Disclaimer: I do NOT own Harry Potter or any of it's characters.
Author's note: Yes, I am still working on the other stories that I am in the middle of writing, but once again, something popped into my head and I had to get it written down. Here is the result.A one-shot, post-war Fanfic for Harry Potter revolving around two sisters that should have quit while they were ahead….
WARNING: This fanfic has spoilers for HBP in it. So be warned! If you haven't finished the sixth book, and you don't want to know what happened or you don't want to be faced with possibilities of what I (personally) think will happen in book seven, then don't read this!'
If you have read the sixth book and like theories on the seventh, then please Read and Review!
I hope you like it!
Ormandria
"It's Wednesday," said the nurse as she fluff the pillow on her patients chair. "Your sister will be coming to visit you today. That should make you happy."
No response came as the nurse helped ease the lanky woman back into the chair. Then again, the nurse never expected a response. She never responded to anyone or anything anymore. From the first moments that she had been brought to St. Mungo's six months prior, she had done nothing but sit in her chair and stare into space.
The Aurors that brought her in seemed to think that she suffered from a severe magical accident that had wiped virtually everything from her mind. Her long, black hair hung limp and stringy over her shoulders. Her eyes wore the vacant stare of one who had suffered the infliction of a severe obliviate spell.
The truth was much simpler. In reality, she had simply lost the will to even live. Everything she had once held dear to her had been taken away from her since He had died. He had been her everything. Her whole reason for being, and now that He was gone, She was no more.
The nurse sighed audibly as she left the room to attend to other, more pleasant patients.
Bellatrix Lestrange actually had her own room at St. Mungo's, due to the severe agitation that her presence caused some of the other patients, as well as their visitors. Mostly because she was the reason that St. Mungo's was home to two patients in particular. They were the Longbottoms, and though they were no longer in their right minds, thanks to the Cruciatus Curse, they were still able to remember LeStrange's ghastly visage.
For the nurses it had been a no-brainer to separate her as soon as she arrived, though they would have preferred to separate her even further. Say back to Azkaban where she belonged. Unfortunately, no one trusted the Dementors anymore and as such, Azkaban was no longer the most secure place for criminals. The Minister of Magic was in the process of creating a new prison system, hopefully one that would be more secure then the last, but until it was finished, they had to do something with the prisoners they had.
Since Bellatrix had literally lost her mind by the time they caught her, she had been found wandless and slumped to the ground in a dirty alley, unable to even recognize that she was being arrested, it had been only logical to take her to St. Mungo's. At first it was to ensure that she was, in fact, mentally incompetent, but once they had decided she was, it seemed for the best to leave her there. The new prison system would be up and in effect in another two months time and when it was, she would be sent back there. Until then, the nurses did their best to remember that while she may have once been one of the most dangerous Death Eaters in the wizarding world, she was now their patient.
Several long moments passed before the door to her room opened again. This time it was a tall, thin, and well-dressed blonde that entered the room. To look at them, as they were now, no one would ever have guessed that they were sisters. They were as different as night and day. Where one was pale and dark, the other was light and shining, though both showed their age from the varying stresses they had endured.
Narcissa bent down to give her sister a hug and a gentle kiss on the forehead, as she usually did, and received only cold stillness in return. That was alright with her though. In her view, the most important thing was to let her darling sister know she was there for her.
"Bella," she whispered in her sister's ear. "How I've missed you this past week. How I've missed you every week." She turned and set a vase of flowers on the only table in the sparse room, before pulling up a chair and sitting opposite of her sister.
"What shall we talk about this week, hm? I suppose I should tell you what is going on in the world," her demeanor turned serious with the thoughts of what was happening. "The aurors have arrested several more Death Eaters, Peter Pettigrew among them. They caught him being attacked by one the Dementors that's still roaming free. Silly really. They should have let the thing give him the kiss and be done with it. It's no more then he deserves. Of course we never cared much for him anyway. I don't think anyone ever truly cared for him."
She watched for some sign of life in her sister's eyes and when none shown, she continued. "Hogwarts is going to re-open too. Not that I thought it wouldn't."
For several long minutes Narcissa rambled on about this and that. She talked of current events, of family, but mostly of Draco. She recounted how Draco was to be given the choice of returning to Hogwarts to finish out his schooling. It had been decided early on that since Draco had been unable to actually kill Dumbledore himself, he was not considered a serious criminal and all charges against him were dropped. Much to Narcissa's extreme relief.
After an hour of what equated to small talk, Narcissa got up to leave. She was gently kissing her sister goodbye when, without warning, Bellatrix grabbed her arm in a tight grip and squeezed.
"Cissy…" Bellatrix murmured in a low voice.
"Bella?" Narcissa looked at her sister in shock. It was the first time her sister had moved, let alone talked in several long months. Out of all the Death Eaters, Bellatrix had taken their master's defeat the hardest. She had been in love with him. It had been her downfall.
"Cissa…." The voice snarled now as the grip tightened even more, her nails digging deep into her sister's arm, breaking the skin. Narcissa winced at the pain as blood began to well up from the wound. She grabbed her sisters hand with her free-hand and tried to pry it off, but found herself unable.
"Bella," she moaned. "You're hurting me…"
"Hurting?" her sister whispered in a far off voice. "Hurting…. He hurt…. He hurt because of you. It was your fault…." Bellatrix looked up into Narcissa's eyes. Her own eyes filled with veiled hatred of her once dear sister.
"What are you talking about Bella?" Narcissa asked. "It was Potter that killed him. Potter and his ilk."
"You betrayed him though," Bellatrix responded. "You betrayed his trust, and his orders."
"Never!" the blonde witch hissed quietly. She looked behind her in a panic to make sure no one was listening or could walk in on their conversation.
"You went to Severus when you weren't supposed to. You went and asked for his help. If you hadn't done that then Dumbledore never would have discovered our plans. Draco would have had to kill Dumbledore and we never would have been fooled into thinking that Snape had done it. We would never have thought Dumbledore was dead and let our guard down. We would have had Harry Potter where we wanted him. Where He wanted him! And He would still be alive right now!" Her voice grew more venomous as she went on, her fingernails digging deeper into her sister's arm, causing Narcissa to cry out in pain. Luckily she was able to keep her voice low enough so that none of the nurses had come running in.
"I had too!" Narcissa cried. "I had to save Draco! It was bad enough that I lost Lucius. I couldn't lose my son as well. I thought Severus was truly back on our side. If I had known I would never have gone to him. I just wanted to save my son!"
"But you did know," Bella sneered, twisting Narcissa's arm to add to the pain. "I told you. I warned you, and still you went!"
"He trusted Severus. How was I not suppose to?"
"You should have trusted your sister! That's what you should have done!"
"What makes you think it matters?" Narcissa barked. "Do you honestly think he would have won either way? Do you think I raised such a cold-blooded killer that Draco would have been able to go through with it if I hadn't made that agreement with Snape?"
"I loved Him!" Bella countered defiantly.
"And he just used you to warm his bed," her sister spat back viciously.
Narcissa was still cringing in pain, positive that her arm was about to break when Bellatrix let go suddenly.
"You are no sister of mine," Bella growled. "You are responsible for what's happened, and I will make sure you pay. You and that troublesome brat of yours both!"
Narcissa backed away from Bellatrix, fear riding up into her belly. Without so much as another word, she turned and exited the room. Closing the door behind her, she leaned against the wall to catch her breath. She held her injured arm up to her chest, her hand covering the wounds so that no one would see. She was about to leave when a nurse walked up to her looking rather concerned.
"Ms. Malfoy? Are you all right?" she asked.
Narcissa thought for a brief moment before answering. "Yes, I am. But it seems my sister has come out of her stupor. I would highly suggest that you get some aurors over here to deal with her, or to take her to a more secure location where she cannot hurt anyone.
"Are you sure?" The nurse looked though the glass in the door, as though to see if she told the truth, but saw only the same catatonic Bellatrix that she had always seen.
"Oh yes," Narcissa murmured as she raised her arm for the nurse to see. "You see, my sister is a very good actress as well, and she seems to be making St. Mungo's Hospital her next stage. If you bring Mad-Eye Moody and send for Severus Snape and Dumbledore as well, they should be able to tell you that I am telling the truth."
"Very well," the nurse nodded and locking the door, went to summon the people requested.
Narcissa simply stood and waited. It was true that she had made a vital mistake in trusting Snape before, but it was also true that because of him and Dumbledore, and yes, even Harry Potter, her son was not only alive today, but would not be spending the rest of his life locked away in some wizarding prison and out of reach of his mother. And as far as Narcissa was concerned, Draco was the only person that she truly owed anything to. He was her son after all. Protecting him was the most important thing. Even if it did mean feeding her once beloved sister to the wolves, so to speak.
Narcissa smiled at the thought. Yes, she and Draco had both grown a lot during this whole fiasco. They knew where their loyalties lay now. As always, they lay with the winners….