I've managed to write another chapter! Yay! Hope you, dear readers, enjoy it.
.
Also, I realized a bit too late that I made the result of the vote on Bellatrix's case negative so I fixed that.
"What is your name?"
"Bellatrix Black"
"In what year were you born?"
"1951"
"The Veritaserum is working. Let's start. Ms. Black, what happened on June 17, 1981?"
"Albus Dumbledore attacked Lestrange Manor, where I was staying with my children. Rodolphus took me and apparated to Malfoy Manor before returning to Lestrange Manor with Lucius to rescue my babies. It was too late. Frank Longbottom had killed Polaris while Serpens was taken. We have no idea what happened to Serpens. I still don't know what happened to my baby boy. He could be alive or dead. He could be suffering at the hands of the Order or worse, and I'll never know"
"Ms. Black, who is your children's father?"
"Tom Riddle"
"Who is Tom Riddle?"
"A half-blood I fell in love with, but he just disappeared one night"
"Why were you at the Longbottoms house when you were captured?"
"Rodolphus went with Rabastan because he wanted revenge. I went to stop them"
"Did you torture the Longbottoms with the Cruciatus?"
"Yes"
"Why?"
"They killed my baby girl"
"Voting in regards to the innocence of Ms. Bellatrix Black"
At first glance, all that could be seen was an accusing crimson, angry and unforgiving. At second glance, the other lords raised their wands, their tips a tranquil, merciful blue. At third glance, the result of the vote was decided.
"Bellatrix Black, you're free to go"
A thin, sickly looking woman was huddled in the corner of her cold, damp cell. She didn't seem to hear him and the Auror was about to repeat himself when a smooth voice came from behind him.
"Auror Dominic, I'll take it from here"
"Go ahead" An eyeroll later, the Auror left.
Lucius walked into the dirty cell and towards Bellatrix. He slowly leaned down so he was at eye level with her, "Bellatrix, it's me, Lucius. I'm here to get you out of here"
Bellatrix made no move to reply.
"Bellatrix, if you don't stand up by yourself, I'm going to have to carry you"
Again, the witch made no move to reply or show understanding. Lucius sighed. Who knew what this wretched place had done to a once lively witch?
He moved to pick her up, but the moment his hands touched her, she was screaming wildly and flailing her limbs haphazardly in an effort to protect herself. Lucius cursed and moved back quickly when her nails made contact with his face. He drew his wand and aimed it at the struggling witch. "Stupefy," he murmured softly. Immediately, Bellatrix fell limp and Lucius moved to her side, gently picking her up bridal style after murmuring a lightweight charm. He made quick work of shrinking and pocketing the witch's belongings from Auror Dominic, who was waiting for him at the apparition point, before he apparated into Malfoy Manor's entrance. "Narcissa! My Lord!"
In an instant, five more people were standing in the entrance of Malfoy Manor. Narcissa stared at her sister for a moment before snapping back to attention, "kids! Go to your rooms immediately! Serpens, stay with Orion!"
Orion was about to object when Tom turned to him with a sharp look, "don't. Listen to your aunt"
Orion nodded and grabbed his brother's arm, pulling Harry to his suite.
Once the kids were out of the way, the adults made their way towards a guest bedroom. Lucius laid Bellatrix on the bed gently before taking his spell off her. Narcissa, who had had Healers' training, wasted no time in chanting a number of charms over her sister. She waited for the results to be written before snatching the parchment.
Malnourishment
Dehydration
Anemia
Early menopause
Signs of mental abuse
Acute insanity
Insomnia
PTSD
Narcissa cursed silently as she handed the parchment to Tom and moved to bring all the potions her sister would need. Tom's eyebrows furrowed as he read everything on the list. Bellatrix and Serpens had almost the same problems. He knew the PTSD and insanity would be much harder to deal with though.
Taking a seat next to her, he stared down at her sadly and brushed her hair away from her face. She looked so different from the last time he saw her. His beautiful, lean, rosy witch was replaced with a hollow-cheeked gray-skinned woman covered in dirt, blood, and Merlin knows what. Her previously thick, uncontrollable hair stuck to her face, greasy and unhealthy, not an ounce of its past glory in it.
"Prepare everything she would need. I'm taking her home," Tom spoke softly.
Narcissa was about to object when Tom silenced her, "she deserves to heal in her own room, in her own home. Staying here would overwhelm her, for many reasons. You know I'll take good care of her"
Narcissa nodded, knowing how much better it would be for Bellatrix to be in a place she considers home, "I'll prepare everything she would need for her physical recuperation. Her mental healing is a separate process though. Her insanity and PTSD could be dealt with using Occlumency, but she will have to re-learn to organize her mind. As for getting her back to normal, I believe behavioral therapy should do the trick"
"No," Tom said softly.
"I beg your pardon?" confusion laced Narcissa's voice.
"There will be no 'getting her back to normal', Bellatrix has gone through a traumatic life. She's bound to have changed. She can't get back to, or be forced to go back to, the way she used to be. I'll deal with her mental issues my way. As for her physical health, send all the potions she will need to Slytherin Manor"
"As you wish, My Lord," with that, Narcissa made her way to their Potions store.
"Lucius," Tom called quietly.
"Yes?"
"I'll be busy taking care of Bellatrix for the upcoming future. Can Serpens and Orion stay with you meanwhile?"
"Of course. They're welcome here all the time. They're family, after all"
"Good"
With that, Tom took the unconscious Bellatrix into his arms, holding her close to his chest as he apparated away. Lucius sighed as he left the room, searching for his wife.
Tom laid Bellatrix on the bed gently. He simultaneously vanished her filthy Azkaban uniform and summoned a cloth and water. He grit his teeth at the sight of her body, so thin he could count her ribs. Cursing every Ministry worker and every Auror who had a hand in Bellatrix's imprisonment, Tom took care to avoid accidentally hurting her while cleaning her as thoroughly as possible.
After he was done cleaning her body, Tom scoured Bellatrix's hair. It left her mane free of grime but still greasy and unhealthy. The frustrated wizard sighed, he couldn't do better than that at the moment. Summoning a comfortable pair of pajamas from the closet, he dressed her in them and assessed his handiwork. Sighing again, he leaned down to place a gentle kiss on her head, "you'll be alright, I promise"
He then left for the kitchen, where his owl, Ares, was waiting with a basket sent by Narcissa. He opened the basket and pulled out everything in it, finding multiple potions and a container of soup and bread. There was a note from Narcissa,
Don't let her eat too much at a time, her body can't handle it. There's a schedule of the times she should drink her potions. I'm taking care of Serpens' problems. I'll leave the ribs for later since they would have to be regrown and he wants you with him.
Tom made a mental note to thank Narcissa later as he made himself a light sandwich. He felt sick to his stomach and didn't want to eat but knew he had to take care of himself if he was planning on taking care of Bellatrix. He couldn't do that if was collapsing from hunger. Forcing himself to eat the sandwich, he heated some of the soup for Bella and made his way back to their bedroom, only to find Bellatrix not where he left her.
Tom cursed silently, placing the tray of food on the bedside table as he started to search for his lover. He found her in a corner, hugging her knees to her chest while muttering and sobbing. Tom gulped back his own emotions and moved to kneel in front of her.
"Bella, darling, you're safe. You're safe now. You're out of Azkaban. You're never going to that wretched place again. Come on, darling," he reached out towards her, only to have her start thrashing wildly and crying out, "that's what you always say! I'm not getting out of here! You're just playing with my mind again!" Tom was taken aback. So that's how the Dementors played with her head...
Someone was going to pay for this, someone was going to pay dearly...
Tom shook his head. This was not the time to think about revenge. He had to prove to Bella that this was real. An idea suddenly struck him, but he knew he would be risking a lot by trying it. He looked at the struggling witch in front of him and knew he had to at least try. He moved to hold her, pulling her thrashing form to his chest. He held her tightly as she fought to get out of his hold. "This is real," he said before leaning down, kissing her as gently as he could, entering her mind at the same time, letting his consciousness brush against hers. Bellatrix slowly stopped fighting then. Tom pulled back slowly to study her reaction. There was a reason love was considered a powerful tool in the Wizarding World.
Bellatrix reached out reluctantly, placing the palm of her hand against Tom's cheek, "Tom, is it really you?" She asked as tears slowly rolled down her face.
"Yes, love, it is me. And I'm not going anywhere. Not this time"
Bellatrix broke down sobbing then. Tom kept quiet, holding her close to his chest and letting her release it all. Once she was calm enough, he carried her and headed towards the bathroom, where he drew a warm bath. He undressed her slowly before carrying her again and placing her in the tub. He slowly took care of her, draining the tub when the water got too sullied and filling it again. Bellatrix cried softly as Tom soaked her up in his love. It had been too long, too long since she last felt his care or love, too long without him, too long without… without her babies… her babies… Orion… WHAT HAPPENED TO HER SON?!
"Tom," urgency and anxiety deeply laced her voice.
Tom looked up at her, his eyes holding a look of alarm, "what is it, love?"
"Orion. What happened to Orion?"
"Oh," Tom relaxed again, "he's with your sister, in Malfoy Manor. She raised him after I disappeared and you..." he couldn't bring himself to say it.
"Went to Azkaban"
"Yes." At that point, Bella was completely clean, so Tom drained the tub and carried her away, wrapping her in a towel. He summoned another pair of her pajamas and helped her dress herself. He then carried her back to the bed, laying her gently and getting her the tray of food. He was suddenly thankful that he had placed heat preservation charms on them. "Narcissa sent it. I didn't make it, I promise," he said as he gave her the bowel of hot soup. Bellatrix laughed to the best of her ability, "we all know how bad of a cook you are"
Tom smiled and sat beside Bellatrix on the bed. He rubbed her knee comfortingly and spoke, "you'll be alright, I promise. We won't let this stop us. You'll need time to heal, but you'll be alright, because you're the toughest witch I ever met and you won't let Azkaban get in your way"
Alright, that's it for now. Reviews welcome as always. In fact, I'd like to ask a couple quick questions before ending this...
1) Would you like to see Polaris' case reopened?
2) What would you like to see happen?
I would just like to deeply thank those who reviewed and answered my questions before. You guys rock!
