well, he saw how she tried her best to play her part, only she wasn't good at it.
There was no tension which always accompanied such situations. Hermione looked too confident and focused. She writhed, ostensibly in pain and horror, but the screams sounded out of tune. Her eyes were empty and free from horror. She turned out to be a bad actress. This angered him. He wanted everything to be a little more naturalistic. A little more real. He could not stand falsity.
The darker part of his personality longed to use the real Crucio so that she could learn how to scream at such moments. Blood will flow due to rupture of blood vessels, and fever will be caused by torture. Not because she secretly swallows candy. He could slash the girl so that she would bleed out enough, it would look spectacular. The tears in her eyes would have been sincere. It wouldn't hurt as much as Crucio and could heal in one minute.
His fingers tightened white on his wand. He non-verbally sent flashes at the girl. Fake spells shimmered merrily at times. The darker Rodolphus became, the more absurd these stupid crackers became. If the Dark Lord takes a closer look, then he will understand that these flashes dont have a charge of energy.
It was the last straw of his patience when Hermione reacted with a noticeable delay to the next Crucio. Rodolphus could no longer stand on ceremony. If he knew how everything should look, then the Dark Lord could not be deceived by this naive performance.
"Crucio," he hissed and noted with satisfaction the genuine horror when even Hermione realized that this time everything was for real. The spell reached its target in an instant. The girl's eyes rolled back and her emaciated body arched in unbearable agony. The scream sounded harsh and hollow, it was real. Rodolphus quickly canceled the spell, knowing exactly how much would be enough to make Hermione look exhausted, but not hurt either mind or body. He knelt down next to her on the dirt and lightly hit the girl with the back of his hand. Even with such a small force of impact, she turned over. He was angry at her weakness. She began to crawl away from him. Tears rolled from her eyes. He pulled her back with all his roughness and rolled her back onto her back.
He poked his wand into her solar plexus and whispered: "You can't escape, Mudblood. Crucio!" It has been so long since he called her Mudblood. It used to be like a habit at first, but then he learned to call her Hermione even to himself. Now the swearing sounded familiar and even somehow correct on his tongue. It was nice to remember who she really was. He didn't feel like he had really changed his attitude towards blood status as much as one might think. Perhaps these thoughts gave his spell a little more power than he had planned.
He watched his victim's frantic throwing and labored breathing. His lips parted in a wicked smile, how good it felt to be in power. He could do whatever he wanted with her now. Too bad it's just a game. He canceled the spell, paused, letting Hermione catch her breath. The victim must be aware of what is happening, and therefore sometimes you should give her time to gather strength. Hermione tried to push his wand away from her, push him away, but her sweaty palms slipped and were too weak.
With his other hand he slightly squeezed her throat, making it impossible to breathe freely but not so much that she began to choke. He wanted to cast one more spell before ending this game. He used it non-verbally. A little surprise before ending. It wasn't nearly as bad as Crucio, just something to add sparkle to the show. The spell of the Dark Lord himself, he tortured two orphans with it. Once Voldemort shared his dirty secret with Bellatrix, she told Rodolphus. He knew the lord would like it.
An ugly piece of a perverse mind. Something as disgusting as the idea of tearing your own soul to shreds.
Hermione sighed convulsively and began to wriggle and scratch her own skin at the unexpected sensation and whimpered in panic. He knew that she should feel like something was crawling under her skin, leaving behind a furious burning sensation. It was not as strong as Crucio, but rather unpleasant. At the same time victim was aware of everything and wasn't drowned in pure pain. Her nails left deep bleeding scratches, which she inflicted on herself.
He released her when there was enough blood on her face, neck and all exposed skin. She was breathing heavily, unable to even speak from the shock.
He peered. No, she won't be able to pretend to be dead. Fainting is just a short-term loss of consciousness: a person continues to breathe, and eyes will be closed ... Who dies from Avada with his eyes closed? Perhaps no one would notice, but he couldn't rely on chance now. He knew what to do. The risk was worth it, even if she would curse him later. Even if she would die. The mission was more important than one small life.
"And now you're going to die." He said. Her expression was invaluable because she believed in those words.
He was satisfied with her reactions to his actions, she did not act or pretend. It was real fear, real tears and blood. And she was disappointed in him and it twisted his insides. She inhaled convulsively, and Rodolphus sent a shock impulse into her body carefully controlling his actions. She clutched at her heart and began to gasp. Several more unsuccessful attempts to gasp for air, and then she froze.
Every wizard has their favorite spells, Rodolphus had that.
He was breathing heavily, leaning on his hands and looking at the motionless body. Her deathly pale face with blue lips, her frozen eyes with pupils dilated to the limit. A perfect death. He exhaled sharply. He got to his feet, brushed off his robes and turned away. He took a few steps away from her breathless body. He exhaled again.
So far, only ten seconds have passed. If he wait irreversible changes will begin in her body. Two minutes to damage the magical core. Three to six to start the death of cells in the cerebral cortex. It seemed that there was a lot of time left, but starting the heart was not such an easy task after it stopped.
Rodolphus hurriedly approached her, sank back to the ground. He had a difficult task ahead of him.
"Rennervate," he put a large amount of energy into the spell to revive a frozen heart. It had to be a really strong charge of the reviving spell to trigger the heartbeat. Her body twitched, but her heart was still not beating. The pulse was not palpable.
He at least has the knowledge of how to destroy the Dark Lord if she dies. But together it will be easier to do. Also she hadn't told him everything yet.
He concentrated. One discharge was not enough, so a flow of power is needed. "Rennervate!" This time, Hermione sighed with a noise and jumped, her heart must now be leaping out of her chest. All processes started again. Not the most pleasant feeling after such a statement. She gasped for air, still clutching her arms to her chest.
"Sorry." He hid his wand. She did not answer, she swayed. He didn't dare to do anything, only tried to explain the surprise attack: "You're a pathetic actress, Hermione. The Dark Lord wouldn't have believed. He knows what real torture and murder looks like.
She was silent. He continued: "I had to hurt you. But you have to understand the difference between what my wife did and what I did. I was almost gentle with you." He knew his words sounded poorly. She just burst into tears.
"The last spell ... It was a spell that stops the heart. It is used by mediwizards under certain circumstances. Do you want to know under which ones?" She lifted her tear-stained, bloody face and nodded, still not ready to speak. Now she looked younger than her years, just a child. His own heart sank at how weak and small she was. He preferred to deceive himself by the fact that unlike someone else he didn't offend children. But that was a lie. He violated this principle at least once in the Department of Mysteries.
He watched the drop of blood dripping from the corner of her lips down her chin/
"There are curses that can only be removed with death. And there are situations in which is more merciful to let wizards die. The heart stops forcibly: in the first case for a while, and in the second case forever. The body freezes, all processes stop. But within a few minutes it can be reanimated and heartbeat restarted. Mediwizards awaken the body after about thirty to fifty seconds with the help of enhanced Rennervate to avoid side effects and irreversible changes. Thus no harm is done to the body or the magical core if everything is done on time. In your case, it took about thirty seconds when I awakened your body."
She listened very attentively, her breathing evened out, her tears stopped, she was pounding a little more, but not as much as at the beginning. He seemed to know how to bring her into balance and calm now. He found a key to hold her attention and remove any tension that had arisen between them. "This spell is used only by mediwizards, it is unknown to non-professionals. Since it is difficult to use, it must be applied very carefully so as not to burst the heart, not everyone is given this skill. The magician must have a certain attitude."
"Like when summoning the Patronus?" Hermione wispered almost inaudibly.
He was happy when she finally spoke. "Yes, this is a similar analogy, Hermione/"
"What about the consequences?"
"Side effects vary from person to person, but most of it go away with time. If a person is physically weak or emaciated, cardiovascular dysfunction may occur. It is that the main burden falls on the heart. Malfunctions of internal organs and hormonal disruptions occur in more rare cases. It is impossible to predict which organ will start to fail. It all depends on the health of a particular person. As for the changes in the body, the first ones occur within two to three minutes. The magic core is damaged first. So person may lose control of his own magical powers."
"Does it damage the brain?"
Rodolphus smiled at her, she asked the right questions and was very curious.
"The brain begins to die off only after three to six minutes, until then it is staying in coma." he said. Several moments of tense silence passed before she whispered doubtfully: "I probably should have heard it all now. But I would not want to experience something like this even once in my life.
He breathed a sigh of relief. Now, when his dark beginning calmed down and went into the depths for the time being asleep, he felt remorse. Besides they were both on the same side, fighting the same enemy. But the most difficult thing was over, he has the memories and he can return to the Dark lord.
"Where are you going now?" he asked. He doubted that she had a place where she could go, especially without a wand. But maybe she has some plans in this regard. Her eyes widened with awareness. So there is no plan. Without another word, Rodolphus helped her to her feet and Apparated to his home.
The family house was dark, not a single window was lit. There was a feeling of abandonment and emptiness. Rabastan lived separately and Bella has long forgotten the way home, preferring to be closer to the Dark Lord.
"In the family vault in Gringotts," Hermione said as they approached the house. "She asked what I got from the vault in Gringotts. I think one of the Horcruxes in your family vault. I'm pretty sure of that."
"What do these Horcruxes look like?" He didn't know if his vault had what she was looking for. After the seizure of the ministry, he visited there only once to get some gold, but did not pay any attention to the artifacts.
Hermione thought "One of the Horcruxes is Helga Hufflepuff's Cup, there is also some Rowena Ravenclaw's artifact and His snake. We suspected the snake was a Horcrux too. It behaves strangely, even though He speaks parseltongue, the snake is too intelligent."
It was true, but he did not understand how she knew it. There was no time for inquiries. He left her in the house without saying goodbye. He hoped that he would have the opportunity to find out more later.
Rodolphus returned to Malfoy Manor. The dark lord wasn't there, but his snake was. Now it looked out of its hiding place in the corner. It's yellow eyes bored through him. He covered his mind, he didn't want to risk it. If the snake was a Horcrux and hid a piece of Voldemort's soul in itself, then it could have some part of the magical powers of its creator. The thought was disturbing. How many times before had he caught himself thinking that the snake was very strange, but he could not imagine how much.
Someone left a fresh Daily Prophet in a chair by the fireplace. The headline screamed about the Dark Lord's victory in this damned war. Two modest lifetime photos at the bottom of the page reported who was destroyed as enemies of wizarding Britain. On the first photo was young Harry Potter, he looked straight into the camera with his eyes full of hidden fortitude - it was amazing how the eyes could tell a lot about a person. Nearby was a photo of a red-haired boy and the caption said that he was Harry Potter's right hand. There were mischievous lights in his eyes, he must have been an easy-going and cheerful young man. Rodolphus hid the newspaper in his pocket, deciding to give it to Hermione later. He didn't know if reading the newspaper would hurt her or not, she seemed emotionally devastated when he left her at home. But he would have preferred to be aware of the news if he was in her place.
He decided he could look for Hermione's wand. The living room looked untouched. The chandelier hung from the ceiling again, providing subdued lighting. He waved his wand to amplify the light. Judging by the condition of the room, it was carefully cleaned. There are no traces of what happened here. If the house elves removed everything then they could simply dissolve the extra items. But perhaps they would not dare to touch the magic wand. He decided that it was better to ask Narcissa, if anyone knew where all the things had gone it was her.
Slow footsteps and the rustle of heavy fabrics rang out from behind. He remembered who liked to dress up like that. Even if he hadn't recognized the leisurely rhythm of his wife's steps.
"Rodolphus, you're finally back," Bellatrix whispered barely audible.
He turned around, the witch sank into the chair in which the Dark Lord loved to spend his time. Her gaze was distant, as if her thoughts were somewhere far away. "My teeth are loose and my hair falls out, should it be?" She asked plaintively, wringing her thin trembling hands.
He looked her over appraisingly. What bothered her indicated that her body needed good nourishment. Her teeth were with her, although their condition could have improved if she took the potions on time. Hair loss could be a reaction to stress. Her figure has not changed much yet. Her breasts became noticeably fuller, but her stomach protruded slightly more than in normal state. The changes were almost imperceptible, but otherwise she looked terrible. She looked like she was tortured, not like she was torturing someone on her own. Deep shadows lay under her eyes. HEer skin was like a wax mask. Usually pregnant women tended to flourish and shine with beauty in the wizarding world. Bella faded more and more every day. He would not be surprised if he found out that she was feeding herself to the Dark Lord, if he did not know for sure that Dark lord made Horcruxes.
"You wasted a lot of energy, Bella. You should have taken care of yourself, not overworking. I think I warned you that dark magic can affect the health of your child."
"Yes, I know," she said irritably. "But you don't understand, I was scared. I thought this girl might have broken into our vault in Gringotts." Was Bellatrix scared? In his memory, she was only afraid of Voldemort.
"Do you think she was there and was able to take away something valuable? But then where were all those vaunted protective charms? And why didn't those bloody goblins report the break-in?"
"Who knows the answer. The Dark lord asked me about it. He is not happy with me, he thinks I did something bad. I didn't do anything, you know?" Bella was making excuses in the meantime. So it's his family vault in Gringotts after all! Bella could hide something at the request of the Dark Lord. Hermione was right. Bellatrix sighed, "I just wanted him to be proud of me. Is it bad?"
Rodolphus did not want to discuss with her about her relationship with Dark Lord. It was her terrible habit of seeking approval from husband for her immoral behavior. She wanted him to tell her that she was doing right things. She didn't understand why he might be against it at all. Her moral guidelines were different from his, the conflict in views prevented them from understanding each other. In fact she did not cheat on him before Azkaban as many thought. But not because she didnt want to, but because the Dark Lord was uninterested. Rodolphus did not know anything about the personal life of their leader, but now looking back he realized how really strange Voldemort was even then. Younger Rodolphus was amused by these oddities, but not worried. And now he thought that perhaps he should have been worried even then. Perhaps these were the first signs of psychopathy.
"Are you drinking the strengthening potions that Snape prepares for you?" Rodolphus changed the subject.
"Just hear yourself?" She exploded. "Snape! He want to poison me! Can't you make a potions yourself, Rodolphus? Is it okay that your wife is suffering? I am sick of one kind of these potions! I want to puke as I imagine his ugly half-blooded fingers touching the ingredients."
"That's not what makes you sick, Bella," Rodolphus sighed. "I'll make potions for you myself. You don't have to be afraid anymore."
"I'm not afraid! I know why you are like that. You are furious that I decided to have a child, you hate children!" So this is how it is. She really wanted to make him feel guilty that their marriage was disastrous and full of disappointment. She herself hated children and always curled her lips in disgust when babies appeared in other pureblood families. It was now convenient for her to forget how worried she was that she would have to leave the Dark Lord. She threw tantrums and shouted that pregnancy would ruin her appearance and undermine her health, not accepting reasonable arguments that any witch becomes stronger and more beautiful when she gives life to a new wizard.
Rodolphus thought for a second. An inherently terrible guess came to him. What he thought was dreadfull. He will get the unforgivable right away if he expresses his guess out loud. It was impossible that she even suspected something like that, but ... Perhaps he was mistaken, and the symptoms of her condition were evidence of a more serious problem than it initially seemed. It is possible that her child won't be magical. It could be a squib. And if so, she would rather strangle her own baby than allow it to live.
Rodolphus decided to investigate this issue a little later, before his thoughts took him too far into the jungle of speculation and unconfirmed guesses. In addition Bella still knew him well enough and could notice something, despite the fact that they were not particularly close. For a madwoman she was very perceptive. No not like this. She was perceptive because of her madness.
Now she considered his silence as submissive and calmed down. Rodolphus decided to clarify the situation for himself "What happened after the Dark Lord killed Potter?".
And Bella liked to talk about the Dark Lord. "The Dark lord left almost immediately when he was convinced of the boy's death. Do you know that Potter and his buddy killed Pettigrew? They made him suffocate. Lucius is sure it was Imperius, but they were not capable of such complex spells, I am sure of that. And something else happened. It turned out that this vile house elf managed to snatch our other captives. Did you happen to meet them where you went?"
"No, the house elf died halfway through the apparition, your knife hit the target. We were thrown into the forest."
"Well, who cares about them now. What about the Mudblood?" she was so confident in him, her smile so wicked.
"I killed her," he remembered Hermione's motionless body, her eyes with horror frozen in them. He let the image slip through his barriers, as he hoped Bellatrix was curious enough to swallow it.
"I hope she suffered before she died," Bella yawned. Here's another worrying symptom, even mind reading takes a lot of her energy. "Well, Rodolphus, I forgive you for your rudeness and misunderstanding. You deserved it. If you had not disarmed Potter, I dont know how it would have ended. The boy was extremely lucky, and his wand was special."
He? Had he disarmed Potter? Suddenly Rodolphus found it hard to breathe. He felt dizzy from the flickering of memories. For some reason his memories were so crumpled, a little incoherent. And flashed before his eyes: Harry rushed to meet Hermione, ropes were thrown out of Rodolphus's wand, Hermione was tied on the floor, he immediately turned his attention to Potter and disarmed him, the wand landed at his feet. And then the green flash of Dark Lord's Avada stabs the boy in the back and he falls dead.
'Why did I attack Potter? What have I done! Has Hermione noticed? What if she finds out?' Rodolphus thought horrified.
Maybe his wife did something to him. Her Imperius was losing against her powerfull Crucio, but was still very strong. He eyed Bellatrix suspiciously. She closed her eyes wearily and dozed in an armchair by the fireplace.
Rodolphus had the feeling that he was slowly losing his mind. But Hermione trusted him, even after he attacked her, she continued to trust. Therefore, he decided that keeping her trust is what he needs to focus on. Perhaps he just missed something.
At that moment, screams were heard from hall and the Dark Lord rushed into the living room in a fierce whirlwind. He was angry and possibly injured, at least he was covered in blood. Bellatrix jumped abruptly awakened by his appearance and screamed in horror "My lord, are you injured?"