Reclined on the wall, Hermione silently watched with curious eyes the unfolding scene.
Mr. H. looked relaxed and well-adjusted, his hair wasn't messy anymore and his clothes were clean. Just like when he arrived. The only give away of their earlier altercation was the involuntary twitching of his fingers and probably the scars on his body. That wasn't visible at the moment. The man smiled at Bellatrix, nodding effusively, confirming that he understood.
The dark witch gave him precise instructions on how to act and what to say once he left. He nodded once more right after Bellatrix gave him two small slaps on his left cheek, then he walked away.
"How long will it last?" The girl asked while nibbling a piece of dried meat taken earlier from her satchel.
On contrary to her counterpart, that seemed in a better mood, Hermione was a little anxious about what it meant to let the man leave.
"Hm, I don't know," Bellatrix responded indifferently, "Why? Is the baby mudblood scared?"
The girl bit harder the piece of meat than it was necessary; the woman didn't waste any opportunity to taunt her or mock her. "Why didn't you just obliviate him?"
A deriding sound came from her throat, black eyes looked her up and down in a depreciating manner. "I know your brain is really itsy-bitsy small to understand simple things, but do you really have to ask?"
She mauled the question over; it took her a second of silent contemplation to reach the answer. 'Because if there are people waiting for him, they'll know if he had been obliviated' Hermione wanted to kick herself for not thinking before asking.
For someone who showed to be very skeptical of the man's threat and easily to be overtaken by her murderous impulses, Bellatrix was still able to get the best possible outcome out of her little shitshow. And she had her fun along the way.
She pushed the entire piece of meat in her mouth, tasting the sweet taste on her palate. 'Probably Bellatrix never intended to kill the man.' If that were to be true, then the woman was more cunning than she expected. Hermione had anticipated being surrounded by wanted criminals right now, considering how quickly things went south moments ago. This plan of Bellatrix taking the 'stealthy' route was something she didn't foresee.
"No, I guess not." She crossed her arms, feeling very defensive.
Her worry stemmed from the fact that they couldn't afford to attract more unnecessary attention. There was the probability that another confrontation like this could tip off Karkaroff. Besides that, Hermione didn't want to, if it came to it, fight her way towards the man all because they antagonized more wizards along the way.
She took a glance outside the window. The last rays of light were rapidly dimming in the sky; nightfall was coming very soon. To complicate the matter, it was heavily raining.
Under the dark mantle of the night, they would start to sweep the area. The girl hoped that tonight they would finish the job as it was becoming hard to stay here much longer. Her eyes flickered towards her counterpart. She needed to be alone. Too much of Bellatrix's company was pernicious for her physical and mental health. Literally.
"We will leave as soon as its fully dark outside." Bellatrix stating the obvious, hastily putting on her dark cloak. She turned her back at the girl "Guard the door. Kill everyone who dares to cross it. Or not, depends on you."
"Wait, what?!" Hermione asked, suddenly aware of the woman's intentions. "Where are you going?"
The Death Eater didn't bother to reply, immediately she disapparated.
Where? Only Merlin knows.
"Bloody hell…" Muttered to herself. "Mad witch…"
Her shoulders sagged, groaning at the accumulated tension in her shoulders. At least, now that she was alone there was no need to keep with the stoic façade. Being with that woman was like walking barefooted over broken glass.
Hermione reached for one of the numbing potions inside her satchel. It was a blue vial that almost fitted on the palm of her hand. No matter where she went, or for how long, she always made sure to carry enough of these vials with her. She did a quick metal note to brew a new batch once she returned to the mansion.
She drank it all in one go, grimacing at the sour taste running through her throat.
The effects were immediate; the sensation was like a soft towel cleaning away the grime from her chest and mind. It felt great just to numb the constant 'tugging' in her chest and the horrible yearning; she felt more like herself.
Sooner or later she had to interact with Bellatrix, Hermione knew this the moment she agreed to join Voldemort. Hence, she read and prepared mentally for it. Read about her imprint, which was practically useless due to the lack of information. And read about Bellatrix too, to know her, to see if she could understand her. However, she realized that in practice it helped next to nothing.
The girl moved around the room aimlessly, letting her inner worries to branch out. Was it her, or the imprint symptoms expanded in these few weeks? The new first thing to appear was the woman scent, it was intense, lovely. A combination she had never smelled before. That happened a week ago. Today touching the dark witch had done something to her. She felt weird but good. It was hard to describe it at this early stage.
'What all this means? Shall I make the potion stronger or drink a higher dose? With one vial I'm still able to smell her, what if I drink two?'
She really didn't know. What if the potion only lessened her physical symptoms but not these new ones? That could open a new set of complications for her. It was imperative to avoid any contact with the woman. No matter how good it felt, how completed she felt for that fraction of a second. Her wolf wasn't in control, she was.
'Bellatrix didn't seem to respond in the same way I did.'
She clenched her jaw thinking the possibilities of the Death Eater actually did sense something and suddenly found herself interested in the bizarre phenomenon. Beyond doubt, Bellatrix would confront her. If she were to attempt ignorance, there was a chance that the woman could pass her lie. The truth wasn't an option. Her stomach churned at the ridiculous idea. 'It would be like rendering myself at the whims of a child.' Lie. She had to lie until her tongue fell off or the lie became truth. Whichever happened to be first.
A sour taste manifested on the girl's mouth. That was another issue. Just to what extend Bellatrix could have power over her? She didn't like to think about it. The mere thought disgusted her. One thing for certain was that it wouldn't be pleasurable.
'And what if Snape were to tell her?' For a few seconds, she chewed the idea before swallowing it whole. The professor had much more to lose than her. The way Hermione saw it, she had more power over him, that he over her. Even if she couldn't prove his lies like he sharply stated, it was simple to stir the idea on Voldemort's mind. Shaking his doubts about his follower's loyalty was enough to slowly crumble the relationship, the girl esteemed.
The girl's eyes unlocked from the invisible point in the wall and turned to the window; it was fully dark now.
'Where the hell is that woman?' Anxiety stirred under her tensed face.
What if the Imperius curse didn't last long and the man came back with reinforcements? There was no way she could take all of them, much less without attracting the Muggle's attention and by consequence the Auror's attention.
Hermione took a sharp breath; she felt her stomach dropped to the floor. One specific idea made its presence in the front of her head.
Would Bellatrix intentionally remove her spell and then lead them towards Hermione's position? Under the motivation to spite her or to find some sort of sick amusement. Somehow it didn't sound so illogical.
What were the chances that could happen?
'That fucking bitch' A deep scowl formed on her face. She was going to kill her, damning the imprint and everything else. Her brain ran at full speed with all the things she could do to the witch. She would burn her to a crisp and then use her ashes as…
Bellatrix apparated a second later with a soft 'pop.' A clear example of Bellatrix's magical abilities, and a remainder for Hermione to work out on her apparition, the noise she made every time probably could be heard by everyone in the vicinity.
Two brooms in hand, Bellatrix pushed one onto the girl's chest; she must have seen something on her face because the dark witch laughed at her. "You thought I've left you, didn't you?" The woman craned her neck forward and sneered. "Not going to lie. It crossed my mind."
Being caught off guard, Hermione tried to recover her dignity by sounding disinterested "And why didn't you?"
Bellatrix shrugged noncommittally. "Because I think you'll do good as a human shield; in case I need one."
The girl just kept looking at her, afraid that if she rolled her eyes one more time, it would probably pop out of their sockets.
Hermione grabbed the broom with the wrong hand.
"You know how to fly do you?" A dark slim eyebrow rose inquisitively.
"O-of course." Replied the girl sounding not so confident. The truth was, that she hated flying because she wasn't so good at it. Something that the woman in front of her, didn't need to know.
"Oh, what fun…" The woman drawled as she opened the main door.
"Where did you get the brooms?" The girl asked, risking an insulting remark.
"We always have hidden stashes close to the safe houses." She said tossing her dark curls over her shoulder. "Move it mudblood, there is no time."
Outside the streets were empty, not a single soul in sight. Small glimpses of light filtered from the nearby houses through the cracks and rotten wood. Smoke came out from some chimneys; the temperature had dropped considerably. Although the rain had lessened its intensity and visibility had improved, it would still prove to be an obstacle for their search. Hermione looked around one last time just before taking off, making sure nobody was watching them.
They levitated in the air; raised themselves among the houses. Bellatrix didn't wait for Hermione as she speeded up ahead, leaving the inexperienced girl behind. Hermione quickly followed after her, trying to catch up.
The broom coursed through the rain at high speed. Her hood quickly fell off from her head, the strong winds lifted her cloak and the knot that kept it in place pulled backward from her neck, making it uncomfortable. The drops felt like tiny bits of gravel hitting on her face and hands. While it didn't hurt, it was annoying, it made hard to keep a clear sight of where she was going.
Despite all her complaints, the experience of soaring at full speed, the feeling of the chilly wind flipping her hair, and filtering through her clothes was exciting as it was refreshing. She took a deep breath, enjoying the cold air filling her lungs.
Just for a few seconds, she allowed herself to enjoy the moment.
'Now I understand why Harry loves this' Nostalgia stirred in her chest; she regretted the moment she thought about her friend. She didn't want to think about all the implications that it came with join Voldemort's ranks. All this time Hermione had barely spared any thought about Ron and Harry, what would they say if they were to know? Her hands gripped the stick, knuckles turned white. She shook her head, dissipating the somber thoughts that crowded her mind.
Bellatrix abruptly descended altitude; the brunette tailed close behind her. Her boots almost came in contact with the treetops. Filled with adrenaline, the usual soft thump of her heart became a sonorous drum in her ribcage.
Flying too low was very dangerous as they could miscalculate the height of the tree and get hit by it, yet Bellatrix moved skillfully evading branches left and right, the brunette could barely see her. Darkness and rain added several layers of danger. Their only source of light was the constant thunders illuminating the horizon
With much effort the brunette could hardly keep up with the flying pace of the woman, it was like she had eyes to see in the dark. Still, if Bellatrix was expecting to make her look bad, she had another thing coming. The girl was rusty on her flying skills, but she was a very fast learner.
They arrived at a small lake, which connected to a river crossing along the entire forest. According to the information, all they needed to do was to follow the river upstream. A set of lightings rumbled in the sky; blinking shadows came from every direction. That second of light allowed Hermione to notice that most of the trees were dead in this area. The woman descended a little more, nearly touching the water with her feet as she followed the stream. Swiftly evading any obstacle in her way and cutting branches with her wand.
The girl heard the loud cackle, surely incited by her own struggling to keep up with the agile witch as she was almost hit multiples times by tree's branches
Bellatrix's dark shadow quickly shot upwards; the brunette followed the vexing woman. They were rising almost vertically up to the sky, flashing after flashing of blue light brightening the clouds, it was beautiful as it as was dangerous. She held her broom with an iron grip, eyes fixed in the shadow in front and not on the terrifying bolts of lightning.
The woman stopped when they reached the lower clouds; equally dark eyes surveyed this side of the forest. She extended her hand towards the brunette, silently asking for the map.
"Are we going to fully trust what the man said?" Hermione asked while providing light to Bellatrix.
The dark witch studied the map for a brief minute, then she scowled at the girl. "Do you have a better idea? No? Then shut up" And pushed the map onto the girl's chest. "Turn off your bloody light!" She hissed.
"We are here." She said, looking down, waiting for another thunder. "There!" Her eyes turned frantic. Hermione followed the woman's finger yet didn't see anything.
Bellatrix headed towards the mountain skirts with the brunette tailing close. What the sky lighted up again, Hermione saw a cottage with a small clearing in front. A tiny light originated in the middle of the empty spot. Against rain and wind, she narrowed her eyes, trying to distinguish what it was. The tiny light was growing by the second, and suddenly it wasn't just one, but tinier ones followed.
"Move!" Bellatrix yelled, moving swiftly to the one side and under.
Without waiting to see what those lights were, Hermione mimicked the dark witch's motion. In a heartbeat, fireballs crossed right over their heads.
Both witches descended over the forest, then landed 50 meters far from the clearing, immediately using the trees as cover.
"Come here! You fucking cowards!" A deep guttural voice growled at them. He started shooting fireballs randomly. Good thing for them that his aim was far for their actual position
Not wasting the opportunity, Bellatrix took the chance and quickly advanced towards him; Hermione trailed close behind her, casting a shield in case a rouge spell happened to come their way.
Both witches came out to the clearing, Karkaroff pointed his wand at them yet didn't do anything else. A source of a bright light orb placed on top of them. Whether Bellatrix or Karkaroff cast it, Hermione didn't know.
"Igor, long no see my friend!" The dark witch displayed a cruel smile; her high-pitched voice said how excited she was to be here. "You look…I wish I could say well, but you don't." She barked a laugh. "You look as a Dementor gave you a kiss but gave up half-way."
Confident eyes shined under the white light. "For the Dark Lord to have sent Bellatrix Lestrange herself to kill me, I must be honored." Said the man with a thick Russian accent, disdain laced into his tone.
Bellatrix was right. For what little the girl could see from his face, the man looked like he had been barely surviving. His face was pale, his beard was full white now. He looked thinner, dark circles under his eyes and slight twitch in his left eye; his appearance overall seemed emaciated.
His eyes drifted to the brunette.
"And you brought a friend with you?" He jeered. "You must be losing your touch if the Lord thinks you need support."
Lightings roared nearby; blinding light illuminated every corner with several flashes.
He squinted at her. "I know you…" His expression turned to surprise. "You are potter's whore. A mudblood? …But, how?" Karkaroff turned to Bellatrix expectantly, waiting for an explanation that wasn't coming.
'Potter's whore?' Something hot settled in Hermione's gut. Sneering at him, the girl decided to regale him with an explanation. "That's little concern of yours, Karkaroff. Considering that you are about to die."
A throaty laugh erupted from the bearded man. "I don't think so, mudblood." Karkaroff dispelled the orb leaving the three mages in the dark. The darkness didn't last long, though. Before they could react to a possible attack, more than a dozen lights started to shine a few meters from the perineal sight of both witches.
The orbs began to enclose, Hermione watched every face turning visible under the lights. Each light, one caster.
What Hermione assumed that it was her light earlier in the sky what had tipped Karkaroff off, happened to be utterly wrong. The man had been waiting for them.
Brown eyes hardened, thinking of the only feasible explanation. "I thought your Imperius lasted longer." The brunette seethed under her breath.
"It does!" Bellatrix bristled, for a second looking confused as the girl did.
"I knew the man was Imperiused the moment you sent him my way." A tall man broke in, his most prominent features was a large beard and a very curved nose. He sauntered towards the witches; too much confidence in his steps. Hermione assumed he was the leader of the group. "Mr. H would never smile willingly. He has always been a bitter old man. You can imagine, how strange was to see him come back and smile more than twice in one sentence."
Hermione shot a dirty look at Bellatrix, who completely ignore her.
'How the bleeding hell did we end up like this?!' Hermione's increasing anger made her want to incinerate the woman next to her and then burn the whole fucking forest because damned all this! The mission was: Ask for Karkaroff, trace Karkaroff, kill Karkaroff. Simple! But now she had to face fifteen people more. This, Hermione decided in the spot, that all this was Bellatrix's bloody fault. Thanks to her childish attitude and her mood swings they were here, facing more unnecessary problems. The woman wouldn't work with the brunette, wouldn't plan, neither share basic information. They could have avoided all this if only Bellatrix would have cooperated.
"After I ended the spell, he told us what you were looking for or rather who. We came as soon as we could and share your despicable intentions with Mr. Karkaroff here."
"And what do you get by helping him?" Bellatrix asked, her eyes hadn't blinked away from Karkaroff's frame, who was retracting out of the circle of wizards, with a smug smile on his face.
"Mr. Karkaroff is fine man, we do anything for the members of our community. We protect ours; you see?" An annoying smirk manifested on his sunburned face. "Of course, the promise of gold after killing you stupid cows serves as an incentive too."
Bellatrix laughed straight to his face and then turned to Karkaroff "I brought one extra to play, and you brought what 15 more?" She tutted "You must be truly afraid."
The dark witch pulled out her wand, everyone else in reflex aimed theirs at the two witches.
"Stick your back to my back, girl." The woman muttered only for Hermione's ears.
The serious tone in the woman's voice made the brunette, even as she stewed in her anger, did what was told.
The dark witch aimed the wand to the ground. The air itself hissed, Hermione saw her breath vaporize; the next second the soil made a cracking sound and snapped with an explosion of thick frost. The attack, fast and unforeseeable covered a large radius. The cold wind settled. A few wizards stood frozen from the waist down, a sheen of ice glittered around them. The leader, who happened to be closer to the witches, was fully frozen; the man was caught in the middle of a scream.
Bellatrix, giving them no time to react, leached an explosive spell at the frozen body, blowing him up into small pieces.
"Confrigo!" Hermione followed the example and shoot at the frozen legs of another wizard, destroying his limps as if they were made of glass. The man couldn't do anything more than to cry in pain at the loss of his two limbs.
Two down, thirteen more to go…
Curses and hexes were shot from every direction at them. The brunette agilely cast a protection spell for both of them, while Bellatrix blew into tiny pieces the last three wizards that were trapped in ice like they were mere target practices.
Confident that her protection spell could last more than a few seconds without her wand, Hermione's attention focused on the witch in front of her, who had been stubbornly trying to break past her defenses.
With her free hand, she held the shield, while her wand drew dangerous patterns in the air. "Serpensortia!" A snake was shot in the air, biting the face of the witch. Whatever spell the witch was about to cast, died in her mouth. Instead, a shrilling sound escaped from her throat.
Hermione drew circles with her wand, commanding the snake to rapidly curl on the woman's neck. The witch tried to pull off the snake with both hands, throwing her wand in process, desperately gasping for air. Hermione made a slashing move, that alighted the snake on fire, burning the woman's head in the process. The witch twisted and shrieked in pain, right before dying.
Bellatrix pointed her wand at a nearby tree, with a thrust of her arm, a jet of blue fire severed the wood. The entire tree swayed, then crashed down on top of two wizards who saw the falling tree too late. The sound they made as they were crushed by the large log was muffled by the thunders and probably by the dark witch's cackle.
The shield fell down, Hermione was about to cast another one, but Bellatrix moved out of reach. Implying that she didn't need the girls to help anymore.
Hermione advance towards two wizards, her hand moved fast, swiftly repelling their curses. "Incisura!" She shot at the shorter man, an easy target. He was clumsy, looking like he could barely hold his ground in a fight. A slashing curse cut through his chest, killing him instantly.
The second man decided to make a run and escape with his life intact. But Hermione, full of adrenaline and anger, didn't let him. She cast a Carpe Retractum spell to grab him by the ankle and pull him towards her.
"Please, no!" He begged with terror in his eyes.
She aimed her wand at him. "You made your choice." Hermione didn't hesitate to sever his neck.
She turned around to see Bellatrix fighting with the last five remaining wizards, wait no, four remaining wizards. For the next few moments, the girl's eyes set only on Bellatrix, finding the Death Eater's abilities enthralling; her body moved at incredible speed, she dodged and redirected spells as if she could do it with her eyes closed. Her spells hard and aggressive, teasing when she wished to, and deathly the next second. She carefully observed the footing of the woman, feet moved with the coordination of a professional dancer, or skater. She slid over dirt like a polished floor, giving her all the advantage over her opponents as they struggle to keep their feet firmly on the ground due to slippery mud.
Her opponents got their shield shattered with one of her many vicious spells. To the observer, this was a one-sided fight. It was evident that Bellatrix was just playing with her food.
Out of nowhere, a slicing hex grazed Hermione's left side; a little bit more to the right and it would have been a full hit to her chest. She rapidly searched for the caster. Furious eyes set on Karkaroff, reading himself to launch another spell at her. The brunette cast a protection spell, ready to brace for the collision. A strong wave of energy broke her guard, the force of the impact threw her on the air, landing a few meters far from her original position.
Hermione hastily stood up. A ripple of pain made its presence known on her side; she reached for the injury. Her fingers grazed the wound, making the brunette grit her teeth at the stinging pain. Unable to sense or see how series the wound was, Hermione could only hope the cut wasn't so deep.
"Damn it!" She rose her wand to brace herself, Karkaroff threw her off again like a rag doll.
This time, the young witch managed to suspend herself on the air avoiding the awful fall on the soil.
Yanking the heavy cloak from her neck, she threw it behind her feet. Her eyes filled with anger at the mockery he was making out of her, the brunette retaliated with all she had, advancing towards him casting curse after curse, all while ignoring the pain in her side and the possible risk of the wound opening even more.
Karkaroff deflected her fire spells with a simple wave of his wand, redirecting them towards the forest, to which Hermione responded by increasing the strength of her attacks. More incisive, stronger balls of fire followed by slashing curses.
The wizard just continued repelling her attacks without stuttering, but nor did he had the chance to retaliate and if he dared to do it, it could make an opening wide enough for the girl to hit. The brunette needed to frustrate him. So, she continued throwing spells relentlessly, waiting for the opportunity of a direct strike.
It was a dance typical of duels, wait for the other one to give in. Her feet moved with not so elegant synchronization, but combined by the nimble movements of her wrist was enough to fuel the strength in her casting.
"Ignis Fulgur!" A flame, shaped like a thunder, headed towards Karkaroff, he immediately responded by erecting a shield. The deathly flames redirected to the sides, this occasion, the flames started to burn the dead trees nearby.
"Give up, stupid girl." Said Karkaroff as he repelled another spell from her. "You are no match for me!" The man smirked, clearly seeing her labored breathing. His display of arrogance and confidence caused a growl to erupt from the girl.
Taking a deep breath and concentrating all her energy on her right hand, Hermione's wrist twisted and turned "Bombarda Maxima!" It was a powerful one. The strength of the spell sunk the mud making a half tunnel on the soil and the noise it made was almost deafening. With one more flick of her wand, she proceeded to cast her flame-like thunder spell. Orange veins of fire flowed in the air blasting all over his frame. Seeing that it was a full strike, she became confident that it'll be enough to crash his barriers and luckily disintegrate him in the process.
What little smile of satisfaction had on her face, quickly fell shaping into incredulity.
She failed.
The man seemed barely affected by her attack.
'Impossible. How?!' Hermione asked, feeling stupefied by the raw power of the man. She acknowledged that Karkaroff was a good wizard, but coming out unscathed from her spell.
She would hardly believe that even Bellatrix could be able to hold her ground after that. She had greatly underestimated the man, and in the intent of subduing him, she tired herself needlessly, using more brute force instead of smarts.
Still, a question resonated in the girl's head: How a seemingly weakened man was able to endure this much?
After that, the brunette could barely keep up with the same rhythm that she began with; her limbs had started to burn. While the attacks kept going, they became slightly dulled, leaving intervals between spells.
Karkaroff saw the opening he had been waiting for…
"Avada Kedavra!" The wizard roared; green lighting generated from his wand, heading towards her. Being a quick thinker, the girl managed to evade it by stepping sideways, hiding her body behind a tree.
He wasn't wasting his time. Unlike Bellatrix, he didn't play with his opponents. Karkaroff was casting to kill!
The brunette was heavily breathing, beads of sweat ran down her face, muscles ached and her wound made everything worse. She took a peek to her right, expecting to see Karkaroff getting closer.
When she realized what was happening, the man already had levitated her in the air, launching her across the clearing. With the impact, she dropped her wand as her body involuntarily rolled on the soil several times before coming to a full stop. Hermione felt slightly disoriented for a few seconds, her head was dizzy and her vision blurred. The bright lights in front of her didn't help either. Blinking away the blurry vision, she noticed that it wasn't lights but the flames rapidly extending to other trees.
Dread came in full force when she became aware that her wand was missing. Desperate brown scanned the terrain.
"Time to die, little whore." Said the wizard, taking long steps towards her. Hermione did the only thing available; she ran.
He aimed at the girl ready to cast the Death Curse once more when a sudden blast of fire hit his shoulder blade, making him growl in pain. He turned around to see Bellatrix with a feral smile.
"Isn't a little too young for you, Igor. How about you play with me instead?" The dark witch was surrounded by the brutally murdered wizards; right under the black leather heel there was an incomplete body, she was stepping on it as when a hunter did when they posed for a photograph next to the hunt.
The woman sauntered towards him, her feet kicking severed heads and limbs on her way.
"When I kill you, nobody will mess with me. Everyone will know that I defeated the Lord's right hand." His voice laced with poison and anticipation for what was next to come.
"Oh, Igor. You were always looking to be more than the dirt under my heels." The tip of her tongue caressed her upper lip as if she could literally taste this moment in the air. "I can't wait to rip you apart, you filthy traitor!" She hissed with the poison of a black mamba.
Bellatrix threw the first spell, the red flames warped around the wizard's protection charm, still managed to push him backward. With his shield almost cracked, the witch plunged her wand to cast a bolt of blue lightning, buzzing and cracking in the space between them. Making a sonorous peal of thunder, Karkaroff's protection was decimated after it hit. The wave of magic propelled him backward; the witch launched a disarming spell. One attack that Karkaroff quickly deflected.
"You have improved, Igor. Most people would be shitting their trousers by now."
He chuckled under his breath "Oh, you have no idea. Allow me to give you a demonstration."
His wand aimed at a nearby lush tree. The right arm was fully stretched; his brow knitted in concentration. Bellatrix looked at him, half-amused and half-intrigued by whatever he was doing. A moment later, streams of green light manifested around the tree, in the air, and on the soil, they followed one single target: Karkaroff's wand. As the green specks of light were all captured by his wand, the tree quickly started to decay. It looked like he was absorbing the life of the tree. From the top to the roots.
'Unbelievable… What kind of spell is this?' Hermione wondered, mesmerized by the spectacle of lights. It was like fireflies that came out of nowhere and started to fully glow. But this wasn't fireflies. No, it was magic. 'It is life itself. He is been absorbing the life of the forest.'
"Nice parlor trick," Bellatrix commented, sounding bored by the lights display.
"Is more than a parlor trick, Lestrange." Assured the man. Light filtered between his fingers; its origin came from the grip of his wand.
"Avada Kedavra!"
With a quick turn of her body, Bellatrix dodged the mortal curse. "Oh, straight to business then. You are not fun" Her semblance turned darker and menacing, the mirth in her eyes had vanished.
Bellatrix lowered her wand, her eyes struck to Karkaroff. The air hissed again, and the water on the ground instantaneously froze. In one blink, sharp stalactites emerged from the iced ground, like giant knifes ready to impale. Karkaroff swiftly around, evading the ice spikes. Bellatrix waved her wand, pointing at the floor and not the wizard. "Dance, dance! Karkaroff!" She barked.
"I don't think so, crazy bitch." He cast a circle of fire around him, melting the surrounding spikes.
They moved around one another, biding their chance to attack. Narrowed eyes looked for a mistake in the other's actions.
Karkaroff was the first to engage again, in less than one second, he positioned himself, one foot forward, pointing straight, and the other behind, pointing left. Bellatrix saw this clearly and knew what was coming.
"Avada Kedavra!" Her feet moved to the sides, as the curse passed by her.
Two Death Curses in a short period; Bellatrix was impressed. To cast the Death Curse demanded a large amount of energy and strength.
"Now you see? It provides me with more magic." Explained Karkaroff, seeing the expression in the woman's features. The dark witch bristled at the cocky smirk of the man.
He prepared again to shoot the killing curse. This time Bellatrix counter-attacked by pushing him out of balance, making a distraction long enough for her to run towards the woods.
"You are not getting out of here alive!" Said the man, following after the woman.
Bellatrix ran as fast she could, silently regretting her decision to wear high heels today. She looked over her shoulder, Karkaroff was approaching, his eyes blazed with cold rage "Not so arrogant now, fucking wench!" A tree exploded next to her, splinters scattered on her clothes and hair.
She kept running between the trees, full darkness no longer available as the rain was long gone and the fire kept spreading all over the bark and withered trees, illuminating their surroundings.
This was one of those rare times for the witch when she found herself at odds. Giving up her long-time fantasy to have her fun with the man, she turned around to return Karkaroff's attacks in kind. A lethal jet of light ran between the trees, illuminating its path with green.
However, it failed to hit its target who rolled on the floor, hastily crawling behind a large rock.
The witch cursed out loud.
Keeping her guard at every moment, she paid attention to any noise that could give her the exact position of the Ex-headmaster. The only sound was the crackling of wood being burned in the distance.
She circled the rock, charcoal eyes waiting expectantly for any sort of movement.
A rustle of leaves came from her right, rapidly, she twisted her body towards the sound probably originated. Another sound came from the left. She turned her head, but her wand kept pointing at her right.
Knowing exactly what game Karkaroff was playing, she waited.
A light rumble came from under her feet. Bellatrix stepped backward, searching for the reason. Right under her, one thick root grabbed her ankle and dragged her over the ground. She aimed at the root, but the quick erratic movements of the root didn't let her cast with precision. When she went for the second attempt, another root neutralized the woman's right hand and with it, her wand.
In no time, the rest of her two limps were immobilized as well. The roots raised her and suspended her in the air. She pulled and tugged trying to untie herself, but that only caused the roots to tighten further around her wrists and ankles, almost cutting any blood circulation.
Karkaroff walked out from his hiding spot, his steps deliberately slow-paced. Bellatrix saw that the casting had taken a toll on the man, he was breathing through his mouth and his face was dripping with sweat. He approached the woman till they were mere centimeters apart "The Dark Lord's Lieutenant. At my mercy." His breath smelled foul and putrid. He set his hand on the woman's neck "Oh how I dreamed to have you like this, Lestrange"
Bellatrix snarl turned more ferocious and menacing "Even now with your parlor tricks you have to attack from the shadows." Vile raised to her mouth at the disgusting sensation that was to feel Karkaroff's hands on her. "You have always been a bloody inbred coward." She spat on the man's face, smiling with glee seeing that she hit her target in the eye.
Her smile widened after watching how Karkaroff victorious smile fell, becoming increasingly enraged, he cleaned the spit from his face. His arm raised and with brute force, backhandedly slapped the woman.
"Be done with it, traitor. I'm getting bored" Said the dark witch, a line of blood running from her nose, the smile never faltered. Her eyes guarded a murderous glint, fury boiling under her unaffected mask.
"Oh no, I'm going to savor this moment. You are not going to die until morning comes." He pushed the tip of his wand under her jaw "You and I, are going to have so much fun" He dragged his wand slowly over her clavicle, his grey eyes followed the invisible lines that the wand painted on her skin.
Bellatrix was about to make a derisive comment but all of a sudden, she felt a very familiar pull inside her body, instantly ran through all then limps, and then, she disappeared. Leaving a very angry Karkaroff behind.
First thing Bellatrix saw after her apparition was the mudblood in front of her with the brooms in hand and the coin between the girl's fingers. The very same the Dark Lord gave the filth to summon her. Before she could scold the girl by asking her what took her so long.
Her attention took another turn as she observed the girl's clothes were full of mud even her hair and part of her face. The dark witch smiled, opening her mouth about to say something.
"If you are going to do a bloody joke about me being caked in mud, I swear I will kill you, Lestrange! Right where you fucking are!" Her fiery eyes held warning in them and the threat in her voice was almost tangible. Bellatrix closed her mouth and a glint, glint to what could only be described as approval crossed in the dark eyes.
"We need a plan. Karkaroff is a powerhouse" Said the girl looking at the woods, hoping that it would take him time to come back to the clearing, proving them with enough time to create a strategy.
Bellatrix aggressively snatched one of the brooms from the girl's hand, messy curls framed the enraged features of the witch. Maybe it was the dancing shadows, caused by the fire in the vicinity, but the dark witch seemed to have this maniacal look in her eyes that made Hermione swallow.
"You distract him, mudblood. He is mine!" Her voice was dangerously low. To Hermione's ears, it sounded more like a growl than anything else. The woman mounted her broom, ignoring the scowl from the brunette's face, and she flew away.
"That is not a plan!" Hermione yelled. "Stupid, stubborn witch!" She just extended the olive branch to the woman by trying to cooperate with her at that was how she repaid her.
Having not other option, the young witch followed after her.
It didn't take long for her to catch up with the dark witch, who was looking left to right searching for the wizard. The brunette looked down below and saw the green lights moving in front of them, gathering a few meters ahead.
"Don't let him absorb the tree's life!" She yelled at Bellatrix.
"I know!" The dark witch roared
"Then bloody stop him!" Hermione growled.
The older witch commenced launching her attacks, flying between the trees. Karkaroff halted the absorption process to protect himself. Taunts were long forgotten; the woman launched spell after spell, not wasting breath in anything else but to take down the target.
As she turned her broom to get a better angle, the wizard took the opportunity to get rid of the smaller danger first. Ventus came out of his wand, blowing with breaking force.
Pieces of branches and leaves raised by the strong wind blinded the girl momentarily. Unfit to maintain control of her the broom, she lost balance and fell onto meshed branches, subsequently hitting the ground.
Hermione stood as fast as possible, supporting her body on the tree nearby. Her legs felt like jelly, her throat was sore and dry, her eyes stung from the little dust inside her eyes, and above all that, her sides still hurt. Although she cast a quick Episkey on her injury earlier, it wasn't enough to lessen the pain. Which could only mean the spell was combined with an 'agony hex.' Karkaroff was a nasty bastard.
Bellatrix kept engaging him in battle, shooting curses at him, and repelling when necessary. Exhaustion was already present in the woman's face, yet her speed and strength didn't falter.
A sharp projectile broke past Karkaroff's defense, but the nasty spell required too much energy from her. The balance tipped on Karkaroff's favor. When he shot an Expulso, Bellatrix wasn't quick to evade a safe distance; the shockwave threw her off her broom.
Brown eyes caught the exact moment when the woman collided with a tree, hurting her head at the impact. Something primal awakened in her body, Hermione her hands shook as a deep rage engulfed her. It wasn't hers, that was the last thought she had before the emotion took control of her body and thoughts.
"Damn you!" She growled, without anything else in her mind but to destroy the man who hurt her mate, Hermione cast a Bombarda Maxima. A tired Karkaroff was narrowly able to cast a Protego; the sonorous explosion cracked his defenses. Hermione threw into the air, sending his body rolling onto the ground, just like he did with her.
Still blinded by anger, she didn't waste time to attack the man one more time. Gathering her last resources of magic, a snake was shot at his face; her aim never been more precise than now. She hastily did circles with her wand commanding the reptile to encircle his neck with all the intention to crush his trachea.
Hermione saw the exact moment when the guarded anger on the man's features turned into a dislocated look. Pleasure stirred in her, despite the snarl on her face. She understood what this meant. Behind his desperation, there was fear. Fear to die. Which was exactly what was about to happen.
Karkaroff was choking, the color of his face was quickly changing from red to purple. What was desperation, quickly grew into placidity. The man closed his eyes, his lips moved in silent murmurs. Using a non-verbal spell, the snake was dispelled from his neck.
What was supposed to be a worried-looking girl watching him be free again, he saw a different reaction. The brunette had lowered her wand. Her whole-body language reflected some degree of relief. When he understood what was happening, it was too late.
"Acri Flamma." A velvety female voice spoke behind him. His eyes opened in terror as a boiling sensation manifested in his gut, quickly expanding all inside his thorax. "Oh, you have no idea how much I love seeing you suffer, Igor."
A wailing sound escape from his throat, his knees gave up, falling limp on the ground. He started off to cough smoke uncontrollably, a moment later the smoke escaped from his ears and nostrils. His eyes connected with Hermione's, who watched the process with mixed feelings of anger at the man and some sort pity for him.
'Acri Flamma, the spell for internal combustion.'
His eyes were begging for what she assumed was a quick death; steam started to come out from the pores of his skin and small patches of flames started to burn over his shoulders.
'His organs and soon his whole body will slowly burn. What terrible way to go.'
Bellatrix only had eyes for the man that kept screaming in pain; her features reflected mad pleasure at his suffering. The brunette was half expecting the woman to start dancing over or around the body. Instead, she chose to Crucio him.
'What an overkill.'
Hermione didn't share the same taste of entertainment as the dark witch did, ignoring her vicious display of victory, she decided to go back to the clearing.
No matter what happened earlier, about how angry she felt at seeing the witch being hurt. That wasn't her, the brunette rationalized. It was her inner wolf, not her, the one who tried to protect the annoying woman.
There was a cluster of contradicting emotions in her chest after all that happened. But the one that stuck with her faithfully was that she couldn't stand the sight of Bellatrix anymore. She was still furious with the witch for how things developed tonight. Everything that went wrong was partially her fault if not all.
Hermione might be a killer in her own eyes. A merciless person if the corpses she was passing by could say something about it. Nevertheless, she did what she had to do to survive. She needed to complete the task that was lay upon her. If she did good, Voldemort would be satisfied. If he was satisfied… Then, she was one step closer to achieve her goal.
However, Bellatrix fell in another category all on her own. There was this sort of madness in her eyes every time conflict was presented before her. To her, everything was a challenge to be overcome with violence. And yet she dueled like her emotions weren't controlling her movements and decisions. All her actions inside a duel were meticulously precise and incisive. It even portrayed certain elegance that only a pure-blood witch raised in a wealthy family knew how to.
'Ugh, her arrogance even shows in the way she wields her wand.'
Dispelling any related thoughts of the woman, Hermione focused on why she came back here. She had many questions that only Karkaroff could have been able to answer. The main question being, what was that spell he did. And how did it work? Trees interconnected with each other, that would explain why so many trees were randomly withered around the forest. 'He had been practicing it for a very long time. Well, used to.'
There was the potentiality that, if wielded correctly, it could mean an unlimited source of magic. Just to imagine that the practitioner would never get tired after multiple casting of high tier, energy-consuming spells, the idea sent shivers to the girl, of the good ones.
The moment she saw it, she wanted it, no, she needed it, needed to know more. Magic like this could open many unknown doors towards new sources of magic. Powerful magic. Power begets more power.
And she definitely needed that.
Her hand pushed the wooden door, the hinges creaked incessantly until it was fully opened. Hermione walked inside, casting a spell to fully illuminate the room. the cottage had expansion charms. The man wasn't living in shambles like she thought he did. The place seemed acceptable if anything. It had all the amenities to have a comfortable life in the middle of nowhere.
She passed by the dinner table. A small round table placed next to the kitchen utilities, on top of it, half-eaten venison meat lay next to a glass of Firewhiskey. They caught Karkaroff right when he was dinning.
Curious eyes inspected every visible corner. His bed wasn't made up, piles of unwashed clothes rested beside the bed. Her face crinkled at the foul smell. The walls were naked as well as much of the furniture, there wasn't any photographs or decorations.
Her eyes finally found what she was expecting to see, anxiety grew in her gut at the thought of what she might find. The desk was mostly empty, it only had a couple of parchments on top. All of them were blank, but the corners seemed worn-out. Strange.
She proceeded to inspect the drawers, one was full ink bottles and quills. The second one was filled with blank scrolls.
Strange.
The brunette approached the small bookcase situated in the corner. Holding a candle to illuminate the dimmed corner, she saw all the books were covered in black leather and just that. None of them had any title or a number, neither a mark to distinguish which was which. She withdrew one and opened it, the pages were white too, soon she grabbed one by one, avid hands opening books, only to find that all of them were empty.
Then it hit her. The books were charmed by a concealment spell.
The unmistakable sound of Bellatrix's heels made its presence known inside the lodge.
Ignoring the annoying woman Hermione summoned all her knowledge of what she knew of this kind of spell and specifically how to break them.
"What are you doing, mudblood?" If Hermione hasn't been absorbed in her own mind, she would have heard that Bellatrix's voice sounded relaxed, happy. Almost friendly towards her.
The Death Eater took a short-peek at the girl, watching her holding a book in her hand. "Figures. You should probably marry the books." Just like that, the woman retreated to another side other room.
A few seconds later, the sound of glass breaking on the floor and multiples objects falling out of place, resonated in the room. "Damn it, where is it?" The doors of cabinet and drawers being opened broke the girl's concentration. "There you are!" Said the woman happily. The girl heard the sound of liquid pouring inside of a glass.
Hermione 's wand moved over the book commencing to cast the first charm, hoping to reveal the words.
Nothing.
"I bet you are still a virgin, seeing that you love so much reading books," Bellatrix said out loud while she poured herself another drink. Hermione didn't need to see the woman to know she had a taunting smile on her lips. There was a rasping sound of a chair being dragged across the wooden floor, followed by the sound someone putting something heavy on the table.
Knowing that ignoring was the best route, Hermione focused again on what other dispelling charms could work. This concealment spell was sophisticated and complex, she was sure that the simplest charms would be useless against this kind of magic. 'It would be better to take all the books with me.'
The candle she was using suddenly turned off. Exhaling tiredly, the brunette ran a hand truth her hair, growing annoyed with Bellatrix and her childish antics. With one flick of her wand, it was turn on again.
Not five seconds passed when it was turned off again.
Vexed, she turned to face at the dark witch. "Do you have to be such a bloody chi—" Her eyes opened wide. All sources of light in the room were off, except for the small light Bellatrix had conjured up.
Both heads looked up to the ceiling as rumbling sounds came from outside. Hermione focused on the sounds coming from the exterior, hoping to hear any indication of what was outside. The answer came sooner than she expected as the temperature in room started to drop dramatically, a piercing chill invaded her body, and in the next moment, her breathing started to condensate. Bellatrix looked at the girl and uttered with a hiss "The Portkey, now!"
Trembling hands reached for the satchel.
The dementors were here, which probably meant Aurors sent them first hoping to neutralize the threat. If that were the case, the Aurors would be watching from a safe distance, guarding the perimeter in case someone wanted to escape. It was a good thing they didn't need to run. If she could only find that bloody Portkey!
The door opened. Giving no time to react, two dark shadows even darker than the void itself entered in the room.
"Mudblood! Now!" Bellatrix ran towards Hermione.
"I got it" She offered it at the woman to hold the half of coin while she held the other half.
'Just 10 seconds' She pressed the piece of metal between her thumb and her fingers as hard she could.
"Come on, come on!" Bellatrix's voice was tight.
Due to the noise of her own heart, she missed the trembling of the woman's voice.
The dementors flew towards the two witches. Having nowhere to run they remained in place. One managed to start leeching on Hermione, while the other approached at Bellatrix.
To Hermione, the first second felt like it was scratching the surface of all her happy memories absorbing every memory that was even close to bringing her comfort. Yet once it reached the second layer, a feeling of terror and agony gripped her body. She clenched her jaw and closed her eyes, trying to resist. Tears started to run through her cheeks and a jarring scream she didn't know she could muster escaped her throat...
After 3 seconds. Both witches vanished.
