He had followed her. It was easy enough; she had made such a noise as she crashed through the trees and underbrush in her flight away from him that he'd not even rushed. He knew he could catch her easily and it made it so much more enjoyable for him if she thought she had a chance to escape.
But of course, he never expected her to crash through into that clearing. The one place he could not reach. The one place she was safe!
It infuriated him.
The perfect prey and he knew he shouldn't touch her.
But still he wasn't ready to give up. He lingered in the shadows, quiet and watchful, weary of the unicorns, but still there. He refused to leave, not now that he'd marked her, not now that he'd enjoyed the sounds of her screams. He wanted her more than anything now. He wanted to continue their little game.
But as he waited he began to wonder if he hadn't made a mistake letting her go that night, if he'd made a mistake focusing on Black.
The girl had felt powerful at the start, this was true, but she hadn't seemed to be on Black's level, in fact she had seemed barely any different than a few of the more talented students he'd sensed at the school.
But was he truly mistaken? It had been such a very long time since anyone had escaped his clutches.
And now she has done so twice.
She was special that was for sure. She just had to be.
Because if not for the girl he was sure he would have devoured Black already. But the girl….
To slip from his clutches twice…
Perhaps he was just getting old and sloppy. Perhaps it had been too long since his last meal.
Perhaps she had escaped his clutches through sheer stupid bravery and luck.
But somehow, well somehow he didn't think so.
He narrowed his eyes as he watched her shallow breaths through the breaks in the trees. He was missing something; he was sure of it. There was nothing ordinary about that child and she was far more powerful than he could sense. Instinct as old as time itself tugged at him. His mind screamed that she was his ultimate prize.
There was something shielding her from his senses. Something ancient. Giving him a taste of her potential but not the entirety of her power. It was intriguing. It was exhilarating.
And it was frustrating, that she lay just out of his reach!
Still his excitement was building with every second he pondered her. She was a challenge. And he hadn't had one of those in such an awfully long time. There was ancient magic at work within that one and he was going to have it. Ancient power flowing through him would be more than enough to set him free. And he so wanted to be free. He wanted it so bad he could already taste it on his tongue.
Free to wreak havoc on the world, to stalk more prey that the weak little imps that got lost in his forest, and even those were so far in between.
Freedom was all he wanted now. It consumed his thoughts the longer he stood outside the clearing. He was desperate.
So desperate that he forgot the rules.
Forgot that even one such as him, one as wicked as he, as old and powerful still had things to fear in the forest.
~S~
High above the clearing, sitting peacefully on a frozen tree limb and swinging her legs back and forth as if she didn't have a care in the world was a little girl with loose jet-black curls and silvery blue eyes.
She'd watched Hermione stumbled into the Unicorn's glade and she watched the dark figure milling about anxiously just beyond the borders, its glowing eyes trained hungrily on the unconscious girl.
She remained on her perch, happy with the knowledge that it could not come into the glade, that the girl had collapsed just beyond its reach.
A lucky coincidence really but she wouldn't have gotten involved either way. Human mortality had long since stopped being an issue for her and she had long ago lost the ability to care about their fleeting lives.
Still, something stirred inside her the longer she looked at the girl. There was something almost familiar about her. Something she should remember, perhaps? The thought alone piqued her interest for the first time in centuries.
Even so she might have let the feeling go. Ignored it, remained content to watch until the girl awoke and one of the beasts took pity on her and led her from the forest back to the castle and away from the danger stalking her. She might even have been content with that and forgotten about the foreign feeling stirring around in her chest.
Except it reached for her.
A long muscular disfigured arm moved out across the grass, his body low as his eyes nervously peered around. He was cautious, he knew the consequences if he was caught moving in the moonlight of the glade… but still…he risked it for her. His long thin clawed fingers latched around the girl's ankle and slowly, so as not to draw unnecessary attention to himself, the creature pulled her back toward him. Back to the shadows of the forest.
Silver eyes narrowed in the night, lit up by ire and curiosity.
She was perfectly content to let humans die, it was only natural, more and more died every day, every second, it was the order of things. But there was nothing natural about that skin walker risking her wrath, nothing orderly about his actions. His own self-preservation should have given him greater pause than the few minutes he had been milling about.
She leaned forward in the tree, her legs stilled and she tilted her head to the side as she tried to see just who had gained his attention.
She took in the black robes and red and gold trim. A Gryffindor, made sense that they would be rummaging where they shouldn't, deep within the forest. Sometimes their stupidity was mistaken for bravery, this she knew better than most. But still she wouldn't have thought a student was powerful enough to garnish a walkers attention, to have it chancing her wrath. Though she suspected he might have been willing had it been Black or perhaps even Trelawney.
She launched herself from the tree, her small body flying through the air in a slow graceful arch until she landed silently on the ground, her bare feet making no noise in the damp grass as she moved toward the two figures.
There was a quietness in her movements, a finality. As if the very laws that limited so many creatures in the world simply did not apply to her, the world around her stopped, time itself ceased at her whims.
Her form swayed and shimmered in the moonlight; unhurried, ever closer to her unexpected company.
She had no fear of him harming the girl, no fear of him suddenly jerking her back into his domain. Even had she not frozen the world around her she could have him paralyzed or ripped asunder with barely a glance.
The real question, however, was; did she want to? Did it truly matter if he took the girl?
She wasn't sure just yet.
She stopped just above the two and knelt down next to the girl's prone figure. She brushed her dirty locks away from her face and peered down at the damage, she could barely make out the chalky parlor of the girl through all the dirt and blood. She tilted her head, first this way and then that way as she tried to place her, before she finally reached out and stroked a soft cheek with the tips of her fingers.
"This won't do at all." She uttered softly. "You're so covered in blood I can't even see you." Her tiny hand waved over the bloodied and bruised face and a gentle golden glow followed her hand, traced every blemish and mark until Hermione's face was free of the dirt and blood obstructing her view and a little of the color returned to her cheeks. She didn't bother to fully heal the wounds; they didn't bother her any so long as she could make out the features beneath them.
Silver leaned back on the balls of her feet and frowned, her eyes darkening to almost black as they perused the injured woman before her, recognition flaring in them before they faded back to the silvery blue she was so fond of. "So that's it then." Her eyes moved over to glare at the brazen walker. Time seemed to reassert itself and she rested her pale hand against the creature's arm. Immediately the malted decaying demon shrieked in pain, it ripped its arm away as its flesh began to sizzle and pop, the smell of burning skin stronger than even its stench of decay. With a roar it fled back toward the shadows its wide golden eyes piercing the darkness as it desperately tried to put more distance between itself and her. An appreciated gesture but she paid it no more mind either way.
His threat to the girl was over and he wouldn't tempt the boundary again any time soon.
"Right then, what to do with you, Little Royal?" Her hand reached out again and stroked at the soft skin under Hermione's eye. Her fingers stilled as she stirred under the touch but her eyes remained shut. "I've been hoping to see you again for a very long time." The child admitted, her touch light as she soothed the wrinkles forming at Hermione's brow. "It seems I've lost the ability to tell time." A soft chuckled erupted from her lips as she pulled away, her eyes moving back toward a glittering pool only a little way in the distance. "I thought you'd be younger still, has it already been three years?" Her tone turned sad and wistful.
"Little Goddess?" She turned herself halfway around to watch the newcomer as he approached them. "Have you- did you actually save someone?" His dark eyes widened in surprise, his mouth agape in disbelief.
"If it pleases me, I can do what I wish." She told him haughtily, looking for all she was worth like a child pouting after a scolding. He knew better. Perhaps better than most.
She was a powerful and dangerous being. The form she took mattered little.
"Yes of course." He held his palms up and backed away, intending to return to whatever it was he was doing before he heard the screams of pain from the beast. Whatever she intended to do with her student wasn't any of his business and he was even less inclined to attempt to rescue the girl from her than he would have been from the walker.
"Wait, Levan, bring her to the water for me." She ignored his hesitation and skipped off toward the opposite side of the glade. He stared after her only for a few seconds before he let out a hefty sigh and moved to do as she wished.
He was forced to roll the girl onto her back before gently lifting her in his arms. He cradled her limp body against his chest as if she were precious cargo as he carried her confidently through the beasts and after his flighty companion. He couldn't help his bubbling curiosity over the human. She must have been special for Silver to take an interest in her. The girl had been around far longer than even he and it was the first time he had ever seen her save someone.
She was far too fond of cursing them, it was a bitter thought and he found himself hoping that wasn't the future for the girl in his arms.
"Awfully gentlemanly of you, I almost expected you to drag her along behind you." He turned his attention back to Silver. Where the child had once been was now was a tall, beautiful blonde woman.
Often he wondered if that was her true form. It was hauntingly beautiful but it was a form that was cloaked in a deep sorrow. Those blue eyes held so much knowledge, but they were so much duller than the silver ones she sported in the form of the child and they held none of the mischief.
"Why would I do that?" He asked her with a glance back down at the head cradled against his chest.
She smiled wryly at him and motioned for him to move closer to the pool near her feet. "You don't recognize her then? Your own innocent little tormentor, the very reason you were gifted with the blessing of immortality itself."
It took a moment for her words to settle in his mind before he snarled and unceremoniously released his grip on the girl. Silver tutted and waved her hand to keep Hermione's body from hitting the ground as he let loose a string of curses and stepped away. His sudden anger devoured him and his entire body shook with the weight of it.
"You are a cruel mistress." His eyes hardened as they landed on the floating figure he'd so carelessly tossed aside. How could he have missed the similarities? True he couldn't see those soft brown eyes, couldn't see the determination burning in their depths that was seared in his memory….but he should have known.
"You already knew that, Levan." Her words were as hard as her eyes as she lowered Hermione's still body to the ground beside the pool. "Like it or not, old friend, this is the culmination of your song and dance." She turned her attention away from him and dipped her hand into the pool. He watched in silence as she lifted a handful of the liquid out and gently went about washing the girl's face, the wounds she had refused to heal with her own magic were wiped away as the restorative water trickled over pale skin.
They stayed that way, for a few seconds more. The godlike being carefully healing the girl while he watched in anxious silence, until finally his thoughts and her words became too much for his ancient mind. With a harsh curse Levan turned away from the sight and Silver barely spared him a glance as he stalked off.
~H~
Hermione awoke slowly to the feel of the cold hard ground, it was almost the first thing that she felt. It reminded her of the night back in her mother's house, the night Bellatrix had miraculously saved her. For a moment she refused to open her eyes, her arm burned as if it had been placed in a bag of boiling oil but she had a vague memory of a knife. In her fuzzy mind she couldn't quiet remember…if it was her step-father above her or a monster. She couldn't remember if there was even a difference.
"I couldn't heal it." A foreign gruff voice interrupted her dark thoughts, forcing her eyes open only to be held captive by the darker ones glaring down at her in the bright light of the moon. A long thinned hand pointed toward her bloodied robes and shoved the fabric aside none to gently to show her a makeshift bandage. "No mortal nor any kind of magic I have ever heard of will be able to heal it," His lips pulled up on one side, "I've been around forever so I know a thing or two. Expect to get used to it." For a moment she thought his eyes might have softened to a chocolate brown but it was gone just as quickly and the cold soulless eyes stared back at her.
"Th-" Hermione had to swallow and clear her throat to finish getting her words out. Her mouth felt about like her head, like cobwebs were floating about. "That creature. He didn't get the unicorns? I saw them…I wanted to…"
The man shifted only slightly and she breathed out a relieved breath at the sight of the majestic creatures milling about in absent minded innocence. Her slight smile turned into a grimace as her arm pulsed with sudden pain, it was worse than the feeling from when she woke up and she instantly reached out to grasp it only to have her hand caught in a calloused grasp.
"It will bleed for a while longer, likely make you sick, and if you squeeze it the pain will only worsen and the bleeding will prolong. Best to leave it alone for now. Any attempt to heal it will only cause more pain and bleeding." He warned, before releasing her.
"What did it do?" She was almost scared to know. "That….creature it held me down and-" She trailed off, now that the confusion was fading she could remember her desperate dash from Cormac and she remember being caught by the ferocious beast. It had taken great pleasure in whatever it had done and she could feel it carving something into her arm. She felt the sudden undeniable urge to uncover the bandage and look, she had to see. With her own eyes.
The man kneeling at her side let out a long-suffering sigh as if he could follow her train of thought and reached out to gently undo the bandage he had so painstakingly placed on her arm.
The girl's pained gasp brought him none of the joy he expected to feel. He wanted to rejoice in the shame the mark would bring to her, but he found the small victory hollow at best. Especially against someone who didn't remember him and the pain she unwittingly caused him so very long ago.
"It will heal, but the words will always be visible and it will cause you pain and perhaps even bleed from time to time." He meticulously wrapped her arm back in the bloodstained bandage, hiding the words once again from her sight, before tying it off and pulling her to her feet. He'd had quite enough intrusion into in sanctuary for one night. "You need to return to the castle before you grow weak from blood loss, you are losing far more than you realize and have already lost much before the bleeding slowed enough to wrap it."
Hermione nodded only slightly, her mind still on the crude letters marring her skin.
Mudblood.
She had endured the slander many times from Slytherins, heard it whispered in the streets of Diagon Alley as she walked with her so painstakingly obvious muggle parents. It had hurt every time despite her pride in her heritage. And now it would be permanently etched into her skin. A badge of shame, something to let others believe she was worth less than they were simply because she was the first of her magical family. It turned her stomach and she had to suck deep heavy breaths in to steady herself enough to look back at the man.
"Thank you." Her voice was strained with pain. "For saving me."
He chuckled darkly. "I did not save you." He looked as if he wanted to add something but seemed to change his mind. "You saved yourself by escaping here. No harm can come to any living thing here and no evil may enter it. This is the glade where witches and wizards come to forget. To become innocent once more and free themselves from their burdens." His dark gaze turned calculating and motioned her to look toward the pool of water nearby.
"Does innocence interest you, forgetting your worries perhaps? Look into the pool and tell me what you see, Little King." Her mouth pulled down in a frown at the nickname but she let it go, she turned her eyes toward the water and leaned in when she couldn't discern any shapes in its depths. "What do you see?" He urged from just beyond her shoulder, just out of sight as she gaze at her shimmering reflection.
She took a moment, the pain of her arm fading as she looked at her mirror image. It wasn't wrong, but it wasn't right. It was a perfect copy of herself, not mirrored at all as she gave it a closer inspection. There was nothing behind her, no trees, no moon, nothing. It wasn't natural. She made to say so when the image shifted. Instead of herself she saw a shield.
She knew that shield. She'd seen it in her dreams before, bent and full of arrows, but it was pristine now, devoid of all signs of battle. It was almost beautiful.
She made to lean in for a closer look but something latched onto her cloak and jerked her backwards, she fell back onto her bottom in surprise. She glanced up and found a unicorn staring down at her, a sharp look of intelligence glinting in its eyes.
The man beside her muttered in annoyance and shooed the creature away. It went reluctantly but not without nipping irritably at his fingers.
"What-?"
"I suppose she did not fancy having another herd mate." He told her cryptically, once again reaching down to pull her up. She swayed heavily on her feet and he held her still for a moment. "What did you see, in the water?"
She forced herself to stand still as he let her go, forced away the faint buzzing in her ears by sheer determination before she could answer. "A shield."
His dark gaze swept over her quickly and she felt herself take a quick step back at the sudden hostility reflected in their depths. But with a blink the look was gone and he was motioning her toward the edge of the clearing.
"Since Fiona has taken an interest in your well-being, she will lead you back to the castle grounds. The creature will not harm you in her presence but do not enter this forest again. It has gotten your scent and you will not always be as lucky as you had been tonight."
Hermione swallowed thickly and nodded, the unicorn from before moved back toward them and nuzzled her shoulder gently. She hesitantly patted it before allowing it to lead her from the glade, from the only safety in the forest. She glanced back only once just as they entered the trees but couldn't see the glade, it was as if the forest had swallowed it and as magical as it had seemed she mused that it wasn't that farfetched of an idea.
~S~
Silver landed softly on the grass beside Levan. She said nothing, her childlike form almost carefree and surreal in the sliver of moonlight. She shifted back and forth on her bare feet with her hands crossed behind her back in a relaxed, childish way and remained content to let him break the silence.
He did so with a heavy sigh and a wave of his hand toward the pool. "You are displeased with me." It was a statement not a question. Despite her outward appearance they had known each other far too long for him not to pick up on the subtleties. The fact she had shifted back to the child form she was so fond of was enough on its own. He so hated the innocent form. He so hated the pain those childlike features brought to his wretched heart.
"Yes. You should not have had her look into the pool of Lethe."
He scowled down at her. "You used the water on her yourself."
Swirling silver eyes stared up at him, darker than he had seen in a very long time. She was far angrier than he had realized. "I did not use the water to have her forget and turn her into a mindless innocent beast, beautiful though unicorns are that is not to be her fate."
His lips pursed with his own annoyance. "She turned away, she forgot nothing. Only her body forgot the wounds you so generously took from her." He scoffed in irritation at their ridiculous game and grinded his teeth on his next words. "If you wanted her to remain safe and protected you should not have left her in my care at the first signs of her waking. I do not know why you expected more of me." His eyes suddenly turned curious as they turned back to the spot where the girl had disappeared. The wheels in his mind turning as he remembered his conversation with the girl. Remembered the cruel marked etched heartlessly into her skin. "You could have taken the mark from her, why didn't you?"
The silence while he waited for an answer was stifling.
At first he thought she meant to ignore him. To let his question fall flat as she usually would when she didn't wish to answer one of his many questions.
When her voice broke the silence it was soft and wistful, but wrong. The insincerity of her words echoing around the glade.
"Because I did not wish to."
~H~
She listened out for every twig snap, every crunching leaf and creaking limb as the unicorn called Fiona led her through the dark trees and brush. The man had said she was safe with the beast but she could still feel watchful eyes on her watching her every step just waiting for her to fall behind or slip up and stumble. She didn't breathe easy again until she could see the light of Hagrid's hut, until she stumbled through the trees and into his pumpkin patch.
Unfortunately, in the absence of fear the pain crept in. She managed to see the beast off with a gentle thankful scratch behind the ears before she turned back toward the hut and took in the long trek she was going to have to make back up to the castle. Knocking on Hagrid's door was almost irresistible, only the thought of having to explain, or having to show the marking on her arm stilled her hand and had her turning up the path back toward the stone courtyard.
She knew she was well out past curfew, there was hardly a light on up at the castle and it was enough to make the large structure look almost imposing in the moonlight. She only hoped the shadows would help her move through the castle unnoticed. Hoped it would help her slip by the teachers still out on patrol until she could push past the portrait and into her common room.
But first she had to make it that far. She had to fight the uneven terrain up the hill and to the castle courtyard.
Every step was agony though, every breath seemed to cause her arm to pulse in pain. She held it as close as she could to her chest, tried to keep it at least above her heart to hopefully stem the blood she could feel seeping into the makeshift bandage.
She made it all the way to the steps before the pain was enough to have her attempt a healing spell, despite the warning against it.
She pulled the wet fabric away and exposed the bandage and contemplated which one to use. She wasn't well versed in healing spells. In fact, she only knew a handful and only knew those because Harry and Ron got into so many scrapes.
She settled for one she knew would heal deep gashes. she probably couldn't do as good of a job as Pomfrey but she knew she had to at least try. She was already feeling the effects of the blood loss and she didn't want to risk passing out on her way up to the castle, or even inside where the teachers could stumble on her.
She pulled her wand from her pocket with minimal fumbling and sucked in a deep steadying breath. She grimaced at the dark spots she could make out on the bandage, her blood sticky and hot against her skin beneath. She place the tip of her wand on the bandage and tried not to cry as at the flash of pain the slight pressure sent shooting through the wound. With a quite biting whisper she forced the spell from her lips.
"Vulnera Sanentur."
The effect was instant. Waves of agony forced her to her knees as the spell did the opposite of its intended purpose. Blood flowed thicker from the wound, dripping onto the snow beside her as it quickly saturated the bandage.
She didn't know how long she stayed there, struggling not to scream out in the snow, struggling to breathe through the bouts of nausea that accompanied the pain.
When she did finally feel capable of standing, she was unsteady and the climb up the steps was done nearly on her hands and knees.
She forced herself to stand up straighter at the covered bridge, held onto the sides to help pull her along as she slowly recovered a semblance of strength.
She knew if she collapsed now, she'd never survive the in the snow. She'd lost too much blood, it was dripping along with every step she took, like a sick twisted bread trail she was leaving behind.
She cursed herself for being so stupid. She knew making it to the castle would be difficult but she would never make it up to her dorms now. What's more it wasn't really safe for her to try; she was more likely to tumble down the moving staircase than manage to make it up them.
Still she didn't want to go to Pomfrey. She didn't want to hear the bustling of the infirmary or have her friends come by with a million questions she didn't want to answer. But if she didn't want to go to Pomfrey she knew she couldn't go to any of the teachers either. They'd cart her straight off to the medi-wtch no matter what she said.
All of them except maybe Bellatrix.
She wasn't sure why she thought Bellatrix would be different but she knew if she wanted to have any chance of avoiding the infirmary she would have to take her chances with the woman.
She sighed with relief and allowed herself to lean against the heaven wooden doors that led to the clock tower. She'd been so preoccupied with the pain and staying upright she'd hardly noticed she'd made her way through the courtyard to the doors.
Now so long as she could make it down the spiral steps to the dungeon without breaking her neck she would be golden.
She steeled herself and gave the doors a great shove, she wasn't worried about closing them, she'd leave that to someone else.
She placed her uninjured arm out to steady herself against the stone wall and did her best not to knock anything over as she headed to the short corridor that hid the dungeon steps.
She wasn't entirely sure where exactly Bellatrix's rooms were, only that they were in the dungeon. She'd never been allowed in them, her detentions always took place in the witch's office or classrooms. Even some of the more unorthodox detentions took place elsewhere. But then she supposed she'd really never been into any of the teachers private rooms.
She slipped into the corridor and felt something cold brush by her, the feeling was followed by an unholy screech as Peeves, the castle poltergeist, prepared to bellow his favorite expression.
"Students out of-!" His pale eyes widened and his mouth fell open in an "oh" at the sight of her. He was instantly by her side his transparent hands fussing around in the air beside her as he attempted to do something.
"Hermione! What happened to you? What fiend did this?" he gestured wildly toward her dripping arm and she grimaced as she noticed the trail of blood she was leaving in her wake.
"An accident, in the forest. I have to get to Professor Black." He grimaced as she took an unsteady step down the circular case. It was a narrow stair, helpful in keeping her from falling over but she hated to admit looking down made her slightly dizzier than the blood loss already had.
"Black!" She stumbled a bit and he forgot he was dead and made to catch her. She cursed as part of her went through his arms and her body chilled even further. "Wait, Hermione, you need to go to Madame Pomfrey! I'll take you." She had no doubt if he could have reached out and touched her he would have bodily moved her to the hospital wing. She felt a little guilty for being thankful he was dead instead.
"No, Peeves. Black." She was near the bottom of the stairs now, she could just make out the landing. "Oh, please Peeves, help me find her rooms."
He chewed at his bottom lip and she could only pray he gave in. She hoped their friendship, such as it was, would be enough to convince him to help her instead of fetching Filch or another teacher to get her back to where she, no doubt, really needed to be.
"Okay. But if you pass out on the way I'll fetch Madame Pomfrey myself."
She let out a relieved breath and followed the dim light of his incorporeal form.
~B~
Bellatrix clutched a crumpled paper in her hand as she paced about her rooms. She'd gone to Hermione's home looking for the letter the girl had mentioned. Weiss was desperate to have something for their defense in the custody hearing and it was their only sliver of evidence that the Salts had any idea of what was going on.
She had been half afraid she wouldn't find anything, now she was afraid of herself since she had.
It was nestled snugly in a securely locked desk drawer, hidden behind other memorabilia from Hermione's childhood. Hidden with precious things the girl had clearly been desperate to not have taken away.
Of course, she had read it. Desperate to find any inkling of what had happened to her wife. Desperate to understand what she'd gone through while Bellatrix was listening to old fools and acting like a lovesick idiot.
She had expected to be angry after. But maybe not quite so angry.
She gazed back down at the crumpled paper and read the words again, torturing herself and rallying her anger all over again.
Dear Hermione Granger,
First off, we are appalled at the claims you have made toward our son and are absolutely disgusted with the way you behave.
He has told us many things about you, foremost that you are nothing much except a liar, jealous of the attention Sterling receives and that you have become rather loose with your body since the death of your mother.
He has even told us of the many times you have tried to seduce him and quite frankly we are sickened by your behavior.
We understand the painful loss of your parents may have caused you to act out, but it is time to grow up. Our son was generous when he took you in and decided to raise you as if you were his own but if you continue to be nothing but a problem we will be forced to encourage him to seek mental help for you.
These lies need to stop. You are old enough to understand the severity of what you are fabricating.
Peter works very hard to provide for you and Sterling and keep you in that fancy boarding school you like so much and for you to claim that he abuses you is a slap in the face of all that he has sacrificed.
But the blame is not all on you. I also blame your mother for your upbringing. It is my understanding that she was nothing sort of a drunkard who could not take responsibility for Sterling in her later years. This must have been difficult for you I am sure but it is not excuse for your behavior as of late.
We will be telling our son the contents of your letter and we expect to hear that your attitude has improved and you have stopped telling lies.
As it is Please do not contact us again.
It wasn't even signed.
The useless muggles had not only called her wife a liar but no doubt made it so much harder on her by informing that monster they called a son of her cry for help.
And they had the audacity to try and take her child away from her now. They should have been protecting both girls before.
She sat heavily at her table and conjured up fire whiskey.
She didn't take a sip. She was afraid the alcohol would dull her inhibitions and she knew exactly where she would go if she had too much.
She stared at the liquid longingly. Merlin knew there was nothing more she wanted than to get stinking drunk and forget everything. Oh, how she wanted to.
Perhaps if not for the sudden knock on her door she would have. Instead she threw the shot glass at the door and stood, cursing as she went and vaguely feeling pity for whoever was about to be hit with the entirety of her misplaced fury.
~H~
Peeves left her at the door, although she knew he wasn't far away, he hated Black almost as much as he hated the Bloody Baron and she wasn't sure their unlikely friendship would hold up if he had an angry Bellatrix in his face. It would certainly put him off helping her break curfew for a while, and he was such a good distraction when she needed Filch elsewhere.
She made certain he was out of sight before she knocked softly on the door. At first, she wasn't sure anyone was there, or perhaps Bella simply hadn't heard her. She was going to knock again but the sound of breaking glass and cursing stilled her hand.
A few seconds later and the door was yanked open so hard Hermione could hear the hinges creak in protest. "Who in the bloody hell- Hermione!?"
The brunette's mouth went dry and she was afraid she was dizzy for an altogether different reason that the dark woman's skimpily clad form in front of her. She didn't know who Bellatrix expected at her door at whatever time of night it was but it surely wasn't a student.
Her outfit, while covering, was ridiculously short. Not something Hermione would have assumed the dark witch wore in her private time. It was, however, solid black and clearly the dark witch wasn't wearing a bra with it as there was no way she could have hid one behind the tiny straps and thin almost sheer fabric.
"I-" She licked her lip nervously and fumbled with the wand in her pocket, pulling Bella's out with numb fingers. "found this." She finished lamely, flinching as she watched the anger rise in those dark eyes.
"You- my wand! You promised not to go back into the forest! What the hell are you even doing here-" Slim fingers reached out and snatched her wand away, Bellatrix turned it this way and that as if checking for any damage before turning back to the silent woman before her.
Finally, she noticed the sway, the pale face and the bright eyes. She took in the labored breaths and the way the girl looked as if a good huff would have her sprawled out on the stone floor. To be frank she looked like she's been through hell. "Hermione?"
Hermione wasn't paying attention; she was wondering if she couldn't make it to her rooms after all. Bellatrix didn't want her here she didn't know why she thought of the woman to begin with.
"I just wanted to return it." She didn't notice how slow her words came out but the dark witch did, her eyes narrowed as she searched Hermione for marks, they zeroed in on the darker fabric on her sleeve and she made to reach out just as Hermione turned.
The brunette stumbled; a hand shot out to steady herself against the wall but it was already too much for her battered body to take. She fell to her knees and just knew she was going to fall flat on her face in front of the other woman. She braced herself for the cold hard ground but it never came.
Instead, warm arms wrapped around her waist and pulled her back. She ended up sprawled across Bella's lap with both of them on the dirty stone ground but she didn't have the strength to protest. All she could do was burrow deeper into the warm embrace and hope the pain stopped soon.
~B~
Bellatrix blinked down at the unconscious girl in her arms. It had all happened so fast she wasn't sure exactly how she ended up on the ground with scrapes all over her legs but she didn't have the time to even think about it.
She scooped the girl up with a quick feather light charm and carried her back into her room. She did her best to avoid the shattered glass at the door as she made her way to her bedroom. She wasted no time trying to juggle Hermione around and simply kicked her door until it opened. A few long strides had her right next to her large four-poster bed and she gently set the young witch down as close to the middle as she could, fussing with the pillows and blankets as she did and trying not to get blood everywhere as she began the arduous job of undressing her charge.
Hermione barely stirred as she went about pulling off her robes and t-shirt. Only when Bella reached to undo the bandage on her arm did the girl come to, a hand reaching out and wrapping around her wrist in a vain attempt to stop her.
"Wait-"
Bella merely shook her hand off and set about unwrapped the soaked fabric. "You've lost a lot of blood, Hermione. I should take you to Pomfrey right now." She ignored another weak protest and the attempt to jerk her arm away.
She couldn't ignore the rage she felt at her first sight of the letters carved into her bond's tender flesh. She'd had to wipe away fresh blood before the mark revealed itself and it was only the soft cries of pain that kept her grounded in the moment, kept her attention on Hermione and her magic in check.
"Who did this?" Hermione couldn't answer, in fact the girl was having far too much trouble keeping her eyes open and her breaths were soft and shallow. "Damn it all."
Bellatrix had no idea why Hermione had come to her, no idea why she avoided the one person who could actually properly care for her but she wasn't about to stop and figure it out.
She tried magic first, and quickly cursed herself for the startled cry of pain it pulled from Hermione and the fresh blood that spilled out onto her sheets. "Old ways then." She muttered a quick accio and deftly caught the three bottles that zoomed in from one of the kitchen cupboards.
She tipped Hermione's head back and tried to coax the girl into swallowing a vial, she was afraid more of the potion got on her bed sheets than in her mouth but her color improved enough she felt comfortable moving on to cleaning up her arm.
Another wave of her wand had bandages rushing forward and an assortment of herbs she had that were picked specifically to stop bleeding. She didn't know if they would work on a cut like the one marring her wife's arm but she wasn't about to do nothing.
She crushed the herbs quickly and mixed a paste and applied the concoction liberally to the wound. It was still dripping with blood but there was nothing she could do to stop it aside from what she was already attempting. She wrapped the paste up with gauze and tied it off best she could before trying to wake Hermione up for another vial of the liquid.
The girl barely stirred even at her most vigorous shaking and with no other recourse she did her best to keep this vial from hitting her sheets. She watched carefully as Hermione's breaths evened out and deepened and her color improved a little more. She decided to keep the last vial for when the girl was awake and could properly take it. At least now she wasn't in danger of dying due to blood loss.
She busied herself with cleaning the bed and disposing of the robes scattered about the floor. That was taken care of with a quick wave of her hand leaving her with nothing left to do but wait and plot the murder of whatever creature had attacked her bond.
~H~
It was hours later before Hermione finally stirred, she felt like sandpaper had been rubbed over her arm and her lips were covered in something abhorrently bitter. She let out a soft moan and opened her eyes to find a less than amused Bellatrix Black staring down at her with bloodshot eyes.
She felt a moment of relief wash over her, she was glad she'd made it, happy she hadn't been taken to the hospital wing but the look in those dark eyes didn't bode well for her.
"Black-"Her voice broke off and she coughed. Bellatrix reached back and passed her a glass, she had to help her hold it so she didn't upend the contents all over herself. It was awkward and the tension in the air between them was palpable. She could practically feel the rage from the other woman lapping at her skin, like violent waves on a beach.
Bella took the glass back and uncorked a vial, she didn't allow Hermione to take it and instead held it expectantly to her lips. Hermione coughed after, at least now she knew what was responsible for the bitter taste.
"That's vile."
Bella narrowed her eyes at her. "It kept you alive."
Hermione shifted awkwardly on the bed. She didn't know what to say and she didn't want to say anything that would spark the temper she could see skating the surface in the other woman. She figured the best thing she could do was to get out, head back to her dormitory.
"Uh, right. I feel better so… I'll just head back to the-"
Bellatrix let out a cold laugh that silenced her in a second. "Is that why you came to me? Did you think I'd fix you up and send you on your merry way, not ask any questions about that bloody mark etched into your arm?" Hermione found herself trying to back up in the bed away from the fury in those dark eyes, it seemed to softened the darker woman, even if only slightly.
"Stop," She reached out but curled her fingers at the last so not to touch. "I'm sorry." She sounded it, Hermione noticed even her eyes seemed to loose the sharp edge. "But I'm not that uncaring. I need to know who or what did that."
She glanced down at the bandages and finally realized she wasn't entirely dressed. Her face flamed as she scrambled to tug the edges of the cover over her simple and very unattractive bra.
Bellatrix scowled in response. "None of that. I only bandaged your wound I didn't do anything untoward to you. I barely even looked." That decisively didn't help Hermione's feelings any, she didn't remove the blanket and Bellatrix huffed in response.
"Who did that?" The dark witch pointed in annoyance toward her arm.
"The creature, the same one that attacked us in the forest." She could tell Bellatrix wanted to shout, the woman practically swelled with the force it took for her to hold it in.
"What were you doing out there? You told me, you swore you wouldn't go back." Bella's wand had appeared in her hand, gnarled and crooked, the dark witch was anxiously twirling it from finger to finger as if she were one of the street magicians with a coin. Hermione recognized the anxious habit easily enough, she'd seen the woman do it for years.
"I was running from McLaggen." The twirling ceased; dark eyes narrowed. "We had an altercation and I... well I didn't realize where I was going."
"An altercation?" Hermione held the covers closer to her chest and hesitated. She was hesitant to say anything, after what had happened with Viktor she was worried about the boy's safety if she told the truth of what happened. About how he pinned her against the tree thinking he could do whatever he wanted, about how terrified she was at the time…
"It wasn't anything dramatic. I just wanted to avoid him and didn't realize I had wandered in so far until it was too late." She shivered at the memory of those yellow eyes staring at her.
"Hermione…" She flinched at the push at her mind, the dark witch obviously wasn't satisfied with her answer. She shoved back, Bellatrix wasn't expecting it and Hermione caught glimpses of the woman moving around her bedroom earlier, glimpses of her anger and anguish before she was unceremoniously shoved out.
"Sorry." They were both breathing heavy, Bellatrix had fallen forward with her hands braced against the bed.
"Stay out of my head, you won't like what you see in it, Granger."
The brunette shot her a glare. "Stay and out of mine then."
Bellatrix tilted her head slightly. "I suppose I can just go and wake up Cormac. His mind would be so easy to delve into." It was not an empty threat. Bellatrix was already on her feet and Hermione knew she had no qualms about waking Minerva to get into the Gryffindor common room.
"No!" She reached out and caught at the raven woman's wrist. "Please don't. I can't….just please drop it. For now, please."
Bella turned back toward her and leaned down, their face barely a breath apart as she stared into the tear filled eyes gazing hopefully back at her. "If he did something-"
"He didn't do this." She held up her arm for Bellatrix's inspection and nearly sagged with relief when the witch sat back down with a huff. "Just let me get dressed and I'll be out of your hair-"
A soft hand shoved her back as she made to stand up. "Be still, I'll fetch you some clothes. Your robes were ruined." She watched the dark witch move around her bedroom and come back with more modest pajamas than the ones she was wearing. She raised an eye when Hermione hesitated to move.
"It's just clothes." She insisted softly her lips quirking up into a semi smile. "It's not some kind of proposal."
She felt the tension drain out of her as the soft laugh escaped her lips. It wasn't even that funny but she found she couldn't stop, it wasn't until soft hands settled on her cheeks to wipe the tears off her face did she realize she was crying.
"I don't- I'm sorry, I don't know what wrong with me." She hiccupped and did her best to pull away, to wipe at her eyes and try and gain a semblance of self control. She could only imagine what Bellatrix thought of her blubbering on in her bed over pajamas.
"It's alright." She pulled Hermione against her gently, holding her carefully while the tears fell. It took seconds for Hermione to respond, for her hands to wrap around the woman's waist and her head to fall against her shoulder. She closed her eyes and let the terror from the night wash away in the gentle embrace. Bellatrix didn't even pull away when the tears stopped, instead she held her for a few moments more and allowed her to savor the feeling of having her close, even if it was just for a moment.
All too quickly she pushed her back, held her still by her shoulders as the girl balanced on her knees on the soft bed. "Let me help you." She eased the shirt over Hermione's head and carefully helped her pull her arm through, she scowled a bit at the small bit of blood seeping through. "Here, up you get." Hermione wobbled a bit on her feet as Bellatrix urged her to stand next to the bed so she could help her change her pants into the shorts she was offering. Hermione didn't think she'd ever blushed so much in her life but Bellatrix didn't seem to notice.
"Lay back on the bed." Bella urged making Hermione's eyes widened in surprise, the dark witch chuckled a bit. "You thought I was going to walk you all the way up those steps in the middle of the night. Come on, on the bed." She pushed softly until Hermione fell back across, she gently urged the girl to pull her feet up before she covered her up and then climbed in behind her. She chuckled slightly as the girl tensed up.
"Your sleeping here too?" She wanted to burry her head in the cover at the sound of her high voice.
"Yes, it's my bed." Bella told her simply, pulling the cover over herself and turning to face the prone girl. "Why shouldn't I? Does it bother you? It's not the first time we've shared a bed and I believe that one was far smaller than mine."
Hermione's brow crinkled as she tried to remember when exactly they were to have shared a bed. The only time she could remember was the night they were attacked in the forest but….that had been a dream…Pomfrey had said so.
"We- we haven't….that was a dream-" She could see the grimace quickly cross Bella's face and she turned furiously to face her. "Pomfrey lied, didn't she? You told her to. Why would you do that?"
"Hermione-"
"No," Bellatrix reached out and grasped her waist as she made to get up, the struggle lasted only a second before Hermione gave in and settled back against the cover and Bella was quick to release her. "I knew okay, I knew you were half out it when you kissed me and I knew you were only being kind when I had the nightmare. There was no reason to lie."
"There was every reason to lie, Hermione." She silenced Hermione with a finger to the lips when she made to protest. "I knew exactly who I was kissing. I was not as addled as you seem to think. I don't think I knew where I was or what exactly happened but you were there above me and I wanted to kiss you, so I did."
Dark eyes stared back at her as she took in the softly spoken confession. The finger left her lips but all she could do was gape at the woman beside her.
"I lied because I didn't want to tell you about the bond. I wanted you to feel normal, to have a normal life and a chance to fall in love. I was never going to tell you it just….it got so hard. So very hard." Her voice broke and she closed her eyes tightly at the admission, dug her fingernails into the palm of her hand until she was sure they bled.
"But- it was the bond? That made you want to kiss me?"
Bella's eyes opened and her hands unclenched. "I…" she sucked in a deep breath before continuing.
"The bond doesn't make you want the bond mate. It doesn't make you fall in love, you don't even particularly have to like them, your magic just works well together. It's as if you are part of a magical half and without the other half your magic is unstable. The instability grows until you are either a shell of yourself or dangerous. But the bond doesn't do anything to feelings."
Hermione swallowed thickly. "So…what are you saying? You- you what? You want me?" She couldn't seem to finish the idea of Bellatrix wanting her excited her and terrified her. She licked her lips nervously and winced at the lingering bit of bitterness.
"I just…." Dark eyes fluttered shut on an anguished sigh and Bellatrix rolled over until she faced away from Hermione. She waved her hands in the air and the light trailed off, plunging the room in darkness until the moon settling in through the window above the bed was the only light to see by.
"Bellatrix?"
"Just get some rest, Hermione, this isn't something we should be dealing with now."
She sounded so defeated Hermione found herself clutching at her chest as the emotions rolled over her like a rogue wave.
There was a gentle sigh and the sound of rustling covers as Hermione reached over and tugged as best she could on the woman's shoulder.
"Please, I can feel your pain. I can help, you just have to tell me how. It's not like it'll cost me anything to just listen."
Bellatrix didn't roll back, she ignored the gentle hand tugging at her but she wasn't quiet enough for Hermione not to hear her anguished whisper.
"It'll cost me everything."
Hermione tugged harder until the stubborn woman rolled over to face her. They were barely a breath apart.
"Let me help." Hermione pleaded, fingers reaching out to trace the woman's face in the dark. She could just make out the glisten of unshed tears and it pulled at her heart until it felt as if it would break.
"How?"
"What do you need, whatever you need from me I'll give it to you." They could barely make each other out in the darkness so Hermione waved her hand and reignited one small candle beside the bed.
"I just need you." It seemed as if pulling that particular confession from the dark woman was harder than pulling teeth. "But I need you in a way I shouldn't," Hermione felt her heart skip at the strangled confession, her mouth opened and closed but no sound would come out. She wasn't even sure what she could say. "I want more than what we have, I want more than a forced marriage. I want to hold you at night, I want to raise Sterling with you and Morgana only knows how much I want to kiss you."
Hermione shifted so she could look down at the woman, careful not to brush her wound against Bella as she reached over her waist to steady herself on the bed.
"For the love of Merlin, Bella, if you want to kiss me just do it."
It took forever for the shocked look to fade away from the teachers face and for her to finally understand what had been said.
When it finally clicked in the woman's mind she moved like lightning. Hands wrapped around Hermione's neck and tugged until they were breaths apart. Bellatrix stared up at her with eyes so dark it was amazing the witch could even see her. They drifted down toward her lips followed the nervous swipe of her tongue before flicking back up toward her eyes.
"Please." She probably would have been ashamed at how desperate she sounded if Bellatrix hadn't looked a hairsbreadth away from finally giving her what she wanted.
The dark woman groaned and dragged Hermione closer, resting their foreheads against each other as she sucked in deep breaths to calm her herself. "You have to be sure Hermione. You can't take this back, Dear God, I love you too much for you to take it back." The last was said on a harsh whisper and Hermione's breath caught at the words.
"You love me?" Bella leaned back so she could meet her wide gaze. The fear of rejection still burned behind her dark eyes but determination was there now too.
"For a very long time, Hermione. I would do damn near anything for you."
"You love me…" Hermione repeated again, wonder coloring her tone, she gazed down at Bellatrix with wide eyes almost afraid to blink in case it all turned out to be some kind of pain induced dream. "Not because of the bond?"
Bellatrix was getting frustrated, she pushed herself up, forcing Hermione to settle back against her knees as she made room for the dark witch to sit. "Not because of the bloody bond, Hermione. I'm fucking hopelessly in love with-"
She didn't get to finish. Like lightning Hermione moved forward, practically falling into the woman in her rush. She wrapped her hands around Bellatrix's neck and pulled her up into a desperate kiss.
It was clumsy and maybe a little painful as Hermione's arm brushed against something in her haste but she didn't care. It was perfect. Better than the others because this time she knew for sure how Bellatrix felt. Because this time when Bellatrix returned the kiss, she knew Bellatrix wanted her, that she was kissing her, and not some person in her mind that she wished Hermione was.
Bellatrix shifted suddenly and flipped them over, she eased down against Hermione and barely managed to hold herself on her forearm as she deepened the kiss. Hermione couldn't help the soft moan that escaped her when she felt Bellatrix's weight settle against her. Her hands clutched at the woman's waist as she tried, in vain, to pull her closer.
She grasped desperately at the fabric of her nightdress and when Bellatrix suddenly shifted a knee between her thighs she nearly came off of the bed at the sudden intimacy.
Bellatrix let out a soft chucked and pulled away so she could trail kisses down her neck. She leaned down and buried her face in the hollow of Hermione's neck, took a few deep steadying breaths before she pulled back. She shifted her leg away from Hermione and leaned down until their foreheads touched.
"You're not ready for more than this." It was a statement more than a question and as much as Hermione wanted to protest, she knew the Dark Arts teacher was right. She wanted Bellatrix with every fiber of her being but she wasn't ready yet for the intimacy that would eventually happen between them.
"I-" Bellatrix shook her head and allowed her body to fall back to the bed beside her wife. She pulled Hermione until she was facing her and traced her face gently with her fingertips.
"Don't say anything you're not ready to say. You want me, and right now that will have to be enough. I can wait."
"I think I've always wanted you. I can't remember there ever being anyone else." Hermione confessed.
"Viktor Krum." She could tell Bellatrix was teasing, or at least she meant to tease but Hermione could still see the sliver of doubt that wormed its way into the dark woman's eyes.
"I never wanted to be with Viktor. I think even back then I wanted to be with you. It just seemed like you hated me."
Bellatrix shifted, wiggled an arm under Hermione's head and pulled her closer to rest against her shoulder as the other wrapped around the girl's waist.
"I never hated you. I was afraid of you. Afraid of the power you had over me. A bond is a great shame to a pureblood family and I'll admit I hadn't lost as many of those blasted prejudices as I thought I had. And when you were older and I realized I had feelings beyond what I should….it was so much harder." Hermione wrapped her own arm around Bella's waist and pulled her closer.
"I'm sorry." She was sure she hadn't made Bellatrix's life easy. She was always getting into scrapes with Ron and Harry, she never really put it together how harsh Bella had been after those daring adventures. How afraid Bella must have been when she was admitted nearly every year to the hospital wing and how hard it was when she hadn't come to school for the entire fifth year. "If I had known…" She couldn't finish. She couldn't think of anything she could have done different. She wouldn't abandon Sterling and she wouldn't have let Harry and Ron run off into danger by themselves.
"Hermione it wasn't your burden. It still doesn't have to be."
Thin fingers reached up and frames Bella's jaw. "I'm here now, I'm in this too. I'm your wife and what's yours is mine, right?" Bella nodded quickly. Thinking, just as Hermione thought she would, only about her worldly possessions. "That includes your triumphs and failures. Your happiness is my happiness and your worries are mine too." Dark eyes widened but the older woman remained silent. "I want a real marriage with you too. I want to make this, us, work."
Bella's eyes darkened and she couldn't resist leaning forward to capture Hermione's lips again. It was soft and chaste and perfect. It might have lasted a little longer, deepened just a little, if Hermione hadn't shifted wrong and groaned in pain as the pain from her arm reasserted itself viscously.
Bellatrix shifted and gazed down at her in concern as the pain slowly ebbed to a more manageable level. Hermione managed a small smile and settled back in her arms as the witch laid back, only a little more careful of where she placed her arm this time.
"Get some sleep, Hermione." Bella pulled her closer and smiled as she snuggled deeper into her embrace.
"This wasn't a dream?" Hermione was almost afraid if she did fall asleep she would wake up alone in the snow or worse still in the forest.
"No." Bellatrix dropped a soft kiss at her hairline. "Sleep, baby, I'll be here in the morning."
Honestly Hermione didn't want to. She wanted to stay awake, dear every second of the last few moments into her mind just in case. But she was suddenly so tired she found her eyelids drifting closed on their own and no matter how hard she fought it she couldn't stop the darkness that reached out to consume her.
~TR~
He liked sitting in his large wingback chair, the picture of elegance with his long leg crossed over his knee and a round short glass balanced delicately in his long fingers. It was of course filled with the most expensive scotch he could find. He enjoyed appearing this way when he had important business to discuss with his followers. Especially when he didn't want them to know just how important it was to him. Which was the predicament he was in right then.
He'd summon one of his newer followers. A pureblood from rather good stock and even more money than he knew what to do with. And this particular follower just so happened to have married into the family he was most interested in, he'd only lamented that it was, of course, the wrong sister.
Still, being the brother-in-law to Bellatrix Black would come in handy and Lucius Malfoy would be promoted generously if he aided in turning the woman to his side. She was, after all, one of the most powerful witches in all of Britain and one of the people he desperately wished to join him. If only she hadn't gotten so soft working at that blasted school.
He clinked the ice in the glass and glanced down at the huge snake resting peacefully by the roaring fireplace.
It was good, though, that Bellatrix was there. If, no when, she joined them she would be in the perfect position to spy on Dumbledore. He could definitely use that to his advantage, after all he considered the old wizard the only threat to his machinations in Britain. When his plans finally came to fruition and the lines of war began to be drawn it would benefit him greatly to have such a spy.
His thoughts were interrupted by a timid knock at the door.
He sneered. Lucius was in a very fortuitous position for him but the man's cowardice was like fingernails on a chalkboard.
"Come in Lucius, I have been waiting for you." He didn't turn back to watch as he entered, he could already see Nagini raising her head and scenting the air with her tongue. No doubt she enjoyed the smell of his fear. For a second he thought about letting her nibble on him…. just a bit.
"M-My Lord," The blonde man rounded the chair but didn't meet his eyes as he bowed as low as he could, it amused Riddle that Malfoy never quiet turned his back on the snake his shifty eyes always stealing a glance back toward it in case she moved. "I was told you wished to speak with me."
Riddle took a sip of his scotch and kept him waiting as he amused himself with his apparent unease.
"Yes," He leaned forward in his chair and set the glass down on the table as he stood and made his way past Malfoy to run his hand along Nagini's head. He was sure it made him seem all the more intimidating, which of course was why he did it. "I wanted to speak with you of your sister-in-law." He almost smiled, he hadn't thought it possible for Lucius to pale any further.
"W-we do not speak with her, my Lord, she does not believe as we do, muggle loving filth that she is."
Of course, the buffoons first thought would be of his blood traitor relations. He could not care less about Andromeda Black. There would come a day when he would take care of her and all the others like her but it would not be so soon in his gambit.
"Bellatrix, Lucius. I have decided I wish for her to join our cause and it makes only perfect sense that you should be the one to introduce us." He raised an elegant eyebrow as his servant turned green. He wondered what his problem was now. It wasn't a difficult task he was asking of him, he planned to seduce the woman to the cause himself after all, he need Lucius only to make the introductions.
"My Lord she too has been tainted." Riddle said nothing and simply motioned for him to continue. "She- Well she has been bonded, to a mudblood."
Riddle turned away back toward the fire. "What exactly do you mean bonded?" He put as much distaste as Malfoy had in the word although he had no recollection of what it meant for Bellatrix.
"She has been bonded," He repeated lamely. "Their magic joined. I doubt she will join our cause as she has not yet killed the girl. She has accepted her fate and married her if my wife is to be believed."
Riddle said nothing for a few moments. He needed to know what being bonded meant but he knew he could not ask Malfoy without giving away that he had not been privy to information other pureblooded wizards had. It did not help his rise to power for others to know he was only a half blood, even if he was Slytherins' heir. He could not allow any kind of dissent enter his camp, especially not so early.
"I will think more on this. Perhaps I should meet with your wife, I'm sure she does not like this new predicament."
"It would be my pleasure to introduce her, My Lord." The Malfoy patriarch sounded like it was anything but his pleasure but Riddle let it drop and wave him off with a dismissive gesture.
Once he heard the door click shut, and only then did he move to his desk to pen a letter of inquiry to his ministry contacts. He vowed before the night was over he would know what being bonded meant and whether whatever tied Bellatrix to the mudblood could be broken….or used for their benefit.
The woman was too important to his cause to leave alone and he meant to have her. Even if he had to kill the mudblood himself.
~B*H~
There was knocking at the door. Sharp and insistent knocking and it wasn't going away no matter how much Bellatrix wished it would.
Hermione groaned beside her and threw her uninjured arm over her eyes to block out the little bit of morning light peeping in through the window.
"The door." She tried to push Bellatrix off the bed to answer it but she seemed to have forgotten the dark witch was against the wall and therefore her efforts were futile.
Bellatrix was not a morning person, and despite the bliss of having Hermione share her bed she wasn't above shoving the girl out of it. Bella never enjoyed the cold floor on her feet nor was she in any hurry to leave the warmth of their shared blankets.
And if she was being honest with herself, it was safe to say she wasn't altogether completely aware first thing in the morning so it didn't even register that she'd shoved the student onto the floor, not even when the girl began cursing and muttering dark promises of retribution. Bellatrix simply waved a hand toward the kitchen and muttered for Hermione to get the door before she grabbed all the covers and wrapped herself up in some sort of cocoon that Hermione wasn't sure she could get into if she tried.
"Bella!" She tried to keep her voice low but she was exasperated beyond belief. "I can't go around answering your door in your pajamas!" Bellatrix muttered something muffled by the blankets and Hermione found herself covered in a set of robes. Unfortunately, they were too long for her and Black's name was etched on the front of them in her house color. "Bellatrix these are your referee robes!"
"Bellatrix Black, you open this door or I'll blast it in!" Hermione made one last desperate attempt to pull the teacher from her bed before resigning herself to answering a million questions from her very irate sounding head of house.
"Bella!" Hermione opened the door and narrowly avoided her teacher's fist as she made to knock again. It was obviously going to be the last time the teacher did so as her wand was poised in the other hand. "Oh, for the life of me!" Her hand went to her chest and she stumbled back in surprise. "Ms. Granger!"
Hermione grimaced at the pale face of her professor and the shrill tone of surprise that pierced her ears.
"Are you all right?"
McGonagall's mouth opened and closed but no sound came out as she gaped at the student standing in another teacher's doorway as if she belonged there. "What on earth are you doing- oh dear lord!" Hermione followed her gaze and saw a sleepy Bellatrix stumbling adorably out of her bedroom still wearing the short nightshirt and looking for all the world like something indecent had been going on.
"Merlin, Minerva, how's a witch supposed to sleep?" She rubbed her eyes and glared at her coworker.
"Sleep!? Bellatrix, I followed a trail of blood back to your room! A lot of it! And I find you here with, with…" She couldn't seem to get any more words out as she took in their sleep addled appearance.
"Minerva is everything…... alright….?" Snape rounded the corner, his last few words spoken even slower as he took in the sight and the shape the deputy head was in. He pinched the bridge of his nose, turned on his heel and stalked back off without a word. Minerva just gaped after him in shock.
"Severus?!" He didn't even slow down so Minerva gave up and turned back toward the two in the room. "Just what is the meaning of this?" She waved to their state of dress, mostly Bella's, "and explain why Hermione is in your rooms at this hour, or rather at all, please."
Bellatrix rolled her eyes and moved toward Hermione, she carefully pulled the heavy sleeve away and showed McGonagall the bandage wrapped around her forearm. It wasn't soaked in blood but there were a few spots here and there that had seeped through as they slept.
"She was harassed into the forest and the creature attacked her again. She didn't want to go to the hospital wing." Bellatrix let the sleeve drop and turned back to the kitchen to begin making tea, muttering just loud enough about distrust and dramatics as she went about it. Minerva looked slightly abashed but recovered quickly enough as she rounded on Hermione.
"Why on earth did you come here instead of straight to Pomfrey, you could have been hurt beyond Professor Black's capabilities. She could have been out!" McGonagall stopped and sucked in deep calming breaths as her voice rose to a fevered pitch. She started again somewhat calmer. "There was quite a bit of blood, Hermione. And you knew the dangers of going into the forest, you have already been attacked once. What in Merlin's name caused you to go back in there?"
Hermione glanced back nervously at Bellatrix and the witch cast a quick glance in her direction and nodded subtly. Her way of telling her she wouldn't listen, that she wouldn't inquire about it until Hermione was ready to tell her.
"Can we step outside for a moment." Minerva shot a surprised glance at Bellatrix but nodded and stepped back to allowed Hermione space to follow and shut the door behind her.
"Is there something you do not wish Professor Black to know? Is it a Slytherin?" Everyone knew Bella was rather fond of her house although no one would call the witch unfair to her face, not even it seemed McGonagall.
"No, it's Cormac McLaggen. He-" She let out a shaky breath and clenched her fingers together to keep her hands from trembling as she remembered how close she'd come to more than just being injured. "He has been…well he's become fairly insistent that I want to date him and my attempts at dissuasion haven't been successful."
McGonagall's lips thinned in distaste and she nodded her head. "So, he won't take no for an answer? Has he tried to force himself on you?" Hermione's hesitance in answering was enough of an answer it seemed. She placed a hand on Hermione's shoulder and squeezed. "I will speak with him. Should this continue you will let me know about it immediately." That decidedly wasn't a question so Hermione swallowed and nodded.
"I suppose there is a reason you are hiding this from Bellatrix?"
She didn't quite know how to answer. There was a reason but it wasn't one she could honestly share, at least not yet, so instead she settled for as close to the truth as she possibly could.
"She's adopted my sister and I don't want to cause any problems." Problems with their custody trial if Bellatrix, say, murdered a student for touching her wife.
"Bellatrix adopted your sister?" McGonagall's brow lifted toward her hairline. "I didn't know your step-father had passed."
"He didn't, he's just unfit." McGonagall looked as if she might like to continue on that conversation but Bellatrix opened the door behind them and stuck her head out.
"If your finished how about you two get in here and drink some tea before the Slytherins all wake up and gossip about Hermione wearing my robes." She waggled her eyebrows causing McGonagall to scoff but the two went back inside regardless.
Bellatrix passes out cups of tea and Minerva took a seat opposite Hermione at Bella's small table. Their host leaned up against the kitchen counter as she didn't have another chair and went about blowing on her tea to cool it before savoring the first sip.
"Explain why you came to Black's rooms rather than Pomfrey. How did you even know where her rooms are, teachers' rooms are typically off limits to students?" Minerva shot Bellatrix a pointed look that the other witch just ignored.
"Peeves helped," Hermione admitted to the surprise of both women, "and I just didn't want to be stuck in the hospital wing. If Harry and Ron found out what happened they would no doubt want to go an investigate." It was a plausible excuse but she didn't have a good response to her head's next question.
"Well why on Earth didn't you come to me; I am head of your house?"
"It…well I mean this was closer."
"You could have sent a patronus and I would have fetched you."
"Yes, yes, it's done, Minnie. Don't torture the girl. She came here and I helped, end of story." Bellatrix was growing rather impatient with the third degree, she either wanted to be alone with Hermione or wanted to crawl back under the covers and sleep till mid-day.
Minerva sighed and motioned toward Hermione's injured arm. "Well, at least show me the damage. Bellatrix is amazing at many things but I'm sad to say healing isn't one of them." She didn't miss Hermione suddenly paling and drawing her arm closer to her chest nor the way Bellatrix shifted uncomfortably.
"I- don't really want to undo the bandage." Hermione knew it was a feeble excuse.
"Nonsense. It's still bleeding I saw it myself so I know Bella couldn't get the skin to properly seal, it'll be a quick fix and it'll feel a right bit better, honestly."
"Minerva, let it be." Bellatrix set her cup on the counter and moved to place her hand on Hermione's shoulder. She knew she couldn't explain to the older woman why Hermione didn't want her to try and heal it but she also knew she would fight bitterly if Hermione didn't want the woman to see.
"It's okay." Hermione let out a breath and pushed the sleeve of the robe back up, she knew McGonagall wouldn't let it drop and she didn't want the two getting into a fight over it. Bellatrix reached down and stilled her hand as she began unwrapping the bandage but Hermione merely smiled tightly and pushed the hand gently away.
Bellatrix stood behind her with her jaw clenched tight as the girl showed her teacher the hideous wound on her arm.
Minerva presses a hand to her mouth at the sight and paled, her eyes darted up to Bella's. "Didn't you try to heal this, it's abhorrent, who would do such a thing? Was it-" Hermione was already shaking her head.
"It was the creature in the forest. It only hurts worse and bleeds more when you try to heal it." Bellatrix nodded her head and looked away, trying to stamp down the anger that was resurfacing about the whole situation.
"I see. I'm sorry. I still think Poppy should take a look but I'll leave that up to you to decide." She made to stand and motioned for Hermione to come with her. "I'll take you back up to your rooms, we should leave Bellatrix to her bed as I've no doubt she's headed right back there." She leveled the Dark Art's teacher with a stern glare which Bellatrix matched easily.
"Actually, Minerva, I'd like to keep Hermione around for a little longer." She reached out and wrapped her hand possessively around Hermione's wrist. "We have things to discuss."
Minerva narrowed her eyes suspiciously. "Not another detention, really Bellatrix they have gotten out of hand."
"Not another detention, although don't think for a moment she doesn't deserve one for going into those woods after swearing to me she wouldn't." Hermione was fixed with a pointed look from both women but McGonagall's was a little more understanding.
"I think I've been punished enough for that." Hermione muttered, earning herself a positivity murderous look from her wife.
"Well, as long as she wants to stay and returns in one piece it's not my place to remove her from your rooms. But Bella I must insist you not make a habit of bringing students into your quarters. The rumors would be horrendous." She shot her another look and placed her china in the sink before letting herself out.
"Well, that was-"
Hermione rounded on the taller woman, poking her in the chest and glaring up at her. "You shoved me out of bed! If you hadn't, we wouldn't have been forced to go through that third degree. Who knows what Snape even thought seeing me in your rooms in your robes."
Bellatrix chuckled. "He already knows, love. Although I supposed he thinks we ravished each other and I doubt he'll be able to look either of us in the eye any time soon. If I were you, I would use that to my advantage in potions, but them I'm a Slytherin." She leaned in as she spoke and kissed the surprised look off Hermione's face.
"Wait," the brunette pulled away, hands on Bella's chest as she pushed back to look at her. "You told Snape?" She wasn't angry per say but she had thought they'd agreed to keep things between them best they could. She couldn't exactly complain though because she'd told Ginny herself rather quickly.
"Hmm, he was there the night I kissed you. He was all set to give me a speech about propriety and underage witches but I just didn't want to hear it. It was easier to tell him."
"Oh." She didn't know what else to say really. It was obvious Snape hadn't told anyone else or Professor McGonagall wouldn't have been so surprised to see her in Bella's rooms.
"Love, now that the old biddy is gone how about we go back to bed," She wiggled her eyebrows suggestively and laughed as Hermione turned bright red.
"Was that the only reason you told her to let me stay?"
Bellatrix nearly pouted, she was sure of it. "I just want to spend a little more time with you before classes and friends take you away again."
Hermione couldn't help the small smile that crossed her lips. She leaned up and pecked the dark witch chastely on the lips. "I suppose I won't argue about a few more hours in bed." Bella's smile widened and she took her hand and tugged her back toward the bedroom. "So long as you don't hog the blankets." Hermione huffed at the last.