Harry Potter is owned by JKR
Trigger Warnings at End of Chapter
Chapter 71
Hermione appeared outside the imposing gates of Malfoy Manor. The Fall Ball decorations had been removed, and the stone edifice itself stood grand and imposing beyond the barren trees and dry fountain. She'd apparated before she lost her nerve, and quickly rummaged around her pouch to pull out an overcoat to ward off the chilly air. Her breath made small puffs of steam as her boots crunched on the gravel near the gates, and she raised her hand to knock, half expecting it to contort into a metal face like when she'd been brought here against her will during the war. This time though, nothing happened, and she rapped her bare knuckles on the cold metal with a pair of low thunks.
Just as she thought she might be wasting her time, a figure appeared between the brown branches of the bare trees, on one of the paths leading deeper into the property. Draco Malfoy, platinum blonde hair stark against the dark bark of the property woods, cane in hand and wearing a dark muggle overcoat and jeans, leisurely strolled to the gate.
"Granger," he drawled once he crossed shouting distance, "It's customary to owl first. To what do I owe the pleasure?"
He stopped behind the gates with a tap of his cane on the stone.
"Malfoy," she said, "I'm looking for Bellatrix."
The corner of his lips quirked.
"She's not here," he said.
"Please," she said, "it's important."
His nostrils flared as he took a deep breath.
"I'm sure it is, but even if I knew where she was, do you really think I'd tell you?" he replied.
"Merlin, he really is a git," she thought.
"You would if you thought about it for more than a microsecond," she said, "you know our history, what I've done for her. Do you really think I have anything but her best interest at heart?"
He frowned, then tapped the gate with his cane. The portal clicked open, and he produced his wand and waved it in her general direction.
"Emita patet," he said, "that will let you through the wards and onto the grounds for the day."
He turned around and started walking, leaving Hermione to push the heavy metal bars wide enough to let her slip through.
"I really don't know anything, but Mother might," he said as she caught up to him, "You can plead your case with her."
He led her up to the wide stone steps leading to the massive double doors, and they opened as he approached.
"Stay here. Don't cross the threshold," he said. He swept past the entrance and into a dimly lit foyer, and the doors closed behind him.
"Rude," Hermione thought as he left her standing on the enormous stone platform that served as his front porch, "then again, at least he's helping."
With a few free moments on her hands, Hermione looked out at the property. Massive and still bearing the signs of years of landscaping, the covered stone entranceway and the paths leading off in multiple directions spoke of opulent excess, and longevity.
"How is it that a single family lives here?" she thought.
A whisper of movement drew her attention back to the doors, and they opened to reveal Narcissa Malfoy. She looked ready to host a ball, clad in a rich blue robe with powdered silver trimmings that sparkled even in the dim light of the entrance foyer. Her long blonde locks had been set in a complicated braid atop her head, and sparkling earrings dangled at the sides of her face.
"Miss Granger," she said. From the tone of her voice and expensive clothing, a sudden urge to curtsey struck Hermione. She ignored it and forced herself to stand still.
"Mrs. Malfoy," she said, and the blonde woman's lip curled every so slightly towards a sneer.
"Probably addressed her incorrectly," she thought, "you really ought to look into these sorts of things if you want to avoid offending her; she is Bella's sister after all."
"I'm looking for Bellatrix," Hermione continued.
Draco's mum regarded her silently as the seconds ticked by. Hermione decided to try again.
"I… would appreciate if you… considered informing me of where I might look… as I am… concerned, about her welfare," Hermione said, "please…?"
Narcissa pursed her lips.
"My sister is wanted for questioning. If I had any knowledge of her whereabouts, I would certainly have informed the Ministry already," she replied.
"Oh, I'm not here on behalf of the Ministry," Hermione replied.
The blonde woman arched a single elegant eyebrow.
"Are you not junior undersecretary to the Minister?" she asked.
"Err… Technically yes, but I assume that's only because he hasn't gotten around to sacking us yet," Hermione replied, "all things considered, it's not surprising."
"You understand the situation I am in, then," Narcissa said as she held her palms out slightly, "you yourself signed the order to end my house arrest, and it seems extremely possible the new Minister has sent you here in the hopes I might violate it before it expires."
"Oh no no, that's not it at all," Hermoine said. She took a step forward and Narcissa's eyes widened slightly and she started to hold up a hand.
Don't cross the threshold.
Hermione stopped herself short mere inches before touching the invisible boundary between outside and inside.
"Please… please, you have to believe me," she said, on the verge of falling to her knees, "if anything happened to her, I'd never forgive myself."
"Would you forgive yourself, Narcissa Malfoy, if you stop me here?" she thought.
She thought she might have felt a light brush at the front of her mind as she stared into the older woman's pale blue eyes.
"I can't do anything to jeopardise my freedom," Narcissa said, and Hermione's heart sank, "that is why I shall certainly not divulge any information regarding my sister's suspected whereabouts. On an unrelated note, I do hear the weather in southern Italy is more agreeable this time of year. Leana Zabini's villa has an especially stunning view."
"Leana… Blaise's mum?" she asked, but Narcissa turned around with a swish of her robes, and the doors slammed shut behind her with a booming echo.
"O…kay," Hermione said.
Rude dismissals aside, she had the information she needed. Hermione skipped down the steps and jogged to the gate, where she apparated straight to the Ministry. Activity buzzed about the Atrium as the Ministry of Magic prepared for the incoming ICW delegation. Paper airplanes twisted and dodged around each other, while house elves polished the floor and walls, and Ministry workers sipped coffee while scurrying here and there, while maintenance employees dusted the memorial and scrubbed the bottom of the reflecting pool. Hermione ignored all of it as she crossed to try and find a portkey to Italy with a vacant slot she could hop into on standby. Luck was with her, and a less than a half hour later, she, along with an Italian family of four, stumbled into the arrival room in Rome. The stonework and architecture of the Italian Ministry called to her, but she ignored all of it to head straight to the public floo.
"Zabini residence," she said as she tossed the grey powder, then stepped into the green flames.
She emerged onto an outdoor patio of some kind in a burst of soot and fire. Sweet floral fragrances carried on the warm, humid air of the Mediterranean coast swept through her and she quickly stripped off her outer coat. Stone arches supported a beautiful ceiling, and a few chaise lounge chairs surrounded a coffee table beneath them. Mountains in the distance rose up into the clouds, and beyond an open courtyard, a villa stood with its doors and windows open, allowing her to see clear through to the other side. In the courtyard, a dark-skinned and shirtless Blaise Zabini lay on a bench, lifting a barbell with significant weight on both ends. He pressed it up and set it on the rack, then sat up and squinted at her.
"Granger?" he asked. He stood up and wiped down the bench, then picked up a sports bottle and walked towards her, muscles rippling. She almost wanted to avert her eyes.
"What you doing here?" he asked.
"I'm looking for Bellatrix," Hermione replied, "has she been here?"
He paused and took a long swig.
"Maybe," Zabini replied, "what's it to you?"
"I… I have to find her," Hermione replied, "she might be in trouble."
Blaise narrowed his eyes slightly, and they flicked to her arm for an instant, where her scars remained, hidden by the unbound transfiguration.
"You should speak with my mum," Blaise said, "Wait here, I'll get her."
Hermione again found herself waiting outside the threshold of a large home, but that was where the similarities ended. Unlike Malfoy Manor, Zabini's villa was warm and inviting, from the open doors to the light curtains floating in the sea breeze. Footsteps approached, and a voluptuous, dusky skinned beauty wearing a flowing spaghetti strapped grey dress which almost covered her bare feet rounded the corner. She looked at Hermione in disbelief for a second, then shook her head.
"Now you come?" she asked, "she's already gone."
"She was here?" Hermione asked, "where did she go?"
Hips swayed as Blaise's mum approached.
"Where are my manners," she said as she extended a hand, "Leana Zabini."
"Oh, um… Hermione Granger," Hermione said. Eager to not repeat her misstep with Draco's mum, Hermione quickly took her hand and dipped her face low over it, as was the pureblood custom.
"Bellatrix?" Hermione asked.
"Yes, she was here," Leana replied as her eyes swept up and down Hermione's form, "she came to recover from whatever happened to her in Britain."
"And? How is she?" Hermione asked.
Leana shook her head.
"Not well. She recovered a bit, but the healers couldn't offer anything helpful," she replied.
Hermione bit her lip as a streak of worry shot through her.
"And then? What were her symptoms? Where did she go?" Hermione asked.
The older woman smiled, revealing perfect, straight white teeth.
"That, my lovely, will require payment," Madam Zabini replied.
An alarm went off in her head, and Hermione's mind immediately went to the sorts of things which could be used for Dark rituals: blood, hair, nail clippings, and the like.
"The price is a kiss," Zabini said, "I want to see what all the fuss is about."
"And betray Bella?" she thought.
"I… I don't think that's a good idea," Hermione said, "is there something else we could-"
"Of course, but they require significantly less clothing," Leana said as she all but leered at her.
Hermione looked past her, up at the villa, searching for Blaise, but he was nowhere to be found.
"Did you know Bella and I were roommates at Hogwarts?" Leana asked.
Hermione shook her head.
"Mmm, in Slytherin house. We dated in sixth year, before she took You-Know-Who's mark. She didn't tell you?" the older woman asked.
Hermione's chest tightened as the image of Bella locking lips with this beautiful woman crossed her vision, and a wave of nausea passed through her.
"Dated?" Hermione repeated.
"Yes. She was here for five days, staying in my home," she said.
"Did they share a bed? Was that her 'payment' for this woman taking her in?" she thought, "would she really have done that? Stop, she's trying to make you jealous, why?"
She wanted to believe Bella would never, but this was an ex-girlfriend, someone she knew long before Hermione, and she was pragmatic as well… if she had nowhere else to turn…
She fought the urge to whip out her wand and curse the Roma witch.
"Ask her when you find her," Hermione thought, "she loves you, she'll understand if it's just one kiss. Once you find her, you can tell her Leana Zabini extorted you, and won't that be interesting…"
"Okay, fine, one kiss, but no tongue, and no magic. And no hands… And no more than… five seconds," Hermione said.
"Ten," Leana said.
"Seven," Hermione said.
"Done," Leana said.
She took three steps forward and Hermione closed her eyes and her lips. The floral scent worn by the older woman reached her first, and then she felt an arm about her head, pulling her closer.
"No hands," Leana whispered, her breath ghosting across her face, and then warm lips enveloped hers, and Hermione squeezed her eyes. Seven seconds felt like seven days as the dirty betrayal festered in her gut. She almost protested as something brushed against her arse, then realised it was the woman's bare foot and ankle sliding down her thigh to her calf. Then suddenly, it was over, and Hermione wiped her mouth on her sleeve.
"Hmm, I expected more... I don't what all the fuss is about," Blaise's mum said. Hermione wasn't sure whether to be insulted or relieved.
"You've had your kiss, now tell me where she went," Hermione said.
"She's gone to Nurmengard," Leana replied.
"Nurmengard? Why?" Hermione asked, though her heart feared to hear the answer.
"Why else, she's looking him," Leana replied, "she thinks he can help her."
"But… he's dead," Hermione said.
Leana shrugged.
"She must believe there is a chance he survived. Either that or she might be able to find help from his followers," Leana replied, "stubborn witch."
Hermione started to smirk in agreement at the familiar tone, but this woman had just forced a kiss out of her, and that wasn't something she would forget any time soon.
"Nurmengard is in Austria," she thought, "I still might be able to make another international portkey if I hurry."
"I'd say thank you, but… I don't feel like it," Hermione said.
"Good luck, Miss Granger," Leana said, and she stood still and watched as Hermione returned to the fireplace. She chanced a glance as she tossed the powder to spot Leana returning to her villa.
Hermione let the Austrian tour group get a bit farther ahead, then recast her warming charm. Rather than risk being recognised, she had disillusioned herself at the Italian Ministry just before taking the international portkey to Austria. A quick bit of research later and she emerged from the floo at the wizarding village hidden in and amongst the muggle dwellings nestled in the valley in the shadow of the towering peaks which played host to Nurmengard castle. Advertisements for tours bombarded her left and right, and it was a simple matter to trail along after one of them. Keeping her presence hidden required a little bit more effort, as the puffs of her breath would give her away, as would any footprints in a patch of snow or mud. Still, tour groups tend to not look behind them, and Hermione stayed well enough back, then waited by the side of the trail as they hiked back down the way they came. When they were mere specks in the distance, she let the disillusionment spray off of her and walked across the bridge to approach the massive gates at the front of the castle. Squiggles above the gate twisted and resolved into black lettering in English:
For the Greater Good
She took a deep breath and pulled on one of the great metal rings, then pressed it down against the gate with a resounding boom. A few moments passed, and then the gate swung open silently. Just beyond the entranceway, hands folded in front of her, stood the diminutive and wizened figure of Madam Schultz. Her expression broke into a kindly smile.
"Ah, Fraulein, I knew you vould come," she said, "you are one of us, after all. Please, enter."
"You knew I would come?" Hermione asked as she stepped into a massive entryway.
"I know you better than most," Schultz replied, "I knew you vould conclude ze Statute must fall, even vizout ze meister's… interference."
"The potion," Hermione said, "you knew about it?"
Her boots echoed on the stone floor as she approached her former mind healer, until the door behind her rumbled closed, drowning them out.
"I cautioned him it vas not necessary, but he prefers to leave as little to chance as possible," Schultz said, "but none of zat matters. You are here now, for ze greater good."
Hermione shook her head.
"I'm not here for that, I came for Bellatrix, is she here?" she asked.
Schultz's eyes narrowed slightly.
"She vas here, she has departed," she replied.
"She was? And… did she find what she was looking for? Where did she go?" Hermione asked, "was she alright? I mean… healthy?"
Shultz studied her expression, then extended an arm.
"Perhaps ve should retire to ze study," Schultz said.
Hermione hesitated only a second, then hooked her arm around Schultz's elbow and walked with her deeper into the fortress. She noted there were no cracks or paint on the floors, ceilings, or walls; the entire structure appeared to be constructed, or carved, exclusively through transfiguration. As she walked, she realised they were not alone. She earned an inquisitive glance from an older man with a silver belt buckle as he passed, and she nudged closer to Schultz in response.
"Did Bellatrix meet Mr. Grindelwald?" Hermione asked quietly, "is he here?"
"She did," Schultz replied, "and he vas here, but he has since departed. It is a pity you did not arrive in time to meet ze true meister."
A pair of young wizards carrying a large metal crate between them nodded to Shultz as they approached from the opposite direction, then hurried by.
"Why aren't they using magic? Muggles, perhaps?" Hermione thought.
"What's going on?" she asked.
Shultz stopped walking and turned to look up into Hermione's eyes.
"A small amount of restoration," Schultz replied, "ze castle has been unused for some time. Although ze meister says he vill not return, some vish it to be ready in case he does."
Hermione swallowed. She suspected there was more than Schultz was letting on, but she had to be cautious. While there was no malice or aggression in her tone or stance, Hermione had no doubt the tiny mind healer, one of Gellert Grindelwald's closest followers, had more than enough experience and tricks to keep her restrained if she wanted. Plus, they were currently inside a fortress, potentially an enemy fortress.
"Find out about Bella first, then you can decide what to do," she thought.
"Let's continue to the study," Hermione said.
Schultz nodded and continued walking. She led them up a flight of steps, and then two more, then down a hallway. She pushed the door open and motioned for Hermione to enter first. An old oil lamp sat on a table, casting a dim glow over everything. A large map of Europe dominated an entire wall, while bookshelves covered the rest. Hermione gravitated to the books, where she found volumes on magical theory, advanced transfiguration, rituals, a few blood-spattered leatherbound tomes with Latin words on their covers, and then several bookshelves containing obviously mass-produced muggle books with subjects ranging from engineering, to physics, chemistry, biology, astronomy, architecture, construction, media, business, finance, economics, mining, and industry in general, plus a recent edition of the Encyclopaedia Britannica.
"This is his study," she breathed.
Shultz nodded.
"Zat it is," she said, "ze meister has always been very interested in muggle progress."
Questions burned in her throat. She wanted to know more, to understand his motivations, his visions. The witch standing in front of her was one of his closest confidants, who no doubt held many of the answers.
"But the deeper you go, the more difficult it will be to go after Bella," she thought, "she might not let you to leave."
Shultz nodded; she was using legilimency to read her surface thoughts.
"It is true. Ze more you know, ze more you vill want to stay, and ze more others will demand it," Schultz said.
Hermione only felt the slightest twinge of chagrin; really, she should have expected it.
"You loved him, didn't you, back in the first half of the century," she asked.
"Fraulein, I still do," Schultz replied as her eyes took on a faraway look, "and he loves me as well, in his own way. He vill never betray me, or ze greater good."
Hermione looked back to the bookshelf, to the knowledge contained within, partially to break eye contact.
"Whatever is going on here, lives might be at stake," she thought, "if you stayed, you could find out more, perhaps even influence what's happening, or get word to others from the inside… but Bella."
She turned around.
"What happened when Bellatrix visited?" she asked.
"She vas not well," Schultz said, "she came looking for answers to her condition. She duelled ze meister and vas defeated. He spared her and informed her of ze terrible truth, zat she is dying."
It felt like someone had punched her in the gut.
"Dying?" Hermione whispered.
Schultz nodded.
"Ze soul magic which sustains her is unravelling. Ven it fails, she vill die," Schultz said.
"Soul magic," Hermione said, "but the only person who would be able to help her then is…"
"Ze meister," Schultz replied, "but he vas unable, or unwilling to. Ze meister recommended unicorn blood, but I believe she has gone to ze mountains in search of a phoenix, which ze meister believes to be a fool's errand."
"Phoenix tears?" Hermione asked.
"Untouched phoenix tears, direct from ze magical bird's eye," Schultz said as she tapped her cheek, "ze meister has some experience with zem. Zey vill not help her. Ze soul magic is unclean, and a pure creature like ze phoenix vill reject it."
"But you're not tainted with soul magic…" Hermione thought, "if you could find one, find some tears, maybe you could…"
"Which way did she go, and how long ago?" she asked.
"Northeast, most likely, to ze highest peak nearby. If there is a phoenix nest, zat is where it vill be. She left only yesterday morning," Schultz said.
"Yesterday, no! If you hadn't sat around for a week, you could have gone together!" she thought.
"I'm going after her," Hermione said, "do you… do you know…"
"I know ze path she took ven she departed," Schultz replied, "I can escort you to ze beginning, but are you certain? Even if you find her-"
"I have to try, or I'll never forgive myself," she replied, "please… take me to the path."
"Very well, Fraulein," Madam Schultz said. She moved to the door and Hermione considered asking to take a book on soul magic, if there was one in the study, but then thought better of even attempting to make such a request.
The elderly mind healer led her through several passages, and then through an impossibly straight tunnel carved into the mountain itself. Far, far in the distance, a tiny pinprick of daylight shone, the exit onto the other side.
"Here," Schultz said, "she valked zis path. On ze other side, there is a fork. Ze highest mountain is to ze right."
Hermione swallowed and nodded.
"Good luck, Fraulein," she said, "if ze worst should come to pass, you can always find a place vis us."
With that, she closed the door behind Hermione with an ominous sounding click of tumblers. Hermione squared her shoulders and started walking. The path was just as Schultz said, and emerged into a natural cave on the far side of the mountain. The sun already dipped low to the southwest, and Hermione picked up the pace, all but jogging down the foothills and across the narrow valley between the peaks. The road forked, and she took the right path as the mind healer had advised. High up in the distance, the wind blew plumes of snow off the peaks, and a hawk or falcon soared on the thermals, searching for prey. She came to another fork in the path, this one a dirt road that split off to the right. It looked like it headed to the large mountain in the distance, but Hermione wasn't sure. She hesitated for a moment.
"Bugger, which way did she go? I'd hoped there would be tracks in the snow or something to follow by now," she thought, "…hang on!"
She pulled out her wand. Although having never cast the tracking charm, she knew the theory and the wand movements.
"Appare vestigium," she said as she spun about. Nothing happened. She frowned, reviewed the movements, and tried again. It took several attempts, but eventually she got a spray of gold to spread out one-hundred-eighty degrees, more than wide enough. Golden footsteps preceded hers, thank Merlin there was only one set, and they veered off onto the dirt trail towards the mountain.
"Here we go," she muttered.
She turned off the paved road and onto the frozen dirt, and the ground started sloping upwards. She followed the twisting path through trees and rocks, climbing ever higher, until the trees thinned out, and then there was only grass ahead of her. As the light faded, she lit her wand and her pace slowed. She stumbled more than once, but forced herself onwards.
"What if you're only hours too late? You have to keep moving," she thought.
Every fifteen minutes, she sent out another spray of golden dust to ensure she remained on the right path. A few times, she had to backtrack to pick up the trail again, but she would not be deterred, and her ascent continued. Slowly but surely, the air grew colder with both nightfall and higher altitude, and snowpiles became more abundant. Tracks appeared more and more often in the snow, until Hermione didn't need the tracking spell any more. The ground grew steeper, the grass hardier and scragglier, and her breath deeper and less effective in the thinner air. Despite the physical exertion, she caught a flash of light up high on the mountainside.
"Magic?" she thought. She quickened her pace, and her ears caught a few faint notes carried by the crisp mountain wind. Her spirits rose and an involuntary smile spread across her lips.
"Phoenix song," she thought. The trills came and went, and Hermione strained her ears to hear just a few seconds more each time the wind blew just right. A little-known fact was that one of the reasons mountaineers so often fell in love with climbing was because they encountered phoenix song on the peaks. Muggles couldn't hear the magical creatures, of course, but for some of them, their souls could. For some, chasing that bliss drove them to risk their lives and push the limits of human endurance and accomplishment. It was the same with some skiers.
The climb grew steeper and more difficult, and Hermione had to trudge her way through deeper and deeper snow. She pulled a hat and gloves from her pouch, put them on, then waterproofed her trousers, and recast her warming charms, just in case. Magic would keep her safe, but she hadn't thought to bring much in the way of extra food or water.
"Well, water won't be a problem, you can heat up some of this snow," she thought, "food on the other hand, that might be an issue in a day or two."
The near-full moon cleared a few clouds to the southeast, low on the horizon, and lit up a dark splotch on the side of the mountain, a small cave or crevice. Hermione stepped up to it and found little more than a few old feathers and bones.
"Abandoned, but I'm on the right track," she thought.
She cast another tracking spell and picked up the trail to a second possible nesting spot, and then a third, all of them empty. Near constant wind had wiped out all traces of tracks in the snow, and her foot sank in up to the knee in an unseen crack in the ground, putting into stark relief the very real danger of injuring herself up here, alone, in the dark.
"Homenum revelio," she whispered. The pulse went out, and returned one person, right at the edge of the spell. She followed it up the slope to a larger cave this time, high enough to stand up in, and deep enough it cut out the incessant wind. A squawk sounded from around the corner, and Hermione held her wand higher as she entered.
"Hello?" she said. Snowy footprints marked the trail deeper in, and as Hermione rounded a large stalagmite, her wand light fell upon a majestic orange-red bird with a long plume of tail feathers, a phoenix. Laying at its feet, face down with hands by her head, but unmistakably identifiable by her wild raven hair, was Bellatrix Black.
"Bella!" Hermione said, but as she stepped forward, the phoenix squawked pounded its beak into Bella's arm. The witch barely flinched. It was only then Hermione realised the sleeves of her winter robes were stained red with blood.
"No, stop!" she said, "don't hurt her!"
She pointed her wand at the phoenix, but checked herself.
"Don't! You need phoenix tears!" she thought. She tucked it into her wrist holster.
"Can't you see she's injured! Help her!" she said as she moved closer. The phoenix only pecked the prone witch again.
"Stop it!" Hermione said as she held up her hands and moved to Bella's side, "If you're not going to help, then just go! Get out of here!"
The phoenix squawked at her and beat its wings, but Hermione stood her ground, as tall as she could, and waved her arms to make herself seem bigger.
"Go on, get out! Go fly somewhere else!" she said. The phoenix appeared reluctant to leave the cave, but eventually it relented, and Hermione watched as it flew off into the moonlight. She moved back to Bella's side, pulled off her gloves, and carefully rolled her onto her back. Her eyes fluttered open and focused on her.
"You came," she said, her voice barely above a whisper.
"Oh Bella, I'm so sorry," Hermione said, "I should have come earlier."
"It's okay… you're here," she said, "how… did you find me?"
"Just lucky I suppose," Hermione said as her hand came away slick with blood, "oh, Merlin, you're injured. Come on, we've got to get you to a hospital."
She started to cast a featherlight charm, but Bellatrix grabbed her hand, then winced and pulled away.
"No. No healers, they can't help," she said, "need phoenix tears, but they bloody hate me."
Hermione sent a ball of light up towards the ceiling, then quickly cast a simple diagnostic spell and checked her for more injuries. Aside from her forearms and a few nasty cuts on her neck and face, she didn't seem to be in any immediate danger. Her palms and fingers were red and blistered though.
"What happened to your hands?" Hermione asked.
"Oh… I… may or may not have strangled a phoenix last night," she replied. Hermione thought it might be a trick of the light, but it looked like some colour rose to Bella's cheeks.
"You killed a phoenix?" Hermione asked.
"No! You can't kill them, not in any normal way," Bella said, "but I grabbed it when it was pecking me, and then I figured if they wouldn't cry voluntarily to give me the tears, maybe I could throttle some out of one. Then it exploded in my hands and transformed back into a chick, so… not the finest idea I've ever had."
Hermione wanted to laugh and cry at the same time, because it was such a Bella thing to do, but it was also so clearly obvious that she was on her last legs; she hadn't moved at all except to grab her hand, and her breath shuddered with every inhale and exhale.
"Why didn't you heal them?" she asked.
"Oh…" Bella said, and she swallowed, "magic doesn't work, not even a lumos."
She looked away, and at first Hermione thought she was embarrassed, then she realised she was staring at something, her wand, tossed aside and lying next to a row of small stalagmites.
The implications fell upon her shoulders like a backpack filled with lead. If her magic was gone, she must be close to death already.
"I've got to… if I can find one…" Hermione said. She started to stand, but Bellatrix grabbed her forearm.
"No," she said weakly, "I thought I would die alone, but you're here. Don't leave me, I don't want to be alone."
Hermione fell back to her knees. With Bellatrix's palms as injured as they were, she had to settle for caressing the back of her hand.
"I… I don't know if there's anything for me, after," Bella said, "He… he told me he wasn't sure if… if I have her soul, or if I'm just… some kind of fucking… walking, talking, puppet abomination."
A look of bitterness came over Bella's aristocratic features.
"What?" Hermione asked.
Bellatrix looked into her eyes, and Hermione fell into those silver-flecked depths all over again.
"I don't know if I have a real soul," she said, "so… there might be no crossing the Veil for me. It might be… just… nothing, oblivion."
The raw fear on full display, all masks and pretence stripped away, tore at Hermione's heart, and she had to say something to comfort the dying witch.
"Don't be ridiculous, of course you have a soul," Hermione said, "I refuse to believe everything we've done, everything we've been through, is possible for someone without one. Why would the dementors come after you? How could you cast a patronus without a soul?"
"How could you fall in love?" she thought.
Bellatrix stared at her and nodded slightly, but the creases of worry around her eyes remained.
"Does it hurt?" Hermione asked.
Bella shook her head.
"Only a little, like a wool sweater unravelling," she said, but Hermione kicked herself for not making her more comfortable. She found a few large stones nearby, and carefully transfigured them into a cot, then shifted Bella onto it with a soft groan.
"Lumpy, but passable," Bellatrix said as she lay back on the pillow.
Hermione's brain had gone off in its own direction though, searching for proof that Bella's soul was real, then she stood up straight.
"You used the Resurrection Stone," she said, "did you try to talk to yourself?"
Bellatrix paused for a second, then nodded.
"And?" Hermione asked.
"Nothing," Bella replied.
"That's because your soul isn't on the other side of the Veil, it's right here," she said as she tapped Bella's stomach.
Bellatrix paused for a second, then closed her eyes.
"Stupid," she murmured, "I should have thought of that."
"Oh no," Hermione thought as Bella relaxed on the transfigured cot, and a peaceful expression came over her face.
"No don't… don't leave me," Hermione said. At some point she had started crying, and she wiped her cheeks with one sleeve.
"It's okay," Bella said, "everyone dies."
"Not everyone really lives," Hermione thought, "odd, where did I hear that? Honestly, now's not the time, Hermione. Say something!"
"I'm… I'm so sorry, I should have loved you the way you… I should have let myself… I shouldn't have fought against it so hard," she said.
"You… love me?" Bella asked.
Hermione nodded.
"Of course I do," she replied. Her vision was blurred again and she angrily dragged her sleeve across her face a second time.
"I was so stupid, I kept putting it off, for what, my career? Streamlining the Ministry and putting people out of a job so we can cut taxes? I should have gone with you when you first asked, I shouldn't have pushed you away when you got out of Azkaban," Hermione said, "We should have travelled together like you wanted. We could have had weeks, months… maybe we would have realised there was a problem and found a cure, together. I… I didn't know… I thought we had more time. I thought we had more time... I'm so sorry."
She meant it, and cursed her cowardice, her indecision, masked as it was with false pragmatism. Fingertips brushed her cheek, and she leaned her head slightly towards the touch.
"Don't cry… it's okay," Bella said, "he's right. He told me, I should have died at that battle. So… every day after was a gift, right? I met you, and it was a good year and a half… mostly. And we had… we had each other, right? I wouldn't trade that for anything. Anything. Even if we were… are, star crossed lovers."
That brought a fresh bout of stabbing pain through Hermione's chest.
"It didn't work out too well for them," she sputtered as hot tears streamed down her cheeks and dripped over her chin.
Bellatrix swallowed and her eyes widened and darted about.
"I can't see… but I… I can hear you. I know we said we'd spend Christmas together but…" she whispered, "Promise me you'll try to be happy, okay? That's all I wanted, you know? That was my memory, for the patronus, I saw you smiling, in the sun. You were so happy. Did you know that…?"
Her eyelids fluttered.
"Bella?" Hermione said.
She didn't respond, and her breaths came short and fast. Hermione rose to her knees and pointed her wand at her chest as Bella gasped.
"She's dying, you have to save her… but how? What should I do?" she thought, "what do I do?"
Her wand quivered. She wasn't a healer, or even a mediwitch. She had no phoenix tears and knew next to nothing about soul magic. Her mind raced, but there was nothing; even if she had Grindelwald's entire library with her in the cave, with mere seconds, or minutes at most, there was no hope. The despair of helplessness found her; the only thing she could do was…
"It's okay," she whispered as she placed her head next to Bella's and lay a hand atop hers, "I'm here, it's okay."
It was so inadequate, mere words attempting to comfort a loved one in her last moments. Her mind and soul railed against the injustice of it all, but Bellatrix was right… whether it was fate, or blind luck, they had been given a window that they shouldn't have had. It was her fault she'd squandered most of it, and that was something she'd have the rest of her life to come to terms with. In the present, she continued to whisper her comfort, her love, but a squawk by the entrance of the cave drew her attention; the phoenix had returned, and hope bloomed.
"Help her, she's dying!" she said, "please!"
The magnificent bird bobbed its head as it walked over to the cot. It glanced quizzically at Hermione, then down at Bellatrix, and then… it snapped its head down in a vicious peck, narrowly missing her eye and tearing a bloody gash into her cheek. Bellatrix winced in unconsciousness.
"No!" Hermione said and she picked up her wand.
"Flaming f-fuck… turkey," Bella muttered, and her arm twitched; Hermione guessed she was trying to punch it or strangle it.
The bird made to strike again, and Hermione aimed to banish it.
"You need its tears!" she thought.
She dropped her wand again with a clatter and threw herself over Bella's face, close enough she felt her shallow, gasping breaths. She braced herself, then an impact on the back of her neck was followed by sharp pain. She grunted as the wound burned, but she refused to move.
"It'll have to go all the way through me to get to her," she thought.
A second peck hit her, worse than the first, and hot blood dripped freely across her neck and towards her chin.
"Please, I love her! She's already dying, if you're not going to help her, then let her be," Hermione said.
She prepared for a third strike, but there was a pause, and then a soothing warmth on the back of her neck.
"What?" she thought. She turned her head to peek; the phoenix had leant down, and a single golden teardrop dangled from its eye.
"Now!" she thought.
She pulled to the side and let the tear fall on Bella's face. It hit her in the eye and the gash on her cheek immediately began to close.
"Damn, missed," she thought.
Hermione struggled to drag her further up the cot, and the second drop went up her nose, but the third fell directly onto her mouth, followed by two more as Hermione pulled on Bella's lower teeth to tug her jaw wide. The phoenix pulled back and squawked again, flapping its wings, and it scraped the ground with one taloned foot.
"Three. Is three enough?" she thought.
Bella's eyes fluttered and opened, and Hermione smiled. Then the starfield depths widened and Bella rolled off the cot as the phoenix's beak slammed into the pillow.
"Bloody chicken!" she said. She lunged forward but lost her balance, and instead of grabbing the phoenix, she ended up body slamming it. The result was the same though, and with a final, irritated squawk, it disentangled itself from her, smacked her face with its tail as it turned, spread its wings, and flew off into the night.
"That's right, bugger off!" Bellatrix yelled.
"Bella?" Hermione said, and the pureblood turned around. Hermione looked up at her, shadows on her face stark in the pale magical light, but her cheeks flush with vitality, and her chest heaved as she took full breaths in the thin air. Hermione pulled herself to her feet.
"How… how do you feel?" Hermione asked.
Bellatrix stretched her arms and legs a few times, then hopped on one foot and looked to Hermione in astonishment.
"I feel… great," she replied. She looked down at her palms, now completely healed with smooth unblemished skin. She glanced back up at Hermione.
"Phoenix tears?" she asked.
Hermione nodded with a smile.
"You… brilliant witch," Bella said as she threw her arms around her, "you actually did it."
Hermione's breath caught at the embrace, but just as she realised what had happened, Bella was gone, striding over to the row of stalagmites to pick up her walnut wand. With a quick flick, she sent a ball of light to join Hermione's near the top of the cave. At the sight of her staring up at the magical luminescence, a relieved smile on her face, Hermione's legs moved on their own, as if pulled by a powerful magnet, and she stepped right into Bellatrix, grasping both her cheeks and pressing their lips together, pouring weeks of pent-up desire into a searing, passionate kiss.
For an instant, Bella seemed surprised, then she dropped her wand with a clatter and coiled an arm about her waist, pulling her close, tight enough her breasts pressed against Bella's through their coats.
"I love you," Bellatrix said as she smothered Hermione's face with kisses, "oh, I wanted to drag you with me, really I did, but I stopped myself, I had to."
"You can drag me wherever you want," Hermione said, and she surprised herself with her boldness. Bellatrix growled in response and nipped her lip, and the sharp sensation shot straight through her body to her groin where a furious tingle ignited and spread.
"I'll hold you to that," she said, "that's it then, you've decided? You'll come with me and we'll travel the world together? A grand adventure?"
Hermione paused for a second; was this really what she wanted?
"You can always return for visits," she thought, "and we can travel to Sydney to see mum and dad."
With a teary smile, she nodded.
"Yes, wherever the wind takes us, as long as we're together," she replied.
An ecstatic grin spread across Bella's face, and she held both Hermione's hands and bounced up and down a bit. Hermione giggled both in relief, and at her antics; she'd not seen this side of Bella before.
"Come on, let's go," Bellatrix said, and wand in hand, she took Hermione by the wrist and all but dragged her out of the cave and into the night.
"What, right now?" Hermione asked as she trailed along and cast a warming charm on herself.
The moon now dominated the night sky and lit up the snowy landscape beneath the winter stars like a long exposure, hyper-realistic photograph. Somewhere in the distance, phoenix song echoed off the peaks. An ear-to-ear grin plastered on her face, Hermione slipped her hand down to lace with Bella's fingers and ran her thumb over the small scar on her thumb.
"Well, sort of," Bellatrix replied, "I want to rip your clothes off, but I don't want to get interrupted by that damn phoenix. I'd apparate us back to that village, but I have exactly zero money for a room."
"You're looking for a place to shag?" Hermione asked.
"Unless you want to do it in the snow," Bellatrix replied. Her heart beat strongly and roared in her ears, and Hermione considered it, until she remembered.
"I have the tent with me," she said.
Bella stopped cold and turned around to kiss her again.
"I love you," she said, "let's set it up here."
Hermione laughed.
"It's too steep, we need to find a flat space or we'll risk tumbling over in a strong breeze," she said.
"Hmm," Bellatrix said as she tapped her wand against her thigh, "might be worth the risk… but we'll do it your way."
They descended past the deep snow, looking all the while for a plateau where they could set up, until they nearly reached the tree line.
"Is this good enough?" Bellatrix asked. They were near the trees but not among them, on a gentle, grassy slope.
"Good enough," Hermione replied, "put up some wards to keep the wildlife away, and I'll set up the tent."
Bellatrix giggled.
"Did you just refer to muggles as wildlife?" she asked.
Hermione's mouth dropped open.
"That's not what I-"
Bella turned around.
"Protego totalum," she said, leaving Hermione standing there with her mouth open.
"Infuriating witch," she thought, but she still couldn't stop grinning.
She yanked the tent bag from her pouch and used her wand to drive the stakes into the ground. She didn't need them at Hogwarts, but out here in the wild, it was a different story. The practised movements from her year on the run came back easily, and within a few minutes, they were set up. Arms wrapped around her from behind and lips pressed against her neck.
"Now I'm going to drag you to bed, love," Bella whispered.
Words failed Hermione, and she only nodded as Bellatrix pushed her past the flap and inside. No sooner had she set foot in the tent interior than Bella spun her around and pressed her up against a bookshelf. Hermione's hands were drawn up over her head as they kissed, and she let Bella hold them against the top shelf with one hand, leaving one free to fumble about her jacket zipper, then untuck her shirt, until it found the skin of her abdomen. She moaned into Bella's mouth. All pretence, all excuses, fell to the wayside as anticipation grew for what was to come. Bellatrix let go over her wrists to cradle the back of her head, then they were stumbling towards the beds, shucking off coats, boots, shirts, and trousers as they moved. A gust of freezing wind blew through the flap, causing gooseflesh to rise on her exposed thighs, and Hermione shuddered. Bellatrix responded by wordlessly sealing the entrance with her wand, then she turned and, with a few waves, slammed the beds together and reapplied the sticking charm.
Bellatrix turned to her clad only in undergarments, her cheeks flush, lips swollen, and silver-flecked eyes half-open with desire.
"You saved my life," she said huskily, openly staring at Hermione's bra-restrained breasts, "are you ready for your reward?"
Unwilling to trust her voice, she could only nod in response.
Bellatrix stepped forward, slowly, deliberately, and planted a kiss on her ear. Tendrils of raven hair brushed against her chest, and as kisses trailed to her neck, Hermione tilted her head to give more access. The warmth radiating from Bella's body circled around her back, and the restraint of her bra suddenly released, letting her breasts fall free. Then warm skin pressed against her nipples, and she gasped as a finger trailed about one, while a warm wet tongue encircled the other. Whether it was the long absence, or the stress of nearly losing her, she already felt her climax approaching, so she sat down on the bed, drawing her knickers off in the same motion.
"My, aren't we impatient," Bellatrix said.
Hermione nodded.
"I want you, now. I don't want to waste any more time," she said.
Something feral came over Bella's eyes, and as she ripped the last of her undergarments away, Hermione glanced downward to glimpse her aroused sex, already slick with moisture. Then Bellatrix was atop her, weight pressing down, stomach warm against hers, breasts to breasts, grinding into her hip and ravaging her jawline and neck with lips and teeth.
"Please…" Hermione said.
"Please what?" Bellatrix asked.
"Please… um…" Hermione said, but her words seemed lost somewhere in the haze of arousal.
"I've never been this turned on in my life," she thought.
Bellatrix had stopped moving and propped herself up on one elbow.
"I'm not going to do it until you say it," she said, "not until you tell me what you want me to do to you."
"I want…" Hermione said, "I want you to…"
Something came over her, called on her to release her inhibitions, to trust that Bellatrix would not think of her differently or laugh at any uncharacteristically vulgar speech.
"I want your fingers inside me, and I want you to use your tongue on my clit, until I come," she said.
Bella's eyes widened, and a hungry expression came over her.
"How could I say no to that?" she said, then set to work doing exactly that, first circling around with her tongue, then probing with a single finger, then penetrating. It was the blessed relief of an ache she didn't know she had, and a second finger joined the first. The sensation of a tongue on her clit and being filled at the same time, so familiar, radiating out and causing her limbs to tremble, were like a long-lost friend, or a favourite food she hadn't eaten in a decade and didn't realise she craved until it was on her tongue. She tangled her fingers in her lover's hair.
"Oh Bella," she breathed, "I missed you… I missed you so much."
The sounds and scents and her body were intimately familiar, but she'd almost forgotten Julia White's face. It didn't matter, this was the same woman who had made love to her so many times in those final months at Hogwarts.
Hermione chanced a look down between her splayed thighs, and dark, silver-flecked eyes stared up at her over the top of her mound, and the sight of it almost drove her over the edge. Bellatrix withdrew her fingers and propped herself up on her elbows, legs bent and feet in the air, crossed at the ankles. Hermione shuddered at the sudden lack of attention.
"If I gave myself a cock, would you let me fuck you?" Bella asked as she tilted her head to the side. She absently wiped the juices from her lips and chin and smeared her fingers around Hermione's navel.
"I… probably? I don't know… fuck, finish me off!" Hermione said.
Bellatrix laughed and returned to her ministrations, but her words had had an effect, and now Hermione pictured Bellatrix with a throbbing cock between her legs, thrusting into her, pumping her hot essence into her core. She closed her eyes and imagined it, imagined that's what was happening.
"More," she said, "harder. Fuck me."
She felt her climax approaching from a great distance, the wave climbing higher and higher, until it crashed over her, and her whole body convulsed as fingers from both hands laced into Bella's hair and jammed her face against her groin. The next thing she knew, she lay on her back, panting as stars swam across her vision.
"Wow… that's a lot," Bellatrix said.
Hermione struggled to lift her head, and when she finally did, she spotted what Bellatrix stared at. Between her legs, a gigantic darker spot stained the sheets. She'd released juices with her climax before, of course, but nothing like this.
Bellatrix looked back to her.
"I want you even more now," she said as she adjusted slightly and started grinding against Hermione's shin, "you need to get up and do me now, before I do something crazy like try to fuck your big toe."
"What?" Hermione asked. It was an oddly specific image, and the thought, while somewhat repulsive, made her wonder if such a thing was possible.
"Nothing, something Ras mentioned once," Bellatrix said, "he was completely fucked in the head, both in the conventional sense and sexually. Hurry up."
"Ras…" Hermione thought, "Rastaban Lestrange."
Hermione froze. It was a stark reminder that the woman currently grinding her swollen, hot, wet lips against her knee was also once the Dark Lord's most fanatical lieutenant, and married to another Death Eater.
"Who knows what kinds of things she's done in bed," Hermione thought, "That's not who she is now though. Now she's your girlfriend who desperately needs you to return the favour."
She idly wondered if Bellatrix was serious about trying to fuck her big toe, and decided she'd rather not find out.
"Not today, anyway," she thought.
She sat up and switched positions with Bella, jamming a pillow beneath her lower back and hips, and as she nestled down, Bella drew one leg up and let her calf drape down Hermione's back. She spread wet folds with her fingers and started with a single long lick and a swirl, the tangy juices spawning a torrent of hazy, sex filled memories. As Bellatrix's moans grew more intense, her mind went down the rabbit hole of what might be possible with transfiguration, starting from elongating a big toe to transforming a clit into a cock, to Polyjuice.
"Oh.. Merlin…," Bella panted, "I think phoenix tears might be an aphrodisiac."
"Maybe I'm an aphrodisiac," Hermione murmured.
"You're my aphrodisiac," Bellatrix said.
Hermione curled her fingers as Bella's head whipped back and forth, and then the pureblood's toes clenched, and a wet gush sprayed against Hermione's hand and wrist. Bella panted as she came down, and Hermione wiped her palm against the side of her own body. Bellatrix slid back to sit up against the headboard, pulled her ankles into a crosslegged position, and admired the result of their efforts.
"That may be the largest wet spot I've ever seen," she said.
"It is quite impressive," Hermione said, "but cold."
"My legs don't work… wand?" Bellatrix said, and Hermione slid off the bed to search. There was something altogether liberating about wandering about the room, still completely aroused and without a thread of clothing on. She glanced over her shoulder to see Bella staring at her, and in a split-second of boldness, caressed both hands over her breasts and down her body.
"Okay, you need to hurry because it's time for round two," Bella said.
Hermione laughed and eventually found the walnut wand lying hidden beneath a pair of trousers.
"Aquosiccin," Bellatrix said, vanishing up the moisture.
"That's handy," Hermione said.
"Yup," Bella said as she pointed the wand at Hermione, then apparently changed her mind and set it on the night table, "sixty-nine?"
A shiver of tingles shot through her body, and Hermione smiled apprehensively.
"I uh… we haven't…" she said.
"Oh, don't worry, this one's easy, and if we're lucky, maybe we can both finish at the same time," Bellatrix said, "personally I think we should keep trying until we pull it off."
Hermione arched an eyebrow.
"Must be the phoenix tears," Bellatrix said, "I feel like I can keep going all night."
"We can certainly try," Hermione said as she slipped back into bed.
They made love until Hermione lost track of time in the dim of the tent. Although it was the middle of the night, drowsiness never came for her, nor Bella, and they alternated huddling beneath blankets, leisurely holding and kissing and entwining, and simply being in one another's presence, and passionate lovemaking. Bellatrix's restored memory had apparently included significantly more sexual experience, which she seemed eager to share. Finally, her mouth dry and her body sore, Hermione lay on her side and struggled to keep her eyes open, while Bellatrix nuzzled her neck and cupped her breast with one hand.
"I can't… even move," she murmured.
"Then lay still and enjoy this," Bellatrix said, "this… it's rare, and we should enjoy every second we get."
"Oh… while I have your attention," Hermione said through a stifled yawn, "Leana Zabini wouldn't tell me where you went, not until… I didn't want to, but she wouldn't tell me until I let her kiss me."
Bellatrix stopped moving, then teeth clamped down on her ear, hard, and Hermione winced.
"She did what?" Bellatrix asked.
"I.. I didn't want to, but she wouldn't-"
"I'm going to kill her," Bellatrix said.
"Did I just sign Leana Zabini's death warrant?" she thought.
"Please don't," she said, "perhaps a stern talking to."
"Did you enjoy it?" Bellatrix asked.
"The kiss? Ugh, no," Hermione replied, "I clamped my mouth shut and waited for it to end."
Bellatrix scoffed.
"I still say we should kill her," she muttered.
"Is there any way I could take your mind off her?" Hermione asked as she trailed a finger down Bella's back, all the way to her bum, "perhaps you could ride my face again, like you did that one time."
Bellatrix smirked.
"You're sure you want that?" she asked.
Hermione nodded.
"I want to see your breasts. I want look up at you as you climax," she said. Bellatrix flipped her on her back and straddled her head in two seconds flat. Hermione did her best to make Bella forget all about Leana Zabini, and after several more orgasms, they ended up on their sides, with Bella's arm possessively wrapped about her midsection from behind. Hermione smiled and drifted off, and when she awoke, she found she had turned around in her sleep, and now faced a sleeping Bellatrix, her eyes closed and her expression peaceful.
"She really is beautiful," Hermione thought as she ran a finger down her cheek. The phoenix tears had healed all her injuries. Her hand went to her own left arm, to the scars hidden by transfiguration and glamour. She ran her fingers over the raised flesh, somewhat disappointed that the magical tears hadn't cured her, but then realised they were slightly less pronounced than before, and the scabs had fallen away.
"It makes sense… Harry's scar didn't fade after second year, but maybe mine won't bleed anymore," she thought.
Bellatrix squeezed her eyes, and Hermione quickly kissed her before she fully woke up.
"Good morning," she said.
"Morning," Bellatrix mumbled, "what time is it?"
"No idea," Hermione replied.
"What… what day is it?" Bella asked.
"No idea," Hermione said with a grin.
"Oh… Merlin, I'm ready to go again but I'm bloody starving," Bella said as she sat up and yawned. Her stomach punctuated the statement with a low rumble, "and thirsty, do we have any more water?"
She tipped their shared water bottle on the night table upside down, and a single drop fell.
"A little, I think," Hermione replied. She walked to the shelf and picked up the emergency canteen. They shared it, passing it back and forth, until it was empty.
"Right, food," Bellatrix said. She picked up her wand and walked to the flap of the tent, but when she opened it, a pile of snow fell in through the portal. Sunlight filtered through snow piled up against the entrance of the tent, and caused the entire entranceway to glow blue-white.
"Bloody hell," she said, "was there a blizzard while we were in here?"
Hermione giggled.
"It was clear when we started," she said, "we must have been in here for days."
"Yeah…" Bellatrix said, "let's get dressed and get moving, I'm bloody starving."
They picked up their clothing, which still lay where they'd dropped it, and dressed quietly amidst a deep and pervasive sense of satisfaction. The smile had returned to Hermione's face and when she glanced at Bellatrix, she spied a similar one gracing her features.
"Right," Bella said as she aimed her wand at the snow drift, "Ventus."
A blast of wind spiralled out from the tip of her wand, blowing the snow out the flap of the tent and clearing the entrance. Hermione followed her out and squinted at the sun reflecting the wintry landscape. The trees wore snow like cloaks, and white powder piled up in pristine drifts all around them. At least a metre had fallen overnight, or over two nights, however long it had been.
"Of all the bloody… we're going to have to apparate," Bellatrix said.
"Where to?" Hermione asked, "not Nurmengard."
"No, pretty sure the wards would prevent that," Bella replied, "the village. It's close enough."
"The landscape's completely changed, what if we miss or splinch ourselves?" Hermione asked. Bellatrix twirled her wand in one hand; Hermione could tell she was thinking about it.
"Fuck it, I'm not walking all that way through this," she said, "it'll be fine, we'll side-along. Let's get the tent packed up."
Working together with wind charms, they made short work of the light powder around the tent, and then broke the tent down together so Hermione could stow it in her pouch again.
"Ready?" Bellatrix asked.
Hermione nodded as she gripped Bella's forearm. The pureblood turned and suddenly they were flying through interdimensional space, and Hermione fell into a bank of powdery soft snow as a wave of nausea washed over her. She quickly checked herself for splinches and then surveyed the landscape to make sure they hadn't been seen. Bellatrix had brought them several hundred metres away from the village, and all around them pristine, pure white snow blanketed the valley floor. Bella offered a hand, and with her help, Hermione got back to her feet.
"Come on, looks like lunch time," she said as she looked up at the sun, low in the clear blue sky, "you can buy, I'll pay you back later."
Hermione smirked at that. They trudged through the drifts as wind caused snowflakes to hiss across the top of the pure white plain; it wasn't nearly as deep this side of the mountain, but it still made for slow going. Hermione squinted past the pain of the glare of the sun on the snow, and just as she started to worry about snow blindness, she spotted some kind of commotion near the edge of the village. It appeared to be a massive snowball fight in progress as children darted about and shrieks of laughter carried on the breeze. As they drew closer though, she realised something was definitely off. The muggle children were throwing snowballs at unseen assailants. Bellatrix stopped and squinted in the winter glare.
"Hermione… are those muggle children?" Bellatrix asked.
"I think so. It's hard to tell with children, since they can't use wands," she replied.
"There must be at least thirty of them; no way a wizarding village of that size has that many kids," Bellatrix said.
"Okay, so?" Hermione asked.
"So, I'm fairly certain those muggle children are having a snowball fight with a swarm of Austrian pixies," Bellatrix said.
Hermione squinted against the glare again, and sure enough, zipping in and out and in between the shrieking kids, a swarm of pixies flitted about, lobbing tiny snowballs at the children.
"They shouldn't be able to see them," Hermione said as a heavy foreboding came over her, "something's happened. Come on, let's get a closer look."
Bella reached out a hand, which Hermione gladly took, and they hustled towards the village together.
Chapter 71 Trigger Warnings: F/F sex, nudity, coerced kiss.