There's Love In Information
C17: Breakthrough
Standard Disclaimer: I don't own any of the recognizable characters.
As the months rolled into March, the entire Department had worked hard on implementing the next part of their plans to end the Death Eaters.
They had gathered a lot of information on Lucius in the last month and what seemed to be a returning behavior for him in the last month was the fact that he seemed to be getting both more paranoid and seemingly more desperate. He was trying to get both funds and manpower from any possible corner of society, but it seemed that no one was particularly inclined to work with him after the arrests and convictions of Yaxley and the Lestrange brothers had been made public.
The fact that they had also managed to root out several Ministry workers who had been found to be funding his efforts to stage a ministerial coup.
This had brought up a new idea Bellatrix had brought up at the last Department meeting. She thought it might be easier to let Lucius infiltrate the Ministry where they could control and more importantly limit the damage he could cause. It would also give them an opportunity to end this out of the public's eye, which would be better for them in the end. People couldn't panic when they didn't know about the threat after all.
That was why Bellatrix and Fabian were on their way to the D.M.L.E. to propose this plan to Madame Bones, knowing they needed to have her on board with this if they wanted to have any chance when presenting this to Kingsley.
"I'll have to be very honest here Mom. I never expected you to come up with a plan like this." He said with a soft smile.
Bellatrix smiled at him. "It makes the most sense to me. Lucius might not have numbers or funds at the moment, but he has his ideals which he wants to push through and I know he does not care about casualties along the way. If we let him come to us we can contain the damage he can inflict and keep his coup attempt under wraps as much as possible."
"That's for the best too. The last thing we need in society now is wide spread Death Eater induced panic." He said softly.
Bellatrix nodded and smiled at her son. "That was my thought too, and if we lay out some bait for him, I am sure he will come here to prove that his way is the only way for society to go."
He nodded at that. "I'm honestly more surprised that he hasn't gone after Ministry officials at this point. He has to know that something has to have happened to the Lestranges and Yaxley at this point."
"Lucius is a true pureblood male sweetie, believing himself to be better than anyone else by virtue of his blood, while he is in actuality a poor duelist and weak in his magic, and on top of that he is a coward. His greatest gift used to be his funds, but now that he doesn't have that, I would like to think the only reason they still follow him is because of fear." Bellatrix said softly.
"I do wonder what means he still has to instill that fear. It's not like he is particularly intimidating." He said in a similar tone of voice as they stepped out of the elevator on the D.M.L.E. floor.
Bellatrix smiled at him. "He can be very intimidating if he wants to be. What he lacks in magical power he makes up for with his charisma, because that is what he is best at."
Fabian nodded as they walked into the D.M.L.E. offices, being met by Susan. "Good morning Director Black, my aunt is waiting for both of you in our meeting room." Susan said with a kind smile.
They both smiled and followed her to the meeting room, where to their surprise Kingsley was also present.
As they took their seats Amelia stood. "Good morning, I hope you don't mind me asking Kingsley to be present for today's meeting. You made it sound you made a breakthrough so I thought it might be easier to have him here to avoid anyone having to tell this twice." Amelia said kindly.
"We understand Madame Bones, and we certainly don't mind. We have indeed made a breakthrough, which my mother will explain everything about. She was the one that found it." He said with a kind smile.
Three pairs of eyes then turned to Bellatrix. "Right, this is a bit new for me, but I will give it my best. Over the course of the last couple of months we have spent many hours pouring over all of the information that was acquired in the Lestrange and Yaxley arrests and one thing that seemed to be a common denominator in this was that Lucius is not planning a long drawn out war, but rather a short lived coup to take power. This got me thinking about what I've noticed in the last days before the Ministry and Hogwarts were attacked. One, he doesn't have the support of most of the old Death Eaters, only those that were loyal to him after the Dark Lord's defeat. Two, he doesn't have the funds to draw this out, especially not now that we've identified and detained those here in the Ministry that funded his effort. Through all this research I came to only one conclusion that seems to benefit everyone. Draw out a trap and let him come to us. From what we've managed to decode from his plans and messages his target is the Ministry and if I know him a little, he believes that Wizarding Britain will fall in line if he takes control himself."
"This is certainly an interesting development, and you could assure me that this approach will both work and prevent unnecessary loss of life?" Kingsley asked kindly.
Bellatrix nodded at him. "It is my firm belief that Lucius commands the loyalty of three families once the Lestranges and Yaxley fell away, which severely limits his numbers. Draco is still in frequent contact with both Theodore Nott Junior and Blaise Zabini, and they have assured him that they have no intention of having anything to do with Lucius' plans. Theo especially has denounced his father, who he believes is a part of Lucius' movement. Furthermore, I believe that they still feel confident that the Ministry will not stand against him, and that he has no knowledge that we have so much information on him and his plans. This will certainly work to our advantage because it will make him cocky."
Kingsley nodded at that. "Then I give the D.M.I.I. and the D.M.L.E. all freedom to draw up a plan for this. This will be a combined effort between your two Departments and for this I would like weekly updates on your progress and be kept up to date on the plans, and I'll make sure you have everything you need in the meantime."
"All we need from you is some controlled messages to the media where we can lure him here. It's best if we keep our involvement out of this for as long as possible." Bellatrix said with a kind smile.
"I can do that, and make sure Skeeter doesn't get wind of this. She might just ruin this plan before it has a chance to be completed." Kingsley said in his deep baritone.
They all nodded at that. "Then with your leave we'll start to draw up an initial plan for our Department's side. We'll send someone over to show the first draft near the end of the day. Probably Daphne or Andromeda." Fabian said with a smile.
Kingsley and Amelia nodded at that. "That's okay, shall we also plan weekly meetings to discuss things? That might be easier instead of having people run between our Departments." Amelia said with a kind smile.
He nodded as he and Bellatrix stood and took their leave, Bellatrix especially being glad that her plan had been approved.
…
When they came back to the Department, Bellatrix made her way over to her lover, who was busy looking through a file on her desk. "Hey baby. I've missed you." Bellatrix said as she draped herself over her lover's back.
Hermione smiled at her. "Bella, it's been an hour at most."
"I always miss you when I'm not close to you, Hermione." Bellatrix said with a soft smile.
Hermione smiled as she pulled the raven haired witch into her lap. "I miss you too when you're not right here next to me, but it honestly wasn't that long, and I know you've been getting better at early mornings, so what's really going on?"
Bellatrix smiled at the brunette. "I'm just feeling a bit touchy at the moment. Probably because I'm a bit giddy from the fact that Kingsley approved my plan to deal with the Death Eaters."
"That's great news love. I'm so glad we can finally start planning for things after the Death Eaters have been dealt with." Hermione said with a bright smile.
Bellatrix smiled and nodded at her lover. "That was my thought too, and I hardly think we're the only ones. I have a feeling Fabian and Dora will have an announcement or two once everything is over."
"As long as one of those is not their admittance to the entire family about their nudist lifestyle, I think I'll live, and perhaps we can beat them to one of those." Hermione said with a wink.
Bellatrix grinned at that. "Is there something you want to tell me love? because I have no idea what you are talking about."
Hermione smiled and kissed her softly. "Not yet, but perhaps the next time the entire family is together." She said with a wink.
Bellatrix blushed at that as she got off Hermione's lap to take a seat at her own desk. "Don't tease me with such things Hermione."
"I'm not teasing in the slightest love. This was inevitable when we realized the feelings we held for each other. I'm not asking you to marry me right now, but between now and a couple of months I certainly will." Hermione said softly.
Bellatrix blinked back tears when she heard that. "Come, let's talk about this over lunch. I don't think either of us would want this to come out before we are ready."
Hermione nodded and smiled at her lover as they made their way to the Floo, both fully intent to go our for lunch so they could properly talk about this.
She was fully aware she had kind of sprung this on Bellatrix, but ever since the two witches had started sharing a home together, she found it increasingly more difficult not to pop the question. She had everything ready to propose to Bellatrix, including a ring that she had found on one of their recent shopping trips, one she thought fit her raven haired lover perfectly.
They quickly decided to go to the Leaky Cauldron for lunch, since they both had a hankering for shepherd's pie and the Leaky Cauldron had the best shepherd's pie in London.
"So love, what was this about marriage?" Bellatrix asked once they had taken their seats and had placed their order.
Hermione smiled at her. "Nothing but the truth love. I would love to be able to call you my wife in the not to distant future. I know that it might be a bit soon, but ever since we've properly started living together I've felt like we've really started living our life together, and I just can't help but be a bit selfish in wanting it all with you. Marriage, a family of our own, growing old together. I want it all with you."
For once Bellatrix was at a loss for words. "Hermione. I want all of that too, but the more important question is, are we ready for this?"
Hermione nodded and smiled as she slid out of her chair and onto one knee. "I believe we are, so with that said, Bellatrix Black, will you marry me and make me the happiest woman in the world?"
"Of course love, there is nothing I would want more than to marry you. So yes, a thousand times yes." The raven haired witch said as she blinked away tears.
Hermione smiled and pulled her lover into a kiss as she slid the ring onto Bellatrix's finger. "It looks even better on you than I thought it would."
Bellatrix smiled at her. "It's beautiful Hermione, thank you so much."
Hermione smiled as she watched the years literally drop from her lover. "We also might need to explain a few things to our family and colleagues when we get back. You've suddenly lost about twenty years."
"Twenty five to be exact love. Don't you remember what the book on soulmates said. The proposal was the first part of the marriage ritual in the old days, and I would become closer to your age when the first part of that ritual was completed." Bellatrix said with a soft smile.
Hermione smiled at her as their pies were brought to their table, the two witches enjoying their lunches mostly in silence, content to enjoy each other's company for a little while.
Upon their return to the Department, Luna was the first one to notice of course, since nothing went by her, and the blonde smiled brightly as she hugged her mother tightly. "Congratulations Mom. You both deserve this happiness." Luna said before repeating the action on Hermione.
"Thank you Luna, but I hope you know you won't have to call me Mom, not after everything we've been through." Hermione said with a smile.
Luna smiled at that. "I won't Hermione, don't worry. You will always be Hermione to me."
"What's this about calling Hermione Mom?" Fabian asked as he walked up to them.
Bellatrix grinned and held out her hand to him as she wiggled her fingers. "Because Hermione proposed today sweetheart."
Fabian gaped for a moment before realization hit him and he gave his mother another once over. "Well that was unexpected news on a random Thursday afternoon. But I'm happy for both of you, but you know I won't start calling you Mom now, right?"
Hermione laughed lightly at that. "I know, and I wouldn't expect you to. I'm just more surprised that you didn't comment on your mother's drop in age."
"I made the mistake of doing that once before, and I quickly learned Mom's age is strictly off limits." He said with a smile.
Bellatrix smiled at him. "It's good that you still have such good survival instincts sweetie, but in this case I wouldn't mind. I look rather good for twenty years old don't I?"
He only nodded at that, still not wanting to upset his mother in saying anything about her age.
"Well I for one think you look amazing aunt Bella, and congratulations on your engagement." Nymphadora said with a smile as she draped herself over her lover's back.
Bellatrix smiled at her. "Thank you Dora, that means a lot to us."
Nymphadora only smiled at her aunt as she looked expectantly at her boyfriend, who merely smiled at her in return.
…
For rest of the day the entire Department worked together on their first draft of the plan to lure Lucius Malfoy to the Ministry, which had come a long way already, although not at the level they felt confident they could share it with Madame Bones already.
They were taking a small break at the moment, and it was this moment both Narcissa and Andromeda took to take their sister apart for a few moments. "So Bellatrix. Spill the beans. How did Hermione propose and why do you look like your twenty again?" Narcissa demanded as she crossed her arms, making it clear she wanted nothing but the truth from her older sister.
Bellatrix grinned at that. "To be honest it was in the most unexpected way possible. We actually started talking about it before lunch and I honestly thought she was teasing me at first, so I figured I would be easier if we were really going to talk about this, I would've at least wanted to have some lunch, and once we sat down she stated all the reasons she thought why we were ready for marriage, and I just couldn't help but agree with her on it all, then she just slid off her chair and proposed to me. It was quite romantic."
"Leave it up to Hermione to list a thousand reasons why it is a good for you two to get married before actually popping the question." Andromeda said with a smile.
"Yes, and to answer your second question Cissy, the reason I've lost twenty five years is because of the proposal. Everything Hermione and I have read about soulmates states that once the first step in the marriage ritual is completed, the eldest will lose years until she is closer to the age of the youngest, hence the reason I've lost twenty five years and once again am twenty years old." Bellatrix said with a smile.
"You know, all this soulmate stuff is just a walking cheat code. Not only have you found a love we've talked about since we were little girls, you've gotten your youth back too." Andromeda said with a pout.
Bellatrix smiled and pulled her sisters into a hug. "I know, and while I won't apologize for what has happened, I will keep the promise we made to each other. I want you both by my side on my wedding day."
The two women smiled at that. "Of course we will stand by your side Bella. We made a pact, and so far we're the ones that haven't honored it." Narcissa said with a soft smile.
"You both know I never held that against either of you. It wasn't like my first marriage was out of love. It was necessity. Plain and simple." Bellatrix said softly.
They smiled at her as Narcissa basically took charge of the entire wedding already, asking Bellatrix countless questions about her preferences.
Meanwhile the majority of the women of the Department had gathered around Hermione, all of them being mighty interested in her proposal, and Hermione saw no issue in indulging her colleagues.
Luna especially was ecstatic that Hermione had proposed to her mother and was hanging on the brunette's every word. "I have to admit that I never thought you would be that romantic when we were in school." The blonde said with a smile.
Hermione smiled at her. "To be honest, when I was in school, romance was the last thing on my mind, and I don't think it could've been anyone but Bellatrix who could've brought these feelings out. I can honestly admit that I've had a crush on her for a very long time now."
Luna smiled at that. "Honestly, I don't blame you. My mother has always been a beautiful woman, but I could see that she wasn't really happy. When you came to stay that first Christmas you spent with us, I think that was the first time I had seen her smile since my own mother died."
Hermione smiled at her. "Bellatrix has told me a lot about your mother over the last few months, and while I know they were never officially together, I know what they meant to each other and I will always honor that in all my coming years with Bellatrix, that is my promise to you."
Luna smiled and went to hug the brunette. "I know, because you care about others and their feelings. I know you and my mother will be very happy together."
Hermione smiled and nodded. "I know we will because we've danced around each other for too long to not want to be happy."
"I wonder though Hermione, what made you come to the decision to propose to her already. You two haven't been together for that long right?" Pansy asked in genuine curiosity.
"To be honest ever since Bella and I moved into our new home together I've been fighting the urge to propose to her. It's true that we haven't been together for that long, but the bond we share is very strong, even if we look past the Prophecy that brought us together. Bellatrix and I have always been very intellectually compatible, and you know that matters more to me than physical compatibility." Hermione said honestly.
Pansy smiled at her. "Are you taking notes Gin? You might learn some romantic advice from your best friend."
Ginny glared at her girlfriend. "I'm plenty romantic. You've certainly never complained whenever I take you out on one of our impromptu dates. But seriously 'Mione. I'm really happy for you. You and Bellatrix really seem made for each other."
"Thank you Gin, and you know that my promise to you still holds true. I want you to be my Maid of Honor on my wedding day." Hermione said with a soft smile to her best friend.
Ginny smiled and nodded. "That means a lot to me Hermione, despite everything my family has put you through over the years."
Hermione smiled and hugged the redhead. "You are not your family Gin. You have always been and will always be my best friend."
"And here I thought Fabian was your best friend." Ginny said with a grin.
"While he and I have more often than not been dubbed twins, I can't talk to him about the things I can talk about with you, especially now that I'm marrying his mother. Merlin that still feels weird, that he is basically going to become my stepson and that Luna is going to be my stepdaughter." Hermione said softly.
Luna smiled at her. "Don't worry, I don't think neither Fabian or I will have the inclination of calling you Mom anytime soon."
Hermione only smiled at her as the girls talked about the engagement for the rest of the day.
…
When the two witches were back home after a long day full of questions, they finally had a moment to relax and they took generous advantage of that as they soaked in the bath. "Who knew our Department had such a penchant for gossip." Bellatrix said with a content sigh as she pulled Hermione even closer to her.
Hermione smiled at that. "It's not a surprise actually. We're all so used to getting information at this point that we all can't help but want to do it all the time. I'm pretty sure your sisters did so to a degree as well."
"That's putting it mildly, Cissy just about has our entire wedding planned already, and that was after her interrogation." Bellatrix said with a soft smile.
Hermione laughed lightly at that. "Well it is your sister's specialty to interrogate people these days, and for as long as I've known her she is really good at getting you to tell her just about anything. I am willing to bet that she could even get you to spill our bedroom secrets if she wanted to"
"I have no doubt about that, but I know she won't ask that. Propriety doesn't allow her to ask that of either of us, but knowing our luck chances are that she'll catch us doing something sexual at some point. It's almost like she has a nose for when to cunt block me." Bellatrix said with a soft smile.
Hermione smiled at that. "Aren't you glad that we made the decision to live on our own where we can indulge in each other in any way we want."
Bellatrix nodded and pressed a kiss to her lover's cheek. "True, but Cissy has a habit of dropping in unannounced, and it is only a matter of time before she catches us."
"We'll deal with that when we get there. Until that time we're going to enjoy each other." Hermione said with a loving smile.
Bellatrix smiled and kissed her. "You can be sure of that, my darling fiancee."
"Hmm, I love the sound of that word falling from your lips. I would love to hear more of that." Hermione said as she turned around and kissed the raven haired witch.
Bellatrix moaned into the brunette's mouth as they deepened their kiss quickly and she pulled Hermione flush against her body, hands roaming the brunette's body leisurely.
She gasped softly as she felt Hermione's hand sneak between their bodies and trail a fiery path down her overheated body straight to her core. "Fuck, Hermione."
"Just relax love, I'll make sure that you will be very relaxed before we go to bed tonight." Hermione whispered huskily as she slipped two fingers into her lover.
Bellatrix moaned loudly as she bucked her hands against Hermione's hands, wanting more pleasure than was being allowed right now. "Baby, please don't tease me so much. I've been a good girl today."
Hermione smiled at her lover. "Yes, you have been a good girl, and far be it from me to just fuck you without any form of foreplay. You've always enjoyed my foreplay before, so this is far from teasing you." She said before latching onto one of Bellatrix's nipples.
Bellatrix tangled a hand in Hermione's hair, clearly intent to keep the brunette exactly where she was, and Hermione on her turn didn't seem to have an issue in complying with that particular wish.
This was new for them both, since they both usually preferred a more hurried form of lovemaking, but Hermione was intent to take her time with the raven haired witch today. "I love how tight you are love, you were tight before but now it seems like you are even tighter."
"That's because with the return of my youth, everything was restored, including my virginity, so I am now completely yours, in every way possible." Bellatrix said as she kissed her lover deeply.
Hermione smiled at the raven haired witch. "As if you weren't already, and I'm yours too, now and forever."
Bellatrix smiled at that as Hermione increased her pace gradually, bringing the raven haired witch closer and closer to her first orgasm of the night.
Bellatrix could only moan as she bucked more and more against Hermione's hand, needing to cum before she lost her mind completely.
"It's okay love, let go for me. I want to hear you cum." Hermione said huskily.
Bellatrix only moaned loudly before she screamed out Hermione's name as she came almost violently, trashing around in the bath.
Hermione just smiled in satisfaction as she brought her lover down from her high. "That was a big one love. Are you okay?"
Bellatrix smiled dreamily at her lover and nodded. "I feel absolutely amazing 'Mione. I could be persuaded to take it slow more often."
"That's probably the first time that you've called me anything else than my name. I could get used to you calling me that." Hermione said softly as she repositioned herself against her lover, once again pressing her back against the raven haired witch's front.
Bellatrix however was not going to let herself be the only one that was going to have an amazing first orgasm, and so she hooked er legs around those of her lover and spread them as much as the bath allowed, while she at the same time nibbled her lover's neck. "I hope you didn't tire yourself out too much when you made me cum just now love, because you know I just have to return the favor now."
"I was counting on that love, and I know you want a bit of control, so that's why I positioned myself like this, so I could completely give myself to you. "Hermione said softly.
Bellatrix grinned and let one hand slide down her lover's torso while the other slid its way up to Hermione's pert breasts, teasing the nipple even more erect. "Your nipples are so stiff my love, you've worked yourself up quite a bit haven't you?"
Hermione nodded and moaned as Bellatrix slid two fingers trough her lover's soaking folds. "Of course I have. Have you looked into the mirror today. You're gorgeous and my overactive mind has imagined a lot of things we can do together."
"As a matter of fact I haven't looked in the mirror since your proposal, so I wouldn't know exactly what has changed, but I do know that you create the same things in my mind. All of these amazing images of future trysts that I can't wait to become reality." Bellatrix said with a husky purr.
Hermione smiled at her lover as she tried to relax against he raven haired witch as Bellatrix fingered her lover to a slow orgasm, and while not as explosive, it was certainly a first for Hermione to actually voice her pleasure so loudly.
Like Hermione had done for her, Bellatrix helped her lover come down from her high with soft kisses to her lover's neck. "Was that satisfactory love?"
"Beyond satisfactory Bella, we're certainly doing this again, although the next time might work better when were in bed. The bath doesn't really have the space we would want, wouldn't you agree?" Hermione asked softly.
Bellatrix nodded and smiled at her as she flicked her hand to warm up the water again, both of them more than content to soak a little while longer before they would go to bed.
They relaxed for another hour before they started to prune, the two witches taking half an our to dry each other without using magic for once.
Once they were dry they put on their fluffy robes and took a seat in the living room, wanting to have at least one more glass of wine before bed. "I have to say, this is certainly the best way to end such an amazing day." Hermione said with a smile.
Bellatrix smiled and kissed her softly. "I know, I don't think I've ever had a more eventful day in my life, but this was eventful in the best way possible."
"I'll be very honest and say that I didn't plan to propose to you today, but I would like to think that it was as close to perfect as we can come." Hermione said softly.
"You mean to say that you coincidentally had that ring in your pocket?" Bellatrix asked amused.
Hermione blushed and nodded. "Honestly, it has been in my jacket pocket for two months already, ever since we finalized the move to our home. There have also been many dinner times where I just wanted to drop down to my knees and propose, but I always chickened out at the last moment fearing you'd say no."
Bellatrix smiled and kissed her. "How could I ever say no to you Hermione? Even without this Prophecy bringing us together I think that we would've eventually gotten together in one form or another, whether romantically or otherwise."
Hermione smiled and cuddled into the raven haired witch. "I would like to think that too. I love you Bella."
"I love you too Hermione, now and forever I will love you." Bellatrix said softly.