Challenge: based off of Screaming Faeries 30 Disney song lyrics challenge!

Disclaimer - JK ROWLING IS LOVE. JK ROWLING IS LIFE. I'm just going to borrow the lovely universe she has chosen to create.

Ratings - I'd say this is for a more mature audience, use your discretion, if something makes you uncomfortable feel free to put down the story or message me if needed! Sex. Drugs. Rock n' Roll…. Also some minor violent scenes.

I also don't have a beta….. I'm bad with fish.

Chapter 3 - "Mother's right here, Mother will protect you."

A/N #1 - This one will be continued! At some point!

A/N #2- So I have a massive crush on Alex Kingston, and for some reason I've always pictured her as Andromeda Tonks- so there's that!

The bloodcurling scream was deafening. Hermione hadn't even realized it was her who had made the sound. All she could focus on was the pain of her searing flesh as the dark haired witch shot curse after curse at her magically bound body. The smell of her own blood her hit as the curses finally came to a halt. She willed her body to move, to breathe, to get up and run away, but the most she could do was open her eyes. As soon as she did, the only thing in front of her face was a mess of black curls, manic eyes that had lost their colour, and teeth grinning down at her like a wolf. The woman had a silver dagger in her hand. Hermione gasped for air, hiccuping in attempt to prevent her tears from flowing out once again.

Bellatrix had simply cackled at the younger witch's attempted bravery and whispered so only Hermione could hear her, "You're just like my sister. You filthy, little-"

"STOP!" Hermione shot up from her bed, panting heavily. Her skin was slick with cold sweat, sticking to the sheets as she attempted to make sense of her surroundings. It's over, she's not real. I'm at the burrow. It's July. It's Tuesday. It's- Oh GOD.

Hermione reached madly for her wand as the door to her bedroom opened to reveal a dark mess of curls and pale skin darkened by shadows.

"Hermione?" The figured called out.

The younger witch paused while grasping her wand. She knew that hair, the way the figure leaned against the doorframe, the cock of her head.. But the tone of the voice was unfamiliar- "Andromeda?"

The figured stepped into the room, the soft glow from Hermione's moonlit window illuminating the woman's figure. "Is everything alright?"

Hermione flinched as the woman approached her and took a seat on the edge of her bed. She kept her wand clasped tightly in a fist.

Andromeda noticed quickly however and quickly cast a ball of hovering light to make her face more recognizable. "I'm not my sister dear."

Hermione couldn't help but blush with embarrassment at that statement. The past two months since the war had been spent at the burrow, and Andromeda had dropped by every few nights to check on the Weasley's. Occasionally she'd end up mistaking her for the woman who carved her flesh months ago, but the witch had repeated the same sentence each time as if she could sense the younger's girl's confusion. Hermione hadn't spoken to her more than a handful of times during her visits, but the woman's presence sparked a sense of familiarity in her whenever they met each other's eyes. Speaking of which, her blush only began to grow stronger as she noticed Andromeda's dark eyes travelling down her body.

"Really Hermione, are you alright? You're covered in sweat…" Andromeda shifted a bit and placed her hand over Hermione's, gently pushing her wand back down.

Not thinking she could possibly turn redder, Hermione forgot she had even been holding the wand out so aggressively during her train of thought. She let Andromeda push her hand down, and revelled in the woman's warmth on her own cool skin. The older woman's perfectly shaped nails squeezing her own hand slightly.

The warmth travelled up Hermione's arm at Andromeda's touch, "Merlin, you're freezing… what happened?"

The younger witch, bit her lower lip and hesitated. The nightmares were only growing stronger and occurring more frequently. It irked her to her limits. She hated the way Bellatrix still had power over her. She hated the way in which she couldn't control her own mind. She hated all the pain that had been caused. She hated her… "but how on earth can I say that to her sister?"

Taking a moment, she studied the older woman in front of her. Andromeda's features had matched her older sister in every single aspect, they had the same pale skin, the same aristocratic bone structure, the same passionate gleam in their eyes, the only difference was that Andromeda's features were lighter- not by much in the current lighting mind you. Her hair was the same colour of a chestnut tree after a heavy rainfall. Her lips the colour of blushing tulips. Her eyes were the colour of coffee, and they were staring back at Hermione with such an intensity that she had to blink.

The younger brunette took a breath and softly muttured, "It seems that Bellatrix left more scars than the one on my arm."

Now it was Andromeda's turn to blink. "My sister left a scar on you?"

Hermione nodded, frowning at the dark expression that had crossed Andromeda's face.

"Let me see it." The woman's voice sounded incredibly forced at this point.

Sticking out her arm, Hermione rolled back the sleeve of her thin nightgown to reveal the thin, reddened scar that hadn't faded since she received them. Andromeda studied it carefully, flinching at first when she saw her sister's choice of words. The slur itself had lost meaning for Hermione long ago, but the intention and hatred behind the action had never once left her mind. She could practically feel Bellatrix's hot breath against her skin as the smell of blood threatened to fill her sense once again.

"What did she use?" Andromeda's voice pulled Hermione out of her thoughts.

The intensity that Andromeda was examining Hermione's flesh with was beginning to spark insecurities within the younger witch. "A silver dagger."

An unreadable facial expression crossed Andromeda's face. It was unnerving to say the least. She pulled her own wand from the inner sleeve of the emerald silk robe she had wrapped around her body. Her eyes were trained over Hermione's scar as she gently pressed the tip of cool oak against the marked skin. The older witch muttered several phrases that Hermione couldn't recognize.. A tingling sensation started in her forearm, a jolt of ice spread through her arm and the thin letters seemed to faintly glow with a pale blue light.

It was over as quickly as it had began. Hermione's arm was still firmly grasped in Andromeda's hands. The older witch was still staring at the skin in a mix of shock and foreboding. Hermione gently tugged her own arm so she could try to understand what had concerned Andromeda so greatly. The letters remained just as they had been, blood red underneath the surface of her skin. "What was Andromeda attempting to achieve…"

Two cool fingers gently lifted Hermione's chin and she found herself staring back into the dark eyes of the Black sister. The witch's pupils were heavily dilated, "or maybe I'm just halluncinating." Hermione internally scoffed at herself for such assumptions. Andromeda had just been performing magic on her, "it was probably a side effect from whatever she been doing. Speaking of which,"

"Andromeda…" Hermione's voice was almost inaudible, but not quite.

Andromeda paused for a moment, blinked quickly, and released Hermione's face. The older witch stuttered as she spoke, "I- um, I was trying to read what magic was interlaced with the knife." When Hermione didn't respond, the witch continued on, "It's a cursed blade. The properties of the blade were originally forged with the elements of a dragon scale. It's my sister's favourite blade, she had often threatened to stab my various suitors when we were at Hogwarts…" She trailed off with a dark chuckle, and Hermione bit her lip subconsciously at the noise. The woman's laugh was rich, throaty, and reminded her of firewhiskey.

Andromeda in turn flashed her eyes at Hermione lips, but paused before quickly continuing with the information, "Basically, the mark won't fade on it's own. The effects of the blade include the wielder's ability to haunt you with whatever emotion you felt during the time the injury was sustained. " The lightness to the older witch's eyes dropped along with the the turn of her lips as she became serious, "The only trick is that the weapon's wielder must remain alive to follow through with the haunting visions. Which means that my sister-"

"Is alive." Hermione lay back down against her pillow, facing the ceiling while trying to blink back tears that threatened to fall. The news crashed upon her like a thousand cauldrons, sucking away any other sensation except for shock from her body. "That's not possible…" She felt a stray tear roll down her cheek. The war was supposed to be over. She wasn't supposed to see her demons ever again. She wasn't supposed to be haunted by Bellatrix Goddamn Lestrange every moment of her life. It wasn't fair. It's not bloody fair-

"I know sweety." Andromeda moved off from the edge of Hermione's bed and walked around to the side opposite the girl. Hermione hadn't even realize she had been muttering her thoughts out loud. The older woman slipped under the cotton sheets herself, and pulled Hermione closer towards her.

Hermione didn't hesitate a second before turning into the embrace. She allowed the smell of sandalwood to fill her senses as she buried her face into the warm crook of Andromeda's shoulder. The thin silk of the woman's robe pressed up against her skin. It had been so long since anyone had seen her cry, had seen her vulnerable.

"I'm here love." Thin fingers stroked her hair, providing Hermione the physical comfort she was craving at the moment. Their bodies melded together perfectly. Her senses became clouded by the mix of Sandalwood and the hot body against her own.

"Sleep now," Andromeda's voice had the slightest hint of a command to it, but Hermione heeded the instructions. She felt safe for now.

One final thought crossed her mind before drifting off into a peaceful slumber. Bellatrix was still out there, and she's coming after me.

A/N #3 - Whattttt! Another update? And it's only been 10 hours rather than 12 weeks?! I'm totally crazy, I know. I just wanted to say thank you all so much for the views! And the RE-views! Get it.. Oh man I am not sober right now. But guess what! I have tumblr again! My name is theuselessthespian. Follow me and I'll follow back if you let me know you're from this site! I post update statuses and my own fanart! Along with other things! YES.

Hope you all have a fabulous day!

Xx