Harry Potter belongs to JKR
Beta by FedererEx
Chapter 32
Bellatrix peeked around the corner of the passage, then waved Hermione back. They scampered and ducked into a small alcove just as the security guard walked by, squeezed close enough Bella felt Hermione's breath on the side of her neck. They waited for the muggle to pass by, then tiptoed around the corner and made for the door at the end of the passage. Along the way, they passed reliefs and tapestries depicting various scenes from Britain's Christian past. Bellatrix paid them no mind; they were here for one thing, the black filament.
"Well, perhaps not just one thing," she thought.
Bella glanced back over her shoulder as Hermione followed her through the gloom, and her heart swelled as she caught a faint smile on the muggleborn's lips. The pureblood's heart thumped heavily, partially from the excitement of trying to sneak into the sub-level, and partially from who she was with. She reached the end of the hall and turned around again, knowing that with her face hidden in darkness, she could shamelessly stare at the gentle glide of Hermione's silhouette as she silently approached.
"This is so much more entertaining than disillusioning ourselves," Bellatrix thought.
After the first cathedral resulted in a boring expedition in and out of a dusty cellar, Bellatrix decided to spice up their trips by pretending they were on a mission to infiltrate a series of guarded fortresses. Hermione had played along, and now Bella relished every second of their game. With all the testing during the project, they were both practically experts at obliviation, so the risk of any real consequences of being caught was almost nil, but it was still fun.
"Alohomora," Bellatrix thought as she waved her wand. The old door opened with a loud clank of rolling tumblers. They both stepped in and Hermione pulled the door closed behind them, locking it again with a wave of her wand. Bella produced red sparks with hers, and illuminated a stone staircase descending into darkness. Hermione did the same, and eerie shadows cast upon the walls in the deep red glow. It wasn't until they reached the first alcove that Bellatrix realised they had made a poor assumption about what lay beneath the cathedral.
"This isn't a cellar… it's a crypt," Hermione said, "we shouldn't be here."
Rows of walled up alcoves lay before them, the final resting place of dozens of important individuals from centuries past. A crawling sensation made the hairs stand up on the back of Bellatrix's neck, but she put on a brave front.
"You want to bring your parents back? Come on, this lot won't mind," she said, trying to reassure both Hermione and herself with false bravado as she forced herself to saunter past the first alcove. They swept the subterranean cemetery to check the little nooks and crannies where some black filament might shelter from whatever light made its way down here. After half an hour of searching, they only found a small amount, barely even two finger widths.
"Better than nothing," Hermione said as she tucked the specially prepared darkened jar back into her pouch, "ready to head back?"
Bellatrix nodded, and they apparated directly from the crypt to Hogsmeade. The sun dipped low on the horizon and the warmth of the day fled the approaching twilight. Back at the lab, Hermione entered the tent to change clothes while Bellatrix crossed off a name on the blackboard with a loud clack and slide. She took a moment to study the list of cathedrals in Britain and Ireland they'd come up with; roughly half were already crossed off. One by one, they were searching for enough sources of black filament before the supply for Hermione's parents' potion ran out.
"Sagesse Fontaine," Bellatrix thought. That was the name of the cathedral Rod had shown her, back in 1968, before the gap in her memories, and it was conspicuously absent from the list. It had not appeared on any of the texts they'd researched, and Bellatrix had not brought it up. According to Rodolphus, it was long defunct, even thirty years ago, and the Lestrange family had conducted rituals there for over a century. With all the magic in the air, it was the most likely place to find what they were looking for. Unfortunately, Rod and Rastaban, not to mention several other Death Eaters, were still on the run, and Bellatrix felt certain Sagesse Fontaine was one of the most likely places they would be hiding out.
"Hopefully we can find enough black filament without going there," she thought.
They ate dinner at the Great Hall surrounded by an excited buzz as students speculated about the upcoming duelling tournament. Knuts and sickles were wagered, and favourites were discussed. Bellatrix paid them no mind; her two students were as ready as they were going to be, and she'd given them the night off. It was just as well; they had an appointment with the Headmistress. They passed the fully black windows of night on their way to the Headmistress' gargoyle, and Bellatrix couldn't help but stare at the back of Hermione's blue jeans as she followed her up the spiral staircase. Somewhere in the back of her mind she chided herself for acting like a leering pervert, but that wasn't nearly enough to stop her from enjoying every step, or from conjuring the thought of what the view would be had Hermione worn a skirt instead.
"Miss Granger, Miss White, have a seat," McGonagall said from behind her imposing desk. Bellatrix glanced up at the portraits as she walked to the offered chair.
"All of the former headmasters of the school," she thought, though many of them were vacant, or their occupants currently snoozing.
"Thank you for seeing us, Headmistress," Hermione said.
"Always a pleasure, Miss Granger," McGonagall said, "I trust your studies are going well?"
Hermione nodded.
"As well as can be expected with seven NEWT classes," Hermione replied.
"I have no doubt you will make Hogwarts proud," McGonagall said, "and you too, Miss White."
Bellatrix only nodded. Despite having succeeded so far at pulling off her disguise, she didn't intend to take any unnecessary risks.
"We've come to share some good news. Excellent news, really," Hermione said, "it seems our project is a success."
McGonagall sat back in her chair.
"Truly? Professor Winthrop had said you were close to a breakthrough," McGonagall asked.
Hermione nodded, and Bellatrix wished the golden girl wouldn't struggle to contain her smile.
"She deserves to enjoy the recognition," Bellatrix thought, "plus her smile is like the sun breaking through clouds."
"Yes, we're brewing the potion to bring my parents' memories back now, only… it's going to take another eight weeks," Hermione said, "I was wonder… well, we were wondering whether it would be possible to stay on after the end of the term."
Bellatrix only half-listened to the conversation as she was busy taking in Hermione's face, the smile that broke through, the earnest way with which she pleaded their case.
"How could anyone say no to that?" she thought.
"It would be highly irregular-" McGonagall said.
"You could hire us," Hermione interrupted, "I'm sure there is end of term cleaning that needs to be done, or some other upkeep… the house elves could have a holiday! We could concurrently work on our submission to the Council of Master Healers."
McGonagall's lips became a razor thin line at being interrupted, and Hermione fell silent.
"As I was saying," McGonagall said, "it would be highly irregular, but I am certain we can work something out, especially for a discovery as significant as this."
"Thank you, Professor," Hermione said, nodding earnestly, "it's quite exciting, to be so close to getting my parents back, and to help all those people in St. Mungo's at the same time."
McGonagall nodded.
"I would be happy to help review your submission to the Council; Hogwarts will do what it can to ensure you receive credit for this discovery, Miss Granger," McGonagall said.
"And Julia, it's her discovery too," Hermione said, "I wouldn't have been able to do it without her."
Hermione smiled as she turned to look at her, genuine, happy, full of gratitude, and Bellatrix's heart nearly melted.
"It took both of us," Julia managed to get out.
"The both of you then," McGonagall said, "you should be proud; it is not often a student advances the study of magic so significantly. How long will you need?"
"It should only be until the third week of June," Hermione replied, now beaming.
"Then I expect it is off to Australia?" McGonagall asked.
Hermione nodded.
"Congratulations and best of luck then, to both of you," McGonagall said, "I will have contracts drawn up to make the arrangement official."
McGonagall stood up, and Hermione and Julia followed suit. The Headmistress walked around the desk and extended a hand to Hermione, then Julia.
"Should you ever decide to pursue a career in academia, Hogwarts will always have a place for you," McGonagall said.
"I'll keep that in mind, and thank you again, for everything," Hermione said.
"Thank you, Miss Granger," McGonagall replied.
Bellatrix absently twirled her spaghetti about her fork as she watched the blond haired Slytherin scarf his food down and leave the Great Hall without speaking to anyone.
"Cissy's son. My nephew," she thought. It was so odd to think of having a nephew, much less one the same age as herself; she was still in school after all, and Cissy was only a third year last she recalled. She wanted to find a way to make contact with him, but he mostly kept to himself. That Hermione absolutely despised him didn't help matters either.
"Focus!" she thought, and forced a few bites down before it was time to leave.
"I'll see you after quidditch practice," Bellatrix said, and Hermione waved. All the way down to the pitch, her mind's eye focused on Hermione, and then narrowed to just the palm of Hermione's hand, her delicate fingers, and what she wanted her to do with those fingers. She sighed as a familiar warm sensation started curling in her belly. It had been like this, steadily intensifying, for weeks now. She knew she should try and stop, but it was like trying to stop water flowing downhill with her hands; it just built up and overflowed, going where it wanted regardless of her efforts. She went through the motions of strapping on her equipment while still fantasising, and kicked off on her now nearly unserviceable broom. The first thing she thought about when she woke up, the last thing she thought about when she went to sleep, and numerous times throughout the day…Just about the only times she could stop thinking about Hermione was when she was up on her broom, when she had to have her wits about her or risk getting her brains pummelled by a bludger. Ginny drove them hard, barking orders like a drill sergeant; they only had two more practises before the final match against Hufflepuff. With Slytherin and Ravenclaw out of the running, the winner of the Cup would be decided by this match. As she wiped her brow and directed her broom back down towards the changing rooms, Bellatrix spotted professor Slughorn's rotund mass as he waddled onto the pitch, his arms windmilling to get their attention.
"I'll see what he wants," Ginny said as she angled down to the head of Slytherin house, and Bellatrix only spared her a glance as she yanked on her broom shaft to keep it in line.
The redhead looked deep in thought when Bellatrix arrived in the changing room a few minutes later; Bellatrix made sure to take her time showering so she could walk with Ginny back to the castle.
"What did Sluggy want then?" Julia asked.
Ginny was silent for a moment.
"Gwenog Jones is attending the final match," she said, "she's going to be scouting for the Harpies."
Bellatrix stayed quiet for a few steps.
"So, that's good news, right?" she asked.
Ginny nodded.
"It's what I wanted," Ginny replied, "it's only the Quidditch Cup and my future professional career on the line. Oh and Harry's going to be there too. No pressure."
Bellatrix snorted.
"The team's good, we'll win," she said.
Ginny shook her head, as if reminding herself of something.
"Yeah, what am I thinking, of course we'll win," she said.
She walked with a spring in her step after that, and Bellatrix almost wished she would be flying with her to help win the cup.
"I'm not so proud that I can't admit I have a rather wide competitive streak, and there's not much else more competitive than the quidditch final," she thought, "ah well, I suppose in the end it doesn't really matter."
Hermione's face swam before her mind's eye again, and she rapidly forgot about quidditch for the rest of the hike back to the castle.
Ginny's good mood lasted until breakfast the following morning, when Bellatrix spotted her stalking towards herself and Hermione, an expression of pure murder on her face.
"Those fucking idiots," she whispered, to no one in particular. She seemed to realise she was pacing in front of the table, and sat down, face flushed red and fists clenched beside her plate.
"Dare I ask?" Julia asked.
"Adams and Noonan got themselves suspended," Ginny said, "for cheating on an exam. How many times did I say I'd organise study groups if anyone needed help?"
"Uh oh," Julia said. Adams and Noonan were the other two starting chasers for Gryffindor.
"Cheating, they'll be lucky if they're not expelled," Hermione said. Julia glanced at the head table where their head of house was absent; she suspected Professor Winthrop would cook up a much more interesting punishment than expulsion.
"I know!" Ginny said, then she glanced around.
"White, you're in the next match, you can use Adams' Comet 290," Ginny said.
Bellatrix raised an eyebrow.
"I heard he sleeps with that broom," she said.
"He can't object if he's unconscious," Ginny growled.
"Fair point," Julia said, "who's the other chaser?"
"Thomas," Ginny said.
The muggleborn play-by-play announcer?
"Thomas," Julia echoed, "Really. Are you trying to make a point?"
"I'm trying to win," Ginny replied, acid on her tongue, "Dean Thomas was reserve chaser two years ago, he's our best shot. Clear your schedule, we're going to practise every day to make sure he's up on the plays."
Ginny didn't wait for a response; she stood up and left, presumably to either find Thomas and tell him he'd be playing in the quidditch cup final, or to find Adams to acquire his broom to give to Julia.
"I knew she took quidditch seriously but…" Hermione said.
"The Harpies are scouting the match, this is her chance to make a professional team," Julia said.
"Oh… that explains it," Hermione said, "I haven't been following quidditch, how are you placed against Hufflepuff?"
"Down two starting chasers?" Julia asked, "not good, and we need to win by fifty."
Hermione nodded and frowned.
"You… really want her to win, don't you?" Julia asked.
Hermione looked at her strangely.
"Well of course," Hermione said, "It's Ginny. And it's her dream to play professional. If she wins, Harry will be happy for her too. Plus, we can't let Hufflepuff win, that damn Head Girl will become even more insufferable than she already is."
Hermione chewed on her cheek a little bit in her annoyance.
"Hmm, okay," Julia said, then she sat up a bit straighter, "I suppose patronus practise is off then."
"Well, you've got what you wanted, you're going to play in the final, now don't embarrass yourself in front of the whole school," she thought.
"I suppose," Hermione said, "who knows, maybe winning will give you the happy memory you need."
Hermione smiled, and Julia forced her face to go through the motion.
"Don't embarrass yourself in front of Hermione," she thought.
The shaft vibrated in Bellatrix's hand as she struggled to get it moving in the direction she wanted to go. The Comet 290 was built for drifting, and it kept wanting to slide around the air instead of going in the direction the bloody thing was pointed. It was great for twisting around defenders without scrubbing off too much forward momentum, or sliding sideways or even backwards in the air, but it took some getting used to.
"I'm going to end up sliding right into a bludger," Bellatrix thought as she narrowly ducked one and took a glancing blow off her shoulder pad rather than her helmet.
Her throwing arm ached, and sweat dripped down her face and drenched her clothing, despite the wind constantly pushing against her as she flew. She glanced over her shoulder to see Dean Thomas struggling to keep up.
"I know it's only his first practise, but if he doesn't get in shape quickly, we don't stand a chance," she thought.
Apparently, Ginny felt the same way as she glided above Thomas and behind him, yelling instructions at him, when to turn, which manoeuvre to pull.
"Quaffle up, now slalom!" Ginny shouted, and Thomas tossed the quaffle into the air, slid around some imaginary defenders, and bobbled the quaffle twice before he clamped it under one arm.
"Centre ring, shoot!" Ginny yelled. Bellatrix forced her arm to throw yet again, and managed to put the quaffle near the iron edge of the ring, but Thomas' shot sailed sedately through the middle.
"Keeper would have stopped that for sure," Ginny said, "okay, one more cooldown lap, and then we're done for the week."
"What?" Julia said, "I thought we'd be practicing every day?"
"Other houses have booked evenings tomorrow and Friday, and they're closing the pitch for the duelling tournament on Saturday," Ginny replied as her expression soured, "and Winthrop said he wouldn't give an exception because it's 'not the other houses fault the members of ours were caught cheating on an exam', bastard."
"I have a light load this year, I think I can manage some sessions between classes," Thomas said.
Ginny nodded, and then she huddled up with him to give him some pointers or perhaps work out a schedule, while Bellatrix slid towards the changing rooms. She took her time in the shower, letting the hot water ease away some of the tenseness of her muscles. Not since her first practice had she been so spent. The light had faded by the time she emerged, but Ginny and Dean Thomas still stood on the pitch, Ginny demonstrating with her hands and Thomas nodding as she explained some manoeuvre or tactic. Bellatrix slunk away; she didn't want to be called over to demonstrate or anything else.
"No practise for three days, tonight is perfect," she thought.
She wolfed down her supper alone and headed straight to the Room of Requirement. She'd been coming for well over a week to refine the normally toxic alchemical quicksilver into a more purified reagent that could be ingested relatively safely, and completed the process three nights ago. Then it had been a simple matter of breaking into Sluggy's wares to sneak some pixie blood, the final ingredient she needed.
"I need a place to conduct a ritual," she thought as she paced back and forth in front of the wall three times.
A heavy wooden door appeared, and Bellatrix stepped through it and locked it behind her. The room the castle had conjured for her was large, a hundred feet across at least, with bright torches lining the walls, and braziers hanging at regular intervals around the edge to light the room. The centre, however, remained completely barren.
"What kind of ritual takes up this much space?" she thought; clearly the castle thought she had other things in mind. She resolved to put the question to the Dark Lord later. For now, she needed to focus.
From her pouch, she withdrew some charcoal, a mundane chalk duster to fix any errors, and a small hammer and chisel. Tonight, she would conduct a ritual stolen from the Dark Lord's shade, one of two that didn't require some kind of human sacrifice, and everything needed to be perfect. She used a pre-measured string to trace out a circle with a very specific diameter, just over five and a half feet across, in the centre of the room. Bellatrix stepped out of the circle and admired her handiwork, then checked the measurement a few times, adjusting the edges where they bulged out a bit or didn't curve enough. Once satisfied, she chiselled five runes into the stone floor at five points around the edge of the circle. Then she placed large red candles atop each of the five runes, each with four grooves running up their sides almost to the top, and lit them with her wand.
"I'll just let those burn down a little bit," she thought as the pristine wax at the top of each candle started to reflect light as it melted.
She'd already been at it for over an hour, but now came the most critical part. She walked to the edge of the room and stripped down, removing most of her clothing except loose fitting undershorts and a matching crop top undershirt. The instructions from the Dark Lord had been clear, anything that might interfere with the ritual needed to be as far away from the circle as possible, and that included most clothing. Thankfully, she didn't need to be fully nude for this one but she still felt vulnerable in the large room as the heat from the nearby braziers warmed her skin where robes would normally cover. She forced herself to focus on her task; from her pouch she withdrew the potion she'd prepared, a silver ritual dagger, a small lead cup, the pixie blood, one fourteenth of the refined quicksilver, and a needle attached to some tubing, for draining blood.
"What would Hermione think if she knew?" she thought.
She felt her concentration slipping, and fell back on occlumency to give her the presence of mind the ritual required.
"Focus! You can't stuff this up!" she thought.
First came the needle, into her arm to draw out a small amount of her own blood to drip into the cup and mix with the pixie blood. This she held in the crook of one arm, while one hand held the dagger and the other the potion as she returned to the centre of the room. She saw the candles had burned close to the grooves, so Bellatrix quickly mixed the quicksilver into the blood, and then dribbled a few drops of the resulting mixture into hot wax beneath each of the tiny guttering flames. The red and silvery mixture settled slowly at the bottom of the melted portion of the candle, and Bellatrix unsheathed the dagger. Its ornate silver handle was carved in the likeness of a wyvern, and the orange flames of the torches reflected off its polished blade. She steeled herself and held the blade over her wrist, hesitating as instinct warred with resolve, then made the first cut, the pain sharp and throbbing as dark coloured blood welled from the wound. The second cut, perpendicular and crossing the first, was even more difficult, but she forced the blade through her skin. After the first one, she worked the dagger quickly, two slices each both on the front and back of her wrists, elbows, shoulders, hips, knees, and the sides of her ankles, and then one at the base of her neck, thirteen in all. Now bleeding from multiple superficial wounds, her hands trembled as she uncorked the potion and swallowed the foul, burnt metallic substance inside, quickly before she could change her mind.
"Well, if I've fucked up the purifying process, I'll just be unable to move until I die of thirst, no big deal," she thought.
With that happy realisation, she threw the dagger, cup, and bottle as far as she could, to get them away from the circle. Bellatrix carefully stepped over the charcoal outline and lay down in the centre of the circle, with her arms and legs spread wide, just barely touching the edge of the circle, along with her head, one each at each of the five points where a candle lay burning above a rune.
She lay there for several minutes with her warm blood tickling as it dripped across her skin and onto the ground. Time ticked by as she calmed down and listened to her own breathing and the slight crackling of the braziers and torches as they burned. Then she heard an unnatural hiss, like water poured on a hot plate.
"One of the candles burned down," she thought. The grooves channelled the mixture sitting on the candles into the runes, and her blood activated them. One by one, the runes started glowing, and when the fifth hiss started, a silvery mist coalesced in the air above her, giving off its own wan light. Bellatrix held her breath as the liquid metal mist dove down, collected on her skin, and squirmed its way into the cuts on her body. Fire seared at her as the blood rune charged quicksilver interacted with the potion mixture in her body and sought out her bones and nerves, binding to them.
"Don't move!" she thought as she fought to keep her arms and legs in position by the candles at the edge of the circle. All she wanted to do was curl into a foetal position and cry, but she thought about the power this ritual would bring her, thought about how if she ruined it now, she might lose the use of her arms or legs. Finally, the mist thinned and disappeared as it completely wormed its way into the incisions she had made in her skin, and the candles snuffed themselves out as one. As her eyes became accustomed to the gloom Bellatrix noticed a small glow as the runes reflected off the smoke above her, until they too, faded. The ritual was over, but the pain, the pain didn't fade, it just went on and on, forever, sizzling her nerves with lightning, drilling into her bones. She gritted her teeth and struggled not to cry out, but it was only a matter of time, and she heard herself scream, a keening, agonised wail.
Some time later, Bellatrix awoke lying curled on her side in the dim light of the ritual room. The pain was still there, but it was mostly bearable now. She tried to sit up and instantly regretted it as burning pins and needles seared through her limbs anew. Guided by the ritual, the refined quicksilver was currently drawing on her magic reserves as it bound itself to her nervous system. While the essence of immortality in the hag's dust would keep it from ageing her prematurely, the process itself had been nothing short of excruciating. She forced herself to wiggle her fingers and toes, ankles and wrists, to ensure everything worked, then lay back to recover from just that small exertion.
"It will get better over time," she thought, "and when it's done, I'll be as fast as the Dark Lord ever was."
She had to believe it was true. Slowly, she rolled onto her stomach and pushed herself up. Dried blood stained her fair skin where she'd bled, though the cuts had since sealed over. In the distance, she could see her clothing and the equipment she'd used for the ritual, but in her current state they seemed miles away.
Inch by inch, she dragged herself to her feet and limped to where her belongings lay. It took minutes to dress, then she had to crisscross the room to collect the detritus of the ritual.
"Tempus," she said. The small dial fizzled into being, barely visible.
"Shit, it's almost time for class," she thought. Her eyes burned as if she hadn't slept.
Originally, she had intended to go to class like nothing had happened, but as she tried walking, she realised there was no way she'd be doing anything but sleeping and recovering today. Her steps turned towards the dungeons and the tent. The lab was deserted; of course, Hermione was in class. Julia stumbled into the tent and fell into bed with her clothes on. This time she only thought about Hermione for ten seconds before falling asleep.
"There you are, what happened last night?" Hermione asked.
"Huh?" Bellatrix asked. Her voice was a mere whisper, hoarse, from exhaustion and the screaming she'd done the night before.
"I was worried, where did you go?" Hermione asked.
Bellatrix cracked an eye open to see her bushy haired tentmate standing by the foot of the bed with concern written all over her face.
"Quidditch practice, then duelling drills, I think maybe I overdid it," Bellatrix replied.
"Are you sure you're okay?" Hermione asked, "you know, we both agreed that we would get enough sleep."
Bellatrix's whole body ached like she had a high fever, and the room spun.
"That's a fantastic idea, think I'll start right now," she mumbled as she closed her eyes again.
"Oh no, we have Charms, you're not missing another class," Hermione said, "you're going to end up with detention, and then Ginny will really be out for blood."
She picked up Julia's hand and tugged.
"You're very persuasive," Bellatrix mumbled, but secretly, she relished the chance to hold Hermione's hand, and couldn't help but smile as she leaned into her. Somehow, she made it through a blur of classes and meals and returned straight to the tent to fall into bed and once again drift off to thoughts of her roommate.
Bellatrix opened her eyes and wondered where Hermione was. She glanced over to the side to see the bed empty and neatly made. After having worn the same blood-stained shorts beneath her robes for more than a day now, Bellatrix desperately needed a wash, so she ducked across the hall to use the common showers; judging from the traffic in the hall it was nearly breakfast. She rubbed the wounds to remove the excess dried blood caked onto her skin and clean the cuts. They would need to heal naturally from the dark ritual, but at least the ache in her body had dulled to a mild discomfort. She didn't feel any faster, but she supposed she would find out at the next quidditch practice. Today though, she had one more day of respite, for today was the duelling tournament.
The sun shone down out of a brilliant azure sky, and Bellatrix squinted as she stepped out of the castle. A steady stream of students made their way to the quidditch pitch, and Bellatrix followed along and tried to ignore the inane wage making and trash talking. On the field, three duelling circles had been set up, and a series of brand-new stands faced them. The seats were already half full, and Bellatrix squinted up into the crowd, searching for Hermione's bushy hair. She spotted Ginny's carrot top about halfway up, almost glowing like fire in the morning sun, then found Hermione sitting next to her. She forced herself between Hermione and some third or fourth year sitting next to her. The junior student had a disgruntled look on his face but wisely kept his mouth shut.
"I thought maybe it would be better if you got some rest," Hermione said by way of apology.
"I'm feeling much better now, thank you," Bellatrix replied. She glanced over at Ginny, who busied herself with jotting quidditch plays into a journal.
"Morning Julia," Ginny said as she closed the book, "any favourites?"
The tournament beckoned, the school alive with speculation over who would take the title as best student duellist.
"I haven't really paid attention," Julia replied.
"Didn't you say Michaels was going to join?" Hermione asked.
Bellatrix nodded.
"I have no idea how good the competition is though, so we'll see how he does," she replied.
As the stands filled up, a light breeze stirred their hair, and Bellatrix found herself smiling despite her self-imposed cynicism. Being pressed right up against Hermione, hip to hip, didn't hurt either, and she let her arm 'accidentally' brush against Hermione's, skin on skin.
"Looks like they've set up wards around each of the circles," Ginny said, "look, you can see the stones."
Bellatrix squinted and barely made out the dark circles on the ground, the stones which made up the edges of the wards.
"Makes sense, wouldn't want any spells to accidentally hit the stands or another circle," Hermione said.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, your attention please," Professor Winthrop's voice rang out from somewhere unseen, "welcome to the first annual Hogwarts Duelling Championship!"
Sparks flew through the air behind the duelling circles, resolving into a pair of glowing golden tournament brackets. The one on the right remained blank, but the one on the left quickly populated itself with glowing silver names all down one side, each with a number next to them. Bellatrix quickly realised they were the year of the student. At least a hundred had entered the tournament; they were going to be here for a while.
"That's impressive," Hermione said, and Bellatrix could only nod her agreement.
"But first, a taste of things to come," Winthrop said as a drumroll filled the air, "a small exhibition match. May I present your charms professor, and former W.D.A. International Duelling Circuit champion, our own Filius Fliwick!"
Red sparks showered up from one end of the centre duelling circle and died away to reveal the diminutive charms professor, wearing a grey and blue duelling uniform. He drew his wand from his wrist holster and saluted the crowd, to cheering applause, especially from Ravenclaw.
"I thought you can't apparate on Hogwarts grounds," Bellatrix said, but then the answer immediately came to her even as Hermione spoke.
"He was probably inside the wards all along, disillusioned," Hermione said.
Ginny snorted.
"Winthrop has a flair for the dramatic, I'll give him that," she muttered, "still would rather have had the extra practice today."
Flair seemed to be working though, as Bellatrix glanced to either side to see all eyes glued to the centre circle.
"And your own Defence Against the Dark Arts Professor, Frances Winthrop!" Winthrop's voice rang out, and blue and green sparks rose up, then died away in much the same fashion to reveal the professor dressed in red and black. He removed his wand from his throat, where he'd been using it to amplify his voice, and saluted the crowd to another round of applause.
"This should be interesting," Hermione said as she leaned forward.
"Do you think they're going to just put on a show, or are they going to really try?" Ginny asked.
"They can't really try," Bellatrix said, but she leaned forward to watch nonetheless, for some reason hoping Winthrop would triumph.
The two professors bowed to one another, and then assumed formal duelling poses, Flitwick with his wand held at about chest-height towards his opponent, and Winthrop with his held high above his head, pointed down towards Flitwick.
"Interesting," Bellatrix thought, "if I'm not mistaken, that's an older style originating from Europe; he must have picked it up in his travels."
Almost as if from an invisible signal, the two duelists exploded into action, twisting and turning as each sought to gain an advantage, while magical bolts of varying colours ricocheted around the circle and splashed against the wards. Not a word was spoken as wands whipped and spun, each flick producing a bolt of magic or countering their opponent.
"Merlin, I can't even follow what they're doing," Ginny said. Bellatrix kept quiet, but she felt time almost slow down, and she could track nearly every spell and counter.
"You could do this," Bellatrix thought, as the duellists appeared evenly matched, "you're definitely on their-"
Then Winthrop's arm seemed to blur as his wand increased in speed, firing off spell after spell, and Bellatrix's jaw dropped. She could barely see the movements of Winthrop's wand as it whipped about, much less register which spell he was casting and come up with the correct counter. The fact Flitwick was able to keep from being hit for even more than a few seconds was a miracle, but he was still forced back to the edge of the duelling circle. A shower of multicoloured sparks sprayed in all directions from the Charms professor as he parried an almost solid stream of magical bolts from the advancing Winthrop. Then the diminutive former duelling champion, his back against the ward, suddenly ducked and fired a single red bolt from his wand, striking Winthrop's wand hand with unerring accuracy.
"What?" Bellatrix thought as Winthrop missed the parry, almost comically slow compared to how fast he had been moving. Her mouth dropped open as the DADA professor's wand clattered to the ground, and the crowd leapt to its feet and roared.
Winthrop raised his hands in surrender, then pointed both hands at Flitwick, who bowed, then raised his wand in a salute at the crowd. Winthrop wordlessly summoned his wand to his hand and held it to his throat.
"Congratulations to our Charms Professor! I wager he'd still be international champion today if he wished it, aren't we all lucky to have such a brilliant duellist to learn from?" Winthrop said.
"Too bad, I almost thought Winthrop had it," Hermione said. Ginny nodded.
"He let that hit him," Bellatrix thought.
"And now, let the games begin," Winthrop said.
With a flourish of his wand, the first duellists' names appeared above which circle they were to compete in.
After the excitement of the exhibition match, the student duels were painfully boring affairs. Until Michaels or Wong stepped into a ring, Bellatrix didn't have much to keep her occupied. Hermione's hand rested on her knee, just next to Bellatrix's own, and the thought of slipping her hand into hers, or placing it on top, crossed her mind numerous times. Scenarios started playing out in her mind, all of them ultimately ending with herself and Hermione in bed, and she sought a way to distract herself. She glanced around, again looking for Cissy's son, but he was nowhere to be seen. Finally, it was Wong's turn to duel. Bellatrix watched as the tiny first year faced off against a fourth-year boy. As soon as the match started, she ducked to the side and fired off a wordless disarming charm before he could even cast a single spell.
"That's the way to do it," Bellatrix thought as his wand flew through the air.
Michaels fared equally well in his first duel against a third year; apparently having her as a sparring partner and practising until their arms couldn't move helped, as he quickly dispatched his opponent. Her two students advanced past the first two rounds until Allison Wong ran into a sixth year who could cast a wordless protego, and he simply deflected all of her attacks, got in close, and used a depulso to knock her out of the ring and into the loser's bracket.
"Hey, isn't that your ex?" Julia asked as she nudged Ginny as she noticed Michaels v Corner hovering over the left most ring.
"Yeap, he's an eighth year, and was in the DA, going to be tough to beat," Ginny said. The words proved prophetic as the duel lasted a little bit longer, until Corner reversed a stupefy from Michaels straight back at him, and Michaels didn't react fast enough to either block it or dodge, and ended up flat on his back, unconscious.
"Idiot," Bellatrix thought. She glanced to the loser's bracket to see Allison Wong had lost her fourth match and was out of the tournament.
"Okay, not bad for a first year to win two matches," she thought.
Michaels won his next match to get to the round of thirty-two, sixteen each in the winner's and loser's brackets.
'Vane v Corner'
'Wildy v Michaels'
"Wow, I don't know which one to watch," Bellatrix said.
The crowd also seemed to realise there was some drama in how the brackets had unfolded, with the Hufflepuff Head Girl vs the Ravenclaw student of Harry Potter, and the Gryffindor founder of the Three Musketeers Escort Service vs the Slytherin with a long-standing grudge against him. Both duels occurred almost simultaneously, and cheers for the Hufflepuff and Gryffindor duellists dominated, except for where the three senior girls sat, as Hermione and Ginny loudly urged Corner on. Bellatrix's attention was focused on Michaels though; if he lost this match, he was out of the tournament. The two fifth-years immediately went after one another, each looking like they were trying to blast the other into oblivion, and to Bellatrix's keen eyes, they looked evenly matched as they circled and dodged.
"He's going to have to improvise," Bellatrix thought. She'd told him to focus on only a few spells, and Michaels had a wordless shield, expelliarmus, and langlock in his repertoire, but Wildy had shown he was able to block almost anything Michaels threw at him and could cast wordlessly well enough that the langlock didn't hamper him too much.
A roar went up from the crowd; Corner had just defeated Vane, but Bellatrix didn't care as she found herself rooting for her student against his rival. Suddenly Michaels charged Wildy, deflecting a wild stupefy as he came, he cocked his arm back as if to throw a punch and Wildy ducked, only for Michaels to hit him square in the chest with a stunner. The crowd rumbled its disapproval, and Bellatrix glanced at Winthrop, who refereed the match. The Professor pointed his wand at the scoreboard and declared Michaels the winner.
"Feints are legal," Hermione said, "he didn't actually punch him."
"Still, it was a dirty move," a Gryffindor student, Bellatrix wasn't sure of his name, said from in front of them.
A rennervated Wildy sat up and looked around to get his bearings as Michaels stood over him, then took the offered hand to help him to his feet. The two boys spoke a few words quietly and shook hands, while the crowd politely applauded the show of good sportsmanship, even if the victory had been a sneaky one.
Michaels won his next match but eventually lost to Daisy Vane in the round of eight when she transfigured the ground around his ankles to immobilise him, but as Bellatrix checked the remaining duellists, she noted that there were no other fifth-years remaining.
"So what does that mean?" Bellatrix thought, "It means that with the right training, a random muggleborn can outperform every pureblood and half-blood in his year."
She wasn't sure how she felt about that. Proud that Michaels had done so well, annoyed that he hadn't won, a little bit apprehensive that another one of the pillars of truth she'd known all her life was little more than a glamour. She lost herself in thought and only snapped out of it when she realised Daisy Vane had defeated Michael Corner twice in the finals to win the tournament. Hermione groaned and put her head in her hands.
"Now I'm regretting I didn't enter," Ginny muttered.
"Quidditch," Hermione said without looking up.
"Just challenge her to a real duel, that'll shut her up," Bellatrix said, "Merlin, say the word and I'll do it. I'll even humiliate her a little. Or a lot, if it'll help."
Ginny smirked.
"No, I've come to the conclusion that she's insecure, and it's better for everyone if I just let her have her smug remarks for the next month until graduation and then be done with it," Hermione said, "if I said yes, it would mean she got to me."
Bellatrix snorted.
"Well, it makes you feel any better, Vane's style works well when there are strictly enforced duelling society rules, but a competent duellist would destroy her in a real fight," Bellatrix said.
Hermione took a deep breath and looked up with a long exhale.
"It's a beautiful day," Hermione said.
Bellatrix looked up at the cloudless sky, then at Hermione to drink in the sight of the sun on her face as she stared up. Her moment was interrupted by someone clearing his throat, and she looked down to see Wesley Michaels, with Allison Wong looking very small as she stood a step below him.
"Julia, I have to say thank you, even though your training was tough, I never would have made it this far without you," he said.
Wong nodded her agreement.
"You're welcome," Julia said as she ignored both Ginny and Hermione listening in to the conversation.
"You're better than Vane, a lot better," Michaels said, "I still don't understand why you didn't enter."
"Why don't you have a friendly fistfight with Wong? Same thing," Julia replied.
The Asian pursed her lips but didn't say anything; the sixteen-year-old Michaels, even though he was on the thin side, would absolutely destroy eleven-year-old Wong in a brawl.
"Well anyway, we were wondering if we could continue the sessions, at least until you graduate," Michaels said.
Bellatrix opened her mouth to tell him to get lost, but then she paused.
"Sure, why not," she said. After all, it was only a few more weeks until their exams.
"Great, see you on Sunday," Michaels said.
"Thank you," Wong added as they descended the bleachers.
"You're not that good," Ginny said quietly.
Bellatrix almost challenged her to a duel on the spot, but with Hermione sitting right next to her, decided to play it cool instead.
"Good enough when it counts, besides, it'll make them work harder," she replied.
Ginny nodded. Perhaps the captain understood motivating others to practise.
"You trained Wong too?" Ginny asked, "I had no idea. How did she do?"
"She won her first two matches then lost two, not bad for a firstie," Julia replied.
The redhead nodded again, thoughtfully.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, please stand by for the announcement of the winner, and presentation of the Duelling Tournament Trophy!" Winthrop said.
"Ugh, let's go, I don't want to watch this," Hermione said. The three of them climbed to the top of the steps and dropped down the back, using a quiet arresto momentum to land softly in the grass. Bellatrix felt an urge to hug Hermione, or hold her hand, or comfort her in some way, but with Weasley right there, her usual confidence evaporated and she settled for 'accidentally' brushing hands as they walked back to the Great Hall for an early lunch.
Bellatrix slipped elbow protectors up her arms and secured the ties like a warrior strapping on her armour before going into battle. Her fingers moved automatically while her brain focused on the murmur of the crowd, crouched in anticipation of the team introductions and what promised to be an exciting final match. The knee pads and shin guards slid on next, followed by the red and gold Gryffindor jersey and cape, pulled over her head. She stood up to let it drop naturally to her ankles, then picked through the bristles of her borrowed broom one last time while the crowd roared as Hufflepuff were introduced. Despite telling herself she didn't care about the outcome of the championship, butterflies flitted about her stomach. She wanted to win out of general principle, but also because Hermione wanted Ginny to win. With a potential professional contract on the line though, she could only imagine the pressure Ginny felt.
"Right, I'm not going to say much," the redhead said as she stood up.
"She looks good in the red and gold," Bellatrix thought.
"Hufflepuff are going to be going all out early, so remember your positioning and keep an eye on their seeker," Ginny said, "for a lot of us, this is our last chance at a quidditch cup. We're here because we've earned it. So no matter what happens, let's leave it all out there on the pitch, no regrets."
Bellatrix followed her out into the brilliant May sunshine and turned towards the stadium. The wind stirred her cape slightly and there was not a cloud in the sky; perfect weather for quidditch. The chanting crowd and the vibrations from their clapping and stamping of feet already had her blood pumping as they waited for their team to be announced. Bellatrix glanced at Dean Thomas, who swallowed nervously as he peeked between a crack in the wood to stare up at the stands.
"And why wouldn't he be nervous, it's his first match in two years, and it's the final," she thought.
"And now, please welcome, GRYFFINDOR!" the announcer shouted, and the doors blew open, revealing the near side rings. Ginny kicked off and Bellatrix was right behind her, wind whipping through her hair and roaring in her ears, drowning out the sound of the crowd. They formed up into a 'V' with Ginny at the head and made a fast sprint around the entire pitch. The faces in the crowd blurred as they buzzed by overhead, and Bellatrix smirked. She might not have been a born quidditch player, but she'd practised all season, and now, only one team stood between her and the cup. They completed the obligatory circuit and Bellatrix drifted over to the Gryffindor posts with the rest of the team. She spotted Ginny hovering near one of the stands and picked out Harry Potter's distinct spectacles as the captain exchanged a few words with him and he blew her a kiss. Ginny flew over and slid to a stop next to Bellatrix.
"Right, play hard, but don't get fancy, stick to the basics," she said, "ready?"
"GRYFFINDOR!" the team shouted as one. Bellatrix angled towards the centre of the pitch, where the chasers and beaters of both teams congregated on their respective sides.
"The snitch is up and Madam Hooch is set," the announcer said, Bellatrix glanced over and noticed it was Andrew Stevens announcing, the Slytherin prefect.
Then it was time for the opening toss, and Bellatrix took Ginny's left flank to face off against a brown-haired chaser clad in yellow and black, a seventh-year whose name she hadn't bothered to learn but probably should have. He sent her what she guessed was supposed to be an intimidating glare, but it didn't really work, at least not on her.
"Now, I want a good clean game," Madam Hooch said as she held the quaffle in one hand, "ready… and…"
With a sharp blast from her whistle, the yellow-eyed quidditch referee threw the quaffle high into the air, followed quickly by the bludgers released from their box.
"The quaffle is up, and they're off!" Stevens shouted.
The neat formation of the two teams dissolved into a vicious furball fighting for possession of the quaffle while twisting to avoid direct collisions with one another and instinctively juking whenever they heard the smack of a beater's bat. The roar of the crowd dimmed as Bellatrix fell into the chaos that was the beautiful game, and time slowed down. The brunette Hufflepuff chaser leaned her full weight into Bellatrix as she tried to gain and put himself between her and the quaffle. A quick elbow into his midsection and she was free, just as the quaffle deflected off the shaft of a broom and floated down in front of her face. She snatched it out of the air, tucked it under her arm, and dove one handed to escape the scrum.
"White with the quaffle, bludger advantage to Hufflepuff!" Stevens said.
"They have possession of one bludger, and the other is up for grabs," she thought.
Bellatrix looked to her left to find Ginny, and spotted her red and ginger streak up field. She cocked her arm and flung the quaffle as she rolled to dodge the predictable bludger strike, the momentum of the manoeuvre adding distance to the throw. Ginny curved slightly into the pass and then accelerated towards the goals, cape snapping behind her as she quickly outpaced everyone on her racing broom.
"Brilliant pass, it's Weasley on a breakaway! Look at that Firebolt go! SCORE!" Stevens shouted.
A loud 'pang' sounded as the quaffle sailed through the left hoop.
"Gryffindor draw first blood, let's see if Hufflepuff can reply," Stevens said.
Ginny peeled around with one arm in the air, but there was scant time for celebration; Branstone, the Hufflepuff keeper, an older girl with long brown hair tied back in a ponytail, had already recovered the quaffle and was looking for an outlet pass. Ginny got in close to try and block the initial throw with her body and broom as Bellatrix raced up to cover one of the Puff chasers. Demelza, their seeker, flew in to help even out the players, but Thomas was out manoeuvred and turned a sloppy wide corner to let his opponent break out a few feet from him, and the Puff keeper was able to lead him with a powerful throw. The yellow and black chasers shot off in different directions and then came back together in a criss-cross manoeuvre to try and confuse the Gryffindor defence. Bellatrix neatly kept herself between the quaffle carrier and the hoops, until her opponent cut sharply to the left. The Comet drifted when she wanted it to corner, and she made a swipe for the quaffle as it passed her by but it was just out of her reach.
"Fuck," she whispered as the play got away from her. Three passes on a give-and-go and the game was tied.
"Brilliant tic-tac-toe play by Hufflepuff, Taylor got a piece of it but it wasn't enough!" Stevens shouted.
"Positioning!" Ginny shouted.
"Yeah, I fucking know," Bellatrix thought as she nodded to Ginny.
The play went back down the other way, and Bellatrix juked to avoid a bludger strike, as she caught the quaffle over her shoulder. She weaved her way into the scoring box, and this time put her Comet to good use, yanking hard on the shaft to pull it into a drift and slide sideways through the box to change her angle. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Ginny slowing up to time her rush, and Bellatrix pump-faked a shot then tossed the quaffle up just as she slid out of the scoring box.
"Here's the shot, no it's a pass!" Stevens said, "it's Weasley all alone, score! Hufflepuff are complaining that there were two in the box but Hooch called it a good goal. Here goes Hufflepuff the other way, that's definitely a set play, Score! It's tied again!"
Even though it was a tie score, Bellatrix felt the momentum shifting, the Hufflepuff chasers could read each other better, which wasn't surprising considering how little time Dean Thomas had had to practise with them, but in the end, all that mattered was the final score.
A lazy pass by Taylor was picked off by Hufflepuff, and they streaked in two on one with Bellatrix caught up field.
"The fuck was that!" Bellatrix shouted as the turnover was converted into a quick goal.
"Sorry!" Taylor said as he flew down to retrieve the quaffle. He handed it off to Bellatrix, who looked up for Weasley, but this time the Hufflepuff beaters were ready, and a bludger glanced off the redhead's shoulder just as the pass got there, and the quaffle bounced off her fingers and plummeted, to be picked up by Hufflepuff again.
"Another turnover by Gryffindor," Stevens said as the red and gold crowd groaned.
With both Gryffindor beaters already up field, Hufflepuff charged in two on one again.
"Here's the pass, and it's a deflection, Sco-No! He's absolutely robbed by Taylor! Oh Merlin, what a save!"
Taylor had swung from his broom and caught the quaffle with the tip of his boot, deflecting it just wide of the hoops. Still, despite some brilliant Keeper work by Taylor, the Hufflepuff team were simply too skilled, and had obviously practised several precision set plays, and the next time Bellatrix looked over at the scoreboard, they were down 120-70.
*Pang*
"Another goal for Hufflepuff!" Stevens said.
"Push that bludger to the outside," Ginny said as Taylor went to retrieve the quaffle, and Marcos lined up the self-propelling ball and batted it behind their hoops, where it looped around and came back to him.
"Julia, Thomas, go help lure the other bludger to Wilkes, double strike against Williams, their centre chaser," Ginny said quietly as Taylor passed the quaffle to her, "wait for my distraction."
Ginny took the quaffle and corkscrewed up, stretching out the field and giving her a bird's eye view of the entire match. Up with a comfortable lead, only one of the Hufflepuff chasers followed her, while the other two chasers and a beater stayed back to play defence. Bellatrix charged towards the other beater, to get between him and the second bludger. She slid sideways as it made a pass at her, and Wilkes was there. Instead of batting it towards the Puffs though, he smacked it back towards their hoops, and Marcos.
A solid impact knocked the wind out of her as the Puff beater ploughed into her shoulder, knocking her off balance. She cursed at herself for letting her attention wander, smacked her pad a few times to get it back in the proper place, and then put herself between the Puff beaters and their end of the field.
"Gryffindor are looking to corral both bludgers now, watch out!" Stevens called.
Marcos and Wilkes took turns batting both bludgers back and forth to each other as they circled above their hoops, daring the Puff chasers to come within range, while Ginny dove, right past the first Hufflepuff chaser, then shimmied past the second, red hair streaming out behind her as she quickly outpaced them on her Firebolt.
"Here comes Weasley, Gryffindor beaters are charging in too," Stevens said as Bellatrix hovered below the play.
With no bludgers nearby, Hufflepuff could only play defence by trying to wrestle the quaffle away from Ginny, and that's exactly what their centre looked to do as he angled in, but Ginny lobbed the quaffle in the air and peeled off to the right, just as a pair of cracks sounded as both Marcos and Wilkes struck hard. Distracted by the quaffle practically floating in front of him, the Hufflepuff centre reached out for it and tried to dodge the bludger strikes at the same time. He rolled to get around the first one, but the second caught him directly on the upper arm with a sickening thud.
"And Williams is hurting, that was a direct bludger strike," Stevens said as Bellatrix caught the dropped quaffle. Her vision tunnelled as she pushed her broom to its limits. The hoops grew in front of her as Ginny flew in from the top right, two on one, as the lone Hufflepuff beater in front of them tried to keep position to prevent the pass. Bellatrix lobbed the quaffle over his head for Ginny to deflect past the Keeper.
"Goal! Brilliant finish!" Stevens said.
A quick passing fist bump with Ginny and they were back on defence. Williams now favoured his left hand, and his passes weren't as crisp. Little by little, Gryffindor clawed their way back into the game.
"Save by Taylor! No doubt he saw that late, that's what made it even more impressive," Stevens added.
A sudden roar from the crowd drew Bellatrix's attention.
"Laura Madley's spotted the snitch!" Stevens shouted.
Bellatrix's eyes found her, a streak of black and yellow halfway across the pitch, Demelza Robins trailing her by at least two broomlengths.
"Stop her! Stop her!" Ginny pointed as she shouted to Marcos and Wilkes; if Madley caught the snitch, it was all over.
Marcos smashed a bludger at the diminutive seeker, but she ducked beneath it and stretched out a hand. Robins was still half a broom length behind, no chance for her to catch up, but then the Gryffindor seeker grabbed the Hufflepuff seeker's cape with one hand and yanked hard on her broom with the other. Both seekers spiralled almost out of control as Madley barely held onto her broom, and the crowd hissed its disapproval.
"Foul! Flagrant obstruction!" Stevens shouted.
Hooch blew a long blast on the whistle.
"Five minutes, Gamberthatching," Hooch said as she made the sign for grabbing and pulling another player's uniform. Demelza Robins drifted over to the small penalty area. During the penalty, Hufflepuff would have five minutes to search for the snitch. If they found it, they'd be able to chase it uncontested, as only seekers could touch the snitch and the only way Robins could catch it would be if it drifted into her penalty zone.
Hooch passed the quaffle to Eleanor Branstone, the Puff keeper, and blew her whistle again. Branstone took her time making the outlet pass, while the rest of the Puff team spread out, all searching for the snitch.
"Get on them, don't let them find it," Ginny said, and she followed her own advice to cut off one of the Puff chasers. With Gryffindor down a player, Hufflepuff consistently had an open flyer, and quickly racked up several goals while Bellatrix focused getting in front of the opposing chasers as much as possible to force them to avoid her, and distract them from snitch searching.
"The penalty to Robins is over, the Gryffindor seeker is back in the game," Stevens said. Bellatrix glanced at the scoreboard again, they were down 200-110.
"If this keeps up, we won't be able to catch the snitch even if we find it," Bellatrix thought.
The Gryffindor crowd seemed to realise it as well, as they had gone mostly quiet. Ginny flew up alongside her.
"Williams is hurt, our play should come from the middle," she said, "we'll do a Klingman Curl. If it doesn't work, drift around behind the hoops and look for me in the scoring box."
Bellatrix nodded.
"Gryffindor looking to regroup, if they go down by two more goals, they'll have to play snitch defence," Stevens said. Bellatrix ignored him as she circled back behind her hoops to start the play, one of the Puff chasers staying in position in front of her. Bellatrix leaned forward into her broom and accelerated, and twisted her body as she flung the quaffle just over the outstretched fingertips of her defender. Ginny had a broom length on her defender and flew into the pass. The captain tucked it neatly and accelerated up the pitch. The crowd roared while bludgers ping-ponged around as beaters fought for dominance and a clear shot. Bellatrix reminded herself not to watch her pass, and took off straight down the middle of the pitch before the nearest Puff chaser realised what she was doing. Ginny streaked down the left wing and curled left all the way to the edge of the pitch to draw Williams, the last Hufflepuff chaser, over to her. As Ginny completed the two-hundred-seventy-degree turn, the passing lane opened up to Bellatrix all alone down the middle. She caught a perfect lob from Ginny and raised her arm to strike, but out of the corner of her eye, she spied a bludger aimed square at her head. Only ultra-fast reflexes saved her as she tucked the quaffle again and rolled to the right, sparing her a concussion but putting her out of position for a good strike. Branstone, the keeper, shifted with her, staying in perfect position to defend the near side two hoops. Bellatrix yanked hard on her broom and pressed down with her left foot, pulling it into a drift. She slid sideways and curled around behind the hoops and out of the scoring box while Ginny came down diagonally across the box. Bellatrix tossed the quaffle up and over Branstone's head where Ginny punched it straight through the undefended far hoop.
*Pang*
"Gryffindor scores, what teamwork from Weasley and White!" Stevens said. A quick fist bump and they zoomed back towards their own hoops to play defence as Hufflepuff came at them with what looked like another set play. The chasers zig-zagged back and forth, interchanging positions and sometimes leaving the quaffle, sometimes not. Bellatrix focused on staying in position, but Thomas pivoted and accelerated up the middle.
"And that pass is picked off by Thomas, they've tried that one already!" Stevens shouted.
Bellatrix looked over to see the muggleborn chaser dodge a bludger and split the Hufflepuff beaters, with nothing but empty pitch ahead of him.
"Nobody's going to catch him, no wait, here comes Weasley, it's a two on oh," Stevens said.
Bellatrix watched as Thomas stayed outside the scoring box and floated a pass to Ginny over the middle. With her pick of all three hoops, she turned her head and pump faked to the right to get the keeper to commit, then threw to the left for an easy goal. Gryffindor roared and Bellatrix palpably felt the momentum shift. With Ginny a constant threat for a breakaway, Hufflepuff were forced to stretch out their players, which opened up passing lanes. Goal by goal, Gryffindor kept pace with Hufflepuff, hovering between down by ninety and down by a hundred.
Bellatrix floated in the scoring box and planted herself in front of Eleanor Branstone, literally right in front of her face.
"Get her out of the way!" the keeper yelled as she craned her neck to try and watch the play.
Bellatrix dodged a bludger that Branstone also had to dodge, and went right back to screening the keeper.
"Sorry what? I can't hear you," Bellatrix said as she swivelled her head between the play and the keeper to stay in position. Normally it was difficult to score from outside the box, but if the keeper couldn't see the throw… Williams moved in to try and physically dislodge her with his larger mass, and Bellatrix struggled to keep her broom in front of the keeper's face as the Puff's hip and thigh pressed into her shoulder.
*Pang* Another goal.
"…Madley is in front, this could be it!" Stevens yelled. Bellatrix looked downfield to see both seekers in a dive, yellow and black again ahead of red and gold. She cursed to herself as she caught herself seeker-watching and forgot to play her position. Williams streaked out ahead of her and Branstone led him with a long pass that he tucked beneath his left arm, then put his head down to accelerate up the pitch. Bellatrix took off but there was no way she'd catch up to the play. Above her and to the left, she saw Wilkes winding up as the dark spot of a bludger approached him.
"If they score, even if we catch the snitch, we'll still lose, but Wilkes can't hit them both!" Bellatrix thought. She saw the bludger strike a split-second before she heard it, a thundering crack just as Madley reached out for the glint of gold Bellatrix could barely make out. The small Hufflepuff seeker didn't see the bludger at all until it smashed into her chest with crushing impact, knocking her backwards and clear off her broom to plunge down towards the pitch, hundreds of feet below, her cape dancing wildly as she fell.
"Oooh," the crowd said in unison.
"Oh! Blindside bludger strike, Madley might be out of the game. Here's the pass, shot, and a brilliant save by Taylor!" Stevens said, "and now Robins is all alone still in pursuit of the snitch, and she's got it! That's it, it's over! Gryffindor wins and… yes they've won the Quidditch Cup!"
The Gryiffindor seeker raced around the perimeter of the pitch just over the crowd with the snitch held high, pure joy on her face. She made it about a quarter of the way around before apparently remembering Madley was potentially seriously injured. Bellatrix drifted down to get a better look as both Puff beaters tried to shove Wilkes, who had flown in to ensure she was alright, away from their seeker. Madam Hooch had stopped Madley's fall, but now she had to break up the after-match pushing and shouting. Someone recovered Madley's broom and got her onto it, and with the beaters separated and sent to either end of the pitch, Hooch started the trek towards the Hospital Wing. Bellatrix caught a glimpse of tear streaked Hufflepuff quidditch players as the rest of the team mobbed Demelza, the little seeker invisible beneath the rest of the team.
"Looks like Madley's going to be okay, what a heartbreaker for Hufflepuff, but what a game! Congratulations to Gryffindor, Hogwarts Quidditch Champions!" Stevens said.
The crowd roared again, even some of the Hufflepuff students were applauding politely, the ones that weren't in shock. Bellatrix gave the seeker an obligatory pat on the back, much more reserved than the mauling she received from Marcos and Wilkes. Demelza kicked off again for the victory lap, and Bellatrix formed up with the others as they took a circuit around the pitch and landed near the centre.
"I can't believe it, we won!" Ginny said, her face beaming, then she slammed her fist into Dean Thomas' arm as he passed, "brilliant pick near the end!"
Bellatrix smirked as Thomas held his arm and winced as he nodded to Ginny, then she scanned the crowd for Hermione. She wasn't able to find her before McGonagall walked onto the pitch, followed by a levitating table carrying their prize, the silver Quidditch Cup. The team lined up quickly as McGonagall pointed her wand at her throat.
"Congratulations Gryffindor on an excellent season," she said, "and now in the best tradition of Hogwarts, may I present to you, the Hogwarts Quidditch Cup."
McGonagall picked up the polished silver chalice, sparkling in the afternoon sun. As captain, Ginny stepped up to accept it with both hands. She smiled as a camera flash went off, then picked it up and kissed the small bowl at the top of the chalice, then motioned for Robins. The little seeker accepted the cup and held it up over her head.
"Yeah!" she yelled, then brought it down to kiss it as well.
"Please remember not to damage it, we still need to engrave your names on it later this week," McGonagall said quietly as the team passed the trophy around.
The quidditch cup made it around to Bellatrix, and she turned it to find a spot nobody's lips had touched yet and pressed hers against the cool metal. Then she passed it to Thomas.
"What about Adams and Noonan?" Taylor asked, mentioning the two chasers who had been suspended just before the game.
"They can kiss it upstairs," Ginny said, "come on, everyone get in for a photo."
The team gathered in the centre of the pitch as the stands emptied. A photographer from Quidditch Weekly snapped a few shots.
"Right, how about showing us all how you feel after winning," the photographer said.
"Yeah!" the team shouted as they put on various over-the-top poses.
The rest of the school had descended to the pitch now, jabbering and exchanging coin for bets won or lost. Ginny picked up the trophy and ran over to kiss Harry Potter full on the lips, completely oblivious to the flashing camera.
"We did it," Ginny said.
"You did it," Harry replied before he was cut off by another camera flash. Bellatrix scanned the crowd, if Harry was here, then surely that meant close by was…
"Julia!" Hermione said.
Bellatrix spun towards the sound of her voice and spotted her walking towards her, wide smile on her face. Bellatrix couldn't help but reciprocate. Hermione didn't slow at all as she approached and Bellatrix struggled not to race to her. The breath left Bella's body as Hermione wrapped her in a tight hug, and she dropped her broom to grab at Hermione's back. Her hand drifted lower but she managed to stop herself at the muggleborn's lower back. She breathed in, some kind of fruity shampoo.
"Congratulations," Hermione said as she pulled back.
"Thanks," Julia replied. She couldn't stop staring at Hermione's lips. She just won the quidditch up, surely one kiss would be okay?
"No, there's too many people," she thought.
"Do you feel happy?" Hermione asked.
"Of course. Hello, I just won the Quidditch Cup," Julia replied.
"Let's try for a patronus," Hermione said.
Bellatrix smiled coyly; what would Hermione think if she knew what her happy memory was?
"Maybe tomorrow, after the party?" she replied, "you're coming, right?"
"I may not have a reputation as a huge quidditch fan, but I am a Gryffindor," Hermione replied with a grin.
Bellatrix didn't have to fake the wide smile that spread across her face, but then she spotted Slughorn's lumbering form approaching, along with a dark-skinned athletic woman. The Potions professor caught Ginny's eye and motioned her over.
"Go on and change and get the party started, I'll catch up with you later," Ginny said as she passed the cup to Thomas and walked over to shake hands with Slughorn and the woman.
"That's Gwenog Jones," Harry said as he walked over to them.
"Harry! Err. How've you been?" Thomas said as he trotted over.
"Odd, why's he being awkward?" Bellatrix thought.
"Hey Dean, good, just flat out," Harry said, "that was some match, I barely sat down the entire time."
"It's always a great match when you win, especially the final," Thomas said, "can't believe I was called up."
"Yeah, I heard all about that," Harry said.
"Ha, I bet," Thomas said, "so…. are you coming to the party?"
"I can't, work," Harry said, "plus, technically I'm not a student, wouldn't be right."
Thomas nodded, a little too vigorously.
"Too bad. Anyway, I'm off to change and then celebrate, see you soon," Thomas said.
Harry just nodded.
"Me too," Julia said to Hermione, "see you Potter."
Harry nodded, and Bellatrix spared a glance over her shoulder for Ginny, Sluggy, and Gwenog Jones having a conversation while the photographer's bulb continued to flash. Bellatrix opened the changing room tent to what could only be described as celebratory chaos. Her teammates were in various states of undress, some still wearing their full uniform, some stripped down to their underclothes. As she watched, Taylor shook a bottle of champagne, popped the cork with a loud bang, and sprayed it across the room, but generally towards Demelza Robins, who stood on top of one of the tables while Marcos and Wilkes, the two beaters, hoisted the cup and poured champagne into her open mouth. She coughed and sputtered, then continued to laugh, and Taylor refilled the cup from the now half-empty bottle.
"Oh Merlin, it burns," Demelza said as she held her nose.
"Practise makes perfect, who's next? Oi, White, get over here," Taylor said.
Bellatrix felt someone shove her from behind and glanced over her shoulder to see Thomas grinning.
"Give me that," she said as she grabbed the cup from Marcos. She lifted the large chalice by the two handles on either side and tilted it back along with her whole body, to the cheers of the team. Sharp champagne bubbled in her throat as the taste of alcohol hit her, but she drank until she felt like she would burst. She let out a very unladylike belch into the back of her hand and swallowed to keep everything down while the rest of the team laughed and cheered.
"Bloody champagne," she thought as she set the cup on a table and walked straight to the showers. She couldn't not drink from the cup, and figured it was better to do a lot at first than numerous drinks later on.
Bellatrix focused on stripping down and rinsing, and did her best to ignore the random whooping and hollering as the others took stalls. Now that the excitement of the match was wearing off, she noticed her thigh was bruised and sore where she'd taken a bludger. The ritual cuts on her arms had opened slightly and stained her padding as well. She winced as the water ran over her hand.
"Apparently sliced up my pinkie, too," she thought as she noticed the barely visible cut for the first time. Already buzzing from the drink, she changed quickly and was the first to stow her equipment and exit. She spotted Hermione, Harry, and Ginny still chatting on the quidditch pitch. Slughorn and Gwenog Jones had departed, as had the photographer, probably to make the evening print run. Most of the rest of the students had already returned to the castle.
"You're not going to drink from the cup?" she asked Ginny.
"We'll have it all night," Ginny said.
"So?" Julia asked.
The redhead beamed.
"I've been invited to training camp and tryouts this summer," Ginny said, "but Jones says based on what she saw today, they'll be just a formality."
"Huh, way to go Weasley," Julia said.
"Thanks. You know, you were brilliant too," Ginny said.
Julia waved her off.
"Everyone helped, but without you we would have got stomped. Why don't you go change, have some champagne, and then we can meet the rest of the house upstairs," Julia said.
"And with you gone it means Potter is gone too, and Hermione and I can walk back to the castle alone," Bellatrix thought.
"I like where your head's at," Ginny said, then she turned to Harry, and the lovers started whispering something to each other. Bellatrix moved close to Hermione and they walked a few steps to give them a little privacy.
"So how much of the game did you actually watch?" Julia asked.
"Believe it or not I watched every second," Hermione replied.
Bellatrix raised an eyebrow.
"It's the finals," Hermione said, matter of factly, "besides, it was a good match. I thought I was going to pass out from holding my breath so much."
Bellatrix smirked.
"Right," Harry said as he approached them, "I'm off."
Hermione stepped in and gave Harry a tight hug, and Bellatrix felt her eye twitch.
"She looks so content, so happy," she thought, "stop it, focus. He's leaving now, then you'll have her all to yourself."
They broke apart.
"See you soon Julia," Harry said with a small wave. She nodded and waved back. Then the Boy-Who-Lived walked off towards Hogsmeade village, and Bellatrix and Hermione turned to walk in the opposite direction, back up the slope towards Hogwarts.
Bellatrix felt like there was an entire world she wanted to tell Hermione, but she didn't have any words. When she glanced over, the muggleborn appeared lost in thought, so Bellatrix tried to enjoy the hike up to the castle in silence as the late spring afternoon sun lit up the grounds.
"It's all so incredibly normal," Hermione said suddenly.
Bellatrix gave her a sidelong glance with a raised eyebrow.
"Quidditch final, everyone celebrates, almost like there wasn't a war last year," Hermione said.
"Hufflepuff's not celebrating," Bellatrix said with an internal snicker.
"You know what I mean," Hermione said, "I know it's what we're supposed to do, but it just feels wrong somehow. Do you really want to go to the party?"
The image of dragging Hermione to the tent, throwing her down on the bunk, and kissing her until she couldn't breathe came to Bellatrix.
"No, but I'm part of the winning team, I sort of have to," Bellatrix replied.
They made the rest of the trek in silence, with Bellatrix trying to banish her fantasies long enough to figure out how to cheer Hermione up.
"Hope springs eternal," Hermione said to the Fat Lady.
The babbling sounds of a celebration in progress greeted them as the portrait swung wide. They ducked through the hole to a scene of unbridled revelry. Students packed the common room, most decked out in red and gold, some still with face paint from the match. Every available seat, including armrests, was occupied, even the giant stuffed lion mascot sitting in the corner. Eric Wildy and Thomas Stevens busied themselves serving drinks at a table near the rear. Someone had charmed paper griffins, and the little beasties flew about the ceiling, attempting to waylay similarly enchanted toys of what looked to be popular professional quidditch players on brooms. The quidditch cup sat in a place of honour on a table in the centre of the common room surrounded by several bottles, some already lying on their side.
Bellatrix felt Hermione stiffen beside her, and she took the golden girl's hand, both to reassure her and to satisfy her own need for physical contact with her. It wasn't nearly enough, but her stomach flipped about anyway as she received a small squeeze in acknowledgement and thanks. Nobody seemed to have noticed their arrival yet.
"Ready?" Julia asked quietly.
Hermione nodded.
"As I'll ever be," she replied. They turned as one to face the crush of the post victory party together.
Chapter 32 Trigger Warning: Self-harm