Year Five, Part One
With a snarled curse, she snapped her wand sharply upward, making a large clod of dirt fly into the oncoming spell's path.
Before the spell even hit, she was twisting her wand again, aiming not at Bellatrix, but at the ground in front of her.
'Expulso, Expulso, Expulso.'
Exactly as she had planned, the ground before Bellatrix exploded in a series of ear-shattering roars, forcing her back.
Meanwhile, Ginny thrust her wand forward, casting a Stunner and a Cutting Curse, both of which she knew Bellatrix would block.
It didn't matter, really, that her spells would achieve nothing. All that mattered was that she got the few seconds she needed to pull off her surprise.
Leaping to the side the instant the spells had left her wand, she focused intently, remembering exactly how it had been when she'd been practising the spell she was about to cast.
Then, flicking her wrist and moving her wand through a semi-circle, she shouted: "Abuot Ketitot!"
Almost exactly like when the Dark Lord had been duelling Dumbledore, shadows began to pool together, darkness forming into solid masses and taking the shapes of monstrous beasts.
Oh, her use of the spell wasn't nearly as good as the Dark Lord's had been. There were far fewer of the creatures than when he had done it, and none of them looked as solid as his had.
Still, it had the desired effect.
Bellatrix, having finished deflecting her curses, took a step back, her jaw dropping and eyes widening.
Ginny acted before she could get her bearings. Gesturing with her wand like a baton, she sent the shadow creatures running at Bellatrix, hurling out a quick Stunner as she did so.
Bellatrix seemed too shocked to react. She just stood there, a strange expression twisting her lips as she gaped at the approaching creatures.
The red jet of Ginny's Stunner hit her right between her breasts.
As Bellatrix fell on her back, Ginny gave a flick of her wrist and muttered the countercharm.
The creatures fell apart, collapsing into dark, dusty piles just a few feet from Bellatrix's prone form.
'I did it,' Ginny thought, too surprised to even rejoice fully. 'Finally, I managed! I did it!'
The fact of what she had just achieved struck home. Jumping into the air, she let out a loud whoop, intense satisfaction filling her.
A face appeared at the window of the manor house, peering out at her. She couldn't be sure, not from so far, but she thought it was Mulciber.
Throwing back her head, she began to cackle.
'Let him see! Let them all see! If I could beat her, I could beat him! Let him think of trying me now!'
Still laughing, joy making her feel like she weighed nothing at all, she walked over to Bellatrix and resuscitated her.
Impressively enough, Bellatrix was on her feet almost the instant she was awake, with no intervening time needed to get her bearings.
She gripped her wand tightly and stared at Ginny, something that looked almost like fear flickering across her face.
"How did you do that?" She whispered. "When did you learn that? Did he show you?"
Ginny shrugged, trying not to show how absurdly pleased she was.
"He used it against Dumbledore. I asked him where I could find out about it, after he gave us all that speech. He showed me the book to use, and I've been practising it in secret since then."
She felt her smile grow slightly at Bellatrix's gobsmacked look.
"I wanted to surprise you with it," she said, "Figured I could use it to finally win. Looks like it worked."
Bellatrix's eyes narrowed. "You taught yourself that spell in secret in less than a month?"
She shrugged, her pride beginning to give way to a slightly uncomfortable feeling, one which was helped along by Bellatrix's calculating stare.
"To-He said that having a yew wand means that I'll take to this type of thing quickly."
Ginny fancied she could see the wheels turning in Bellatrix's head, although she had no idea what her teacher and lover was thinking.
"That could be it," Bellatrix finally said, almost a whole minute of awkward silence later. "Now, let's see if you can beat me again."
She didn't turn around at the sound of approaching footsteps, instead just sitting and continuing to watch the sunrise, the dewy grass spongy beneath her toes.
A soft, gentle breeze made the trees wave in the distance. A flock of birds twittered as they flew across the horizon, silhouetted beautifully against the sun.
For the first time in what felt like forever, she'd dreamt of Luna. That had woken her up and made her go outside, but it was only then that she remembered what day it was and felt the terrible, crushing sensation.
And after that, her thoughts had only continued to spiral.
Bellatrix arrived, placing a gentle hand on her shoulder before sitting beside her.
"I woke up and saw you weren't there," she said. "Is everything all right, love?"
Her eyes immediately swam with tears. It still startled her sometimes, how deeply Bellatrix's displays of affection affected her.
It was odd, really, how the same woman who gleefully cut her while calling her degrading names could later show such love and care.
"Yeah," she answered thickly, "I'm fine."
Sighing, Bellatrix pulled her close, the heat of her body warming Ginny against the predawn chill.
"No, you're not. Tell me what's wrong."
"I dreamt of her. The same one as last time. And then-I came outside to watch the sunrise, and I realized that today's the day the Hogwarts Express goes back to London. And if things had been different, I'd have been on it, sitting with friends-"
Her voice cracked and she shook her head, rubbing at her eyes.
"And then-and then I realized that this year I won't-my mum, she makes us all jumpers for Christmas. Weasley jumpers. This year, I won't be getting one. And it shouldn't matter, it shouldn't, but it does, and it just-"
Tears overtook her, crushing down on her attempts to talk.
She shoved her head into the crook of Bellatrix's neck, sobbing unabashedly while the older woman cradled her and rocked her gently, making soft, soothing noises.
Finally, the throe passed. Still sniffling slightly, she pulled away to continue talking.
"I know I'm doing the right thing," she said, "I don't-don't regret anything I've done. But why does it hurt so much? Why can't it just be good and easy?"
"That's just the way it is," Bellatrix said, "the way life is. The most important things are the hardest to do. That's what gives them meaning. And that's what makes you so special."
Ginny looked up, her breath catching in her throat for an instant.
Bellatrix was gazing down at her, the rising sun bathing her in a warm golden glow, her eyes shining with love and pride.
"It is hard," she whispered, raising a hand and cupping Ginny's chin. "But even so, you do it. That's what differentiates you and me from the weaklings."
Her hand moved, beginning to caress Ginny's cheek as she drew her face closer.
Under the fresh sunlight, every individual strand of hair in her eyelashes seemed to stand out.
"And that, pet, is precisely why you are so incredible. Because it's hard, but you do it anyway."
Mesmerised, Ginny nodded, not removing her eyes from Bellatrix's for a moment.
"Come back to bed, pet."
Smiling, Ginny did so.
Slowly, Ginny opened her eyes, blinking against the sunlight streaming through the window.
She yawned, stretching her arms and sitting up.
"Good," Bellatrix said, "you're awake."
Rubbing the sleep from her eyes, she threw the covers off and began to get out of the bed.
"Don't you want to stay in bed a little longer?" Bellatrix asked seductively, dropping one hand to rub at her crotch while the other made circles around her large nipples.
Immediately, Ginny felt the first pangs of desire beginning. Her eyes tracked the finger between Bellatrix's legs, hungrily noting the drop of sticky-looking moisture that gleamed there.
"I just wanted the bathroom," she said.
Bellatrix made a shooing gesture before reaching into the drawer.
"Go on, then. I'll be waiting for you."
When she got back out, Bellatrix was lying in the bed, making soft moaning noises as she worked the dildo between her spread legs.
Ginny crawled into the bed, making her way over to Bellatrix and latching onto her lover's tits with her mouth, unable to help herself from grinding against Bellatrix's leg.
Bellatrix chuckled softly, stretching out and slapping a hand against the supple flesh of Ginny's ass.
Ginny's tongue flicked out, mindless lust taking over, urged on by the fingers roaming her backside, shivers arching up her spine as they stroked down her crack and began to probe, gently stroking the skin around her entrance.
"You love to suck on mummy's tits, don't you, slut?"
Ginny moaned in agreement, her legs shaking slightly as Bellatrix's fingers slipped into her.
A series of loud knocks sounded, followed immediately by a bang as the door flew open.
Ginny just managed to keep from biting Bellatrix's nipple.
She spun around, tangling her legs with Bellatrix's and almost falling over, to see a wide-eyed, gaping Draco Malfoy standing at the door.
For a moment, she just stared, confused embarrassment hot in her belly.
Then Bellatrix seized the back of her head with one hand, pulling her to her tits again.
"You know, Draco, dear," Bellatrix said in a conversational tone, "The entire purpose of knocking is to give the occupants a chance to refuse you entry. Opening the door without waiting for a response obviates that."
Hesitantly, Ginny began to lick again, Draco's eyes boring into her ass like needles.
Regardless of her nephew's presence, Bellatrix began to stroke at Ginny's clit again, interrupting only to slowly rub her hand over the letters carved into Ginny's thigh.
In fact, Ginny got the sense that Bellatrix was showing off.
For a moment, she felt quite indignant about it. Then, suddenly and strangely, her bashfulness changed to excitement.
It wasn't like Draco would be touching her or anything like that. If anything, Bellatrix would cut his hand off if he so much as tried.
She moaned loudly, sliding sinuously against Bellatrix and arching her back as she changed positions, placing her head between Bellatrix's legs.
A frantically happy shudder went through her at the sight of Bellatrix's proud, wicked grin.
"Well, Draco?" Bellatrix demanded. "Not that we don't appreciate an audience, but why are you here?"
"I…" Draco cleared his throat noisily, his cheeks flowering as Ginny glanced around.
He was clearly hard, his robes poking out in front of him.
"I wanted to talk to W-Weasley," he said, his voice slightly higher-pitched than she could remember it sounding in the past.
"We're a bit busy now," Bellatrix said. "Go be a good boy and wait downstairs. She'll be along shortly."
Ginny hurried down the stairs, adjusting her robes to cover the love bite on her neck as she went. Bellatrix had kept her a lot longer than expected.
Honestly, she didn't mind keeping Draco waiting. Of course, they probably were going to discuss how they would carry out the Dark Lord's plans. Still, they had over two months before Draco would be returning to Hogwarts. That was far more than enough time to plan.
Reaching the bottom of the stairs, she noticed him standing a little bit away. He was lounging casually against the wall, his attention focused on his left arm.
'Why didn't he have to do something to earn it, as I did?' She thought with a sickly hot pang of jealousy.
"Hey," she called, stuffing away her envy. "You wanted to talk?"
He turned to her, a blush spreading across his face as he dropped his sleeve.
He opened his mouth and closed it, nodding dumbly.
She couldn't help but smile, the sudden realization of how much power she had over the egotistical boy making her want to laugh.
"It's a nice enough day," she said, "let's go outside."
They walked into the grounds in silence, Ginny waiting to see whether he would regain enough of his composure to speak normally.
After a few minutes, he did, the sharp spots of embarrassment fading from his cheek.
"The Dark Lord said that he already told you of my mission," he said, speaking in the condescending tone she'd so despised in school. "I agreed that you could be of assistance."
His lip curled as he spoke, his tone implying that he was doing her a favour.
Red coated her vision for an instant, her left hand curling into a fist even as her right slipped into her pocket and gripped her wand.
'How dare he? Who the fuck does he think he is?'
"Of course," he continued, oblivious to her rage, "It is my mission. I won't have you stealing the credit for this. I wanted to make sure that we have that clear. I'm going to be in charge of it, you'll just be there to help me and pass messages to the Dark Lord."
Her breath caught in her throat, her legs stopping to work for a moment.
The Dark Lord had made it more than clear that she was going to be carrying out the brunt of this operation; Draco would be a big part of it, true, but only because he would be at Hogwarts. She would be his liaison, she would be the one making sure that he was actually doing it properly.
She would be the one to lead the attack team, when the time came.
She steal his credit? If not for his father's fuck up, her plan would have led to them capturing Harry months ago!
She'd given up everything for the Dark Lord, betrayed her family and friends and spent years planning how best to help him, training in secret and suffering Higgs' attentions, and he just waltzed in and thought that he could take over?
He dared talk to her like he was the one in charge?
"Before we start discussing my plans," he said, "I thought I should let you know that if you ever want to-to see what a man has to offer, I would be more than willing to oblige."
"Draco," she said, keeping her voice as even as possible, "Can I just say something?"
He raised one perfectly styled eyebrow. "Of course."
Her wand was moving before he'd finished speaking, slashing out a non-verbal Cutting Curse.
Draco cried out, his arm moving ridiculously slowly, blood already spurting from his shoulder before he'd even drawn his wand.
Ginny hurled herself forward, smashing him in the chest with her shoulder and dropping him to the ground. As he fell, she dropped to her knees and reached out, gripping him tightly between his legs.
"Crazy bitch-" he huffed, lifting his knees to try and push her off.
Staring into his eyes, she plastered as wide a grin as she could across her face.
And squeezed his balls as tightly as she could.
She rolled off of him quickly, moving to the side just before he vomited.
His sick spewed across his stomach and he began to writhe, a strange, high-pitched wail escaping his half-open mouth.
Standing up, she wiped the dirt and leaves off of her legs and walked back over to him, kicking him in the ribs before dropping into a squat and holding her wand out right in front of his face.
He went cross-eyed, his face paling even more than usual as he tried to focus on the wand.
"Listen to me," she said softly, "and fucking pay attention. You are nothing, Draco. Nothing. The only reason at all that you're even involved in this mission is because you're at Hogwarts. You are nothing! What have you done for the Dark Lord? How have you shown your dedication? What have you brought in for us? NOTHING! YOU'VE DONE NOTHING! I'VE KILLED PEOPLE I LOVED FOR HIM, AND YOU'VE DONE NOTHING, AND YOU THINK YOU'RE BETTER THAN ME?"
She stopped, suddenly aware that she had jumped to her feet and was shouting.
Draco was staring up at her with abject terror mixed with the agony on his face. She bent down again, sticking her wand into his face once more.
"You need to understand this," she said. "If the Dark Lord didn't want you alive, if he didn't want someone at Hogwarts, I could kill you right now and no-one would dare say anything to me. You don't get it, do you? No-one cares what your parents or grandparents did, no-one cares how much they donated to who. The only thing that matters is what you yourself do and what you can do. And so far, you have done nothing."
Draco whimpered as she pressed the wand against his forehead and concentrated for a second, making it heat up.
"Twice, I had plans that would have brought Potter here. Both times, someone else fucked them up. If Snape hadn't betrayed us, we'd have had him ages ago, and I might even have been able to continue as a spy. If your father hadn't been so eager to gloat, we'd have had him two months ago and no-one would know that the Dark Lord was back. Twice, my plans were perfect and someone else fucked them up. If you make the third, I swear I will make you spend the rest of your life wishing that you'd never been born."
She pulled her wand away and rose, leaving a small, perfectly circular burn mark on his forehead.
He looked furious.
"And if you want to try and get your revenge on me," she said. "Just remember this. I beat your aunt in a duel last week. Do you really think you can take me? While you've been at Hogwarts, learning how to make teacups dance and other useless shit, I've been learning how to kill."
He opened his mouth to say something, and she kicked him in the side before he could.
'I need to drive this home.'
"Crucio!"
He began to writhe again, his legs kicking a mad tattoo against the ground as his agonized screams filled the air.
Ending the curse, she stared down at his twitching, shaking form, satisfaction filling her.
'Now, let's see if he's a quick learner or not.'
She knelt down again, seizing a fistful of his hair and pulling him to face her again.
There was no anger on his face. There was pain and terror and shock, but no anger.
'Good.'
"Tell me," she purred. "Where am I in relation to you?"
"I-wh-what? I d-don't-"
"Am I below you? Are you better than me?"
He shivered, his grey eyes swimming with tears.
"N-no."
"So where am I?"
He swallowed thickly, looking like he would throw up again.
"Y-you're above me. You're better than me."
She patted his head, chuckling softly.
"Good boy. Now make sure that you don't fucking forget it. Because the next lesson won't be as kind. Now get up. We've got a lot of planning to do."
"Can we come with this time?" Harry asked, before even Ron or Hermione could, speaking the instant Dumbledore had finished his update.
Moody was already shaking his head, scowling at them.
"We don't need half-trained people to have to babysit," he said gruffly. "Just getting down to the damn cave is going to tough. We don't even know what traps he has there."
"Why don't you do reconnaissance first?" Ron asked, still not untangling his fingers from Hermione's.
The sudden change in their relationship had come as quite a surprise to Harry, when they'd told him a week beforehand. He shouldn't have been too shocked, he knew, after the whole Yule Ball debacle the previous year. It was still strange though, thinking of Hermione and Ron doing the same stuff that he and Ginny had done.
As always, he felt that terrible pressure in his chest at the thought of her, a feeling like his heart was going to explode.
He took a deep breath, focusing on nothing but the air flowing into his lungs, allowing his mind to clear.
'At least the Occlumency's good for something,' he thought wryly.
Well, strange as it was to think of them together, it was clearly good for his two friends to be in a relationship. It made him feel a bit left out, sometimes, but just seeing how much...more normal they both seemed more than made up for that.
"We do not know if Voldemort has some charm set up to detect intruders," Dumbledore said, "Doing so would make his hiding place more conspicuous, for those of us who know how to look, but it would also mean that entering it would draw us into a battle."
"All the more reason to take us with!" Exclaimed Hermione. "If V-Voldemort might arrive-"
"You'd all be liabilities," Moody interrupted. "You're improving, and I have no doubt that you'll continue to. But none of you are ready to fight wizards who want to kill you, and on unfamiliar territory on top of that. You're not ready, and you're not coming with."
Hermione leaned back in her chair, looking like she was fighting the urge to argue.
"So when will you go?"
"Tonight, if all goes well," Dumbledore said. "I must say, we have been making much speedier progress than I would have imagined. Alastor, if not for you, I doubt we would be doing so well."
Moody rolled his eyes.
"Before we leave tonight," Dumbledore continued, "I plan to interview the Grey Lady about her mother's diadem. I may be forced to Compel her, but this is a stone that cannot be left unturned."
"The Grey Lady?" Harry and Ron both asked.
"Ravenclaw's house ghost," Hermione said impatiently before turning back to Dumbledore. "She was Rowena Ravenclaw's daughter?"
Dumbledore nodded, looking sad. "A fact," he said, "that most are unaware of, and one that she prefers to keep that way. I trust that the three of you will be able to maintain her privacy in this matter?"
Feeling oddly chastened, Harry nodded, Ron and Hermione mirroring him to his side.
"Excellent. Well, we shall meet again tomorrow. Hopefully, we shall have an additional Horcrux to destroy, and information about yet another one."
"Not good enough," Ginny said, raising her wand again. "Again. Legilimens!"
She dove into Malfoy's eyes, swimming into a confusing sea of his thoughts.
Flashes of memories and thoughts wove around her, twisting into an almost bewildering tapestry of his mind.
As she watched, the images began to grow slightly more indistinct and fuzzy, some of them vanishing entirely.
'At least he's doing something.'
She gathered her will, forcing it upon him and concentrating on the thought of the Dark Lord.
A series of memories pushed their way forward, growing blurry even as they drew near.
She ignored the first few, focusing on one that lurked behind.
It grew larger, becoming clearer and easier to see. In it, she could see the Dark Lord with his wand pressed against Draco's arm.
Everything around her shook, and she was unceremoniously cast from his mind.
For a moment, she just breathed, regaining her equilibrium.
"Getting better," she said. "But not good enough. I've barely practised Legilimency, and I can see more than enough. If Dumbledore tries it, you'll be fucked."
For a second, Draco looked like he wanted to say something.
Then he nodded, his eyes on the floor.
He'd been like that a lot, since Ginny had shown him how things really stood.
For the last month, she, Rookwood, and Bellatrix had been spending a lot of time with Draco. Rookwood had been showing him the spells he would need to ensure that travel into the Chamber of Secrets was possible, while Bellatrix had been teaching him Occlumency and even including him in their duelling every so often.
He lost every time, of course. Not that Ginny was much better, having only beaten Bellatrix once more since she'd used the Dark Lord's spell, but she at least made a far better show of herself.
Ginny, meanwhile, spent almost all of her time with him planning, teaching him about the Chamber and how exactly they would do it, what time of day would be best to enter and how they would take Dumbledore down. The plan they'd eventually settled on was a good one, Ginny thought. More importantly, the Dark Lord thought it was good.
They'd attack with at least ten Death Eaters, plus they'd bring Greyback and as many of his scum he could supply. The first thing they'd do, would be to attack the students, placing as many under the Imperius as they could and taking hostages.
Then they'd go for Dumbledore. He wouldn't be able to use widespread lethal spells, not when there were so many of his students in the way. Dumbledore was a dangerous wizard, but he was definitely not omnipotent. They could definitely overwhelm him.
And they would.
Still, planning was all well and good, but they needed to make it happen. Draco's attitude was certainly much better since the first time they'd spoken, but he still was nowhere near ready.
His Occlumency, for example, was nowhere near as good as Ginny's own, and she herself was far from an expert. More than that, Rookwood said that he hadn't come close to mastering the spells he needed.
"Can I ask you something?"
"Go ahead."
He was silent for a minute, seeming to try and collect his thoughts before he spoke.
"Is it hard? Killing someone, I mean. Was it hard, the first time?"
She smiled, remembering the feeling of Higgs' life being snuffed out.
"Not at all. Just keep in mind that you're doing the right thing. Besides, the only person you need to kill is Dumbledore. And if you can't do it...Well, I'll step in."
He still looked troubled.
"The Dark Lord said-" he started, cutting off abruptly.
She reached out and patted him on the shoulder, feeling him shiver beneath his touch.
It made her want to laugh.
"He said that he'll give you to me and Bellatrix if you can't do it," she said. "Don't worry, you'd make a good pet. You might even enjoy it. I'd definitely make sure to clean your cage and keep you fed."
She did laugh then, a mad cackle brought on by his expression.
It was almost exactly the same as when she'd squeezed his balls.
"You'll just have to make sure that it doesn't come to that," she said. "And you can start by making sure that Dumbledore won't be able to read your mind. If you don't get me out quicker than last time, I'm putting you under the Cruciatus. Legilimens!"
"A fake! All that for a fake!"
Albus forced himself to stay awake, bringing his will to bear and somehow keeping his eyes open.
He was slumped back in his chair, the terrible memories and overpowering thirst that potion had brought on still pounding in his every cell.
Nevertheless, he would not give in.
"R.A.B," he said, his voice sounding weak, "I wonder…"
Alastor turned to him, stopping his pacing for long enough to focus both his eyes.
"Who do you think it was?"
Albus shook his head, wishing that his head was clearer, that the fog didn't pervade his every thought.
"Regulus Black's body was never found," he said, not even sure what he was going to say until the words had left his mouth. "I believe that it is time we tell Sirius what we have been doing. But first, I think, I must see Madam Pomfrey."
"You can open your eyes now."
Ginny did, wild joy filling her at the sight that greeted her.
There was a large package on the table, covered in colourful wrapping paper.
"Happy birthday, love," Bellatrix said, leaning forward and kissing Ginny on the forehead. "I'm very happy to have you in my life."
Strangely enough, tears began to form in Ginny's eyes.
"What's wrong?" Beatrix asked, suddenly concerned.
"I don't know," Ginny said. "I'm happy. Thank you. Thank you, Bella."
Bellatrix clapped her hands, nodding to the package. "Well? Open it!"
Ginny did, tearing it as she did.
She gasped, a wonderful warmth spreading through her chest.
A beautiful, and obviously ridiculously expensive necklace lay before her. Large, wonderful emeralds and diamonds were interspaced on a string that glittered like it itself was a jewel.
"Bella," she whispered, her finger hovering a few inches away from one of the emeralds. "This is incredible! Thank you!"
"You did say that your parents had never bought you jewellery," Bellatrix replied, "At first, I was going to have Narcissa fetch something from my vault, but I thought you might appreciate something new. I'm sure you're sick of hand-me-downs."
"This...I've never even touched something half as expensive as this."
Laughing, Bellatrix picked it up and put it on her, her fingers stroking Ginny's neck and sending a shiver through her as she did so.
"Now you have," she said, waving her wand and conjuring up a mirror. "What do you think?"
She looked beautiful. The necklace made an impressive contrast with her pale skin and red hair, but instead of making her natural colours look strange, it seemed to enhance them.
"Bella…" she trailed off, at a loss for words.
"That's not all," Bellatrix said, gripping her hand. "Come along."
Giggling, Bellatrix led her out of their room and down the stairs.
They walked down, Ginny's curiosity growing as they reached the room where Lupin had been kept.
"I know you've been frustrated with not going on raids," Bellatrix said. "Although that will change once Draco's back at Hogwarts. In the meantime, I thought I could finally give you something I've been talking about for a while."
Bellatrix took a step back, gesturing at Ginny to open the door.
Puzzled, Ginny did, walking into the room.
Two people who looked to be in their fifties, a man and a woman, were chained to the wall.
She was about to ask Bellatrix who exactly they were, when the shape of the man's nose caught her eye.
Her breath caught in her throat, terrible, remembered fear smothering her for an instant.
"They're his parents?" She asked.
"Exactly," Bellatrix purred, walking up behind her and kissing her on the neck. "And we're going to keep them for a while."
Harry just stared, feeling almost overwhelmed with emotion as Kreacher finished his tragic tale.
The story seemed to have taken everyone similarly; On Harry's right, Sirius sat ramrod straight, his face hard with tears glistening in his eyes. Ron looked almost like he had been punched. Harry didn't need Legilimency to know that he was thinking about another Death Eater, one he desperately hoped would change sides, even if it was too late.
"Thank you, Kreacher," Sirius said, finally breaking the silence. For the first time, he spoke to Kreacher with something bordering on compassion. "I-we'll finish what-what Regulus tried to do. We'll destroy the locket."
Kreacher gave an odd, jerky half-bow in Sirius' direction.
"Thank you, Kreacher," Dumbledore said, his gaze passing across the room. "We cannot thank you enough."
The rest of them echoed his sentiment, muttering out their gratitude.
The real horcrux locket still sat on the table, seeming to drink in the light that fell on it.
It felt...evil, far more than the ring or diary had. It seemed to emanate coldness, an aura of menace radiating off of it.
Dumbledore reached into the small bag on the floor beside his chair, and withdrew the Sword of Gryffindor.
"Sirius," he said, "I believe it rather fitting for you to be the one to do the honours. If you would?"
Sirius stood up and nodded stiffly, taking the sword from Dumbledore with a strange expression, caught somewhere between pride and shame.
"So, I just stab it?"
Standing up himself, Dumbledore shook his head.
"No. It must be opened first. Harry, have you had an opportunity to attempt Parseltongue since you were struck by the Killing Curse?"
Harry shook his head, feeling a little bit stupid.
"No matter. If you would, please try asking it to open."
Nodding, Harry focused in the locket, narrowing his eyes slightly to make the ornate, serpentine S fill his entire field of vision.
Looking at it like this, the S did appear to be a snake. He could just imagine it as one, the emeralds near the bottom its eyes.
"Open," he hissed.
"English, mate." Ron said.
"Ah. I suspected this would be the case. Harry, Ron, Hermione, please step back. Alastor, please be prepared. It may attempt to fight me. Sirius, the very instant the locket opens, you will strike. Do not wait, do not give it a chance to do anything."
Sirius nodded grimly, hefting the sword as the rest of them moved away from the table.
Dumbledore held his wand out, it's tip aimed directly at the locket. He began to mutter under his breath, moving his wrist through figures of eight and other, stranger motions, the wand tip glowing with a bright white light.
Dumbledore's voice rose slightly, a song-like, sibilant incantation in some language Harry didn't recognize rolling off of his lips.
On the table, the locket began to shake, a grey penumbra appearing around it.
And without warning, it flew open.
Sirius didn't hesitate; he stabbed the sword forward in one swift motion, its tip sliding into the open locket.
As had happened with the ring, a high-pitched scream sounded, a black, misty cloud flowing out of the locket.
And then it was over, the screaming stopping, the cloud vanishing, and the locket coming to rest on the table, tarnished and broken.
"Four down," Dumbledore said with grim satisfaction, "and three to go."
Lisa Higgs began to whimper the instant Ginny opened the door.
Ginny frowned, walking in and waving her wand, making the room fill with light.
Like a rat or a cockroach, the once-plump women shied away at the brightness, holding her claw-like hands in front of her face and sobbing.
Her husband's corpse had been moved.
Wrinkling her nose at the stench, Ginny drew nearer, taking a closer look.
"Merlin," she whispered, disgusted horror filling her. "Look, Bella. Look at his arm."
It appeared that Lisa wasn't taking too well to starvation. Chunks of decomposing flesh were missing from Milton's remaining arm, surrounded by rows of teeth marks.
Not for the first time, Ginny felt sickened by what she and Bella were doing.
It had been...well, she wouldn't call it fun, but it had felt justified for the first week or so, torturing the couple whenever they felt like it. With every Cruciatus she cast, with every bone she broke or cut she made, she felt like she was getting revenge on their son.
Then, in the middle of the second week, Milton had died. Ginny hadn't meant for it to happen. He'd survived her removal of both of his legs, and Ginny thought that he had a bit longer after she'd taken his right arm at the shoulder before she'd needed to cauterize it and give him a Blood-Replenishing potion.
He hadn't.
And then Bellatrix had decided to leave his body there, chained up next to his wife.
To be perfectly honest, she'd felt sickened by what they were doing even earlier. But back then, it had been far easier to convince herself that they deserved it.
But then Milton had died, and Ginny had been ready to just kill his wife too.
Bellatrix had convinced her not to do so.
That was almost three weeks ago. Bellatrix had cast some spell, something that she said would slow Milton's decomposition, even if it didn't prevent it entirely. By now, maggots had infested him and parts of his body were turning into a strange, sludgy mess.
The stench was indescribably bad. Ginny thought that if she had to put up with it for more than a short while at a time she would go completely mad.
It seemed, in fact, that Lisa had. She didn't talk anymore, didn't really do anything other than whimper and sob.
She'd lost a terrifyingly huge amount of weight in the two weeks since they'd stopped feeding her. Every rib stood out clearly on her naked chest, her tits nothing more than bumps.
Of course, it was hard to see her skin properly. The vast majority of her body was covered in cuts and burns and patches where they'd torn her skin off. They'd removed her fingers and toes, removing the skin before breaking the bones and only then slowly tearing them away.
A large hole in her left leg drew the eye, where they'd cut cleanly through to the other side before pasting it with honey and pouring ants in. They'd eaten half her leg before Bellatrix had cleaned them out.
She was, in short, barely even recognizable as human.
Draco had vomited repeatedly, when Bella had brought him in to show him how to properly cast the Cruciatus
"Cannibalism is bad, Lisa," Bellatrix tutted. "Unless it's as part of a ritual. Well? Were you eating him to gain his strength?"
Huddled on the floor in a pile of her own waste, Lisa continued to sob, her frail form looking like it would shatter at any moment.
"Can we just kill her?" Ginny asked, feeling like she was going to emulate Draco.
"It's up to you," Bellatrix said, in a way that told Ginny what she really felt. "But you remember what her son did to you, don't you?"
"Of course I do. I'll never stop remembering it."
"Well, as long as it hurts, she should suffer. We can't keep her alive forever, but while we can, we should make sure that she's suffering for what he did."
"This," Ginny said, waving a hand to take in the broken woman on the floor, "doesn't make me feel better. Haven't we done enough to her?"
"If you're strong enough to-"
"This isn't strength," she cried, "this is just- it's just sick!"
Bellatrix drew back, seeming to grow taller. Her face became hard, her eyes pieces of uncaring coal.
"She's yours," Bellatrix said coldly. "I gave her to you, remember? Do whatever you want with her. I don't care."
"Bella-"
"I don't care," Bellatrix spat. "Do what you want. Weakling."
'I'm not weak!'
For the first time that she could remember, a flash of rage shot through her, aimed at Bellatrix.
Heedless to their argument, Lisa continued to sob.
Ginny spun, slashing her wand through the air.
"AVADA KEDAVRA!"
"Listen at this," Bellatrix said, holding up the newspaper. "Arthur and Molly Weasley, along with Marcellus and Apolline Delacour, are pleased to announce the engagement of their children Bill and Fleur."
The glass fell out of Ginny's hand, orange juice splashing across the table.
"Fleur?" She spluttered, "She's-she's part-Veela!"
Bellatrix dropped the paper, looking at Ginny with an aghast expression.
"Your brother is marrying an animal." She said softly. "I knew your family's a bunch of blood-traitors, but that's just...absurd."
Ginny shook her head, pushing her plate away.
"Its like-she is pretty, but how can he just…doesn't he even care that he's destroying our blood?"
"Your family needs to be cleansed," Bellatrix said, "It's the only way, pet. If I'd managed before Andromeda got herself pregnant...well, there wouldn't be a filthy half-blood bitch running around with Black blood in her veins. The rot needs to be cut away, otherwise, it'll spread."
"I know," she said glumly. "Draco said he bumped into them all in Diagon Alley. He said it looks like my brother, Ron, is going out with that mudblood."
She sighed.
Gently, Bellatrix placed a hand on Ginny's.
"One day, they'll thank us," she promised. "But we need to save those who can be saved. This Bill, and that Ron too, they're beyond saving. You need to kill them before they can spread their...sickness."
"I know. I know, Bella. And I will."
"You say this Fleur is pretty," Bellatrix said, "Maybe she'll make a good pet. I'm sure we can have lots of fun with something like her."
Ginny nodded, a sad smile tugging at her lips.
"I just-I wanted to apologize," Draco said, not looking up from his feet. "For the way I spoke to you at the beginning. I shouldn't have spoken like that. I'm sorry."
"No," she said. "You shouldn't have. You're very lucky, you know. I almost cut your balls off."
His face taking on a greenish shade, Draco continued.
"I-if I'd have spent more time here before that," he continued, "If I'd have had a chance to see how the others treat you, I'd have never-"
"That would have required you to be smart enough to wait and think before speaking. You've never been good with that, have you?"
"I-"
He stopped, cutting himself off and looking at the floor again with a blush beginning to spread.
"See?" She laughed. "You're learning. Maybe you're not entirely useless. Mind you, without me, you would have been. You'd best remember that, Draco. Because if you don't, I won't hesitate to ruin you."
He nodded, all seriousness suddenly.
It was true, he had really improved. Part of it, she knew, was seeing the truth of what she'd explained to him that first day of the holidays; who he was didn't matter half as much as what he could do.
The rest of it, of course, lay in the fact that she and Bellatrix would hurt him if he didn't live up to their standards.
"Remember, you don't want to attract any attention. Don't go telling the rest of your friends what you're doing, don't even fucking hint it. And don't let Potter or my brother or their Mudblood see you doing anything suspicious. Just...don't fuck it up. I won't stand for it."
"I won't."
"Good," she said with a grin. "Because I'd rather not break you. Travel safe, Draco. I'd say I'm jealous of you, but before you know it, I'll be coming back to Hogwarts too. With an army."