Chapter 37: Bella Plus Two
Blaise Zabini joined the house five days ago. At first he seemed set on planning specific destruction for those who had hurt his mother. Draco and Tracey spent the first couple days trading time with the boy.
Then Mrs. Malfoy stepped in. She had known the boy almost as long as his own mother. It was through her that he conceded that the whole Dark Lord organization needed to be stopped and allies could help with that.
Harry, however, would not be convinced by the boy to give permission to any amount of torture for certain member after the final battle. Blaise had a decent idea of who his mother's villains were and while Harry's influence wouldn't stop him, vengeance might end up being more subtle.
October 6th, two weeks after Blaise joined Number 12 Grimmauld Place, the group gathered in the War Room, as Ron had taken to calling it.
"We have six weeks until the final battle," Luna starts. "In that time, we will need to take out these Death Eaters." A paper flutters to the table.
Bellatrix Lestrange
Jugson
Thorfinn Rowle
"There's more?" Ron asks, glancing up.
"Yes, well...the...er...effects of Bellatrix's run in had some unforeseen consequences," Luna says.
"In the form of two more names?" Draco says. Luna nods. "Will there be opportunities for each in the next six weeks?"
"Yes," Luna answers, "but we will be cutting it close."
Draco pulls Blaise off to the side after the meeting.
"You don't have to fight," Draco say. "They light doesn't demand it." Blaise huffs.
"I know mate," he answers. "But I do have to, not for them, for my mother." Draco sighs.
"I thought you said you were a lover not a fighter," Draco adds with a raised eyebrow.
"I lied," Blaise laughs. "But I understand why you won't," he says quietly. Draco nods.
"Be careful," Draco says and walks out the door.
Blaise comes up behind Hermione and slings an arm around her shoulders.
"What are we going to do with him?" he asks. She shrugs.
"I don't know about you, but I thought I would snog him," she says. Blaise laughs loudly.
"You are perfect for our little albino," he says and walks away as well.
Blaise has an easiness about him, the same kind of lightheartedness that the twins carry. Yet there is a tightness hinted in his movements that speak of pain. The pain Hermione and Draco saw when they told him about his mother.
"Blaise," Draco claps him on the shoulder and herds him into the house. Blaise looks around Number 12 Grimmauld Place.
"So this is where you've been hiding out," he says. "I was surprised to hear from you. I wasn't sure if the rumors were true. That you left the dark side."
"Then why did you come?" Hermione asks suddenly. "If you weren't sure if Draco was working for You-Know-Who, this could have been a trap." Blaise chuckles.
"Nah," he answers, "Draco, even evil Draco, wouldn't pull me into a trap. It was part of the deal." Hermione eyes the two ex-Slytherins.
"What deal?"
"The best kind," Blaise answers. "Unwritten, unspoken, unsure." The witch raises her eyebrows at the man.
"You'll get used to him," Draco says to her.
"How about the question of the hour," Blaise says. "Why now?"
"I...wasn't sure if it was safe to before, but...come in here," Draco directs him into an unused room, one that will be his. Draco casts the usual privacy spells as Blaise sits on the bed. Draco meets his friends eyes.
"Were you aware that the Dark Lord had your mother?" Draco asks. The dark skinned boy pales.
"Where is she?" he whispers.
"She was found on one of our raids," Draco continues. "She was brought here, but what had been done...there was no recovering from it." A sob breaks out of Blaise's throat, eyes wide and pleading for it to be a lie.
"No," he gasps.
"When you are ready, I'll take you to where she's buried," Draco says, voice and face solemn.
Blaise shakes with silent sobs. Draco touches his shoulder.
"No," Blaise whispers over and over. Hermione feels like she's intruding on the moment, but she's there for a reason.
"I promised I would pass on a message for her," she says. His eyes snap to her. "'My light, my love, my soul. I will love you for forever and more.'" He nods.
"Thank you," he whispers.
"Let me know if you need anything," Hermione says as she and Draco slip out of the room.
"You didn't tell him that we had to...what was done to her," she says to Draco once they are tucked away in the library.
"The knowledge of what his mother suffered will only cause him more pain. He doesn't need to know how bad it was," Draco answer. She nods and snuggles into his side.
"Merlin," Blaise shouts as Draco tends to his wand arm.
"Do I need to gag you?" Draco asks. "Stop moving."
"It bloody hurts," Blaise yells at the blonde. The twins snicker across the kitchen/emergency healing room.
"It always bloody hurts," Ron says. "But it's better that losing the arm."
"I'm going to silence all of you," Draco says, still bent over Blaise's arm.
"Please do," Hermione chips in, her head throbbing.
"Did you at least take out Jugson?" Draco asks.
"Yeah," Harry says. "He was actually harder than Rowle."
"That leaves only-" Tracey starts.
"Bellatrix," Fred spits.
"Again," George adds.
"Well get her this time," Blaise promises. "After all, you have me."
"Looking at this, that doesn't fill me with confidence," Draco says, finishing wrapping the arm. "Hermione." The witch steps forward and sits on the table once Blaise moves. The world sways and she braces her hands on each side to stay upright.
"Who did a number on your head?" Draco asks, running diagnostic spells.
"Jugson," she bites out as the pain spikes.
"Lay down," Draco directs her flat on the table. He tilts a spoon to her lips, "Drink." The world goes blurry and then black.
It's four days before Draco lets Hermione out of bed, and even then he's reluctant. But maybe that has more to do with the meeting in the War Room.
"Two weeks," Luna says, "exactly."
"So November 26th?" Hermione asks. "A Wednesday?" The blonde girl nods.
"Yes, who would think to purposely disrupt a school on a Wednesday?" she poses. A round of shrugged and it's decided. Wednesday it is.
"But before that," Luna continues.
"Bellatrix," Fred spits once again.
"Yes, and there is only one opportunity. Sunday night is the only chance we'll get," Luna says. "She will be physically impaired with the missing eye, but don't underestimate her. She is as deadly as ever."
"What are the odd?" Draco asks. Hermione knows he is asking for the odds of successfully taking her out as much as the odds of death for one of theirs.
"We can do this," is all Luna says.
Hermione can understand Luna sentiment not to delve into odds when she's in the chaos of battle that Sunday night. This is the worse of the raids they've been in in this timeline.
Hermione reflects another spell and returns fire. Blaise is at her back, returning fire at the two Death Eaters there.
"Down," Ron shouts and all of their side drop to the ground. A few Death Eaters follow suit, but the others are dropped by the area spell Ron released as waist level. They may rise again, but not for a good few hours and even then it's an if.
Bellatrix is among those who dropped to the ground. Tracey tackles Ron down as a killing curse is sent his way. The area spell is a nice trick for when they're in over their heads, but it weakens Ron terribly. With Bellatrix and four other Death Eaters still going, Tracey will need to stand guard over a recovering Ron.
"Stupid blood traitor," Bellatrix shouts before aiming more spells at a prone Ron. The twins quickly interfere, but it is easy to see that may not be enough.
Hermione wraps vines around one Death Eater. He cannot cast cutting spells faster than she grow and wrap the vines. Hermione sees the green light heading towards Blaise's back and doesn't hesitate. She can't. The witch whips the Death Eater in front of the killing curse. He drops to the ground with empty eyes.
"Brother," the Death Eater who shot the spell cries. He turns to Hermione and begins stalks forward. He deflects her curses to the ground. The ones that get through do not slow him down.
"Filthy," he hisses, "little...mudblood...wh-" He falls forward onto his face.
"I think not," Blaise says, then turns to another opponent. Hermione rushes to Harry's side. She blasts his Death Eater back.
"Help the twins," she orders. "I've got this."
A lick of fire wraps around Bellatrix's left legs and pulls it back towards Harry. The witch cackles.
A black eye patch covers Bellatrix's missing left eye. Silver covers the left half of her forehead, down over the eye socket and cheek to the chin. The dark silver stretches from the outside of the nose over to wear an ear should have been. The metal matches the hand Voldemort made for Pettigrew.
Bellatrix growls and starts launching deadly curses as Harry. He dodges, but the twins are still pinned down behind cover, seeing curses headed their own way anytime they try to enter the fray again.
"Enough," Bellatrix screams. "Avada Kedavra!" The green light flashes towards Harry. With speed unknown, he throws himself to the side, the spell passing over him by inches.
When eyes turn back to the witch, her face is bubbling, at least the metal parts. The black silver pulls away from her face, sliding down around her throat.
"Mine," the metal hisses as it circles around her neck.
"My Lord," she screams, clawing at the metal. Half her face is gone, missing cheek and brow bones as well at some teeth and the skin. The silver clamps down around her neck.
"Only mine," it hisses and the body is still.
"Bloody hell," Ron comments. The last Death Eater standing, looks around and disapparated.
"Let's get back," Hermione says and they pop away to a very crowded top step.
"Why do you think it killed her?" Draco asks the next day over tea between him and Hermione.
"He ordered that no one was to kill Harry except him. The magic was his and saw her sending a killing curse at him as a betrayal," Hermione explains.
"That's why swearing loyalty to psychopaths never works out," Draco says. She roll her eyes.
"Yeah, that's one reason," she says, trying to smile though she's still shaking from last night.
"Only nine days," Hermione whispers. Draco grips her hand.
"I know."