1Chapter Two– A Failure of Intelligence
Bellatrix arrived at Malfoy manor in a completely different mood than the one she had left it in the day before. Narcissa, and the house-elves, sensed it before she was scarcely inside the garden door.
"What's wrong?" Narcissa asked at once, walking hurriedly to her sister as she came into the dining room. The house-elves scattered quickly.
Bellatrix said nothing, just hugged her sister stiffly. She removed her cloak and sat at the table, pulling her cigarettes out of her pocket. Narcissa eyed her tentatively for a moment before snapping at one of the slower elves to bring wine. Narcissa waved her wand and produced the matching flutes again. The shaky house-elf reappeared with the wine, and with one look at Bellatrix beat a hasty retreat.
Bellatrix lit a cigarette with her wand as Narcissa filled the glasses. Narcissa said nothing, just waited for her sister to begin. Bellatrix took the wine but only sipped it. After a few more moments of silence, she said simply, "Rodolphus was at the mine when I got back yesterday."
Narcissa reared her head slightly and her nostrils flared, but she said nothing. She just waited for Bellatrix to continue. But Bella did not continue. Instead she dissolved into silent tears. Narcissa, her initial fears confirmed, clenched her fists so tightly that her knuckles turned white.
"Cissy! Why doesn't he just leave me be!" Bellatrix sobbed.
Narcissa looked at her younger sister, hatred etched on her face. "You know very well why?" She said quietly. "He owns you. That's why he does it."
Bella fought not to break down completely. "I hate him! And I hate this bond! I am no more than a slave!"
Narcissa gave Bella a shrewd look, "The bond is old magic, devised hundreds of years ago. Naturally, it favors the man in every way."
Bella drew deep, steadying breaths, "Don't tell me its old magic–old ways–therefore I should embrace it!" Bella snapped.
Narcissa merely raised an eyebrow, "I won't. Because you are not ready to hear it." She said evenly.
Bella felt exasperated, "Shit, Cissy! Hasn't Lucius ever used the damn thing against you!"
Narcissa's face went through a kaleidoscope of emotions, but ended in a rather embarrassed smile, "It has been many years." she admitted. "When we were first married, he did on several occasions. As a matter of fact, I believe the last time was the night I conceived Draco."
Bellatrix looked at her sister in horror, "You sound like you think the whole thing was funny!"
Narcissa looked up with a small smile, "Funny? No. Not funny. You see, Lucius was drunk and it was late. I could smell the other women on him–I knew what he had been doing. He came at me and I spurned him... and he made me." She finished simply, running her finger around the rim of her wine flute.
"How can you be so sanguine about the whole thing?" Bella asked in revulsion.
Narcissa now smirked at her, "Think about how you feel when you are in the presence of the Dark Lord?"
"What does that have to do with this!" Bella exclaimed.
"Everything." Narcissa said simply. "Oh, I know, the Dark Lord is scarcely a man. He is beyond our love–our wants–even our desires." Narcissa looked wistful. "But when I am summoned I feel the power radiate from him. I drink it in like an intoxicant."
"I fail to see," Bella said, through gritted teeth, "what this has to do with being raped by your husband!"
Narcissa's head snapped up, "Don't you!" She snapped in a scathing tone. "Then I will explain it to you! Even the men feel the power of the Dark Lord! They get drunk on it, and so do we!" Narcissa grabbed her glass and drank deeply. "You asked me whether I had ever tried to kill Lucius. I got very close once. When we thought the Dark Lord dead, Lucius decided that we would have to feign being under the Imperius curse–to turn ourselves in to the ministry and plead for forgiveness." Narcissa looked sickened.
She took another drink of wine and Bella saw her hands shake, "I felt lost. I sat in my bedroom with a bottle of poison in my hands. I really didn't want to live anymore anyway. I never got as far along as you did. I never got close enough to make myself sick. But as I sat on the bed, I knew I couldn't do it. I resolved to take the poison myself. Only the thought of Draco motherless stopped me."
Bellatrix looked at her sister as if she had never really seen her before. The shock must have showed on her face. Narcissa saw her stare and smiled at her, "Just because you went to prison, did you really think you were the only one who suffered? We were all like that–desperate and at the end of our ropes."
Narcissa re-filled her wine and tipped the bottle onto Bellatrix's as well. "We both revere the power of the Dark Lord. We get drunk off him. That night, I got drunk off my husband. The bond made him god-like. Do you really think I could stay mad at him for taking something I would normally give to him with glee?" Narcissa asked with a beaming smile. "He gave me Draco that night. And that has always given me a certain degree of power over him."
Bellatrix, her head reeling, gulped her wine.
"Bella," Narcissa began, "I'm sure you have noticed that I have a certain habit of getting what I want from Lucius? He wanted to send Draco to Durmstrang, but I forbade it. It's too far from here and I wanted Draco closer to home. Draco is a constant reminder of what he did to me. It gives me my power over Lucius. But I don't regret any of it. I get drunk off the Dark Lord just as you do. We are much the same, dear. The difference is I love my husband and you hate yours. Lucius has many faults but to think I couldn't forgive him for holding me in his thrall is just silly."
Bellatrix sat her glass down with shaking hands, "I think you are fucking crazy." She said quietly.
No, you don't." Narcissa said off handedly. "You just have never loved or revered any man the way you do the Dark Lord, and I do. There were times I wished I could trade places with you in Azkaban. Times when I wanted to take my own life. You may be on the run, sister, and there may have been times you thought your soul would rot, but you have never, for even one minute, had to pretend to be something you are not!" Narcissa drained her flute and hastily poured another.
"Lucius has taken me to parties with all of those rat bastards! We have had to fit in, to deny everything we are and what we believe in! The liars! The hypocrites–Fudge, Scrimgeour–all the rest of them! Power hungry and corrupt to the end! But so hypocritical they couldn't admit it! Just as filled with greed, avarice, and lust as any Dark Lord supporter. But too shamelessly pious to ever admit it! You may be living in a hidey-hole and stealing food, but you will never know the humiliation of having to break bread with people like those! There were times that Azkaban sounded pretty good."
Bellatrix sat stunned, unsure of what to say. Narcissa shook herself from a dark reverie and addressed her sister with a smile. "All the same, my love, my heart breaks for you. I feel my skin crawl at the very thought of him touching you. War or no war, he has got to be killed before he can touch you again." Narcissa rose from her seat and turned slowly away from Bellatrix, "Bella, dear, I am terribly afraid of angering the Dark Lord. He is mad at my family as it is, but..." She turned and faced her sister with a loving smile, "If you want me to… I will kill him for you."
Bellatrix was deeply moved. The picture formed in her mind of Narcissa, her wand held aloft, sending a blinding green light at her hated husband. The image was so powerful that Bellatrix felt her stomach began to rise. She put her face in her hands and took several deep breaths until the nausea stopped. She looked up at her sister with equal love and shook her head, "No, Darling. Our ultimate victory is nearly upon us. The Dark Lord will soon decide the role each of us will play in the new order. I am willing to put up with anything in anticipation of that moment. Besides, you must think of your own place in the new order."
Narcissa waived her hand, "I know my place already. I am a wife and mother. You know how the Dark Lord values motherhood."
Bellatrix shook her head, "Draco is a man now. That aspect of your life is coming to a close. There are great things ahead for you. You can't afford to alienate the Dark Lord, especially now. I will think of another way."
Narcissa, saddened but relieved, sat back down excitedly, "You never told me about Mears! What happened? You looked thrilled to burst!"
Bellatrix felt the last twenty fours hours of hell slide away like melting snow. She had to hold her hand to her mouth to stifle a very girlish giggle, "Oh, Cissy, it was wonderful!"
"Well, tell me!" An excited Narcissa cried with joy.
Bellatrix lit another cigarette and smiled broadly, "Well, I took him out and interviewed him. McNair, my ass! I won't have anyone in my unit I don't personally pass muster on. So, I asked him a few questions when he told me he had been an Auror in America for years…"
Narcissa recoiled in horror and started to interrupt before Bella quieted her with a wave of her hand, "That's why I wanted a look into his mind."
"Couldn't he keep you out?" Narcissa interjected suspiciously.
"Certainly!" Bella said with a snicker, "he had some of the strongest shields I have ever felt. But I ordered him to lower them and, Baby, did he ever lower them!" She finished with a squeal.
Narcissa looked confused, but Bella just waved a hand at her and flicked her ashes carelessly on the table, "It's hard for you to understand, Cissy–you were never much of a legillimens–but you normally get a series of snapshots from someone. Mears, however, lowered every inhibition to me. His whole life flooded into my mind! It was like spending years with someone." She finished in wonder.
"Sis," Narcissa said with a dawning smile, "you sound like you are already in love with him!"
Bellatrix looked guilty for a moment, "Oh, Cissy, do you remember when we used to sit on your bed and talk about the ideal man we wanted to marry?"
Narcissa was laughing, "Of course. We both wanted to marry the Dark Lord!"
"No, no," Bella said with a grin, "when we were older, just before you and Lucius got married."
"Yes, I remember."
"Well, it was just like that! The Dark Knight we used to talk about. Hard as nails, with soft spots for those he loved! He has done some terrible things, and some wonderful things. His faith in the Dark Arts has cost him so much. I think his wife left him when she found out and I'm certain she took his kids from him. He has lost everything, but he is here to help us. He left his life back in America and he can never go back. The cause is all he has left."
"You saw all of this?"
Bella nodded, 'It was strange, believe me. It's like I looked in and got everything back. It was weird."
"That doesn't explain how he survived as an Auror?" Narcissa observed skeptically.
"I didn't see specifics, more like I can sense the truth." Bellatrix said excitedly. "He had contacts all throughout the Dark Arts community in Virginia. When a fool was needed, he made the arrest. The rest he protected. And Cissy! He was a wonderful father. He was so good to his kids..And he tried to raise them right, too. That bitch-wife of his has disappeared among the muggles with his kids. He didn't give up looking for them till last year–right before he came over here."
"Is he a pure-blood?" Narcissa asked quietly.
Bella nodded, "Faux pure-blood. I asked him and he said half-blood, then he told me it was a great grandmother on his mother's side. Can you believe that?"
Narcissa grinned, "Oh, that doesn't count! Silly man."
"I know," Bellatrix said dreamily, "he was so cute when he I told him too."
Narcissa was now smirking at her sister, "You know, for one unhappily married lady, you sound like re-marriage wouldn't hurt your feelings in the least."
Bella grimaced and crushed out her cigarette, "He doesn't know a thing about me. He'll hear plenty from the others. Bellatrix the monster! Bellatrix the unbalanced sadist! Besides, I look like a hag."
"Stop saying that!" Narcissa said angrily, "You are still very beautiful! You are so dark and exotic-looking. You can still turn any man's head. And you will turn his too."
Bella gave her a sister an unwilling smile, "Well, thanks for the pep talk, but I need to go."
"Where are you going?"
"Mears and I have an assignment tonight, so I need to go and run the plan past him." She said smilingly.
Narcissa beamed, "Have fun."
"All business." Bellatrix smiled back.
Bella exited the garden door and stepped out into the fragrant rectangle. She walked to the center of the stone-walled garden and produced her wand. She took the tip and placed it against her Dark Mark and thought of Mears. She lowered the wand and waited, but nothing happened. She started to scowl after a few minutes and was preparing to touch the mark again when she felt it heat up. She thought of Mears, turned and was gone in an instant.
When she reappeared, Bella found herself standing in the shadow on an old but stately-looking manor house. Unlike Malfoy Manor, this one had the look of a working manor. There were fields stretching west as far as she could see. She looked east and saw a large lawn and a small cottage setting near a road. Mears was running in her direction. He was shirtless, and sweaty and he was carrying a large scythe. He looked back over his shoulder at the cottage, as he got near her. "Sorry, Commander! I waited till the muggle in that cottage went in before I returned your signal."
Bella immediately felt exposed standing beside the house, but Mears read her expression and calmed her, "It's alright. He'll just think you're a girlfriend if he sees you. The Manor house is empty. I just didn't want him to see me playing with my Mark."
Mears hefted the scythe on his shoulder and offered his hand, Bella reached out with a smile and took it, "Get many of those around here?" She asked.
Mears looked confused, "Many of what?"
"Girlfriends?" Bella asked, smiling enigmatically and trying to sound politely curious.
Mears laughed. "Uh…No! You are nearly the first English witch I have met. From what I've seen of Buckinghamshire, I don't think there are many of our kind around here."
Bella smiled back and this time it was genuine. She had also noticed that Mears pronounced Buckinghamshire correctly this time.
"Won't you please follow me? I need to clean up. This way, please?" He motioned around the side of the Manor house to a small gardener's cottage just behind it. Bella gave the cottage a quick look, it was hidden from the road and tucked close enough behind the Manor that if you didn't already know it was there, and you could walk the front lawn and never know it existed. She checked off another smart move in her Mears book.
He opened the door to the tiny cottage and she saw that the place had only the most Spartan amenities. A small, open shower and toilet tucked in the corner of the room. A small, muggle refrigerator and a toaster oven were all the creature comforts. The bed was built was for a normal Englishmen, not an American giant. Mears had strung a hammock between two metal poles. She walked in and saw an old wheel of some kind that he had made into a table. Mears set the scythe down in the corner and excused himself for a douse in a large metal wash basin. Bella's eyes followed him. He was as thickly built in reality as she had expected when she saw him in his robes. His shoulders and chest were thick and well muscled, and he was sporting just the slightest hint of paunch He was wearing muggle jeans which he filled out rather nicely. He was drying his hair with a towel as he walked back over to her.
"Sorry about the muggle garb," He explained, "but I can't work in robes."
She looked at him, "Yes, explain that. Just what were you doing with that scythe?"
Mears laughed again and dropped the towel, he produced his wand from his jeans and performed a drying charm on his thick brown hair, "That's part of the arrangement I have with the old muggle who lives up front. He's quite elderly but wants to keep this job till the Manor Lord pensions him off. The work around here is too much for him. So, I do the work and he let's me stay here. I get a quarter of his salary and his Lordship gets a manicured lawn to look at if he ever visits this house." Mears was performing the drying charm on his chest when he suddenly realized he was shirtless, "Oh, pardon me!" He said hastily and walked over to the tiny bed and chose a fresh shirt from the pile he kept there and pulled it on. Bella felt herself flush.
"But why don't you just use magic? Cutting turf with a scythe must be hard work?"
Mears returned and sat down across from her, "Well, it doesn't hurt to let the muggle see me working on occasion. And truthfully, I've put on weight since I came over here three months ago."
Bella fixed him with a smirk, "I had no idea a Yank would find British cuisine so inviting?"
Mears laughed again, "Actually I don't. Well, I find the fish and chips inviting, its everything else I can't get used to. So, I eat too much of the fish and chips and here comes the belly."
"Actually, British food can be quite wonderful." Bellatrix told him. "If the cook is any good."
"Well, Commander, that's one area where you have me. I never have been able to cook. I guess if I would learn, I wouldn't have this problem."
Bellatrix grinned at him and fought down the urge to invite him over to her hiding place for some of her cooking. Since she had always detested house-elves, Bella had planned for married life by learning a lot about domestic magic and cooking. But she held her tongue and an uncomfortable silence grew.
"Very well." She said at last, "To business." She waved her wand and a scroll of parchment appeared on the wooden table. Bella unfurled it and Mears leaned in close, a business-like mien on his face.
"Here's a plan of the neighborhood." Bella told him, Mears rose from his seat and circled halfway around the wooden wheel for a closer look. "It's a block in Leto–London suburb–a crowded place."
Mears bent down and looked at the parchment, "Looks like they are stacked in tight, must be a poor area?"
"Muggle dunghill." Bellatrix said curtly. "The target's name is Avery–like I said the other day, a total nobody–one of the last mudbloods to stay at the ministry–most of the rest have already quit. He lives in this corner flat," Bellatrix said, pointing at an end block of small apartments. "He's on the ground floor."
"What kind of wards can we expect?" Mears asked, his eyes never leaving the parchment.
"Shit." Bellatrix said flatly. "Most mudbloods have warded their homes to keep us out. What we see is almost universally dreadful. The intelligence says it's the usual makeshift rubbish–can't apparate in–but once you are on the ground you can find huge cracks in them. Won't be a problem."
Mears had pursed his lips and was pulling on his lower lip between his thumb and pointer-finger, obviously deep in concentration. "A lot of traffic at night in an area like that. Poor people up late getting drunk till all hours. Arriving undetected will be hard unless we go dressed as muggles or we launch very late at night?" He observed, looking at Bellatrix.
Bellatrix tried to keep the smile off her face, this guy was good! "We never go dressed as muggles, unless the target is very high value and that makes it worth it. Death Eater robes and masks are worth several seconds of advantage because of the terror they inspire."
Mears looked down, smiled and shrugged, "When do we launch?"
Bella smiled back, "Eleven o'clock. The noise from the muggle drunks will cover our apparition sounds."
Mears gave her a strange look, but he said nothing.
"What is it?" Bella asked.
Mears looked slightly embarrassed, "Why don't we silent apparate? That way we can go later if we wish?"
"What are you talking about?" Bellatrix asked.
Mears shrugged, "Silent apparition. Standard American Auror training." He said as if it were obvious.
Bella furrowed her brow at him, "Only the Dark Lord and very powerful wizards can apparate without sound." She said, feeling she was about to be proved wrong.
Mears smiled, and had a very diplomatic look on his face, "Not everyone can do it." He agreed delicately, "but any skilled witch or wizard can manage it with practice."
Bella didn't know whether to grin or feel insulted, "Show me." She said.
Mears stepped back, turned, and vanished silently. In a blink he reappeared on the other side of the cottage, without the slightest trace of sound. Bella was out of her seat in a second, "Can you teach me that?"
Mears smiled, "You? I'm certain. It's just like regular apparition, it just takes practice and a lot more concentration. Like I said, it's standard first-year American Auror requirement. Best to be on top of your enemies without giving them any warning."
Bellatrix smiled at him, "Excellent! Perhaps you can train the entire unit to do it? It would be a marvelous advantage."
"My pleasure." Mears said happily and returned to stand over her at the table. His eyes returned to the parchment, "I don't know a thing about lighting in English cities–especially not poorer ones–but it might be an advantage to go there this afternoon and remove any street lights?"
Bella grinned, "This area of Leto has no lighting to speak of. That won't be necessary. The intelligence says he will be all alone. We'll go in together, right here on the far side of this wall–locate the wards–penetrate inside. Shouldn't be any problem."
Mears looked more skeptical, "Is the intelligence always right?"
"Always has been." Bella said flatly. "He's not a high-value target, but the report should be accurate. Once we're inside, I'll secure him while you check the flat just to be sure. We'll find out if he has any knowledge we need, then I want you to finish him. I trust you are well-versed in unforgivables?"
Mears shook whatever reservations he felt and nodded. "Quite." He said simply.
"Good-oh," Bellatrix said rolling up the parchment. "Since I know the neighborhood, I'll side-by-side apparate us in. We'll launch at eleven o'clock, as scheduled."
Mears's face split into a wide grin.
"What?" Bella said, with a quizzical smile.
Mears just smiled and shook his head.
"Go on, then?" Bellatrix cajoled.
Mears chuckled, "It's that accent. Shed-jeweled. I must sound like a barbarian to you? Sked-julleeed." He gave a self-deprecating laugh.
Bellatrix had to fight down the urge to hug him he looked so cute. "It's just because you are an uncultured Yank. We'll teach you proper English." She said laughing.
Mears went around to the other side of table and sat down, "I followed the insurgency in America as best I could. And I've been reading the Daily Prophet since I arrived in London. It's been most impressive–massive terror inspired–but few casualties in all, it's been a real masterstroke."
Bellatrix warmed with the praise, "All up to the Dark Lord." She said, fishing out her Marlboro's. "He oversees each and every mission. They are designed to cause a sense of helplessness and terror, but with few enough casualties to not harden public opinion against us. The Dark Lord is a master of political manipulation. The whole program is designed to give the populace the sense of inevitability of our victory."
Before she could fish out her wand, Mears has his muggle lighter out for her. She took it, examined it, and flicked her thumb to light it. "Cagey invention." She observed and handed it back to Mears. "I was wondering how you found us? That couldn't have been easy. Every Auror in Britain has been trying for two years." She asked, taking a deep draw on her cigarette.
Mears lit a Marlboro light of his own, "It took time, believe me. I had to come in through France. I apparated across the channel into London." Mears stopped suddenly, "My manners! Would you care for something to drink?" He asked her rising to get himself something. "I have water, tea–perhaps some wine?" Mears noticed her look and cut her off, "I got it this morning when I knew you were coming. Guests only." He smiled. He walked back to the table with a chilled bottle of elf-wine.
Bella looked up at him, "How did you know that I liked elf-wine?" She smiled.
Mears looked very superior, "Auror training, dear lady, I smelled it on you at your sister's yesterday."
Bellatrix laughed and waved her wand, a crystal flute appeared. Mears popped the cork and poured her a glass. He replaced the wine carefully on small table that contained various perishable items. Bellatrix saw the shimmer of magic and knew that he had set himself up a "cold zone" to refrigerate his food. "Why not use the muggle thing?" She asked.
Mears reached into the "cold zone" and got himself a Diet Coke, "That thing?" He said incredulously, pointing at the small muggle refrigerator. "There's no electricity in here. Someone must have put it in here to store it. I use lamps for light." Mears popped the muggle soda and returned to the table.
"As I was saying, I arrived from France. I didn't know anyone naturally. I bummed around London for a few days till I ran into some wizards and they told me about Diagon alley. So, I went there. Found that pub out front."
"Leaky Cauldron." Bella interjected.
Mears nodded. "Place stayed deserted. So, I went on into the alley. And there, I found Knockturn alley. I hung about the place for a couple of weeks, buying a few things, just letting everyone get used to the sight of me. The accent gives me away big time anyway, and the size. Well, I wasn't sure who to ask about anything and nobody was offering, then I got lucky."
"How?" Bell asked, sipping her wine.
Mears laughed, "I got mugged."
"What?" Bellatrix asked.
"Well," Mears shrugged with some embarrassment, "They tried. Three of them. Must have been desperate to go after a big guy like me. I hurt two of them bad and the third ran off. Naturally, I couldn't go to the Aurors, I'm not supposed to be here. So, I was pulling the bodies around a corner when a girl showed up and offered to help me. She told me she had seen the whole thing and wondered if I would like to meet some people who could use my skills. Of course, I figured it was just some teen with a fantasy world in her head. But she showed me a tiny version of this." Mears pointed to the Mark on his arm. "I knew what it was, of course. So when she told me to be back tomorrow at that bookshop in the alley, I agreed to come."
Bella swallowed her wine and felt confused, "What girl is that?"
Mears drank from his soda and pulled a face, "I don't know her name, never learned it. Short girl–a little shorter than you--maybe fifteen-sixteen, I'm not sure. Very dark hair, like yours. The next day I went to the bookstore and your nephew was there."
"Draco?" Bellatrix asked in shock, "He's wanted all over Britain, what was he doing in Borgin and Burke's?"
"Meeting me, I suppose." Mears shrugged and let out a silent belch. "Well, he asked me a lot of questions. He also probed me, and showed me his Mark. I knew I had made contact at last."
Bellatrix stood up with her arms wrapped tightly across her chest, feeling very churlish, she didn't know about any of this. Draco recruiting Death Eaters, a young girl with a mini-Mark? She must have slipped further out of the loop than she had realized. She sat back down, "Go on!"
"Well, that about it, really." Mears shrugged. "After your nephew came visits by McNair–several of them. Then finally a meeting with several others–then the Dark Lord himself." Mears smiled. "He interviewed me and probed me, and then he marked me. It was quite a thrill."
Bellatrix left her troubled thoughts behind a moment, and pulled up the sleeve of her robe to look at her own Mark, "I remember when I got mine. I was only seventeen." She said wistfully. "It was the happiest day of my life."
Mears smiled and looked down at his own, "You know, I can't decide whether it beautiful or hideous." He rubbed his finger along the skull, "Oh course, on you, it looks..." Mears stopped himself suddenly and turned away looking like he had just said too much.
"Go on." Bellatrix cajoled with a smile.
Mears looked chagrined, "On you, it looks very beautiful." He mumbled quietly.
Bellatrix felt her heart leap. She wasn't certain, but she thought that Mears had just tried to flirt with her, even if inadvertently. Bella fought to control her blush. "Thank you." She said quietly. There were a million things to explain to him–about her–her marriage–her reputation. But now wasn't the time. She rose deliberately, "I suppose I should go." She was careful to smile at him to let him know that the compliment had not been unwanted. Mears rose with her.
"I'll pop in about ten to." She said walking slowly toward the cottage door. Half way there she stopped and turned to face him. "May I ask you a question–it's rather personal?"
Mears grinned, his chagrin vanished at her obviously flattered reaction to his slip. "Considering you've seen into my mind, how personal could it be?" He asked with his half smile.
"That's what I wanted to ask you about? I have been a skilled legillimens for years. The Dark Lord taught me himself. But I have never gotten more from any person but a hazy flood of thought and emotion. From you, however, it felt like your whole life came into my head. Why?"
Mears looked bewildered, "I have no idea. Maybe I'm an oddball? Commander McNair and several others have probed me. Perhaps you could ask them?"
Bella thought for a moment, then smiled, "I'll do that. I'll see you later, be ready and be rested."
Mears pulled himself up to his full height, "Yes, Commander."
Bellatrix gave him a final smile and walked out.
Bellatrix tried to rest all afternoon but sleep evaded her, even with the help of several glasses of elf-wine. She finally gave up and walked over to her tiny kitchenette and fixed herself a cold supper and tea. She was not normally restless before a mission–especially not one as simple as the one she was facing. But the unknown girl with the mini-Mark and Draco doing recruiting bothered her immensely. Bella chafed sitting around the hiding place but managed to keep herself busy reading. Finally, about nine-thirty, her restlessness got the better of her. She got up, showered, and dressed in her Death Eater robes. Grabbing her mask she headed off to her sister's.
She popped into the garden quietly and checked to make sure that her sister didn't have any unexpected company. She entered the sitting room to find Narcissa in a house coat, curled up by a lamp reading "The Arabian Nights" from her voluminous library and enjoying a snifter of brandy.
"What are you doing here?" Narcissa asked, "I thought you had an operation this evening?"
"I do." Bella said evenly and sat down across from her.
"What's wrong? Do you want some wine?"
Bella shook her head and waved her mask, "The 'op' is in little more than hour. I wanted to ask you about something Mears told me this afternoon: He says, that a young, girl–fifteen or so–saw him fight off three muggers–and put him in contact with Draco. Do you know anything about that?"
Narcissa's face twisted in bewilderment, "Draco? No, I have no idea what he's on about. What does Draco have to do with recruitment?"
Bella shook her head, "No idea. I was hoping you could tell me. Mears also said the girl had a mini-Mark on her–know anything about that?"
"Not a twist." Narcissa said, sitting up and putting her brandy down. "I wonder what this is all about."
Bellatrix scowled, "I think it's a sign of just how far out of the inner circle we have fallen. There have definitely been some changes."
Narcissa looked perplexed, "Maybe the girl had a muggle tattoo of the Mark? Maybe that's what Mears saw?"
Bella shook her head, "I doubt it. Besides, that doesn't explain Draco and what he was doing in Borgin and Burke's last month."
"He shouldn't be out in public!" Narcissa said angrily. "Every Auror in the country is looking for him. Damn that McNair! If he's behind this, I'll keel haul him!"
Bellatrix sat back in her chair and sighed. "We need to get back soon. It's a good sign for you if Draco is running missions. But it doesn't help me. The closer this war gets to ending, the more replaceable I'm going to be."
Narcissa sat back in her chair and closed her book, "You need to do something to call yourself to his attention. Will this operation help?"
Bellatrix snorted, "Stupid ministry Mudblood. I've put him down the priority list three times he's such a non-entity. Won't even make the Prophet I expect. Won't help a damn."
Narcissa looked thoughtful, "You need to start thinking bigger–something to really catch his attention."
"I'll run it past Mears."
Narcissa smirked.
"A fresh perspective." Bella insisted. She pulled out her small gold pocket watch, "Speaking of, it's time I was going." Bellatrix rose.
"Are you still coming for dinner tomorrow night?" Narcissa asked.
Bellatrix looked doubtful, "I'm not all that chuffed about being here at your house this much. Aren't you about due for a visit from Arthur Weasley?"
Narcissa scowled, "He's busy with other things, I'm sure. Oh, come on Bella, I'll seal the wards after you arrive. We won't be bothered. I get so lonely here." She pleaded.
"I was going to try and finagle an invite from Mears. He's living in an even bigger rat trap that I am. And the man can't cook a lick. I thought I might show him my skills in the kitchen." She smirked.
"Bring him along, by all means!" Narcissa insisted. "I'll be here to chaperone–if word gets out, Rodolphus won't be able to say a thing."
Bella finally nodded, "I'll see if he can come."
Narcissa beamed, "Be careful tonight."
Bella grabbed her mask from the chair, "Like clockwork."
Bella disapparated in the shadow of the manor house and looked around. Mears's cottage looked dark. She was just moving silently toward the front of it when Mears stepped out of the shadow of the Manor house, "Over here, Commander." He said quietly.
Bella halted as he strode into the ambient light. He was dressed in his Death Eater robes, his hood already up, his face deep in shadow. He looked enormous. Bellatrix smiled. "You look terrifying. That Mudblood will shit himself." She said approvingly.
Mears pitched back the hood and grinned. He hadn't put his mask on yet. "This thing is a pain in the ass to see out of." He said, waving the mask around.
Bellatrix shrugged, "It's for the effect, you'll get used to it."
Mears shrugged and snapped the mask into place and replaced his hood. Bella smiled in approval and put her own mask on. "Alright, if something goes wrong, we'll apparate back here. Are you ready, did you sleep any?"
Mears shook his head, "Couldn't. Must have been nerves."
"Just first operation jitters," she assured him. "You'll be fine. Are you ready?"
Mears nodded and produced his wand, "When you are." He said, holding out his arm.
Bella grabbed it, "All right, hold on. Here we go." She turned and they both vanished.
They reappeared deep in the shadow of Avery's apartment building. Noise was filtering all about the complex. Muggle stereos were thrumming through the walls and distant laughter could be heard. Mears pulled his arm away and began feeling along the wall with his hands. In a moment, he hissed, "Got it."
Bella moved up near him, "All right. Take us in." She whispered.
She grabbed Mears' arm and felt him turn. Suddenly she was standing in a living room looking down at Avery, who started in shock, "Expelliarmus!" She shouted. A wand flew from the chair arm Avery was sitting in right into her hand, "Incarcerous!" she exclaimed. "Silencio!" Before he could blink, Avery was disarmed, bound, and gagged.
Mears raced past her into the back rooms of the flat. "Well, Mr. Mudblood," she said teasingly, "enjoying a little muggle telly are we? Sorry to interrupt." Avery's eyes bulged with terror. Before Bellatrix could say another word, a piercing female scream echoed from the back of the apartment.
Bellatrix started to crouch–she pointed her wand at Avery and hissed, "Who else is here?" Avery tried to respond but the silencing charm prevented any words to come from his mouth. Mears had still not reappeared.
"Mears!" Bellatrix shouted, "Are you all right!"
A moment later Mears reappeared from around the foyer gently pushing two young girls in front of him. They both appeared to be between six and eight years old. Dressed in long night gowns, one still clutched a teddy bear and both were crying in terror. Bellatrix felt her shoulders sag.
Mears stormed past the two girls and flicked his wand at them. They both stood rooted to the spot. Mears walked up to her with a murderous glare on his face, "Intelligence!" He snapped.
Bella looked at Mears, then down at Avery and finally to the two little girls who were crying loudly. She looked back up at Mears, bile rising in her stomach, "Standing orders are to leave no witnesses." She told him. Then she looked down at Avery, hatred burning through her, "They aren't supposed to be here, you fucking moron!" She kicked Avery hard in his legs, then drew her fist back and punched him in the face several times. Bellatrix then turned back and looked at Mears, her face on fire, "We haven't got any choice!"
Mears turned in a blur, lifted his wand and roared, "Obliviate!" Both girls' eyes lost focus and took on a look of unconcern. Mears raced over and herded them gently but firmly back to bed. Bellatrix stood on the spot shaking. Mears re-appeared a moment later and walked up to her and nodded. "They're blank. I hit them hard. They won't even remember how to speak–it's all right." He assured her.
Bellatrix swallowed and turned back to Avery and lifted the silencing charm. Gasps escaped him, "Don't...Don't hurt my girls...I'll tell you anything." He said in panic, blood leaking from his nostrils where Bella had punched him.
"Shut up!" She hissed. "You filthy muggle scum! Let me guess? Those two are muggle trash too.. Just like you?" She raised her shaking wand hand and pointed it at the terrified Avery. Mears hand touched hers gently. She turned and looked up at him, her eyes blazing. Mears looked at her coolly. He turned to Avery, "We've played fair. Don't make me get those girls back here. Tell us what we want to know."
"I'll tell you everything!" Avery said in rush. "Anything..Anything at all." He pleaded.
Bellatrix fought to control her shaking. "Then tell us." She ordered quietly.
"Big. Big Auror operation." Avery said quickly. "I just processed the orders today. Going to hit the werewolf warren up north."
"When?" Mears asked.
"Tomorrow. Big operation. Three full squads. Hit then in mid afternoon while they're sleeping." Avery looked from Mears to Bella, searching for a sign that the information had been worth enough to save his children.
"Let me look!" Bellatrix snapped.
Avery tried to control his breathing and relax. Bellatrix raised her wand, "Legillimens!" Flashes of paperwork filled her mind–all confirming what Avery had just said. Bella lowered her wand, turned to Mears and nodded, "The warren near Bristol."
"Yes...yes...that's it!" Avery rasped.
Mears looked at Bellatrix, "Anything else?"
She took a breath, exhaled and shook her head, "That will do."
Mears stood back as Bella walked out of his line of fire, "We will leave your girl's here." He told Avery as he lifted his wand.
"Thank you." Avery whispered.
"Avarda Kedavra!" Mears hissed… A flash of green light escaped his wand and struck Avery hard enough to knock the chair he was sitting in over. Bellatrix walked around the edge of the chair and saw Avery's eyes open and staring into nothingness. She turned to Mears, "Let's go. Your place."
Mears pocketed his wand, grabbed her arm and turned.
The moment they appeared at the cottage Mears released her and stormed inside. Bella followed, unsure whether Mears was mad enough (or disgusted enough) to kill her. She entered the cottage door hesitantly; Mears was standing over his wheel-table, his mask off and hood down, staring at the ground. He looked up at her and glared.
"My fault!" She said at once, "My fuck up!"
Mears walked over to his makeshift kitchen and with a roar he back-handed a collection of bottles and dishes and sent them crashing into the wall. Then he stood quietly, taking deep, steadying breaths. Bella didn't dare move.
After a moment, Mears' breathing slowed, he walked over to his bed and cast off his Death Eater robes and sat at the table. He pulled out his cigarettes and lit one. Finally, he looked at her, "Well, aren't you going to sit?"
Bella stood shaking. Slowly she walked to the table and sat, her eyes never leaving Mears. She removed her mask and sat it gently on the table. Mears looked at her again, and pushed his cigarettes and lighter over to her. She reached shakily and took one out of the pack and lit it. Mears got up and walked over to his "cold zone." He returned with the now refilled bottle of elf-wine. Picking up his wand, he waved it and a large, bowled, wine glass appeared in front of her. He removed the cork and poured her a full glass.
He picked his wand up and for a moment, Bella thought he was going to conjure a glass for himself. But after a brief second, he dropped the wand on the table and walked over to the cold zone and came back with a Diet Coke. Bella drained the big glass in one gulp and Mears reached over and took the bottle to refill it.
"My fault." She repeated, "I trusted the intelligence too blindly. I should have let you reconnoiter."
Mears sipped his soda and nodded. Bella was just taking a drag off her cigarette when Mears exclaimed, "Shit!"
"What?" Bella asked.
Mears scowled at her, "We forgot the fucking Mark!" He stood quickly and grabbed his wand. "I'll be right back. Drink up." He turned and was gone. Bellatrix grabbed the wine glass and took several long gulps. She sat it down and put her face in her hands. Bellatrix the monster! Bellatrix the fiend! Best he knows now. No point in trying to hide it. It's all out now. He knows!
Mears reappeared silently a moment later. He tossed his wand on the table and sat down heavily, "There. That will bring the Aurors–they'll find those girls."
Bellatrix fought back tears, "You must think me a right ghoul?" Bella looked up at his even face and felt her defense mechanism kick in, "I am a monster, you know!" She said defiantly. "The others are right. I am a fiend!"
Mears looked back at her and snorted with disgust, "You're a soldier–in the middle of a fucking war!" He said quietly.
Bella scowled back at him, "I was going to order you to…"
"I know what you were going to order me to do." He cut across her quietly.
"What would you have done if I had ordered it?" She asked flatly.
Mears sipped his soda, "Try to talk you out of it." He said gently.
"And if I had insisted!" She screamed.
Mears eyes flashed at her, and in that moment Bellatrix felt like she was falling into a bottomless hole. His eyes bore right through her and she thought the intensity of the look would rip her apart. "Then I would have killed them both!" He whispered.
Bellatrix shook. She reached out and grabbed the wine and drained the glass. She grabbed the bottle and refilled it. "That beating I was giving the Mudblood!" She spat. "That must've looked tasty?"
Mears smiled at her, "I saw your body language when I brought those girls out." He said with a laugh. "You looked like you wanted to disappear into the bowels of the earth. You were firing yourself up to do something horrible you didn't want to do." Mears took a deep drink from his soda can, "Sell that shit to somebody else, Commander, cause I'm not buying."
Bellatrix tried to drink from the glass but she broke down in a wave of tears. Mears rose to his feet and started to move toward her. "No!" She yelled, standing up in terror, "You can't! I'm...I'm married."
Mears glared across the table and looked like he might sweep it aside with one arm, "I just killed a defenseless man! Do you think I give a shit that you're married!" He growled, his eyes on fire.
"It's a conferratio bond!" she protested, backing away. "You can't touch me; the marriage bond will blow you across the room!"
Mears glared at her, trying to decide if she was telling the truth.
"Please believe me!" She pleaded. "I want you to–I want it more than anything in the world! Please believe that?"
Mears lifted his chin for a moment, then visibly sagged and sat down. He sighed, "Very well, sit down Commander, I promise I won't touch you." He said bitterly.
"Stop calling me that!" Bella said in exasperation.
Mears retrieved his Diet Coke and crooked his half-smile at her, "What shall I call you then? Mrs. Lestrange?" He asked bitterly.
Bella sat down in a huff, "Most certainly not! I hate that name like I hate the man I got it from! Call me Bella...or Bellatrix?" She said uncertainly.
Mears sat perfectly still for a moment, then cracked a grin, "I don't suppose, under the circumstances, it matter's much what I call you."
"Please...please…Don't say that?" Bellatrix said, looking down at the table.
Mears looked uncertain, "Why does it matter? I see my usual luck is holding. I finally meet a beautiful witch I'm interested in and she's not only married, but she married in some funky, British way that guarantees I can never touch her!" He finished, his hands held wide in exasperation.
Bellatrix looked up at him, her eyes pleading for understanding, "There are things about me I want you to know–things about my marriage."
Mears looked puzzled and angry, "Why do you care? There can never be anything!"
Bella looked up at him and fought back tears, "Marcus, I've seen into your mind! I know you–in ways I have never known any man. I know it all–the good, bad, horrible, wonderful–all of it! Please don't close this down!"
"Bellatrix, you're married to someone else–I'm betting for life. What is the point in pursuing this!" He was becoming very frustrated.
"I'm just asking for you to learn more before you turn away?" She asked earnestly.
Mears looked a little amused and a lot frustrated, "Very well." He agreed in defeat. "How do I learn more? Can you let me into your mind?"
Bella nearly flinched. "No," she shook her head. "The bond senses intentions. It would force you out."
Mears dropped his hands on the table with a THUD. His look was beyond exasperated.
"Listen!" Bellatrix said quickly, "There are the regular ways. It just requires a bit more patience. My sister is having me to dinner tomorrow night…will you come?"
Mears leaned back in his chair and eyed her with suspicion, "Why am I getting the feeling that an angry husband is going to be involved in this somehow?"
"No!" Bella snapped. "I'm not setting you up for any reason. Please believe me! I just want you to get to know me like I know you. Narcissa can help me explain everything. Please come?" Bellatrix realized she was begging, but if the shoe had been on the other foot, she wasn't even sure she would have shown the patience that Marcus was showing.
Mears smirked, "All right. Sounds like a great chance to experience some total frustration. I'll come, but listen to me, I'm not a masochist! This whole fucking thing is crazy."
Bella realized that she had gotten all she could reasonably hope for, "Good. She will be eating at seven. The dress will be formal. My sister is a horrible snob, I'm afraid." She smiled shyly.
Mears grimaced, "I have some dress robes around here. All right, I'll be there."
"Thank you." Bella said in relief. "Thank you for listening and being open-minded."
Mears looked up and shrugged. "I hope the way I solved the mission 'problem' won't get either of us in trouble?" He asked, clearly sounding depressed.
Bella shook her head, "It will be fine. I'll go report to McNair about the intelligence we got from the Mudblood. And...I'll see you tomorrow night at seven, okay?"
Mears looked and shrugged like the whole thing was utter madness. Bella smiled at him and walked out, feeling elated.
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