Hermione stared at Bellatrix who was smiling madly at her. Hermione didn't know what to do, what to say, how to react – she was immobilized by fear. How long has she been here? Did she listen to what they were speaking? Did she realize what they were planning?
Searching for strength, Hermione turned her gaze to Malfoy. His face immediately blanked, revealing no emotions, solely displaying his cold and uncaring façade.
"Aunt Bella," he greeted her with an annoyingly bored tone. "I didn't expect you here."
Bellatrix's eyes flashed, the mad smile still not leaving her face. "Oh, I thought I'd pay my dearest nephew a visit – he has been so long without a mother, he must need somebody, some womanly nature to attend to him. I was to take that role upon myself, and yet I find that it might not be necessary," her eyes glinted dangerously to Hermione, "somebody has already been doing that."
"You may be aware that the Mudblood is now my wife. I need to make heirs since I'm the last legitimate successor to both the Malfoy and the Back familial lines," Malfoy said calmly and confidently.
Bellatrix stood up from the armchair, her oddly shaped wand wobbling to the sides in her unsteady hand. "Oh, I'm aware…" she said poisonously. "I'm aware of a lot of things… The Dark Lord told me…"
She took a few steps towards them, her eyes switching from Malfoy to Hermione—whenever they landed on her, Hermione felt threatened and uneasy. Malfoy had moved to the front, covering Hermione with his body, his eyes watching Bella's wand movements carefully.
"What else I know," Bellatrix continued, "is that you could've chosen any wife you wanted, and yet you chose her!" She pointed her wand to Hermione, and Malfoy moved further to the side. "Why is that? Is it because you still have fee—"
"Tell me what you want and leave, Bella, I don't have time to talk of nothings with you," Malfoy cut off.
Bellatrix's lips set into a hard line, her right eye twitched – she seemed to be losing it. Her whole demeanor seemed a lot more deranged than the last time they saw each other.
She still kept pointing her wand and Hermione, but it was clear that is she was to shoot a curse it could hit Malfoy, and the chance of her speaking a Killing curse didn't seem unlikely at all, not when she was so full of anger and instability. Hermione thought of what to do. Malfoy stood before Bellatrix empty hand, Hermione wasn't sure if he really didn't have a wand with him or if he was not taking it out on purpose. Maybe he believed his aunt wouldn't hurt him? Hermione wasn't so sure of it, so she had to take precautions. She slowly leaned down to grasp the skirt of her dress, and started pulling it up, trying no to draw Bellatrix's attention. It seemed to be working because her attention was still on Malfoy, whose body hid Hermione from view.
"I heard what you said! You want to take down the Dark Lord! You—"
Hermione reached the wand attached to her thigh and pulled it out of the garter slowly.
"Remind me one more time, Aunt, when was the last time you heard someone talk about the Dark Lord and it turned out to be false? Was it this week? Last week? Or was it every singe instance you told the Dark Lord of some conspiracy only to found out very quickly you were hallucinating?" Malfoy sounded vaguely irritated.
But Bellatrix didn't buy that. "You want me to be mad, you wish I was as unstable as you tell everyone that I am, but I know what I heard, and I know I'm right!" Her wand shot out a rain of black-green sparks.
Hermione pointed her wand to Bellatrix, screaming, "Expelliarmus!" but she didn't do it fast enough – Bellatrix saw it before and yelled out the same spell. Hers was stronger, and Hermione felt her wand slip away from her fingers and shot up in the air until it ended up in Bellatrix's hand. A horrible self-satisfied grin distorted her face.
"Well, well, well, what do we have here…" She stared at Hermione's wand. "A Mudblood with a wand…" Her smile quickly evaporated as she started screeching. "Don't you know that Mudbloods cannot have wands! Don't you know that dirt like you has no right to use magic!" Hermione watched in terror and Bellatrix crushed the wand with her hands until it was nothing but a piece of wood with a no longer magical dragonstring still connecting the broken parts – her heart broke with it. "That's better," Bellatrix continued. "The Mudblood no longer has a wand. Now all I need to do is kill you, Mudblood, and my nephew won't have anyone bothering him…"
Hermione was so focused watching her wand her get destroyed that she didn't even notice how Malfoy took out his own and pointed it to Bellatrix who turned to him with a feverishly maniacal expression.
"You? Dare to point your wand at me?! You're a traitor, and I will make sure the Dark Lord knows it!"
Malfoy didn't seem affected by the words. He took four steps to Bellatrix, an unreadable expression on his face.
"No, you won't. You won't get out of this alive," he stated simply. Hermione could see that blood-thirsty look in his eyes that she now knew so well, and for the first time, she welcomed it with relief. Malfoy wasn't messing around. He was going to keep the promise he just made.
For Bellatrix the news took a while to hit home. Her expression turned from mad to confused to disbelieving. That's all she managed to show, she didn't even get to speak another word when she was hit with a Cruciatus. The spell was as unexpected as it was powerful and Bellatrix hit the ground, screeching and shuddering in agony, within that initial blow. It struck with a shot of red and continued for at least ten seconds. By the time it was over, Bellatrix had lost both her wand and the remains of Hermione's wand.
Malfoy stopped for five seconds, only to get closer to her and stare down at the violently shuddering woman. For the first time, Hermione saw true fear in Bellatrix's eyes, driven by an understand that she was truly not getting out of here, not whole at least. Malfoy kicked Bellatrix's wand away and it clattered down the wooden planks. Her lower lip wobbled and there were tears in her eyes as if what was happening right now was the greatest and most hurtful betrayal of all time for her. She seemed small and vulnerable, the mad and dangerous pose she exuded just half a minute ago now long gone.
Malfoy continued the Cruciatus with longer periods and less breaks – once, twice, thrice…. until Hermione lost count and Bellatrix lost the ability not only to speak words in the short breaks between the torture but also to give that pathetic look. Malfoy's curse zipped through her body like an electric wave until it didn't stop jolting even between the blows.
Hermione would even feel sorry for her if she didn't know what Bellatrix was like and if she hadn't experienced the Black witch's wrath first hadn't in this very living room. In fact, Hermione started to feel a welcoming warmth inside when she saw Bellatrix get Crucio'ed. Not only because she deserved it but also because there was something so exhilarating in watching him work.
Malfoy's eyes were widened, focused on the goal, wild and destructive, his pupils blown out, and Hermione loved every single expression of pure pleasure that appeared on his face. His bodily stance emanated such power she felt physically drawn to him like a rose is instinctively drawn to the sun. He must've felt her stare because he stopped abruptly in the middle of another Cruciatus and turned to her, his eyes dark and gleaming.
"Leave," he gritted out, his words echoing in the living room. He then turned from her, perhaps expecting she will do as she was told, but Hermione wasn't going anywhere, she was going to stay here and watch it all unfold.
After a minute or so Malfoy put the wand back in his pocket and Hermione was sure he was done with the torture, although Bellatrix still seemed conscious. He took off his suit jacket, unbuttoned the vest, throwing them both on the ground, then rolled up the sleeves of his white shirt. He left the living room and Hermione didn't know where he went and why he left his victim laying the – Bellatrix lifting a shaking pale hand in the ear as if wanting to reach something; she spoke up but all her words came out as incoherent garble.
Not a minute later Malfoy came back with a cane in his hand. Hermione recognized it as the one Lucius Malfoy always carried around – black, made of steel, with a snake on its head, sharp and heavy and long.
Hermione had so many questions but all of them were answered when he started hitting Bellatrix with it. His blows were hard, sharp, rhythmic and precise – just like he was. A new series of agonized wailing burst through Hermione's ears as Bellatrix suffered through a new, this time physical, torture, her body jerking viciously with every stroke he delivered.
She started walking to him when she realized Bellatrix was showing the last signs of life. Every howl Bellatrix let out made him even more agile while he smote through Bellatrix's flesh as if he were a butcher. Blood splattered freely from every new wound and it smeared his white shirt with red, it almost seemed like an art project – Hermione watched it all in awe. But she didn't want to lose him to this, so she put her hand on his shoulder softly.
His rage-consumed face turned to her. "I told you to leave!" he hissed out, his voice reminding more of a growl that a man-like sound.
Hermione swallowed. "Draco," she spoke quietly, watching the way his expression changed completely. "That's enough."
He turned to her with his full body, breathing heavily. He dropped the cane to the ground and they both stared down at the dying body of Bellatrix Lestrange. Drool ran down the corners of her lips that she no longer controlled to stay closed, her eyes became unseeing, rolling to the back of her head – a clear sign of irreparable brain damage. She wasn't dead yet, but he grabbed one of her legs and dragged her out of the living room – a crimson bloody trail was left behind of where the body was tarried.
Hermione stared at that trail while he dragged Bellatrix's body who knows were. It was hard for her to move from the spot, she felt immobilized by what she witnessed – although not because it frightened her, but because it filled her both with thrill and relief. Her torturer received even worse treatment, and now she was gone for good – if that wasn't a reason to feel relieved, Hermione didn't know what was.
He came back a minute later, his expression now more controlled, however Hermione felt just as high.
"You might want to get to your bedroom, I'll clean—" he began but didn't get to finish when she ate up the distance separating them in five long strides and crushed his mouth to his in a hungry-filled kiss.