AlsethGosia, that's awesome! I'm really glad you liked it. And a fun fact... it was on Hermione's perspective when I first wrote. I decided to change things up to work on Bellatrix' acceptance of the 'mudblood' professor when I felt something missing for the build up. Here's more of Bella for you! I'll let you know beforehand... it's one step foward and two steps back with her. Sorry! hahah
Hellow Guest! I'll try to keep up spoiling you guys whenever possible :P
I'm conecting the threads to reach the finale I have planned, but it might take a bit while longer, thanks for keeping up with this one. It's nice to have you along for the journey.
Chapter X - A matter of blood
Bellatrix was the first to get out of the class. She berated herself for actually believing for a second that this mudblood wasn't there for the purpose of spreading anti-dark magic propaganda.
She figured out the woman's plan while she dismissed class. Why would she leave a bunch of incompetent fools, who didn't even know how to cast wordless spells and still strugle with protego, to study theory by themselves? It's obvious! Professor Mud expects them to reach the same conclusions as the author of the book. And once they do, once she has them eating by the palm of her hand, with their minds open to her sugestions, she'd start with the warnings about the 'evil nature of dark magic'.
So this is the game she is playing. She thought, feeling deeply irritated with the way the woman managed to almost fool her. She distracts everyone with a very engaging, practical class to make us think that she cares if we are getting better... Then she gets us to read the brainwashing, biased content of the book to 'get our own conclusions' on dark magic.
Bellatrix's memories flashed back to the words written on the board: 3 - Light and Dark - The intention behind magic.
Jean Grey was playing them like a fiddle. And to think that I was actually starting to consider her a real oponent. She smiled, allowing herself to feel a bit better about the fact that there was no way a mudblood was better than her. No one who avoids dark magic can compare to a real witch in power. I bet that silencio, pretificus totallus, and that charm on chalk are the only spells she can cast without incantation.
"Calming Draught" The passage to the common room opened to her. Narcisa and Andromeda weren't anywhere to be seen, so she just made her way towards her room to take off that stupid jumper vest and tie. We have a fucking dress code.
Flashes of red leather jacket matching a pair of red lips, and figure hugging jeans made Bellatrix pause in the middle of getting rid of her uniform. So what if muggle clothes suit her. She'd probably look like an idiot using proper clothes, anyway...
She would not acknowledge the images that came to her head unbidden. She forcefully got rid of her school robes so she could also hurriedly take off the offensive fabric from her body. Why the fuck must we use this on a daily basis? She loosened the tie and threw it on top of her bed with the Slytherin jumper. She ran a hand on her freed neck, after she opened a few of the uper buttons of her dress shirt. It looks nice and all, but it's annoying...
The beautiful mix of green and silver made her stare, transfixed, at the tie a bit longer. What house would Ms. Grey be sorted into, if she had studied in Hogwarts?
...Mud. Ms. MUD! And that's no wonder! A fucking mudblood would probably go to Hufflepuff or Gryffindor. Those are the houses for strays.
She closed her eyes forcefully, trying to erase from her mind all thoughts related to the cocky, farse of a teacher, and how good she would look in Slytherin colors. She felt betrayed by her own mind.
That's Rodolphus fault! The Idiot, giving me mental pictures.
Tempus. 2:50 P.M. Cissy and Andie must be on their way. I'll just wait for them in the common room.
But of course they would be here. Just my luck.
"...And she had a sexy side smile, too. Fran is my testimony! I swear, if you don't learn anything from her, at least you have an eye candy for 40 minutes, Timmy."
Must Rodolphus be such a pig? She grind her teeth, walking straight towards the unnocupied chair close to the fireplace. The congregation of four quidditch players hung around Rodolphus like he was Merlin himself. They sat on the ground, because they had been playing exploding snap on the coffee table, but had long since forgotten their cards in favor of facing their seventh-year keeper, and captain.
Francine was sitting beside him, holding the D.A.D.A. book open on her lap, left leg up on the couch under the right one, leaning slightly agaisnst Rodolphus. She had taken her robes off, and left them hanging on the arm of the couch. For once, she had her hair down, going over her left shoulder in a perfect imitation of a waterfall. Her brown hair was straight, but full, and it reached her chest in lenght. The usual ponytail she wore on the top of her head was thick, and often caused envy in every girl who wanted a bit more of volume in their heads. Rodolphus took much of the space for himself, with his legs open and arms resting on the back of the mobilia, going behind the girl's neck, even. If she was bothered by it, she didn't show any signs. Her eyes - dark green and brown - were vibrant. Emerald and mud. Funny how comparing eyecolor it's one of the few ocasions in which Bellatrix didn't associate mud with dirt, but with the swirl of strengh and determination that she found it was more visible in that dark color. Francine smiled playfully at Rodolphus and hit him on the ribs with her elbow. The way he smiled back at her, running a hand through his mid-lenght hair made Bellatrix feel a little bit sick, so she turned her eyes to observe the other people around.
Timothy Goyle and Vinicius Crabe, both fourth-year aspiring beaters, laughed like idiots at Rodolphus stupid joke. The only ones who didn't find that particularly funny was Rodolphus' own brother, Rabastan Lestrange, and her second cousin on her mother's side, Emily Rosier. Fifth and sixth-year chasers respectively.
Bellatrix couldn't care less about what they usually discussed, but this time she decided to keep an ear attuned to their conversation. Just to check if they realized what she did about their professor's plan.
"There's that, but if I were you guys, I'd actually pay attention to class." Francine added, making Bellatrix sigh in disapointment "She taught us a few neat tricks too. The wordless casting pratice today was fun. A definite step up from all the boring, uptight professors we've always had." Am I really the only one aware of this farse?
She couldn't blame the girl too much. She was a half-blood, her parents aren't in the circle of the noble houses, and she was probably unaware of the scheeming going on behind the scenes in the minstry and Hogwarts.
"Yeah! Her silencio spell was strong. I usually never had problems casting finite wordlessly just thinking of the words, you know? What she said about intent... It helped me understand better what Fillius said earlier about the conection between intent and words." But Rodolphus? He should know better!
It was shameful. A pure-blooded wizard having difficuties to learn about the basics of magic at school. He is not a muggleborn, yet he learned minutes ago. Like a mudblood! If he cared to practice the noble dueling arts, or study and prepare for his future ocupation as the Head of his house, he would know already that words evoke intent, but intent doesn't depend on words to be made real. My fucking future husband is pathetic! This only makes her hate the traditions of her house that would have put someone like him on comand instead of her.
"She is making up for lost time. Our last professor barely got to teach us the practical part of expelliarmus, it was almost like he didn't want us to be capable fighters." Francine reminded them of the useless excuse of a professor they had last year. "Rosier, if Professor Grey actually stays after this year, you definitely should take up D.A.D.A. for NEWT. It'll be worth it." Bellatrix had to agree somewhat. Infuriating as she is, at least she isn't purposefuly sabotating us. In the practical aspect of the class, that is. They only had to be careful not to fall for her garbage talk, when she starts with it.
She could be a ministry spy, Dumbledore's puppet, a mudblood... But she still was the best Professor they ever had. It says a lot about Hogwarts education. She crossed her arms, staring intently at the fireplace to her left, trying her best to look unaware of what was going on around her.
"Remember that wandless charm on the chalk?" Rodolphus voice sounded like he was in awe of what he had seen in class.
No way She turned her head in time to see Francine look at her with a knowing smile. Then turn towards Rodolphus to answer "Of course, I think that half the gryffindors had their jaws hanging open."
"No way!" Emily voiced her thoughts "Wandless magic is rare! A mudblood wouldn't know enough about magic to practice it."
"And she didn't" Bellatrix found herself saying, she was nonchalant as she answered. I've been caught already. Might as well participate. "She did it wordlessly, but not wandlessly. She was holding her wand on her right hand."
"But she moved her left hand, though, and no one saw her move her wand."
She smiled at the deluded Half-blood. You're so ingenue.
"Of course she moved her hand, it's to take attention away from the subtle movement of her wand." Bellatrix demonstrated by wordlessly accioing a card from the table. She moved her left hand in a motion to call forth the card, while her right hand did a slight, barely visible tug with the wand. "If you don't pay attention to it, you would not see."
"But she didn't move her wand" Francine insisted, making Bellatrix frown. I just showed perfectly how that cheap trick works... Is she willing to be fooled by a mudblood? "I was looking at her wand hand, because I was expecting her to turn around to hit us out of nowhere, like she did to you!"
"It was far, it's not like you were at the same distance you are from me now. We are barely five meters apart. From our seats to the front of the classroom is at least the double, you must have missed!"
Francine wasn't backing down, staring at Bellatrix with the same determination she usually just acquired when discussing with Rodolphus the best strategies for a quidditch game. "Like you did?"
Wait "What?"
"You didn't realize that you whispered, Bella?" Rodolphus said with an amused smile, making her glare for two different reasons.
One: "Don't you dare call me Bella again. It's Bellatrix, or Black for you." He raised his free arm in a mock surrender that only served to make her even more irritated. And two: "What do you mean I whispered?"
"In class, you said 'she probably just made a subtle movement that I missed.' we heard you. And Fran saw it too. She is our seeker she would have noticed that kind of movement."
"Rod is right. Don't deny it, Black. That mudblood is not average."
And that was the problem, wasn't it? To think that a mudblood could best her? Bellatrix was very proud of her skills because she knows that she is way ahead of her age, and most definitely can wipe the floor many 'skilled' wizards.
She must be twenty-something. Bellatrix imagined.A muggleborn with that age should be less skilled than Bellatrix, since a muggleborn doesn't find out about the magical world until they are eleven years old. Someone as young as Ms. Grey was supposed to be at Bellatrix's level, at best.
But Jean Grey was apparently ahead of her. That's not possible. Not at all. I can't be losing to a mudblood!
"So what if I missed? It is the only explanation! You can't honestly tell me that you believe a young mudblood is actually skilled enough to be teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts at Hogwarts by her own merit?"
"Why else would she be here?"
"Because she is Dumbledore's puppet, of course!"
Rodolphus and Francine had the gall to laugh at her affirmation. The younger ones had the sense to keep quiet, but Bellatrix could see that they didn't believe her. Fools.
Andromed arrived right on time, Bellatrix didn't have time to dwell on the dopey smile on her sister's face. "Andie!" The distracted girl looked at her like a deer caught in the headlights, Bellatrix was much too agitated by the current discussion to give any mind to the weird reaction "Andie, tell them what you told me about Ms. Grey. Isn't she close to Dumbledore?"
Andie's eyes widened as she looked at every person in the room as if they could tell that the places she went to were muggle-inspired.
Get a grip, Andie. They have no way of knowing! Bellatrix thought, raising her eyebrows and shooting a meaningful look at her sister. "Yes, I saw her in a bar, then in a restaurant with him this summer. And they seemed very intimate indeed. Not in a romatic way, but more than it was proper for simple coleagues. Maybe, as a friend, she is his puppet." Andie subtly glared at her, then smiled at the people who were now eating up the new narrative.
Bellatrix smirked. She knew that Andromeda didn't believe that, but to avoid people making questions about what bar and restaurant she frequented, she took the chance to throw the professor under the bus. Oh, I'm proud of you sis'.
Bellatrix, on the other hand, believes fully that Ms. Mud is an underqualified professor, hired only to spread ministry propaganda.
"Maybe they were discussing the terms of employment..." Her roomate tried at all costs to defend the idea that their professor was actually competent. The poor girl was probably projecting. Her own desire to be equal to her superiors making her see some skill in their new Professor. That's why they didn't reach the same conclusion Bella did. Rodolphus was too stupid, Francine wanted to believe in the mudblood's capabilities.
"I'll go rest a bit, Bella. Send Narcisa after me when she arrives!"
Bella merely nodded at her sister's request "In a restaurant? a bar?" She asked Francine, knowing well that there was no explanation to that. The only reasonable conclusion is that she got the job because she is friends with Dumbledore. There's no way a mudblood is capable of teaching real witches and wizards about magical defense. No way. Bellatrix insisted in her mind. She is just distracting us with fun, interactive lessons. We don't have the best track records with D.A.D.A. professors, it's easy to impress people whose expectations had been too low, already.
Francine sighed, disapointment clear on her face "Alright, that's suspicious."
"See, she's trying to fool us with party tricks." Bellatrix managed to smile comfortingly at the tolerable Half-blood "Come on, you're at least half pure. Don't let a mudblood get the best of you."
The girl laughed, not at all fazed by Bellatrix's jab at her own mixed heritage "Gee, thanks. I feel way better about being half-mud."
"Don't take it too hard, pup'." It really was easy to accept those who knew their places. If only all half-bloods and mudbloods were like Francine... Bellatrix got up, ready to follow Andie to her room. There was no point debating their professor's competence. It wouldn't change the fact that she was their professor, and would be until they graduated.
I can't even wish for this year to be over... She spared a resentful look towards Rodolphus as she made her way out.
"What did you do to make Bella..." She heard a bit of what Emily said, before her voice trailed off with the distance. Despite her irritation, she couldn't help but smile. Her glare was still effective, Ms. Mud had made her doubt it for a moment.
Andie was laying in her bed, with her face hidden in the pillow she was hugging, laying sideways in fetal position. What is wrong with her? "Andie?"
She brought the pillow down a bit, uncovering only her eyes, then slowly pulled herself up to sit crosslegged on the bed, once she realized that Bella wouldn't actually go away. "Finished discussing our Professor's actual competence?"
"Kind of. I'm not in the mood to keep talking about her. What took you so long? Do you know where Cissy is?"
"I was discussing study plans with a friend. You know this is the O.W.L.'s year, we might find some time between classes and free periods to compare notes." A friend. Bellatrix stared at her, trying to get her to spill her guts about this arrangement, and the person who would possibly be using Andie to get good grades...
Andromeda just rolled her eyes and slapped Bellatrix on the arm lightly to get her to drop the matter "It's all fine! Its not like I'll be doing other people's homework, I'll just compare notes. That's it!"
Shrugging, Bella decided to leave it be. If Andie didn't feel like it was going to be a hydrance, she certainly wouldn't make a fuss about it. "Just don't even dream of bringing them to our study sessions."
Andromeda, thankfully, didn't protest or try to convince her of making exceptions, like in the past. "Of course. I gave up hope long ago that you might be willing to share your great amount of knowledge with my friends" Her younger sister smiled at her with a mix of amusement, and admiration.
The rare ocasion where Andromeda let it show that she was impressed by her older sister only served to inflate her ego. "What about Cissy?"
"Last I saw her, she was talking with Lucius. I think that it will take her a bit longer to get here, mind helping me organize my study schedule while she doesn't arrive? I think I might change how much time I dedicate to Charms, switch to Arithmancy. I was a bit stuck on today's chapter and I feel like it's going to be that way for the rest of the year... Ugh."
Bella shrugged "Sure. But let's go to the library, please. I don't want to keep listening to Rodolphus fawn over our mudblood professor."
Bellatrix would have cared more about the fact that her youngest sister - much too young in her opinion - was flirting with the pompous git... But considering that it was better for Narcisa to fall for her future husband than to end up in a loveless marriage, she controled the urge to go after Malfoy and intimidate him until he not even looked in Narcisa's direction.
He had better treat her right. Bellatrix was just waiting for an excuse to use her arsenal of jinxes on him. If he dared to disrespect her little sister in the slightest, she would jump at the oportunity to hex him into oblivion.
Andie sighed, clearly bothered by something. Bella wanted to ask why she looked like she swallowed something bitter, but was cut off "We should leave a note for Narcisa, then." She clearly didn't want to talk about it, and the older sister wouldn't press.
One note left on Narcisa's bed with a sticking charm, and a certain second cousing notified about their whereabouts, they left for the library to start with their studies while Narcisa frolicked around with Lucius.
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Dumbledore is right. They are not beyond redemption.
What's terrifying, is that even if I get to convince them not to join Voldemort on the principle that they will lose, I might not be able to change their beliefs on the superiority of their bloodline... And that might just start a vicious circle of hate. Voldemort may lose this war, but he will plant the seed for another one in the future. A future I won't be present to help... Maybe not even Dumbledore.
I hope it won't come to that, but If anything goes awry, use this knowledge well Hermione.
Anyway, surprisingly enough, Rodolphus was the only 'pure-blood' who didn't seem to have any problems with my heritage. It explains why Francine Canyon - A half-blood that is on my NEWT class - genuinely likes him so much. What happened to turn this young man into that hateful killer with no empathy?
Even Bellatrix, who clearly was trying her best to be annoying, didn't seem to want me dead. She just looks so harmless, that every time she tries to diminish my authority in the classroom I'm overcome with the urge to laugh (which I cannot always contain).
However, her entitled attitude do get on my nerves. She's lucky that, with age, I learned how to control my temper, or else I would have already tried to smack the pure-blood ideologies out or her. I'm sure that if she and I went to school together, I would have already punched her like I did Draco... although I can imagine myself begrungily respecting her, diferently from her nephew. Her dedication to learning is one thing we have in common, young me might have considered her someone to measure against.
After today's class, I can't help but wonder... What happened to all of them?
I cannot unsee how human they are. Rodolphus with his easy-going, playful nature. Bellatrix with her "know-it-all" attitude that reminds me so much of myself. Alecto with her struggle to learn things, doing her best to keep up with the rest of the class. Francine, who I haven't faced in my future, but can imagine she would join Voldemort because of her frienship with Rodolphus.
I'm scared of caring for them. I want to, because as I said to Dumbledore earlier today, I don't want to become a person who does things only thinking of the ways it could benefit me. I want to care... I want to know what changed them, what turned them into the monsters I faced in my future... But can I afford to?
The fact that I can look into their eyes and cast an avada is my only leverage. If I start to care... I'll lose that. And I cannot go to war unwilling to kill. That's death for me, no matter what Dumbledore says, no matter how powerful I become, if I hesitate to take their lives, I might as well enter the battlefield with a death wish. They will outnumber us, and my priorities should be protecting those on my side.
It's easier to hate them all. Because then, the war is a matter of Good vs. Evil, Order vs Chaos, Us against Them. If I hate them, I can imagine a scenario where I use my willpower - which I'm working to make stronger - to destroy them.
If my enemies count as people I wish to protect... How will I be able to fight?
My fear makes me want to hate them all...
But then I remember Rodolphus' happy smile, Bellatrix' peaceful expression, Alecto's insecurity showing through her facade of indiference, Francine's fond smile towards Rodolphus.
It reminds me that they might be victims of their own ideologies as much as any muggleborn.
...Maybe I already care a little bit.
She stoped writing, staring intently at that last line, reflecting upon her feelings.
i care about them... She wanted to change their point of view, so that they could have a better life. It wasn't because she feared that they would destroy the world... She knew she could destroy them. "I know enough."
She closed her journal with a renewed sense of purpose.