There's Love in Information
C20: Setbacks and Joyous Moments
Standard Disclaimer: I don't own any of the recognizable characters
It only took an hour of Narcissa and Bellatrix interrogating Lucius Malfoy before they started to get information out of him, and Bellatrix in particular was very pleased with the results they had had gotten so far.
As they had predicted, the moment he saw her step into the room, all forms of pompous privilege had vanished from his face to be replaced by genuine fear, something Bellatrix could only smirk about. "Well, well Lucius. What made you think that you would succeed where the Dark Lord had failed? You never held the same loyalty he did, and it's not like the ones you did have the loyalty of were the brightest wands in the rack. So what made you think you would be able to pull off a coup against a united Ministry?"
He glared at her but kept his mouth shut. "Don't bother Bella. We both know he won't talk. He was always more slippery than we gave him credit for. Perhaps we should let him stew in his failures for a little while. Perhaps once he realizes exactly how screwed he is, he might be more… willing to talk." Narcissa said sweetly.
Bellatrix snorted at that. "We both know that he will never be willing to talk to us. It would just be in his best interest to do so. It might actually save his miserable life."
"Like I would ever tell you anything. We did what is right for us, and I will never apologize for that." He spat out as he struggled to get free of his bindings.
"And as per usual you fail to see the bigger picture Lucius. What was done at the end of the War was nothing more than reparations the old system had destroyed. Dumbledore and Fudge were just as guilty for the decline of the nation as the Dark Lord was. Surely you can see that. You just don't want to admit that you threw your lot in with the wrong man in the end, and couldn't stomach the fact that you lost." Narcissa said as she glared at him.
Lucius merely glared at them before returning to his silent glaring at the wall, apparently not inclined to speak to them.
Bellatrix grabbed her sister's arm and led her out of the room. "Let him stew for a few hours. We knew it wasn't going to be easy to get him to spill his secrets. Once the spells start to work, I'm pretty sure we'll start getting the answers we need."
"I know, but since he already started to give answers I wonder why he has clamped up all of a sudden. Could it be that there was something we've missed?" The blonde asked softly.
Bellatrix shook her head at that. "I don't think we have. That little sliver we got was of his fear of us combined, but I'm pretty sure once we start confronting him with all the information the others are collecting from Malfoy Manor, we'll get him to talk. Kingsley also gave us permission to do whatever it takes to get information, so short of actually killing him we're allowed to do anything we can think of."
"We're not going to torture him Bella. Despite everything he has done he is still Draco's father, and I doubt my son would be okay knowing we got the information by resorting to the same techniques that the Dark Lord and Dumbledore utilized." Narcissa said softly.
Bellatrix smiled at her. "I wasn't going to suggest torturing him Cissy. I wouldn't want to go that far even with him. What we can do is use some of our more powerful mind spells, if you know what I'm getting at. Lucius may not possess much, but he's always had a strong will. The wards we have up might not be enough to get him to spill his secrets. We'll use it as a last resort of course, but we might need to go there eventually."
Narcissa nodded at that. "I know, but we should use that as a last option. Remember what happened the last time we tried that together?"
"I do, I still carry father's scars of that night if you recall, but I would like to think that our magic has matured since that time. I'm quite sure that we won't turn his mind to mush." Bellatrix said softly.
"Okay, I trust you to err on the side of caution, sister. Shall we give it another try or do you want to go and grab lunch first?" Narcissa asked with a soft smile.
"Why don't you go and get lunch for us both while I go and inform Fabian of this little setback. Maybe he has an idea on how to proceed." Bellatrix said with a soft smile.
Narcissa nodded and smiled at her sister. "Fine, anything in particular that you would want for lunch?"
"You know what I like Cissy. I trust your food choice." Bellatrix said with a wink.
The blonde witch smiled at her sister. "Good, then I will be right back Bella."
Bellatrix nodded as she made her way to her sons office, since she felt it was only right to inform her boss of what was going on in the interrogation room.
Seeing that he was surrounded by stacks and stacks of paperwork made her feel for him a bit since she knew that he loathed paperwork.
She knocked on the door to get his attention. "Hey sweetie. Do you have a moment?"
"Yes please Mom. I've only been at it for an hour and I'm already over doing this paperwork. How's the interrogation going?" He said with a soft smile.
"That's what I want to talk to you about Fabian. He's proving to be a bit of a tough nut to crack. It might take a little longer than we expected. Cissy and I are still thinking about the best way we want to us to get him to talk." Bellatrix said with a smile.
He smiled at her. "We knew that before he got here. Thankfully we don't actually need a confession from him. All we need is to make sure that we get all the information on his plans. Everything else is secondary. Dora has just let me know that Malfoy Manor appeared to be their base of operations, but just to be sure we want to know if he didn't stash anything someplace else."
Bellatrix nodded and smiled at him. "We know, which is why we let him stew under the wards for a while. We hope that might loosen his tongue at least a little."
"If anyone can make that happen it's you and aunt Cissa. He won't last long against you two, and let's be honest short of actually killing him you two can do whatever you need to get information. I trust you two to get what we need." He said with a soft smile.
Bellatrix smiled at him. "And we will sweetie, just know it might take a bit longer before we actually get it."
"I know, and that's alright. Now that we have him in custody, we have some time to consolidate all of the information. I would say the hard part is over, but we all know it's only just beginning."
Bellatrix nodded and smiled at him as she noticed that Narcissa had returned with lunch, and since her son had plenty of work ahead of him before the others returned, she left him to it.
…
As the day went on Narcissa and Bellatrix slowly started to get little trickles of information from Lucius, and thankfully it had revealed nothing new for them, since that meant the Death Eaters didn't have the foresight to store their information in multiple locations.
This made the task of interrogating him a lot easier, as well as a mere bonus for Kingsley since it was clear there was no other fit punishment than either a life sentence in the new prison or be thrown through the Veil.
Late in the afternoon the rest of the team returned with the last boxes of information from Malfoy Manor, and while everyone got started on sorting the information, Nymphadora made her way to their office, mostly to inform her boyfriend of the amount of information they had gathered, but also to relieve him of his paperwork duties a little since she knew he had been at it all day and could use some R&R, and she had the perfect idea for how she was going to distract him.
Seeing that he was still deeply engrossed in his paperwork, she slid into the office before closing the door and sitting herself on the desk. "Don't tell me you've been working on this all day." She said with a soft smile.
He looked up and smiled at her. "Of course I have. I want this to be done as soon as possible, so that's exactly what I'm trying to do."
Nymphadora smiled at him before sliding into his lap. "I know you want this to be done, but I'm pretty sure that you haven't even stopped to eat lunch today and we've talked about you burying yourself in work."
He smiled and wrapped his arms around her waist. "I've had lunch baby, Luna and Fleur made sure of that, and I have taken breaks in between too. I've learned from my mistakes. That is also the reason I've come quite a long way with this report since I was able to focus more. I am very happy you're here though. I was due for another break."
She smiled and kissed him. "Since the Aurors have already picked up Lucius a little while ago and I've given everyone the rest of the day off so we can do a fresh dive into everything on Monday, I am going to make sure you do the same by taking you home, and I am more than willing to go to extreme measures to make that happen."
"It's already that late? I hadn't even realized. Want to go out for dinner? Since I don't think either of us want to go through the hassle of cooking tonight, not after the day we've had at least." He said with a soft smile.
She nodded at him. "I'd love to. Let's just go somewhere private and easy where we can talk about things without being overheard."
"Of course love. I think we can manage that after a quick stop at home for a change of clothes. I don't think that either of us want to go to dinner in our work outfits.." He said softly.
"Then let's go Fabian. I think we've both earned a break." She said as she got out of his lap and pulled him up afterwards, hearing his bones pop and involuntarily winced a little. "You're getting old love." She said teasingly.
He smiled at her. "You're older than I am by at least two years, so what does that say about you."
She gave him a light glare as they made their way to the Floo. "You know it is a dangerous thing to say anything about a woman's age love, and besides, we both know I'm a lot more flexible than you."
Fabian smiled and kissed her before they stepped through. "There is no doubt about that Nymmie, and honestly it works better like that too, if you get what I mean."
She grinned at him and pushed him against the wall. "Dinner first, mind blowing sex later. I'm famished and honestly now that we're home I really don't feel like going out. So if I may make a suggestion. I'm going to take a shower, and in the meantime you can think of what to do for dinner."
"That sounds like a plan love, and I have the perfect idea. I'll ask Jupi to bring us a romantic meal. Mom won't mind after the day we've had." He said softly.
She nodded and smiled at him. "Sound perfect. Shall we say that I'll be back in half an hour?"
"Sound good love. I'll make sure dinner is ready by then as well as a bit more of a romantic setting." He said with a soft smile.
Nymphadora nodded as she kissed him and then making her way upstairs, fully intend to take a very long shower after spending the majority of the day in Malfoy Manor.
Meanwhile Fabian got to work setting the table for them before calling for Jupi. "Good evening Master Black. What can I do for you?"
"Hey Jupi, could you prepare a nice simple dinner for me and Nym in about fifteen minutes. If it's not too much trouble of course. It doesn't have to be fancy." He said with a smile.
The elf smiled at that. "Of course Master Black. I'll be back soon." He said as he popped away.
With dinner taken care of he took a bit of time to select some wine for tonight, since he knew no matter how simple the food would be, his girlfriend would want some wine with dinner, and if he was honest, he needed some too.
Fifteen minutes later Jupi popped in with their dinner, which was a simple pasta dish for both of them, and after wishing them both a pleasant evening, he vanished again, just as Dora walked down the stairs, naked as the day she was born. Of course he couldn't be left behind as he vanished his own clothes before pouring them both a glass of wine.
…
After a day of interrogation for Bellatrix and turning Malfoy Manor inside out for Hermione, the two witches were more than content to spend the time they had after dinner in bath together, all the while whispering sweet nothings to each other, all to evade the subject of Hermione being back there without her to help ground her.
Bellatrix could see that it was weighing heavier on her lover than she let on, but knew that even she wouldn't be able to get her fiancee to talk about her feelings concerning the Manor.
"I know what you're thinking Bella and I promise you that I'm fine. I've had a long time to deal with what happened at Malfoy Manor and Dora kept an eye on me the entire time. I also purposely let the basement be searched by Draco and Pansy as to not trigger memories." Hermione said softly as she stroked her thumbs over Bellatrix's hands.
"I'm glad you didn't purposely sought out those memories love, but I can feel there is something bothering you through our bond. You know you still have some issues with opening up, but I hate to see you suffer." Bellatrix said softly.
Hermione smiled at her fiancee. "I know love, and I would tell you if I could explain exactly how I felt about being back at the Manor. Since I didn't go into the basement where we were held the only memories that came back to me are the ones that weren't exactly appropriate during a search."
"Now you've piqued my interest love. What naughty thoughts ran through your mind?" The raven haired witch asked with a near sultry smile.
Hermione blushed at that. "I think that you know what I was thinking about. How your body was pressed against mine, your knee just subtly pressing against my core as you held me down against the floor."
Bellatrix grinned and pressed a kiss against her fiancee's neck. "If you want we could make that a fun little role play thing. Just imagine. Both of us stark naked, me pinning you to the floor while I have my way with you, only for you to at some point turn the tables on me."
Hermione's blush darkened at that. "Bella! There's no reason to put those images into my brain while I haven't been able to hold you all day and you know my willpower where it concerns anything sexual is basically zero."
Bellatrix smiled and let her hands glide to her lover's breasts, pinching the erect nipples gently. "I know love, and I also know that we both need this tonight. If only to set both of our minds at ease."
She smiled and leaned back to kiss the raven haired witch softly. "Only for that, my love? Or is it just because we're both very horny?"
"That too of course. I won't deny that I've been craving your touch all day." Bellatrix said honestly before capturing the brunette's lips in a passionate kiss.
Hermione moaned into the kiss as she turned around so she could properly mold herself against her lover. "May I suggest we get out of the bath then, because I just know someone is going to get hurt if we try to do this in the tub. Plus, our bed is a lot more comfortable too."
Bellatrix smiled and nodded at her. "I would agree with that logic love."
Hermione smiled as they got out of the tub and dried each other with magic, since they both were almost desperate for each other after the day they had.
The moment they were dry Bellatrix scooped her young lover into her arms and carried her the short distance to the bed. "You're so gorgeous Hermione. Every day I have to pinch myself to make sure that this is not a dream."
"I can same the same for you Bella. Every day I wake up in your arms I feel so incredibly blessed that I can wake up in your arms and share my day with you. I can't wait for the day where I can call you my wife officially." Hermione said with a loving smile.
Bellatrix smiled and kissed her lover softly. "I can't wait for that either love, and now that we've caught that bastard we can finally set a date."
Hermione nodded and pulled the raven haired witch flush against her body. "I can't wait, just as I can't wait to show you exactly what I was planning to do for you tonight."
Bellatrix grinned at her lover. "I'm all yours love. Do to me what you will." She said with a coy smile.
"Oh I plan to, just lie back and relax." Hermione said with a soft smile as she started to kiss her way down Bellatrix's neck, making it a point to go as slow as she possibly could, mostly because she wanted to tease her lover, but it was also because she wanted to re-memorize every single curve and dip of her lover's body.
Bellatrix was more than content to let her lover explore her body, no matter how frustrating the soft kisses Hermione placed on her overheated body were.
Hermione noticed and smiled at her lover. "Don't worry love. I won't torment you too long. I just can't help myself in wanting to memorize your delicious curves again."
"It's okay baby. I'll make sure to get some payback when it's my turn to tease you." Bellatrix said with a wink.
"I have no doubt about that love, and in the interest of both of us not going into the weekend completely exhausted, I won't tease you any more." The brunette said as she kissed a straight path down to her lover's soaking core.
Bellatrix moaned loudly as Hermione ate her out in a pace she had come to love. It was one of those nights where Hermione explored every single inch of her pussy, taking her time in making love to the raven haired witch.
Hermione on her turn couldn't get enough of her lover's juices, something she had no issue in admitting she had become all but addicted to.
…
The following morning Nymphadora woke up curled in her lover's arms, sighing contently as he almost rhythmically squeezed her breast as he was spooned into her back, and it was only necessity that drove her from his tender embrace.
For the past couple of weeks she had been feeling a bit ill in the mornings and while she had an inkling of why this was happening, it also frightened her a little. It wasn't the prospect of having a baby with Fabian, because she knew that was an option the moment they opened up to each other about their feelings, but rather the prospect of becoming a mother herself.
She had no idea of how to be a mother, and that prospect was the most frightening of all since she knew that Fabian would be over the moon if the result of her spell today would state that she was indeed pregnant although she expected it to be a formality at the moment.
As she warded the bathroom to not have her lover barge in the moment she started puking her guts out, she did exactly that, groaning softly as she emptied the contents of her stomach into the toilet, slumping to her knees once she felt there was nothing else to throw up anymore.
After a few minutes she shakily stood up to wash out her mouth, not wanting to crawl back into bed with her lover with her mouth smelling of bile.
Once she was sure her mouth didn't smell like an opened up grave, she took a deep breath before casting her Prediction spell, which would show her if she was pregnant, and if she was, for how long she had been pregnant, and as the two lines from her wand settled on her belly and turned a bright pink, she knew enough. She was pregnant and had been for at least two weeks.
One the one hand she was over the moon, like she knew Fabian would be when she told him, but on the other hand the fears she still carried with her from that singular night she had let her guard down plagued her mind.
Knowing he would get worried if she lingered any longer, she lifted her wards before making her way back into the bedroom, and with that the warm bed and embrace that awaited her once again.
Not at all to her surprise he was awake and waiting for her. "Hey love, I've missed you." He said lovingly.
She smiled and crawled back into bed with him. "I missed you too, sorry I took so long."
"It's okay baby. Are you feeling okay?" He asked softly.
She smiled at that. "You could say that I'm feeling amazing love, although my stomach would disagree with that notion. I have some amazing news to share that I would like to spend the rest of the day enjoying with you. I'm pregnant."
There was a moment of silence before he paled and pulled her into a kiss. "You're sure? We're going to be parents?"
She nodded and relaxed against him. "Yes, we're going to be parents, and that's what terrifies me, even though I'm ecstatic about the prospect."
"I know why love, and trust me that I can't even begin to understand how you must be feeling right now. Just know that I will be by your side every step of the way, and that we will bring justice to you against those two bastards. Madame Bones waited with this until we caught Lucius, but I have a feeling they will be convicted before Lucius will." He said softly.
Nymphadora smiled and cuddled close to him. "I hope so, because you know that women in our family have a bit more sensitive pregnancy, and I would hate to snap at you more than absolutely necessary. Because we both know that is going to happen, no matter how much you dote on me."
He smiled and nodded. "I know, but I will still dote on you at every possible moment, just because I can't ever resist such a thing."
She smiled at him. "I at least see one perk of my being pregnant. Nine months of guaranteed safe sex."
He laughed lightly before kissing her. "I'm not even surprised that your mind went there first. I also know why you don't want to go out today. We need to celebrate this like only we can."
"That was exactly what I was thinking love, we can tell our family in a couple of weeks. I want to enjoy this little moment of bliss with you for just a little while longer." She said as she crawled on top of him.
Fabian smiled and kissed her softly. "I have to agree with you on that, although I suspect that at least Luna is going to figure it out pretty quickly. My mother and Hermione will be too engrossed in their upcoming wedding to notice this for at least a few weeks."
Nymphadora smiled at him. "I'm pretty sure your sister will notice, and I'm okay with her knowing. It's not like it's going to be much use in denying it anyway, not after what happened a few months ago."
"You mean that morning where you forgot to take off your choker? Yeah, I don't think either of us will live that down any time soon." He said softly.
"Exactly, and that's why she can be the only one who knows, if she notices anything. But I do have a question for you, which is probably the same one you have for me. What are you hoping for?" She asked with a loving smile.
"Honestly, I would love to have a girl. I've always imagined the two of us sitting on the couch with a little girl asleep in our laps. But having said that, I also would love a son." He said softly.
Nymphadora smiled at him. "Somehow I expected that answer, and I can't help but agree. I've had very prophetic dreams about us having a baby girl before we have a son."
"No matter what we will be blessed with, two things will never change. One: I will always love you, and two: I will always shower our children, because I doubt we'll stop at one, with unconditional love." He said softly.
"I couldn't see you any other way with our children, or any other children born into the family. That's just who you are as a person, and that makes me even more excited to become a mother, as much as the prospect scares me too." She said honestly.
"Whatever happens, we'll get through it together, my love." He said softly as he wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her flush against his body.
…
When they came into the office on Monday Fabian was surprised to see an official summons on his desk from Madame Bones, inviting him and Nymphadora to her office later that afternoon to talk about their case against William and Charlie Weasley.
He could only smile at that as he passed along the letter to Dora, who had trouble containing her tears as she read it.
"Are we sure Madame Bones isn't a mind reader? Because I certainly didn't expect this missive this soon after we've talked about it." She said softly.
He just smiled at her. "I think she had everything ready for a while now love, she just wanted to wait until we dealt with the Death Eaters, but you are right. The timing is more than impeccable."
"I know right? We only talked about this two days ago, and I will definitely ask her about that this afternoon. It's uncanny how perfect her timing is." She said softly as not to alert the entire Department.
Fabian smiled and pulled her into a kiss. "We'll go and see what she has to say later this afternoon, Nymmie. I have a feeling that it can only be good news if she asks for just us."
Nymphadora nodded and relaxed in his embrace as there was a knock on the door. "Do you two have a moment?" Hermione asked with a soft smile.
"Of course Hermione. What can we do for you?" Dora asked softly.
"I thought you two would like to know that Lucius has finally decided to talk and has revealed the location of all remaining Death Eater sympathizers, both in the Ministry and the families that support him. Bella believes that this is all they can get from him, so the Aurors have taken him back to the dungeons already where he will await his probably already decided fate." The brunette said with a smile.
They both nodded and smiled at her. "That's good to hear. Could you personally make sure that their report goes directly to Madame Bones. We have a few things to discuss between ourselves before we need to go there later."
Hermione smiled and nodded. "Of course. I'll make sure no one else gets to see the report. I just thought you two might want to know about the progress we've made."
"Thank you Hermione. All the work everyone's done so far has been greatly appreciated, and while I will make a formal announcement on this later today, I just want you to know that we want to give everyone a paid two week vacation once Lucius is tried." Fabian said with a kind smile.
Hermione smiled at that. "I'll keep quiet about it until the official announcement, but thank you. I think it will be greatly appreciated by the entire Department."
"We know, and we appreciate the hours everyone has put in so far, and since I have a feeling that our talk with Madame Bones will take most of the afternoon, I want to ask you to make sure everyone goes home on time today. I don't see a reason to have everyone put in more hours than absolutely necessary at this point. We've gotten everything we need, so everything else can be done at a more relaxed pace." Nymphadora said with a soft smile.
Hermione nodded at that. "Understandable. It's been a hell of a couple of weeks for everyone. I can't imagine how much pressure you two must feel because of it all."
He smiled at her. "In the grand scheme of it all, it has all been less than I expected it to be, but yes, it's been a rough couple of weeks."
Hermione smiled at them before making her way back into the main area, leaving the two alone to talk.
Later that afternoon Fabian and Dora stepped into Madame Bones' office. "Good afternoon you two. I hope this is okay given the amount of work I'm sure you two have lying on your desks, but this was too important to not share immediately. Earlier this morning, a team of Aurors arrested both Bill and Charlie Weasley for your assault. I've been working on this while we were planning the arrest of Lucius. I'm pretty sure that we can get them tried and locked up for a very long time within a couple of days."
"We have to admit that we were a bit surprised to see your missive this morning, since we actually talked about this very topic last weekend. Having said that though, we're very glad that you made such quick work of this. It means a lot to us." Nymphadora said softly.
Madame Bones smiled at her. "I promised you both that it would have a very high priority Dora, and you know I try to never break a promise."
"I know, but I have to know, if just for my own peace of mind. Have they said anything about why they did it?" Nymphadora asked softly.
"Unfortunately they have, and I know you're not going to like it. And these are there words, mind you. They did it because they could and because you deserved it for turning them down." Madame Bones said softly.
Dora sighed softly at that. "I expected as much to be honest. I'm just glad I can finally start to properly heal from this."
Amelia smiled and nodded. "I'm sure that with Fabian's help, as well as that of your family, I know you will bounce back stronger then ever."
"I'm sure I will, since Fabian has made good progress already, it can only get better from here." Nymphadora said with a soft smile.
Madame Bones smiled at her former Auror. "I have no doubt about that, but I'm afraid I have some pressing matters regarding the two Weasley's, and I'm sure you two also have plenty of work left to do. I'll send word when they will be put on trial for rape of a government official."
"If you don't mind my asking. What's the minimum sentence for that?" Fabian asked softly.
"A minimum of twenty years, and given the circumstances, I think they will go away for life." Madame Bones said with a kind smile.
They both smiled at her. "Thank you, that's exactly what we needed to hear. We wish you a good day and leave you to your work, Madame Bones."
She bid them a fond goodbye as they made their way down to the cafeteria so they could get some lunch, and also celebrate this little victory.