This is the note I got from my beta – Thanks to her there are less mistakes now Actually after her corrections the story is 10 x better! So thanks to her. [Woot, new part of the story! \o/ OK, So… I will try to correct as much mistakes as I can find, but I'll probably accidentally leave a few out, or correct them wrong or something lol :p Whiii, on to the reading!]
I loved getting reviews the last time, so thanks! Also thanks to all who added this to their favourite lits and alerts. Let's get this started shall we?
The headmistress had known the answer the very instant she had looked in Bellatrix's eyes.
Minerva's emerald eyes narrowed angrily as she said with a new found conviction "I- I can't. I never have been able to and especially now. I won't and never will." She had spoken the last few words softly, almost whispering, having lost her earlier bravado.
"Min," Came the tired reply "You have to." Bellatrix finished softly. "Please, if not for me, do it for her."
The underlying meaning was abundantly clear. If Minerva didn't kill her, Hermione would die.
Bellatrix had a faraway look, the dark deep pools of her eyes reflected her sorrow, a slight sparkle entered the corner of her eye, and a hint of a smile formed on her knew exactly what to say to convince Minerva. Tomake her see that it would be the only way to save those she loved. Bellatrix knew this as no other, as she once too had belonged to that small group.
"Min," A soft yet determined voice of Bellatrix broke Minerva's thoughts. "you have to. Please, if not for me, then do it for her. Do it for the ones you love." Bellatrix pleaded.
Minerva was torn, she was physically shaking. Her hand griped her wand, clenching and unclenching it tightly. "Don't you understand, Bee-trix? You are part of the ones I love."
A tear made its way down Bellatrix's cheek. "Thank you." was all she said, though it actually meant so much more than that. Bellatrix's eyes hardened again. "Accio wand!" Her own wand flew towards her and the moment her fingers touched the old trusted wood, she fired a spell towards Minerva.
On pure instinct, and as a habit ingrained from surviving numerous wars, Minerva casted a protego.
Their spells clashed.
Time stood still.
Both looked into the other's eyes as a blinding light lit up the entire room before dying out and leaving it pitch black.
Minerva rapidly blinked her eyes. Even with her Animagus traits, the sudden light change had left her temporarily blind. Finally she could see something, a darker shadow of a figure lying on the ground: the figure of Bellatrix Black.
"Nooo!" she screamed while running over to her and kneeling down beside her. Minerva was crying while hugging the prone form of Bellatrix. The usual composed image she portrayed was long gone as she desperately tried to stop the bleeding. Her voice sounded broken while pleading desperately for Bellatrix to be alive.
Then she found it,
A pulse.
Minerva continued to plead, begging Bellatrix to hold on and stay conscious, to live.
A soft whisper broke her mantra.
"It, it's alright, Kitty-Kat. I'm happy knowing that you never stopped caring." Bellatrix struggled to breathe, each word she spoke took more effort and strength she didn't have. Yet she was determined to say what needed to be said. She had to for both Minerva and herself.
"The old oak…" she started again, but couldn't finish as she coughed up blood. This immediately set off Minerva. "shhsave your strength, you can tell me later. Don't worry, I haven't forgotten the old oak, I understand, don't worry just stay with me little Bee, just stay with me." She had spoken in a gentle voice but now continued in a stricter tone, yet never losing its warmth. "You're insane for casting that spell! Why did you?" It wasn't a question that needed answering. Both knew that the spell was highly risky and when a Protego was casted it would always fire back on the original person. Since its creation only a handful had survived the backfire, making it the fourth unofficial unforgivable. "Stay awake and safe your strength, we are going to save you." Minerva continued.
This brought a smile on Bellatrix's lips "N-never worked." and she was right, Minerva's stern tone never had worked on the then younger witch. If the situation wasn't so grim, Minerva would have laughed. Even now while dying, Bella continued to give her cheek. "That's right, it never did, Trixie, Merlin you were such a pain in the ass!"
A quiet moment of understanding passed between them. Minerva knew that there was nothing she could do and that Bellatrix didn't blame her. But Bellatrix also knew that despite all this, it would do nothing to stop Minerva from feeling guilty and blaming herself.
"Stop it. You saved me… now go save Hermione." her voice was weak but her eyes conveyed her believe that she firmly thought that Minerva had indeed saved her. But she wouldn't have been Bellatrix if she didn't give on final jab: "Go save Kitty-Kat junior."
Minerva's jaw slacked. She was gob smacked, how did she know? Not even Dumbledore knew and most certainly not her wife!
"H-How?" she stammered. All she got in reply was that typical cheeky grin and a wink. With that Bellatrix closed her eyes and took one final breath leaving this magical world to the next.
Minerva wanted to cry and cry until there were no more tears left, but she had a duty to fulfill. Tears could wait, for now she had to save her daughter. She lifted the body of the once feared Death Eater with the utmost care as if she was made of glass and gently kissed her on the top of her head.
She swore right there and then that she would not let Bellatrix go down in history as the most feared right hand of Voldemort, and she would get her had lost enough and had faced enough injustice from mankind, just because she had been born as the eldest into the Black family.
The wizarding world would know the truth.
With that in mind she apparated to Hogwarts' infirmary.
PAGE BREAK!
Hooch was worried; her wife had left two and a half hours ago.
A battle between even the greatest witches and wizards wouldn't have lasted that long. 'Just where in Merlin's name is she?' She couldn't help but beworried, there was this nagging voice in her head that told her there was more going on than she could see. And she had always trusted that voice. It had never proved her wrong before and it was a great thing to have in life.
It was also the reason she abruptly stopped her Quidditch career. Thus sparking off the most outrageous rumours, some of which came close to the truth although she didn't know it at the time. She went back down memory lane.
A thirty something year old Rolanda had no clue why she stopped with Quidditch at the time she did. All she knew was that she had to follow her gut instinct. So here she was, sitting across the world's most renowned wizard, Dumbledore, or as she preferred to call him 'Dumbledork', in the leaky caldron. His eyes twinkled as she slowly sipped her Firewhiskey, wondering what on earth the old coot wanted from her. Later on she found out that he had needed a flight instructor as Hogwarts' current one retired. Till this day she never understood why he had needed to be all mystical about it and hadn't just sent her a letter like a normal person would have. 'Dumbledork, you silly old coot with a heart of gold. I guess you just liked pranking people in your own special way.' It worked too, as she had indeed accepted the job after doing a very good fish impression when he had asked her. Although she had said yes, the only reason she did so was once again because of that little nagging voice. And it was right, as the job had led to her first meeting with the even then stern professor.
The moment she laid eyes on her, she knew why her instincts were always right. She was and still is the most gorgeous woman she ever saw. It was a battle of wills but eventually she coaxed Minerva into going on a date with her. Hooch smiled softly recalling the date.
She had planned their first date with the utmost care. She had thought about it a lot… and had planned even the tiniest details, only to have it completely ruined. She, Rolanda Hooch, world renowned Quidditch player, had tripped over her own two feet and ended up breaking her ankle as she was too busy drooling over how gorgeous Minerva looked in that emerald dress. So they had ended up in St. Mungo's with her being in loads of pain as she was administered the wrong potion by some dimwitted student healer. Back then she had been sure her chanceswith Minerva were shot. However, to her surprise, Minerva had stayed with her and they had talked the entire night until both of them ended up falling asleep all cuddled up together. Somehow it had been the most perfect date she'd ever had.
She was never wrong when she followed her instincts. That didn't mean that they didn't get her into trouble. Oh no, far from it. Most of the time when she did follow them, she always landed herself into a world of trouble. Just look at the thunderheads she had to teach! But she ever once regretted her decisions and that was priceless. It had led to some of the greatest and wonderful experiences in her life.
Rolanda smiled; even after all these years being married to the formidable witch, she was still just as much in love with her as the day they first met. Her mind reeled back to the present, worry prevailing over the happy memories. For all the good the voice did, she wished she didn't have this foreboding feeling. Something was wrong, very wrong.
PAGE BREAK! [random dancing! \o/ ..o.. o.. /o\..\o/!]
At the Weasley house a little while ago.
Molly Weasley knew her children. Even now, after they had moved out, she still knew exactly when one of her kids was up to something. This is exactly why she hadn't commented on Luna's odd behavior or even attempted to stop the forth coming chaos, recognizing it for what it was. A distraction. In the corner of her eye she saw Luna make a quick escape upstairs. Normally she would have interfered but she figured that Luna could use the time for whatever needed to be said to Ginny. It needed to be done in private. She watched with dread as her living room transformed into a farm complete with its very own cattle and then some.
Once the chaos had settled Luna's absence was quickly noticed. Ron was the first to vocalize this: "Luna's been eaten. She's gone!" Molly truly loved her son but even she had to admit that he wasn't the sharpest tool in the broom shed. Or as one of the twins once put it: 'The fire's lit, but the cauldron's empty.' Molly decided that she had to control the situation quickly before one of her kids, if not all of them, did something rash. "RONALD BILIUS WEASLEY, Luna was not eaten by some animal, I sent her to bed as she looked rather tired." Playing on her role as mother hen, she hoped no one could tell she was lying. However, Harry seemed like he wanted to say something, yet before he could do so she interrupted him. "And now all of you clean this mess up!" Everyone quickly obeyed and no further questions were asked. Besides, you had to be mad to go against the will of the Weasley matriarch. Still, she couldn't help but wonder what was going on. After she saw Luna disappear upstairs she had noticed them both apparate through the wards. Wherever they had gone off to, she knew it had to be important. After all her little girl wouldn't never leave her room on this day, mourning the loss of Hermione while silently hoping against all odds she would see her again one day.
She truly felt for her daughter. Nothing could cheer her up, and ever since Hermione disappeared at the final battle she seemed to have lost a piece of herself. Nothing anyone tried had worked and if you pushed her too far Ginny would stay in her room for days on end.
Suddenly Molly connected the dots.
Luna had a shift, Luna's shift would have been with Ginny but Minerva took her place… Minerva, Hogwarts! That's where they were… But why? Why now? Today was the day they had won the war, Hermione had disappeared, and Ginny, being the stubborn witch she is, would only leave her room for one reason… Hermione!
Her first instinct was to follow them, for both her daughter and Minerva. No mother should have gone through what Minerva did. Losing your own child who didn't even know she was her child to begin with. Oh, she had never asked Minerva to confirm her suspicion but she had caught the look once when Minerva had talked about the bushy haired witch.
Though there was one occasion, where she faced the wrath of an angry mother. An angry mother whose name was... Minerva McGonagall.
Beta's note: [whiiii, how much more is coming? :D :D I want to know more about Hermione! XD]
Authors note: So after a lot of thought, I did decide to let Bellatrix die. Though if you all want her alive say so in a review as I have a plan to let her come back if wanted. Lemme know your thoughts, please.