Voldemort's word was law. Hermione learned that pretty fast when she arrived here. However, the mere suggestion that this woman was going to train her made her jump from her seat, risking angering the man for her seemingly disrespectful attitude.
She vowed her head before speaking, "My Lord, I've been training all this time by myself. All thanks to your earlier input, I have improved exponentially in this last month. I do not wish for your Lieutenant here, to waste her time with something, I assure you, I can do by myself."
The wizard listened attentively to her words; while his expression said very little, it didn't turn sour. His silence didn't last long, his attention was directed to the woman behind him. "Bellatrix?"
"Is not a waste of time at all, my Lord. The girl is in dire need for some proper guidance." The brunette didn't need to turn around to see that the woman was smiling, taking pleasure in her discomfort. "A hand to guide her properly."
The sharp breath revealed her hate towards Bellatrix's words of choice.
"Then, I don't see any problem." The man said.
"My Lord—"
"It's settled, Hermione." His voice didn't leave any room for more argument.
Her sight dropped to the ground, dejectedly, she sat down again. Frustration and anger mixed together. Just to contemplate the idea that she was about to spend more time with Lestrange made her stomach boil.
'Could it be that Bellatrix had suggested this?' That would explain her lack of reaction and her unnerving willingness to train her. 'If the idea were to be hers, what would be the purpose of it?' Her nails started to dig further into rosy skin 'To make my life a living hell.' Her mind came to an immediate conclusion. 'This was Lestrange's idea and Voldemort agreed to it.' It made complete sense to her.
"For how long?" This time, the brunette turned to look at the woman.
Bellatrix's eyes held a cruel mirthful look which irritated her even more. "Let's see, I could train pixies to wield a wand faster and better than you in one week. With you, I don't know, it'll probably take several months. Even years."
Her nails dug into her palms, it wasn't the words that bothered her, but the fact that Bellatrix's was so willing to agree to all of this.
"My Lord, I have other responsibilities with you that I do not wish to neglect. And as a personal responsibility with myself, I might not be going to Hogwarts anymore, but I wish to continue my studies." She lowered her head, "I beg you."
Bellatrix snorted loudly at her back.
If Hermione clenched her jaw any further, she was going to break her teeth.
"For now, your only responsibility is to become better at dueling." He turned around again to face the scenery outside "But I must agree, education is important." Pale hands encased each other behind his back. "You'll train with Bellatrix till she deems you suitable, for 3 hours a day."
The brunette bowed, "Thank you, my Lord." Three hours still sounded very long for her.
"Leave us, Hermione"
No need to be told twice, the girl almost jumped from the divan. As she was leaving the room, the beginnings of the conversation between Voldemort and Bellatrix traveled to her ears…
"Now, be brief. How many Aurors are dead and how many caches were lost…"
"It was Greyback's responsibility to…"
"But you were in charge."
Moonlight filtered through the windows, illuminating every step of the way. Voldemort liked to live up to his name: 'Dark Lord' The man enjoyed spaces where the light was scarce. Normally the whole mansion would be fully illuminated until midnight when the elves extinguished every source of light in the common areas. But here, like the rest of the rooms the Lord liked to use, the light was very limited. If it weren't for the natural light, Hermione would have used her wand to be able to see.
Amidst her steaming irritation, Hermione wondered if Bellatrix would actually train her? And if so, how far would she go? How could she defend herself if the woman decided to create real damage? She couldn't help but make up images and scenarios of the endless possibilities in which Bellatrix could abuse the power she had been granted. The possibility increased the turmoil in her stomach.
She stopped at the beginning of the hallway; to her left were the stairs that lead to her room, where she could destroy and explode something, and vent this consuming emotion in her chest.
On the other hand, Hermione wasn't willing to move on and let it go; she thought to confront Bellatrix, to confirm her assumptions and more importantly figure out what game was the woman playing at.
So, she waited.
That woman looked like the cat who ate the canary moments ago. Which it made her think that this was indeed Bellatrix's idea.
And if this wasn't Lestrange's plan like she believed it was, the other option was that Voldemort had this idea, only because Bellatrix told him that she got injured, which if she had kept her mouth shut then they wouldn't be here. In the end, it was Bellatrix's fault one way or another.
Before she could stew further in her anger, a shadow was approaching from the dark hallway.
"Lestrange, that wasn't the Lord's idea. It was yours!"
Bellatrix passed by the girl, ignoring her existence. Hermione went after her next matching the walking pace with the woman. "You suggested this! Why?!"
They crossed the foyer and headed down towards the west wing. "I don't understand! you hate me just as much as I hate you!" The girl raised her arms in exasperation. "Why would you want to spend time with me?"
"I don't! stupid girl!" Their steps stopped abruptly. Bellatrix glowered at brunette like she wanted to strangle her. "You are worthless filth; what makes you think I want to waste my time with you?"
"You tell me!" Her eyes narrowed. "How about to make my life unbearable."
The dark witch barked a dried laugh, her teeth bared. "Don't think so highly of yourself, mudblood"
"If not to that, then why?!"
"When he asked me about our little mission, I did tell him that you are mudblood: useless as they come. Deadweight on my shoulders." Black eyes glittered with disdain. "He didn't believe me, asked me to see into my memories."
Hermione's tense posture deflated a little. It had been his idea, after all. What was the Lord thinking? Was he changing his opinion about forcing Bellatrix on her? With what purpose? She already proved her loyalty to him. It didn't make any sense.
'He saw into her memories…?'
"He is punishing you" It was the only conclusion Hermione could arrive at. "Us. You for lying and I for getting injured."
The dark witch features relaxed slightly, "I didn't lie." One eyebrow raised, as a way to emphasize her words. "You are deadweight"
"But then I thought that is not such a bad idea" The space between shorted by Bellatrix. An intimidation tactic that Hermione had begun to recognize. "Because you see, little mudblood, I don't trust you." Bellatrix looked up and down, sniffing in disgust "You hide something…And what better way to know if you are not a traitor than to have you under my thumb."
"Our Lord doesn't seem to think so. He believes that I'm worthy enough to be here." Hermione retorted.
Bellatrix's lips shaped into a cruel smile; her piercing eyes opened wide, unblinking. "Don't confuse your usefulness with being worthy, you are not worthy of anything."
The smile became wider, pitch-black eyes glimmered with glee at the sight of the girl's bravado stuttering for a second while at the same time trying very hard to swallow her immediate retort. Bellatrix wasn't worth it. At all.
"Be outside in the back garden after midday." The dark witch didn't wait for a reply as she walked past by her side, shoving the girl with her shoulder.
Brown eyes, framed by a deep frown, watched the woman disappear into one of the many rooms ahead. "Bloody witch…" She closed her eyes for a few seconds, feeling the subtle pulses at the back of her head. A headache was coming her way.
'Nothing good will come out of this. What was Voldemort thinking?'
"Granger." A monotonous yet familiar voice greeted her a few paces behind her. It was hard to explain why, but a feeling similar to relief set on her stomach, perhaps because the man was the only reminder of her past life. For just a second, the corners of her lips tugged upwards.
But before she could show a genuine emotion, she thought better of it by reminding herself that the man before her wasn't her friend.
An Ally? That remained to be seen, hopefully soon.
Was he another pawn in the greater game? Yes, just like her.
And if her suspicions were true, he spied for Dumbledore. Which was something that mattered to her, not for the Lord's cause but for her personal cause. With that in mind and her anger lingering under the layers of her temperament, her reply turned polite, without being anything else but general courtesy.
"Professor Snape."
"Must I remind you that I'm not your professor any longer?" There was certain undertone there in his words and voice. As if he didn't truly mean it.
"Snape, then." A pawn just like her… An equal.
"Making friends, Granger?" The man said while his head turned to see the trail that Bellatrix walked minutes ago.
"You saw it. The best of friends." She said dryly.
They stared at each other. Behind his usually stoic face, there was a reserved look in his eyes that Hermione has seen before, but never understood what was about.
"Walk with me." The man turned to his left, and walked through the main door.
Outside the night was chilly, living in higher lands would make, that even in summer, people wore an extra layer of clothes during the night. The peacocks' cawing announced that they were still cavorting at these hours, their feathers became brighter as they were touched by silver rays; looking stunningly beautiful.
Hermione winced at the shrilling sound one of them did, remembering that their high-pitched calls were the main reason why she didn't like these animals.
They continued walking in silence, taking steps farther away from the Mansion. Hermione chose that moment to rose her head up to the sky and see the beautiful moon shining brighter even at its Waxing Gibbous. She could not help but take it as a reminder that in no less than 20 days the full moon will come and with it her transformation.
"I saw the newspaper," Snape said, bringing her back to reality. They continued walking down a path to lower terrain, the brunette recognized that this one led to the Mansion's west gardens.
Expecting him to elaborate further, she didn't make a sound. Yet after silence prevailed, and her patience thinned, she prompted, "Your point?"
"Did you participate in the murders?" There was no emotion in his voice, nothing that could tell her whether he approved or not.
Was he expecting a negative answer?
Her hand went through her hair instinctively as an attempt to dissuade the increasing pulsing in her head. 'Why should I care what he thinks?'
"Of course."
'What a question…'
The man only nodded in acknowledgment; his features remained impassive. Soon, they were stepping over low-cut grass, marking the beginnings of the luxurious garden. As the silence between them reigned again, the brunette sensed that he wasn't about to continue that line of conversation.
"Have you told Dumbledore that I'm still alive?" Hermione wondered what would she do if he were to say 'yes'.
'No, he won't. Even if he did, he won't.'
"I believe you said you didn't want him to know."
"That's correct… But I can't stop you."
"Neither can I stop you." Hermione snorted; although it didn't prove anything about his allegiance. It appeared to be that Severus had decided to admit that there was a power in rumors and suspicions.
"He lied to all of us." Severus said.
'Ah…Of course.' She more than anyone understood the feeling.
They stopped at the main fountain right in the middle of the garden. This fountain, unlike the others she had seen before, had the Malfoy crest in the center. Three male statues held the heavy crest over their shoulders; their gazes set on the nocturnal visitors.
Hermione could swear they were looking at her with a certain disdain.
The black dragons on the side of the shield batted their wings while the snakes on top intertwined and hissed among themselves. And the ribbon under the large 'M', which occupied most of the space on the shield proudly displayed the family's motto: Sanctimonia Vincet Semper.
Even though the brunette considered some of the political views from Voldemort were reasonable; the blood purity one was just plain ridiculous. Seeing it present in the Malfoy's family crest only served to annoy her, and dislike that family even more.
"You are either too naïve or too stupid to realize that he will know earlier than you can count on." The potions master said.
"He won't know if you don't tell him" Hermione insisted.
Now that the answer she was looking for had been spoken, Hermione moved on and asked the question she was meaning to ask in their last conversation: "Shall I be worried, Severus?" Her eyes were set on the silver-colored fishes that swam in the water fountain; her fingers played with the outline between her wand and her sleeve.
"Shall I be worried that if he were to know, will he order you to kill me?"
She wanted to cast a Diffindo across the fishes, slice them into chunks, or practice Crucio on each little one…
…Maybe later.
"...Will you kill me, Severus?"
This time Severus turned to fully face the girl. Hermione matched his motion. "What do you think is going to happen when things start to progress from now on?" He raised his eyebrow in a questioning manner, yet didn't wait for a reply. "You won't be killing criminals anymore, Granger. You'll be killing innocent people. You will be killing people that you might know. Are you willing to pay that price?"
Her defiant gaze strayed away from Snape, choosing an empty spot in the darkness of the garden.
"What are you going to do when you and your friends meet face to face? Because if you think it will not happen, you are severely mistaken, Granger" His voice started to turn harsh, cutting. "Do you think our Lord will let you live if you as much refuse to kill them? Have those thoughts have passed through in that big brain of yours?"
"Of course not." He snorted, not bothering to hide his contempt anymore. "Why would you? You don't seem to understand the consequences of your actions."
"And allow me to enlighten you and give you the reason why I know you haven't truly thought things through." He made a pause as if he was trying to harness his emotions. "Because you are here. Still playing in a war. A child. In a war that only belongs to grown-ups."
Hermione brushed aside his words. There he was again, talking down at her like she was a little girl that didn't understand anything of how things worked. Old and new anger started to creep into her again, running through her body like fire being fed with oil. "Do not presume that I hadn't!" Her jaw tensed up. "Those thoughts are always in the front of my mind after I wake up and before going to sleep. Always! Since the moment I accepted his offer!"
"And if you knew what really happened, you'll understand that I didn't have a choice." She intently at him. "Do me a favor and don't regard me like a bloody child. Because the moment that Albus Dumbledore put me in Gryffindor to befriend Harry, then years later decided to kill my parents, I'm anything but! He made sure to rob me of my childhood!"
She closed her eyes; her head was throbbing and the exacerbated emotions weren't helping.
"You had a choice. You will always have a choice." Severus said it as if it was a fact.
Her eyes opened filled with incredulity, a humorless chuckle escaped from her throat. "Did I? When did I have a choice? The part where our Lord offered me to stay with him or just leave? Oh, Yes! He gave me the option to leave." Her head cocked to the side. "But really? If he were to tell you that, would you believe that rubbish? Would you be so gullible to believe that he was honest about his intentions with me? I'm not stupid, Snape." She hissed. "Either I joined him or die. It doesn't take 2 brain cells to reach that conclusion."
Hermione had the sense to recognize that she wasn't being entirely honest. No matter if the Dark Lord had or hadn't given her a choice. That day, she was driven only by the pain of betrayal and the need for retribution when she decided to take her wand from Voldemort's hand.
"I'm here because is the only thing close to living"
'…Not true, either' The intrusive voice in her head reminded her.
The man stepped away from the brunette, suddenly needing space. Brown eyes could the dozens of thoughts running in his head. His index finger pressed into his lips. If Hermione wasn't so busy being angry, she would have noticed how expressive Severus was being right now, compared to his always statue-like posture.
"Then let me ask you this…" His voice sounded cold, detached. "What are you going to do when you have Mr. Potter and Mr. Weasley in front of you? Ready to defend Dumbledore and the cause they believe in." His gaze fixed on the girl, studying her. "Will you kill them? Will you let them live at the price of your life?" every step he took forward, sounded heavier and deeper for the girls' ears
"What are you going to do, Granger?"
'Is not of our business.'
"Answer!"
Hermione's shoulders tense up, not expecting the sudden shout
"What are you going to do?" He drawled.
She really didn't know; Hermione didn't want to kill them. Her friendship with them might have been strained the last time she saw them, but still, she has very fond memories of them together. A part of her hoped that when the opportunity came, they could…Talk.
'Talk.'
Well, that sounded stupid even in her head.
"I don't know."
This wasn't fair. He had no right to treat her like this just because she didn't have all the answers.
'But you already have the answer…' A voice in the back of her mind whispered over the frontier of her conscious thoughts.
There was a time where her friends meant everything to her… Does the feeling still exist?
'No.'
'…Yes! It does.'
"What?" Asked the man.
'Perhaps…It doesn't'
Enough!
"I said, I don't know!" The dragons and the snakes from the carved crest hissed and shrieked at her roar.
Her tolerance from his continuous derision towards her persona had reached its limits. Severus said it, he wasn't her professor anymore. Hermione didn't need to be tolerating his attitude.
The man was again composed and stoic, not a single trace of his earlier contempt remained. However, there was pity laying under that heavy gaze of his, something that the brunette wanted to erase by pulling his eyes out with her own hands.
There was a boiling sensation in her gut. Sweat began to pool in her armpits and lower back.
"Then you haven't thought of anything, but little fantasies of your petty revenge."
Hermione denied that statement; her mind was trapped in a swamp of strong emotions, muddling any rational thought that wanted to bring some sense into her. "That's not true." Brown eyes filled with fury looked at the tall figure.
"Isn't it?" The man said, getting one step closer to the girl, now he just seemed more amused than anything else. "Maybe is true what they say, Mudbloods are not that bright and capable as they believe they are. You are very, very disappointing, Granger."
She felt like he punched her on the stomach, Hermione clang to every word of that sentence. Her face turned numb, not aware of the pained expression. Her head pounded like a drum; Her breaths suddenly became shallow and her steps wavered slightly.
Something broke inside of her, and something more born anew, it was clawing its way up to the surface. For a moment she thought it was her heart, but that wasn't possible. Her heart was already broken. No, this was taking place in her mind. Suddenly her headache became horribly painful.
And then everything went red.
"Pull out your wand!"
Hermione took out her wand from her sleeve, aiming it at the man.
"Pull out your bloody wand now!" She growled.
Snape didn't react at her bravado display.
A stinging hex was cast, to motivate the wizard.
The man repelled the attack like she expected him to. Severus didn't retaliate, but his wand was out and his feet were separated from each other.
He was ready.
"What do you think you'll achieve with this Granger?"
Lights flashed with incredible speed.
Her feet moved in synchrony with the movement of her arm, her casts were strong, brutish and heavy even if they were non-verbal spells. Hexes came out from her wand at the rhythm of her heart, drumming by the rage that consumed her mind and body by an equal amount.
Hermione's steps were unpolished and sometimes wrong, the man immediately noticed it. But her magic was unrestrained and primitive compensating her inferior technique with the strength of her spells.
Fireballs, slashing curses, explosive spells. All were shot in succession.
Severus maintained himself at the offensive by disintegrating attacks and repelling the ones that held a large amount of force within the projectile. The explosive sounds of hexes rumbled against the hard soil and stones of the garden; dust rose from the ground forming small clouds around their bodies. The sounds of bushes were being severed, explosions of nearby flowerpots and wind condensing, and contracting oxygen particles became the orchestra that accompanied their fight.
"Bombarda!"
The wizard saw the girl's face and how out of herself she was. Her teeth were on display like a feral animal ready to bite. The more he repelled her attacks the more her eyes became erratic and her attacks turned even more destructive.
"Ignis Fulgur!" Hermione roared.
A flame with the strength of lightning was shot at him, Severus was barely able to physically evade the attack, the unexpected spell left his mind stunned for a costly span of time as he had to roll again for the second shot. This time, the veiny residues from the curse had grazed his robes slashing a part of it; he rolled once more on the floor to turn off the fire growing on the lower end of the robe.
Two things came to the man's head: One, he greatly underestimated the girl's ability to cast dark magic. Two, she wanted to kill him or at least fully maim him.
The magical sources that granted light had long extinguished during their fight, now the bright moonlight was their only source for visibility.
"Reducto!" Her words were closer to guttural growl than a human voice.
Hermione failed again, and instead she hit one of the statues holding the Malfoy crest exploding it into tiny pieces.
"Granger, what do you think you are doing?!" The man hissed. That spell was meant to kill him.
She wasn't in her right mind, that was evident. He needed to neutralize her. Now.
He pushed himself from the thoroughly burned grass. "Very well, Granger. Let's see how do you defend yourself."
He moved with the art and technique that only a wizard with his experience could have, favoring speed over brutish strength. Nevertheless, the force of his attacks was never to be underestimated, as they were perfected to break the barriers of other seasoned wizards. Although his priority, for now, was not to harm the girl but to disarm her and bind her, Severus was ferocious with his attacks.
The girl repelled his spells, her shield was firm and didn't weaken when it was held off a strong spell, her reflexes were so sharpened that she could react with easiness at the next projectile.
His heart started to beat faster, sweat was running down his jaw; a small smile flickered on his face. Hermione fought like an equal to the wizard, almost. Severus was about to finish this feeble attempt of whatever it was.
As he prepared to break her shield, moonlight fully illuminated the girl's face; Severus hesitated. He frowned at the sight confused and marveled all at once.
Hermione's eyes were a bright shade of amber, a far cry from her earthy brown eyes, dangerously shined under the light; on the painted snarl, he saw two prominent fangs coming from her upper teeth.
It was one of those rare moments in his life where he didn't have the explanation for such phenomenon.
However, he came to his senses, knowing that it wasn't the right moment to make sense out of it as Hermione was ready to shoot again. Red jets of light expelled from her wand, with brutal force and speed. Severus rapidly redirected it at the fountain, hitting the center of the crest exploding the rest of it, leaving no piece untouched by the destructive nature of the attack.
The girl didn't leave him with other option but to knock her down.
Severus positioned himself to counter-attack, calculating eyes set on her ex-student, this time though, he wasn't thinking in her well-being.
For every spell he cast, the blue-lighted blasts started to burn a path on the ground and the bushes became the targets of his spells that Hermione rapidly reflected; the vegetation around had small fires. Both witch and wizard were relentless in their attacks and even though Hermione was losing ground, the determination in her gaze never wavered.
He had to give it to the girl, none of the students at Hogwarts, or even Potter could ever last as much as she had lasted, and that was something to be respected, if not admired.
But this had to end.
"Sectumsempra!"
And it did. Hermione fall flat on her back.
The spell was a vicious one, Severus knew this, he created it after all. Pain like that was rarely given by his wand, it was a different sort of torture from the conventional ones.
Death by a thousand cuts.
Invisible knives cut the victim's chest and arms until he or she bled to death. He took pride in his spell; it was efficient and more often than not, his opponents never saw it coming. Providing him with the chance to fully exterminate the enemy or neutralize the victim until he got what he wanted out of them.
This time though, it left a sour taste in his mouth as he saw the girl twisting on the grass in agony. She refused to utter a sound but Severus could see the anguish in her face.
Regardless that she wasn't in her right mind, a lesson needed to be taught. Snape convinced himself, that it was for her own good.
Despite the pain, Hermione's hateful gaze on him hadn't lost its edge, like the pain was in a secondary plain right after the impulse to want to kill the man. He stepped closer to the girl, kicking the wand that was lying next to her hand in the process.
He kneeled beside her. Her breathing was strained, labored. Whether it was in exhaustion, anger or pain, Severus couldn't tell. His hands went to the sides of her head, holding her with a firm grip. With the intention to confirm what he thought his eyes earlier deceived him. As he expected it, there was resistance, Hermione, in her desperation, tried to scratch his arms and face, even bite his hand.
"Calm down, Granger I won't hurt you." Not anymore was left unsaid. For some unknown reason, she relented. Not without losing her grip over his arms.
As he took a closer look, his eyes opened in surprise, just as if he was seeing it for the first time. Both eyes were a bright amber color, just like honey. A thumb pulled up her upper lip, her teeth were normal, all except from the two sharp fangs that almost grazed her lower lips. The lower canines were sharpened but hadn't grown.
Maybe this wasn't too much of a mystery and more of rarity… Werewolves were emotional beings… Perhaps what he said…. And maybe the moon might have influenced… How about the people who didn't fully suffer from lycanthropy but still showed symptoms? Could it be that she was one of them…?
His mind was running so fast trying to find an explanation for such fascinating development that he never heard the steps enclosing a few meters behind him,
"Severus, what happened here?" The man turned around at neck-breaking speed. For a fleeting moment, he got the feeling in his gut that he was caught doing something terrible and unforgivable according to popular opinion. "What happened to her?"
Hermione was barely conscious at this moment; her eyes were losing its focus, and the breathing became ragged. Severus quick response was to cast on the girl the counter-spell for his attack. A white light came out of his wand slowly closing and healing the severe damage, leaving no evidence behind of its nasty effects.
However, the counter-spell was only designed to cure what damage had his invented spell had done. The small scratches on the girl's cheek and hands were still there, those needed separate treatment.
Another flick of his wrist and Severus put her to sleep.
"Severus?"
The man hesitated a few more seconds before standing up. "We were dueling." He said. "Why are you here, Narcissa?"
"I live here." Narcissa raised an eyebrow while crossing her arms over her chest. She inspected the wizard in front of her. His hair was unusually disheveled, drops of sweat ran all the way to his chin. The vest and lower part of his pants had dirt spots; The robe got most of the damage as it was partially burned at the lower end.
Aware of his faux-pas, Severus offered an explanation. "Our duel got heated, Hermione lost her temper. I had to put her down."
And so did the blonde woman, "The elf told me there were wizards fighting in the garden."
"And why did you come? Why no Lucius?"
Narcissa didn't appreciate the distrust in his voice. "Lucius and the others are out" She replied with a clipped tone.
"Draco?"
"Sleeping."
Her gaze set on the sleeping girl once again. "What really happened to her, Severus?" Narcissa thought if she were to find another man hurting the girl as he did, she would probably hex them first then ask questions later. But Severus wasn't that kind of man. She knew him. Nonetheless, she wasn't about to be taken for a fool. It was evident the man wanted to lie to her.
Severus' attention drifted pass Narcissa. Seeing all the damage they did to the terrain, it made him released a tired sigh. "I'll explain everything. But first, allow me to take her inside." He took the girl in his arms.
Narcissa moved aside to let Snape pass before her; the smell of smoke and sweat lingered behind the two bodies as they moved. Before following the man, the blonde turned her gaze once more at her garden in ruins, making a mental note to instruct the gardening elves to repair everything tomorrow and to send a letter to the sculptor enchanter for another family crest.
As she was about to turn back, she caught a whiff of something roasted, were it not for she already had dinner, the smell could have awakened her appetite. Blue eyes scanned the area looking for the source. Was someone eating nearby? The question lasted less than 3 seconds, with five tentative steps towards the rose bushes Narcissa found the answer
The Malfoy matriarch stayed still, her eyebrows knitted at the sight of two peacocks laying charred on the ground, considering how they were positioned they were caught while mating. Now, it appeared to be that their flesh had melted together, the longer ends of their now darkened feathers still sustained small flames, smoke came from their bodies which carried around the roasted smell.
She blinked twice, then muttered an intelligible word under her breath. "Maybe we shouldn't have any animals while she is here." With that thought in mind, Narcissa walked back towards her home.
