I am finally starting to fix my schedule and hopefully the new chapters will come more often now:)
Hope you enjoy this one!
Flight of the heart
Bellatrix was tossing and turning again. As usual, she was once again having memories coming back to her in the middle of the night. Her recollections of being in Azkaban were making her wake up feeling cold, terrified, and so dirty. Then, it was tossing around in bed for the rest of the night since she couldn't go back to sleep. The loss of sleep in itself wasn't a problem for Bellatrix. She was used to wandering the large manor as a child, then the corridors at Hogwarts when she couldn't sleep. She threw off the covers and stood up, not ready for another such night. Changing into her signature black dress and corset, she put on knee-high high heeled boots and a dark cloak and left the manor.
What had been intended as a short walk in the grounds turned into a late-night adventure when Bellatrix Apparated in Hogsmeade and set off towards the Hogwarts grounds. Soon she got bored of walking and drew out her wand, waving it over her head. The tiniest of pops was heard and she disappeared, a large, black raven appearing where the witch had stood moments ago. The raven flew up towards the castle and in no time at all reached the towering building. Moving on by memory now, the bird soared high and ended up on the second tallest tower of the castle. There, it perched on a windowsill at the very base of the tower, peeking inside through the rather wide gap in the curtains. The girl inside was lying on her back on the bed, an open book resting on her chest. She looked peaceful.
Bellatrix couldn't quite remember why she had taken on watching the young woman sleep. It was creepy and definitely not her style. Unless she wanted to gather information on someone which most certainly wasn't what she was doing with Hermione. But there was just something in this calm picture that drew the dark witch in. She moved her Animagus form's eyes from Hermione's sleeping form with difficulty. They were drawn to a piece of parchment that lay close to her feet on the windowsill. She looked at it curiously, nibbling it with her beak. It looked like a letter. The brunette must have left it there in hopes of the raven appearing again. The witch in the Animagus form thought about the last letter she had received… and not answered.
The thing was, Hermione had breached a sensitive topic. It wasn't that Bellatrix minded talking to the younger woman. In fact, they had exchanged lots of letters over the past few weeks. And while they had mostly discussed Bellatrix's returning memories, or Hermione's work at school, the Dark witch hadn't expected the younger woman to throw her in the deep with one simple question. The raven shuffled its wing. The letter had stayed in Bellatrix's pocket ever since she had read it; she could even feel it in her Animagus form. And she remembered it word for word.
B.B.,
Sounds like it was another hard night. I do hope the memories of Azkaban aren't that much. I mean… I suppose it must all be kind of blurry. Sorry, not sensitive. My point is it should be over quickly. And to take your mind off it – McGonagall told me the Minister spoke to some members of the Wizengamot already. If things continue to move this quickly, you'll have a trial before Christmas. Isn't that great? Have you considered getting in contact with Narcissa? She better not find out from the Daily Prophet that you're alive.
Best wishes,
H.G.
A trial before Christmas? That she could deal with. She herself had exchanged a few words with McGonagall and wasn't as nervous as before about going in front of the Wizengamot. Contacting Narcissa? This was something she wasn't so sure she was up to. Not many people believed it, but Narcissa was a force to be reckoned with and was no less dangerous than her sisters despite appearing weak, always walking beside Lucius. Telling Narcissa she was alive after all the things she now remembered doing was out of the question. Another thing was she unfortunately thought she hadn't even seen the worst she did to her baby sister.
The young woman turned around in bed suddenly, and the bird on the windowsill jumped in surprise. After a few moments of watching the sleeping figure it took the piece of parchment in its beak and took off without looking back.
Bellatrix changed back to herself when she reached the end of Hogsmeade village. There, she sat down and looked at the envelope she had dropped in her feet. Bending down to pick it up, the witch stared at it for a few more seconds until finally unrolling it to see the contents.
Dear B.B.,
I hope I didn't shock you too much with that last letter. I mean, meeting your sister is bound to happen sooner or later, but I'm sorry for bringing it up out of the blue. I really wish we could go back to sending letters. Even though you still haven't told me where mine disappear to. It's a communication I've gotten used to. And you're helpful too! That book recommendation you made really saved my Potions essay. I'll just leave this in the usual place and hopefully you'll send that giant raven of yours back sometime soon.
Hope to hear from you soon,
H.G.
The part that hit home most of all was the fact that Hermione seemed to have gotten used to their letter exchange as much as Bellatrix had. And just how used to it had Bellatrix herself gotten! The Dark witch shuddered when she thought about how she'd stood by the window, waiting for the small speck she'd spied in the distance fly closer and deliver Hermione's letter. She had missed this kind of expectation, she realized, and even though her guts were telling her it wasn't a good idea she was already making plans on how to give the younger woman an answer.