The giant bells of Big Ben rang in the new hour. Bellatrix, leaning on the banister atop the tower, contorted her face in annoyance. Not only because those damn bells were awfully loud, but also because those stupid kids had yet to show up and she grew tired of waiting. She let her eyes wander over the city's rooftops, bathed in the pallid light of the almost full moon. A drawn-out sigh escaped her throat. How much longer would those wretched brats need to get here? If she remembered correctly, Thestrals were supposed to be quite fast flyers, so they shouldn't be too far off anymore.
With another deep sigh she sat down next to her satchel, she'd neatly leaned against the wall. She reached inside and fumbled around for a bit, before she produced a vial filled with blood.
"Last one, huh?" she mused, as she regarded the little bottle with bored eyes.
Somehow, that fact made her nervous. She remembered how long it took for her to get used to drinking blood. She had refused to drink it for several days at first, maybe even weeks – she couldn't recall exactly. Only after almost starving to death and being force-fed, had she reluctantly started to drink it. But only ever out of these bottles. She eyed the vial in her hand while slowly turning it.
For the past fourteen years she had been provided with blood whenever she needed it. However, with this last bottle gone, she would have to get it on her own.
With yet another sigh Bellatrix uncorked the bottle and drained its contents in one go. No use in postponing the inevitable. Next time she needed blood, she'd have to get it directly from someone. The thought somehow made her feel uneasy but the vampiress had no time to dwell on it. In the far distance she finally saw the long-awaited students. The horse-like Thestrals flapped their wings in the night sky, slowly lowering altitude to land in the streets of London.
The kids disappeared somewhere in between the houses of the city. Bellatrix apparated to the nearest rooftop and, ignoring the unpleasant feeling in her stomach, walked up to the edge and peered down to the scene below. The Thestrals, having been unmounted, were already taking off again on their own, while the children tried to squeeze themselves into a telephone booth. There was hardly enough room but somehow, they managed to fit. The Potter-boy inserted a coin and punched in some numbers on the telephone.
Idiots, she thought repulsively, as if entering the Ministry would be that simple at this hour.
But to her great surprise the inside of the phone booth actually started to move and disappeared into the ground.
Strange.
Although, giving it a little more thought, it actually wasn't. After all, it was a trap set by her Lord to catch the boy, so it would only make sense for the group to get into the Ministry with ease. And, of course, that would make getting inside much simpler for her, as well.
Unfortunately, she didn't have any coins on her – muggle or wizard. Luckily, she knew another nearby entrance. Admittedly, it was a bit disgusting to flush oneself down a toilet, but she was left without any other options. Apparating was definitely out of the question. It would make too much noise and could possibly even set off some kind of alarm spell.
So, the vampire made her way to the public toilet, she'd have to use to gain entrance into the Ministry. However, when she first stepped inside the restroom, she immediately regretted it. The floor was lined with torn toilet paper. A puddle of what she could only hope was water spanned across the room. A stench the likes of which the witch had never thought she'd have to endure in her life violated her nostrils. Only due to her exceptional self-control she managed not to puke on the spot.
As fast as she possibly could, Bellatrix raced into one of the stalls, eager to leave this hotbed of filth behind her. Hesitantly, she stepped into the toilet and hastily pulled the handle to flush herself into the Ministry.
A moment later the vampiress gladly took in a waft of the odourless air that filled the spacious hall. Well, not entirely odourless. She could still smell the faint scent of the students lingering in the air; what worked greatly in her favour. All she had to do was follow her nose and they'd lead her directly to her Lord.
But, after only a single step, she stopped again. The heeled shoes she was wearing made a loud clacking noise. Without even wasting a thought on it, the witch discarded them. She thought them uncomfortable anyway, so it was no great loss at all.
Now she could finally focus on what she was here to do.
Following the scent of the kids, Bellatrix soon reached the elevators. Only one of them had been used and was currently located on the lowest floor.
She recalled the Department of Mysteries being there and furrowed her brows in thought.
Why would the Dark Lord go out of his way to lure the boy there? Couldn't he have just killed him anywhere?
But then it dawned on her.
The prophecy! He wants Potter to get the prophecy for him.
A wicked smirk formed on her lips.
Well, I better hurry, then. To make sure the prophecy reaches him.
As on cue the elevator doors slid open. She stepped inside and pressed the button for the downmost level.
The ride down only took a couple of seconds. The scent of the kids got a little stronger, telling the vampiress that she was catching up. Following her nose further she walked down the hall that stretched out before her and reached a plain black door. It sprung open upon approach and Bellatrix stepped inside.
She found herself in a circular room with doors at set intervals all around. Three of them were marked with a fiery cross. The one behind her fell shut and suddenly the room began to spin around her. The witch immediately closed her eyes to shield herself from the fiery crosses and blue torches, that were lined along the wall.
"Well, that explains the markings," she murmured to herself when she reopened her eyes, after the room had stopped rotating, "quite clever, I have to say."
Taking a whiff, she turned to one of the black doors and approached it, sporting a smirk. As much as she loathed the fact of being a vampire, this heightened sense of smell really came in handy.
She pushed the door open and found herself in a rectangular room. A brilliant, dazzling light flashed her eyes and she had to squint for a few seconds to give them time to adjust. Bookcases and desks were placed along the length of the room. Every free space was covered with clocks, which filled the room with an obnoxious ticking noise. Nonetheless, the sight of all the different kinds of clocks, paired with the beautiful, diamond-sparkling light was truly magnificent. So, she stopped for a bit to enjoy the marvellous display.
For a little bit too long, it seemed, as the door at the far end of the room suddenly flung open and a very rushed-looking boy stumbled in, holding the door open for, she guessed, the other students.
Thinking quickly, Bellatrix dived into the nearest door to the side and quietly shut it behind her, pressing one ear against it to hear what was going on outside.
Though muffled, she could hear a lot of running around, spells being shouted and at some point, breaking glass, which repeated over and over again.
Bellatrix, her fingers itching, could hardly wait to join the fray. But right as she wanted to open the door, she noticed the sound of footsteps growing louder, heading directly for her. With a quick leap the vampire jumped behind the desk just in time before the door burst open and, after three people entering the room, slammed shut again.
"Collo—" she heard the voice of a girl attempt to cast a spell, but before she could, the door was flung open again and two more people entered.
"IMPEDIMENTA!" both of them yelled, a triumphant undertone in their voice.
Bellatrix was a little startled as one of the kids suddenly sailed over the desk and landed right in front of her – luckily, faced away from her. She heard one of them collide with a bookshelf and a rain of books coming down on them. The witch, grabbing her wand, prepared herself to finally join the action, when something stopped her. Something she was more than familiar with.
The smell of blood.
She took a deep breath through the nose, taking in as much of this marvellous scent as she possibly could. The vampire swallowed hard as her heart-rate accelerated. She remembered that ravishing odour only too well. It was the same she had smelled in the Forbidden Forest earlier today, only even more intense. Her throat dried up; her thirst grew stronger by the second. The surging desire to sink her teeth into the source of this magnificent perfume pulsated through her whole body. She clutched her violently throbbing head with her shaking fingers, trying to fight this almost unbearable sensation inside her.
But it was too much to handle. The urge for blood, the desire to hunt simply overwhelmed her. And as her vampiric instincts took over, her mind blanked out.
She knew it. She knew this was going to happen. She'd told him that it could be a trap, but he wouldn't listen. And now, here they were, running away from the Death Eaters, fighting for their very lives.
Of course, Hermione understood Harry's motivation to come here; Sirius was his only family, after all. But it could've been handled so much better than to just plunge in head first. If they had paused for a moment to think things through, they might've not ended up in such a precarious situation.
But now was not the time to think about 'what ifs'. Right now, they had to focus on their survival.
Harry, after spotting the two Death Eaters coming from the room up front, veered to the left and headed straight towards an office door – Hermione and Neville close behind.
The moment they passed the threshold, Harry slammed the door shut. Hermione turned around immediately to enchant the door shut.
"Collo—"
She was cut off halfway through, as the door burst open again and their two pursuers stepped inside, raising their wands.
"IMPEDIMENTA!" the pair cried in triumph.
Hermione felt the impact of the spell and was lifted from her feet. She collided with the bookshelf behind her and was showered with a load of tomes falling out of it. The sharp edge of one of the heavier ones hit her hard on the temple. Her skin was cut open and she could already feel her blood trickling out of the wound.
"WE'VE GOT HIM!" yelled the Death Eater nearest Harry, "IN AN OFFICE OFF—"
"Silencio!" Hermione cried and the man's voice died out. He tried to keep shouting, but no sound would leave his mouth. The other dark wizard shoved him aside and raised his wand.
"Petrificus Totalus!" Harry, reacting fast, fired his spell at the criminal. His arms and legs snapped together and he fell forwards, face down onto the rug to Harry's feet, stiff as a board and unable to move.
"Well done, Ha—" Hermione wanted to compliment her best friend but was cut off, as she saw the Death Eater, she had just silenced make a slashing movement towards her out of the corner of her eyes. She closed them and readied herself for the impact… that never came. Confused, she opened her eyes again to see that the evil sorcerer's gaze had shifted to something else.
For lack of better judgement, Hermione followed his line of sight, only to be dumbstruck herself. There, behind the office's desk, stood a tall, stunning woman. Her long, thick, shining hair fell down her shoulders in a cascade of onyx silk. Her long black dress wrapped itself perfectly around her hour-glass shaped figure. She was a picture of perfect beauty. Unfortunately, she knew exactly who that woman was: Bellatrix Lestrange – a Death Eater. She remembered her from a picture she saw in the Daily Prophet after the mass breakout of Azkaban.
But for now, the fact that she was one of Voldemort's fiercest followers wasn't even her greatest concern.
It was her face that filled her heart with fear.
Although, surely gorgeous under normal circumstances, it currently was distorted with something Hermione couldn't quite place.
The eyes shone with an eerie, menacing, yellow gleam; the white of her eyes had turned black, what only served to intensify the almost golden glare. Her teeth were bared and, she might be mistaken, but her canines seemed to be longer than usual, giving them more of a fang-like appearance than anything else.
Something wasn't right here. Why did she look like that? What happened to her? What was she?
The girl's brain went into overdrive, trying to make sense of it all.
But whatever it was, it struck pure fear into her very core.
And what made matters even worse, was that the sinister witch was staring right at her.
In search of encouragement from her best friend, Hermione took a glance at Harry. Their eyes met but, to her great dismay, he seemed just as bewildered as her.
Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed the still silent Death Eater waving his wand around and ultimately pointing it towards Bellatrix.
But before the curse even had the time to form, Hermione sprang into action. Why, though, she couldn't explain herself.
"Expelliarmus!"
The dark wizard's wand flew out of his hand towards the brunette. The young witch reached out to catch it, but immediately stopped short, startled. Bellatrix, from across the whole room, had pounced on the Death Eater and pinned him to the ground, choking him with one hand. Hermione just stood there and watched in horror, her body trembling with fear, as the man's body started writhing under the black witch's grip and ultimately stopped moving.
The brunette took an involuntary step back and tripped over the books that had fallen down earlier and crashed into the bookshelf again. That snapped Bellatrix' attention away from her victim and back onto Hermione. The girl froze the moment those eerie, golden eyes laid themselves upon her.
"Stupefy!"
A red jet of magical light hit Bellatrix on the back of her head. Hermione's heart sank, when she realized, that the spell had been cast by her best friend. Bellatrix promptly turned around and leaped over to Harry, slamming the boy into the wall behind him.
"NO! STOP!" Hermione cried in terror and raised her trembling arm and shakily pointed her wand at the dark witch.
Not letting go of her best friend, Bellatrix turned towards the girl.
"L-Let him go," the brunette demanded, her voice quivering and she tried to force herself to stop shaking – with little success.
A few, painfully long seconds passed, in which they only stared at each other. Hermione was just about to cast a curse, when another voice stopped her.
"B-Belladrix Ledrange!"
It was Neville, nose broken and pointing his own wand at the raven-haired woman, shaking even more than Hermione was.
Bellatrix' reaction to the new threat was almost instantaneous. She tightened her grip on Harry and threw him to the other boy. The two collided and fell to the ground, losing their consciousness.
The brunette could only watch in horror, as it slowly dawned on her, that now, she was all alone with that maniacal woman. She saw her already coming closer out of the corner of her eye. Her heart clenched. Tears filled her eyes.
She knew she couldn't beat the witch. She knew there was no way out, no clever solution to slip out of this situation.
That was it. This was the end.
But she wouldn't give up without a fight. She mustered up all the courage she had left and raised her wand on Bellatrix… but it was already too late. The raven-haired witch had already reached her and simply grasped her wrist and pushed it against the bookshelf behind her. The other hand gently grabbed her chin and turned her head to the side, while Bellatrix' face came steadily closer.
Tears started to roll down Hermione's face when the older witch stuck out her tongue and touched her cheek with it, proceeding to lick the side of her face all the way up to her temple, where she felt a sharp sting. Only now did she remember that she had been cut open there by a book earlier. She had even forgotten that she was still bleeding. She felt Bellatrix' lips softly enclosing her wound and tenderly sucking the blood out of it.
And, suddenly, like the last piece of a puzzle falling into place, everything made sense to Hermione. The yellow eyes, the fang-like canines, her inhuman strength and now, the blood-drinking.
She's… a vampire?!
Hermione's eyes widened in panic and her breathing accelerated. The grip on her chin loosened and the soft lips detached themselves from her scalp. She turned her head back towards her attacker, who stared right back at her. Another torrent of terror surged through her. Her body tensed up, frozen in fear.
But as soon as those gleaming, golden eyes captivated her own, something strange happened. All the fright, all the panic and unease she had just felt, was gone in an instant – replaced by a feeling of tranquillity. Her muscles relaxed, her breathing calmed down and her heart rate stabilized.
A pleasantly cool hand laid itself on her cheek and she willingly leaned into the soothing touch. As if in trance she brushed her brown locks back to expose the soft skin of her neck, silently inviting the vampiress to sink her teeth into her flesh.
Bellatrix gave a gentle caress with her thumb and slowly moved closer, brushing her cheek against Hermione's in the process. Shortly after, the brunette felt the chilly breeze of the woman's breath stroking her neck bow. Smooth, delicate lips touched down on her skin, elongated canines readily scratching on the slick surface.
Hermione moaned in anticipation, eagerly awaiting the teasing teeth to finally strike. She grabbed onto the witch in front of her, closed her eyes and held her breath for the coming bite.
"Stupefy!"
Two red flashes hit the vampire from the side, both sending her flying and snapping Hermione out of whatever weird trance she had been in. However, before she even fully realized what was happening right now, someone had grabbed her by the wrist and dragged her out of the office, slamming the door shut behind them.
The bang of the closing door brought the girl's mind back to its full mentality and she quick-wittedly sprang into action.
"Colloportus!"
The office door magically locked itself with a squelching noise and not a second too soon, as they heard someone ram against it from inside.
Out of breath, the three students stared at the door.
"What the hell was that?" panted Harry confused, seeking Hermione's eyes.
"B-Belladrix L-Ledrange," Neville shakily managed to get out, all colour drained from his face.
"Yeah, I know," the boy who lived responded a little too harshly for Hermione's taste, "I meant, what was going on with her? She was like… like an animal!"
"I…," the brunette started, breathing heavily and looked at the two boys, "I think she's a—" She was interrupted by an especially loud wail and the sound of a table being toppled over. Only now did they remember the still deformed Death Eater, mindlessly rampaging through the room.
"Maybe we should get out of here first," Harry suggested and the others agreed without hesitation, for at that moment they heard the sound of breaking wood and saw a hand sticking through the office door, "and fast."
As quickly as their feet would let them the students sprinted through the door that led to the dark, circular room they had been through before and slammed it shut behind them.
To their surprise, the room didn't start spinning like it did before. Scanning through it soon revealed the reason. Another door was wide open and, in the threshold, Hermione saw her other three friends: Ginny, Luna, and Ron.
"Luna!" Harry yelled and ran towards them, "Ginny, Ron! Are you alright?"
Hermione followed her best friend's example and approached the group as well. Relieve washed over her as they seemed fairly unharmed. Only Ginny was panting heavily and holding one of her ankles. When she came closer, she realized Ron talking gibberish and some dark liquid trickling out of the corner of his mouth. He must've been hit by some curse. But aside from that, he seemed to be alright.
"We saw Uranus up close, Harry," she heard him say, giggling feebly, "get it? We saw Uranus."
Yes. He is definitely alright, Hermione thought and shook her head, a small smile tucking at her lips.
Luna, meanwhile kept on explaining what had happened to them. Apparently, trying to safe her, the blonde accidentally hit Ginny's foot with the Reductor Curse, resulting in the fracture. Ron, as she had deduced already, had been hit by an unknown spell. Luna herself, luckily, seemed totally fine. A little bit out of it, maybe, and scared, but given the situation they were in, that was only natural.
Suddenly, another door of the dark room burst open. Hermione snapped her head towards it and again, fear sparked inside her. It was Bellatrix Lestrange, standing there, her eerie, golden eyes once more focused on the brunette, fangs shining in the blue light of the torches. She crouched down and started to slowly walk towards them with elegant steps, almost giving her the look of a panther ready to pounce on its prey.
"What's with her?" the airy voice of Luna asked confused.
"I-I think she is a vampire," Hermione stuttered shakily and stepped backwards towards the door, "I-I think she is after my blood." Her voice almost broke.
"Hermione!" Harry hissed at her from the side in a hushed whisper. The girl turned to him and saw him nod at the door behind the vampiress. It was closed. Hermione understood and looked back at her best friend, both of them readying their wands. They took a deep breath and nodded.
"Stupefy!" they both yelled, jets of red light shooting towards Bellatrix. "Now!"
The six students made a beeline for the door out of the room and slammed it shut behind them. Breathing heavily, they were sprawled across the floor.
"Alright. She's got a one in twelve chance to get to us," Harry panted and sat upright, "we would have to be awfully unlucky for her to pick the right one."
"Would somebody please explain what the bloody hell just happened?!" Ginny burst out weakly, holding her wounded ankle and looked at Hermione, "I mean, is she really a vampire?"
"Yes," Hermione answered immediately, "I'm quite sure she is."
"How do you recon?" the redhead questioned further.
Hermione looked at her, a little shaken by the memory, "Her eyes. Her canines. Her inhuman strength." She shuddered visibly and touched the wound on her temple, "And she… she sucked my blood."
"Ha ha ha – Bellatrix sucks," Ron chuckled stupidly.
Ginny groaned exasperated. "So, it's not enough that they are the most notorious and dangerous criminals out there. Now they even got a vampire on their side?!"
"I don't think Bellatrix is on their side, exactly," Harry disagreed and shared a brief look with Hermione, "we saw her kill one of them earlier."
"Is she on our side, then?" Luna asked, aloof as always, yet with a slightly hopeful undertone.
"No," Hermione answered in a hollow voice, "I believe, right now, she can't really determine between friend or foe. At the moment she's only fixated on… me – on getting my blood."
"Why yours, though?" Ginny through in the question, Hermione would just love to have the answer to.
Instead, she just looked at her friend, welled up. "I don't know."
An oppressive silence fell over the group.
Suddenly, they heard the muffled sound of something breaking on the floor, only now remembering that they were still being followed.
"Whatever," Harry was the first one to find his voice again and got up from the ground, "we need to get out of here." He went over to Ron and picked him up. "Luna, Neville. You help Ginny. Hermione, come help me with Ron."
Hermione didn't question her best friend's order and did as she was told.
Together they made their way to the door, the other three right behind. Harry opened it a crack and peeked into the dark room.
"It's empty," he whispered, "but there's another door still open. Bellatrix can't be far."
Hermione's gut twisted.
"So, let's head for the next door over, just to be safe," he suggested and got collective nods in return.
Harry put his hand on the doorknob and Hermione braced herself.
"Now!" he yelled and threw the door open.
The six students rushed into the dark room, a little awkwardly, since they had to basically carry two of them.
As they reached the targeted door, Hermione risked a look through the other open door and her heart clenched. Right next to the doorframe stood Bellatrix Lestrange, staring right at her. She hadn't left the room; she only must've kept the door open to prevent the room from spinning.
"Hurry," Hermione said in a hollow voice, as Bellatrix started to close in on them, "RUN!"
But there was no escaping her. Within a fraction of a second the vampire was upon them, already reaching out a hand to grasp Hermione. However, she stopped abruptly, when yet another door flung open and three Death Eaters, led by Lucius Malfoy, walked in.
"Bellatrix?" he said surprised, what only earned him an angry snarl from her. "Hmph. Whatever," he drawled and turned to his two companions, "get Potter and the Prophecy. Kill the rest." He returned his gaze to Bellatrix, "I will deal with the traitor."
The two Death Eaters immediately sprang into action. Hermione and the others were trying to cram themselves through the doorframe. Harry, who was holding the Prophecy, stayed at the end of the group to keep their enemies from firing curses towards them.
Hermione had a hard time getting the squirming and stupidly giggling Ron over the threshold. When she finally managed, she turned around to aid Harry, but she didn't have to. To her great confusion, Bellatrix had flung herself between the students and the Death Eaters, effectively blocking the way for the latter.
Harry hastily stumbled into the room and Hermione reached for the door. However, instead of shutting it right away, she held in for a moment and stared at the vampire's back.
"Th-Thank you," she mumbled breathlessly, slammed the door shut and sealed it with the Colloportus Charm.
"Are you really sure she's not on our side?" Luna asked while she carefully set Ginny down on the floor.
"Yes, I'm sure. Maybe she just… wants us all to herself?" Hermione answered, "you know, like a predator protecting its prey."
"Well, whatever the reason. If she keeps kicking Death Eater asses, I won't complain," Ginny chipped in and received chuckles from the whole group.
Something crashed against the door, startling the students.
"It's locked, damn it!" a muffled male voice cursed.
"Doesn't matter. There are other ways in," another said, before they heard footsteps moving away.
Hermione took a look around the room and, indeed, there were several doors lined along its four walls.
"Come on, we need to seal them off!" Harry urged, but Luna, Neville and Hermione were already well on their way.
Systematically, they worked through the room, sealing the adjacent doors one by one. Luna was just about to seal the last one, when it was blasted open, flinging the blonde girl across the room. She landed on a table, slid over it and fell to the floor, unconscious.
Four Death Eaters filed into the room and made a beeline for Harry. He narrowly dodged their attempt to catch him and ran back up the room.
Hermione, meanwhile, noticed Ron staggering back to his feet and tottering drunkenly towards the tank in the middle of the room she hadn't paid attention to until now.
"Hey, Harry, there are brains in here, ha ha ha, isn't that weird?"
"Ron, get out of the way, get down—," Harry yelled but it only hit deaf ears.
Ron pulled out his wand and pointed it at the tank, "Acci—"
"Expelliarmus!"
The redhead's wand flew out of his hand directly towards Hermione. She caught it out of mid-air and looked apologetic at her friend, "I'm sorry, Ron, but this is for the—"
Before she could finish her sentence, a red jet of light hit Ron square in the chest, knocking him back and onto the floor.
Hermione's eyes widened in horror.
"RON!"
"WATCH OUT!" Ginny screamed in panic, unable to move, as a surge of red flashes flew across the room, all aimed at the teenagers.
Hermione threw herself on the floor and thus managed to escape the flood of curses. Ginny and Neville to her left and right, unfortunately, were not that lucky. Both of them were hit in the face by one of the spells, fell down and laid there, unmoving.
Despair started to creep its way into Hermione's heart. There was no chance for them to get away safely. They were outnumbered and clearly outmatched. There was no clever solution, no smart way to escape. This is where they would meet their end.
She looked at Harry, crying.
He looked right back at her, fear plainly visible in his face.
But despite the hopeless situation they were in, he somehow managed to flash her an encouraging smile.
"HEY!" he yelled as loud as he could and stormed towards the door the Death Eaters had come in from, "IF YOU WANT THE PROPHECY, COME AND GET IT!"
He somehow managed to pull through the four dark wizards and rushed out of the room. The criminals shared short, confused looks and sprinted after him.
Hermione, yet again with widened eyes, stared after him while pushing herself up from the floor.
"Harry, you idiot!" she said to the empty room and got back on her feet. She wiped away the tears and started running.
But a loud noise behind her stopped her again and she turned around.
The door leading to the dark, circular room had been torn off its hinges and thrown a few meters through the air, before it crashed down on the floor, scarcely missing Ron. And with it came Lucius Malfoy, who had touched down hard only a second prior to the door. He growled and looked back to the room he had come from.
Hermione followed his gaze and there, in the doorframe, stood none other than Bellatrix Lestrange, eyes burning with fury.
"Just look at you, Bellatrix," Lucius drawled spiteful as he got back on his feet, "look at what you've become. You were once his finest follower, his most loyal servant." He scoffed mockingly. "But now you are nothing more than a beast – a mindless wild animal." He raised his wand at his sister in law. "Oh, how rich he will reward me, when I bring him your corpse. Avada—"
"Stupefy!"
The red jet hit Malfoy's shoulder, almost knocking him over.
Hermione stood there, petrified, wand raised and breathing heavily. She had no idea why she'd done it. Logic told her that she should've just run away, to just turn the other way and let them fight each other. Because no matter who the victor, it would have meant one less enemy to fight.
But when Lucius Malfoy spoke the Killing Curse, her body had moved on its own.
Said man's eyes were now on the young witch, his face contorted with rage.
"You dare attack me?!" he spat in a vile, irate whisper-scream, "you dare attack me, you FILTHY MUDBLOOD!?"
He raised his wand, "AVADA KEDAVRA!"
The curse soared across the room, bathing it in green light.
Hermione, struck with fear, could only watch it closing in on her.
However, before the curse reached her, something hit her hard from the side. The impact knocked the wind out of her and she felt something break in her chest. Upon hitting the ground, she gasped audibly and reached for her aching side.
Her pain was soon forgotten, though, as she once again looked directly into Bellatrix Lestrange's eyes; the yellow glowing irises and black sclerae just as eerie as before. But the dark witch averted her eyes and looked at Lucius, fangs bared. She took a slow step towards the blond man, placing herself firmly between him and Hermione.
She really is protecting me!
Lucius spat on the ground before him, sporting a look of disgust.
"Now you are even protecting this scum?" he hissed viciously, face mad with fury, "you are a disgrace for the Dark Lord."
Bellatrix snarled at him and took another step forward, ready to strike.
Hermione watched their exchange carefully and grabbed her wand tighter.
Lucius, meanwhile, raised his own at Bellatrix. Just as he opened his mouth to voice his curse, the vampiress pounced on him.
The girl raised her wand.
"Flipendo!"
The spell hit Bellatrix square in the back and she tripped, crashing full-force into Lucius, uncontrolled.
Hermione seized this chance, stood up and sprinted into the room, Harry had gone to earlier.
However, when she entered it, she lost her footing and fell down some stairs.
Upon hitting the ground, the brunette gasped in pain, as she felt an almost unbearable sting from her broken ribs.
"Hermione, are you alright?" a voice she knew asked as its owner approached her.
She looked up and, as expected, saw Nymphadora Tonks kneeling beside her.
"Wha-What are you doing here?" Hermione asked confused and winced a bit, when Tonks helped her sit up.
"We're here to save you, of course," Dora answered and put Hermione's arm around her shoulder, to aid her stand up.
Hermione took a look around and noticed they were in the room with the giant stone-arch sitting on a dais in its centre. But what was more important to her now, was the battle that had broken out in here. Left and right there were members of the Order engaged in combat with Death Eaters. She spotted Harry aiding Sirius, who had taken on two of them at once. Just a few metres further Lupin was fighting another one, as well were Kingsley and Madeye. Relieve washed over her; they were saved.
Another stinging pain to her side brought her back from her thoughts.
"Ah!" she gasped as she winced once again.
"What's wrong? Are you hurt?" Tonks asked, worry deeply edged into her face, as she put the girl down and leaned her against the dais, to provide a little cover from the ongoing battle.
"Yes," Hermione wheezed holding her side, "I think Bellatrix Lestrange broke some ribs, when she saved me from Lucius Malfoy."
Nymphadora, who was just about to raise Hermione's shirt to get a better look at her injury, stopped abruptly and stared at the younger girl, eyes wide in bewilderment.
"She… What?"
"I know it sounds… mad, but that's what happened. When Malfoy cast the Killing Curse at me, she threw herself on me and pushed me out of the way," Hermione explained, but Tonks seemed everything else than convinced.
"And why would she do that?"
"Well, I guess she's not really herself right now," Hermione kept going, what made the other girl raise an eyebrow, "I-I think she is a vampire, and I think she is after my blood, what makes her behave like an animal, for some reason."
Tonks started to giggle despite the serious situation they were in. Hermione gave her a queer look.
"You do know how ridiculous that sounds, right?" Dora chuckled and palmed the brunette's cheek, "you probably misread the situation due to the stress of fighting for your life. It happens to the best of us."
Although those words were meant to comfort her, Hermione couldn't help but be offended by them. Furiously, she thrashed her head out of the older one's palm and readied herself to lash out. But all the retorts she had laid out in her mind remained stuck in her throat. With the colour draining from her face, she watched Bellatrix Lestrange walking down the steps towards the two of them; her eyes, again, fixed on Hermione.
"Th-Then you tell me, what she is," the girl managed to get out in a frightened whisper.
Nymphadora furrowed her brows and turned around. Upon seeing the new threat closing in, she stood up and readied her wand. Bellatrix apparently acknowledged her as an obstacle and shifted her focus from Hermione to Dora. The vampiress fletched her teeth and jumped on her niece, who only just managed to repel her with a stunning spell.
"Run, Hermione!" Tonks yelled and turned to the teenager, "get out of here!"
Hermione didn't need to be told twice. In an instant she was on her feet, trying to get as much distance between her and Bellatrix as possible. So determined in her task, she even forgot the battle going on around her. But the regret for doing so soon hit her like a truck, in the form of a strayed stunning-spell to her wounded side. She screamed in pain and fell to her knees.
That seemed to trigger Bellatrix' protective instincts. Not even two seconds after Hermione hit the ground, the dark witch shot past her towards Sirius, who seemed to have redirected the nasty spell to guard himself.
Too late he realized the oncoming danger. She grabbed the unsuspecting wizard and wrestled him to the ground. His arm bend unnaturally as it hit the floor and a toe-curling cracking noise resounded in the room.
The other Death Eaters took this opportunity and started to fire an onslaught of curses at Sirius, as well as Harry. He tried his best to defend himself and also, simultaneously, shield his godfather from the attacks.
Bellatrix, meanwhile, who seemed to have no interest in Sirius any more, now that he was brought down, had locked her gaze on Hermione again. But yet again her focus changed, when one of the Death Eater's curses hit her shoulder. With a scream, that sounded more like a ferocious beast, than an actual human being, she pounced on the criminals.
Now relieved from fighting, Harry ran to his godfather and kneeled down beside him. Nymphadora rushed past Hermione and joined the two, while the other Order members kept fighting on the opposite side of the room.
Hermione watched as Bellatrix tore through the Death Eaters, who rigorously tried to fight her off.
She is too much of an irrational factor.
Her look wandered through the room, over Harry, Sirius, and Dora, then further to the other members.
She sighed.
They can't focus on their fights, if she keeps interfering.
Her eyes sank to the floor beside her, where a rather sharp stone-shard rested. She picked it up and glanced at Bellatrix.
I… have to take her out of the equation.
With her resolve steeled, she stood back up, ignoring the sting in her ribs and took a deep breath.
"I must be mad," she whispered to herself, firmly grasped the stone-shard in her hand and cut open her arm. Blood started to spill and she held up her wounded arm, seeking Bellatrix with her eyes. It startled her quite a bit, when she noticed the vampiress already looking at her. For a few seconds they only stared at each other, then Hermione ran.
"Hermione, what are you doing?!" somebody yelled after her, but she couldn't decipher who it was. Her mind was only focused on one thing now: Running away from the predator hunting her.
She sprinted up the stairs and out of the door. She was back in the dark circular room, but paid it no mind. Hermione just blindly leaped for a random door and found herself in the black corridor that led back to the elevator they'd come down with. To her fortune, it was still sitting there, doors open, as if it had been specifically prepared for her wild escape. The girl rushed inside and hit the button for the Atrium. The door was closing behind her and she risked a look back.
Right away, she spotted Bellatrix, gaining on her, fast. The vampiress reached the door just the fraction of a second too late and couldn't get in anymore.
The two witches stared at each other, Hermione panting violently. Their eye contact only broke off, when the elevator ascended.
For the umpteenth time today, a wave of relieve washed over the teenager and she leaned back against the wall, relaxing a little.
When the lift came to a halt, and the doors reopened again, she walked out and into the Atrium. Eventually she stopped in her track and took a look around.
What was she supposed to do now?
She had accomplished to lure Bellatrix away from the battle, as planned. But now what? She didn't exactly know her way around the Ministry, never having been here before, but she couldn't just wait around either; Bellatrix would catch up eventually.
Sighing desperately, she decided to treat her wounded arm and wash the blood off herself, for now. That would also make it harder for the vampire to track her. So, Hermione made her way to the golden fountain, held her arm into the water and rubbed it clean. After that, she pointed her wand at the cut on her forearm.
"Episkey," she said and the wound closed up neatly.
Still not knowing what her next step should be, the girl stared at her own reflection in the clear water of the fountain, enjoying the peace and quiet around her.
Suddenly, black, silk-like curls entered her field of vision. A pointy chin perched itself on her left shoulder. A foreign arm snaked its way across her belly, gently, almost lovingly caressing it. Another arm wrapped itself around her as well and found its way to her hip. Then, she heard a deep intake of breath.
Her blood froze.
How could she have snuck up on her like that?
How could she not have noticed her?
Hermione's breathing accelerated.
That was it.
She was done for.
There was no way out.
Bellatrix had her in her grasp.
Nothing could save her now.
She started to cry.
"P-Please," Hermione wept weakly, almost unintelligible, "please don't kill me."
She was turned around in the embrace. Dread of what was to come closed up her throat and she stopped breathing, while her tears kept falling silently. But the moment the two of them locked eyes, all of Hermione's fear, her unrest and despair were gone in an instant. She was captivated by the radiantly golden gleam of Bellatrix' eyes and relaxed into her embrace.
A smooth hand placed itself on her cheek. It felt soft, cool and soothing, so the brunette willingly leaned into the touch, exposing her neck in the process.
The vampiress closed in on her until Hermione felt her breath brushing over her bared skin. Soft lips touched her and parted to make way for the elongated canines to scratch her neck. A shiver went down her spine as she gave a quiet moan of anticipation.
Hermione gasped and tightly grabbed on to Bellatrix' back, when her fangs penetrated her skin and she began to suck her blood.
A new sensation swept through her body. It felt strange, but also good somehow. The dark witch's grip around her loosened. She now wasn't even holding the teenager in place, presented her with the option to escape. But Hermione didn't back away. On the contrary, she tightened her own embrace and pulled herself closer to the older woman. She wanted Bellatrix to keep going, to keep sucking her blood, to never let go of her again. She moaned again in total bliss, as she began to feel a little dizzy.
"Disgusting!"
A sharp voice cut through the air and into her world of perfect pleasure. And with it, reality came crashing down hard on her. All the fear and hopelessness returned with a vengeance and somehow, the creepy sound of that foreign voice managed to intensify the feeling.
Even Bellatrix seemed to be affected by it, as she had stopped sucking her blood and her body had stiffened remarkably.
The vampiress detached herself from the girl and walked a stumbling step back.
Hermione, still feeling dizzy, couldn't keep on her feet and fell down to the floor, leaning against the fountain.
She searched Bellatrix' face and was in awe at what she saw. Her eyes had lost their intense glow and the sclerae had turned white again. Her expression was no longer that of a feral beast; now, she looked confused, unsettled… maybe even a little scared. It seemed as if she hadn't the slightest idea what was going on right now.
Despite herself, Hermione couldn't help but feel sympathy for the dark witch.
Their eyes met.
"I really wanted to be a generous Lord and grant you a quick and painless death, for your years of loyal service to me," the eerily calm voice from before returned in all its vile glory, "but now, I have to witness, how you fraternize with this wretched filth."
Both witches simultaneously turned their heads towards the source of the voice and Hermione was struck with another surge of fear; a fear she had never before felt in her life. Because, even though she had never seen him before, she knew exactly, who it was, that stood before her. The snake-like features of his face and the creepy, red eyes were exactly like Harry had described them to her.
Voldemort.
Her heart clenched painfully. Words could not even begin to describe how horrifying the mere presence of the Dark Lord was.
To her, admittedly, very little relieve, his whole focus seemed to be fixed on Bellatrix.
With slow and calm steps, that made it look like he was levitating across the floor, he came closer to the vampiress.
"So, maybe I must… reconsider."
"M-My Lord?" Bellatrix only stammered feebly. She looked frightened and even more confused, than she had been moments ago.
"Crucio!"
Bellatrix fell to her knees, eyes wide. She grit her teeth and twitched involuntarily, while she made the occasional retching sound, most likely because she tried to hold back her screams. Jerkily, she brought her arms up to hug herself, clawing at her shoulders with her fingers. She slightly bent over and opened her mouth in a silent scream.
"M-My… L-Lord!" she squeezed out with great difficulty, tears falling in full stream.
"STOP!" Hermione shouted at the top of her lungs.
She just couldn't watch this any longer.
Surprised, Voldemort ceased to torture his former subject.
Hermione, too weak to stand up, meanwhile crawled the short way over to Bellatrix.
"Please, stop," she whimpered pathetically, crying.
She reached the tormented woman and grabbed on to her, weeping into her shoulder.
"Please, stop hurting her."
The room fell silent.
For what seemed to be an eternity, the only sounds audible were Hermione's sobs and the water of the golden fountain.
"So, girl," Voldemort broke the silence with his cold, apathetic voice, "I understand you would like to share her fate, then."
Hermione heard his words, but didn't register their meaning. She only made sense of them, when it was already too late.
"Crucio!"
The world around her completely blanked out.
She stopped to cry.
The stinging pain of her ribs wholly forgotten.
She heard nothing.
She saw nothing.
Her eyes wide like never before.
And then, she shrieked.
She threw herself on the ground, writhing and thrashing violently. Her whole body was in a world of pain. Pain she couldn't even fathom.
After seconds, that felt like hours, the torment seemed to grow even more intense, if that was at all possible. She curled herself up, screeching all the while and grasped her head convulsively.
She wanted it to end.
The torture or her live, she didn't care which.
She only wanted the pain to stop.
And it did.
The Cruciatus Curse was suddenly lifted from her and the world around her came back into focus.
However, not for very long.
The strain of the torture proofed to be too much for her already weakened body.
The last things she noticed, before her consciousness faded out, were a flash of light, someone calling her name, a hand on her back, and the feeling of being pressed through a tube.
Again, I am sorry it took so long. The chapter turned out to be longer an quite different to what I had originally planned.
However, I hope you enjoyed it and, as always, thank you for reading ^^