Beep, beep, beep…
"My sweet, sweet Bella."
Beep, beep, beep…
"You were always my favourite."
Beep, beep, beep.
"I will not tolerate traitors! Avada Kedavra!"
Air— she needed air! Her lungs convulsed, tightening; body shaking in urgency.
Green; everything was green. Hands were clawing at her eyelids, nails digging uncomfortably in her skin.
Bella sat upright so fast she nearly gave herself whiplash. She opened her eyes, squinting— the small room was encompassed in a bright, eerie white glow. The constant beep, beep, beep of a machine reached her ears, heightening her senses.
"You're awake, dear;" A woman said from beside her.
Bella turned, her eyes focusing on the woman. It was Margaret, who sat next to her bed on a chair. She was in a small, square room, with white chairs, white sheets— "Margaret. Where am I?" Bella demanded, her weak voice making it sound like more of a desperate plea.
"You're in Hospital. The officers took you in, remember?" She answered, tentatively.
And she did. It all rushed back in an instant, overloading her mind. The Dark Lord, the time travel, getting tied down—
"Untie me… th-this instant!" Bella screamed, yelling at no one in particular. A man who happened to be walking past the room stopped, peering through the wooden door's square window. He turned, looking down at a wooden board clutched in his hands and continued on his way.
Margaret stood, raising her hands in front of Bella in a calming gesture. "You're untied, dear. Please, calm down."
Bella looked down at her wrists. They were untied, lying uselessly beside her. Bella fell back onto the bed, her head hitting the stiff pillow uncomfortably hard.
"What happened?" Bella demanded. The room was starting to swirl, the two lights seemingly doing circles in her vision.
"The officers said you went into shock— they dosed you up to calm you down before you hurt yourself."
Bella gritted her teeth, silently fuming. How dare they force muggle potions down her throat.
"They called us, me and my husband, as they couldn't reach a parent or guardian." Margaret sat on the side of her bed, reaching a hand to her face. Bella flinched away. "Said you had no one, you poor thing."
Margaret dropped her hand, sighing. "Do you want me to call someone for you, dear?"
"I have no one;" Bella muttered. She swung her legs off the bed, attempting to stand upright. Her head felt light and her knees wobbled under her weight. Bella shakily put a hand out to keep from falling back onto the bed.
In her peripheral vision, Bella saw Margaret hastily make her way over. She pushed off the bed quickly, attempting to walk to the door in earnest. Her arm was caught, jerking backwards, a searing pain suddenly materialising from her arm.
"Ow! Ow!" Bella screamed. The tears welled uncontrollably in her eyes. A hiccup had traitorously developed in her throat.
"Sit! Now, Bella!" Margaret scolded, raising a hand and roughly pushing her down on the bed. "You've still got an IV in your arm, you silly girl."
Bella allowed Margaret to lay her down on the bed, defeated. She tilted her head back, staring at the ceiling, silently willing the tears not to fall.
"What's an IV?" Bella said, attempting to distract herself. The beep, beep, beep of the machine was getting faster and faster. Her hands unconsciously grabbed the sides of her bed till her knuckles turned white.
There was a pressure in the bed next to her. Margaret had sat, running fingers over her left hand— it was soothing, her grip on the bed relaxing. Margaret's hand gingerly slid underneath and pulled up Bella's hand, turning it over in the air.
"This is an IV, dear," she said, pointing at a tube that was stuck into her arm. "They put a needle in your arm and that," she pointed at a clear bag hanging from a pole, "is keeping your body hydrated as you recover."
"I need to leave. Can you pull it out?" Bella asked. The beep, beep, beep was slowing.
"Only doctors can do that, dear."
"Well, can you— what is that horrid noise?" Bella burst out suddenly. The beep, beep, beep was getting faster again, making it impossible to concentrate.
Margaret laughed. "It's connected to your heart. It keeps track of your heartbeat through this," Margaret said, pointing at a clip on her finger that had a wire running to a screen next to her bed.
"It hears my heart through that?" Bella asked, astonished, bringing the small clip in front of her eyes and staring at it in wonder. The cord that led from it was plugged into a silver hole in the monitor. A small heart beside some random numbers pulsed in time with the rise and fall of a line. Bella could almost feel the synchronisation between her heartbeat and the monitor.
The wooden door burst open, tearing Bella from her trance. Her body tensed, fists balled, but relaxed when she saw it was Margaret's husband Lionel.
"Rise and shine, Bella." Lionel smiled, entering the room. Heavy purple bags lined the underside of his eyes. He looked tired.
Bella's gaze shifted between the couple. They both looked tired. Even Margaret had bags under her eyes. Their clothes were wrinkled and worn— the same as when she last saw them.
"What day is it?" Bella asked, bringing a hand up to her eyes and rubbing them.
"It's Wednesday, dear." Margaret, obviously noticing her blank expression, continued. "You quite literally fell into our sitting room last night."
They had stayed all night for her.
"Any luck with her parents?" Lionel turned to Margaret.
"None. What did Hedford say?"
"If they can't find someone to take her in, she's going to child services. Can't be released by herself as a minor."
"Could they find any ID?"
Lionel sighed. "Nothing."
"Have you thought about…" Margaret said, lowering her voice.
Lionel shrugged, sitting in the chair next to Margaret and splaying back in it.
They were talking in code. Nothing they were saying seemed to make sense. "Could you call the doctor in to remove this…needle," Bella said, the word feeling foreign past her lips, "so I can leave?" she'd have to find a way to get a wand. She couldn't think straight without her magic.
Lionel sighed, leaning forward and putting his elbows on his knees. "Look, kid. The officers can't find anyone related to you. They don't even know your last name."
"And they shouldn't!" Bella replied angrily. "It's none of their business."
"You're very clearly a minor. The hospital is unable to release you to anyone over legal age." Lionel's face turned solemn. "You'll be handed over to child services— either be put into an orphanage or found a household willing to accept you." Lionel paused; "unless…"
Margaret reached her hand out and grabbed Lionel's. She nodded her head at him.
"Unless we take you in with us. I've already spoken to the Police sergeant. He says it's ultimately up to you."
Anything to get out of this place. "How soon can we leave?" Bella asked, looking expectantly at Lionel.
The couple's eyes widened. "Don't you want to think about it?" Margaret asked, bewilderment clear in her tone.
"I have no one;" Bella repeated, sitting up straight in the bed.
The couple turned to each other, shock plastered on their faces. Margaret nodded at Lionel. He stood up and left out the door.
Margaret turned, her eyes following Lionel's exit. "What happened to your parents, Bella?" she asked, tentatively.
"They're dead;" Bella said truthfully.
Margaret shifted her gaze to the floor and remained silent. Bella was grateful.
Minutes later, the door burst open and Hedford waddled into the doorway, his hands on his hips and fingers looped through the sides of his straining belt. Bella's body immediately tensed at the sight of him, even with Hedford raising his hands in a calming gesture after seeing her glare. A healer in a white coat had to turn sideways and shimmy past him through the doorway, his board of wood preceding his entrance.
"So you want to go with the White's, eh girl?" Hedford boomed. The healer approached the screen by the bedside and started noting down something on his board.
The White's. The situation could not get any more absurd.
"Yes," Bella said, resignedly. Right now, they seemed like her only ticket out of here.
"Well," Hedford said, bringing his hands up and brushing them together several times. "That sorts that. Better than going into a home, I reckon— less paperwork for me!" Margaret and Lionel turned to each other, frowns on their faces.
"Doctor; witness?" Hedford asked. The doctor nodded, returning back to his board. He dropped it by her bedside and pulled at her finger, then removed the IV.
"Ow," Bella hissed, rubbing at the wound. Tears were welling in her eyes, but she would not grant Hedford the satisfaction.
"Well, it's three hours past my shift— bed for me. I'll have the paperwork sent to you in the mail." Hedford said to Lionel. He pointed at Bella."Good luck with cuckoo."
Bella growled. She could not put up with Hedford any longer. She threw her legs over the side of the bed, attempting to hide the traitorous wobble of her knees as she stood.
Hedford had got the message. He was already out of the doorway, sending a fearful look over his shoulder.
"Goodbye, officer;" Bella called out in a sing-song voice.
Lionel and Margaret were staring at her oddly. They turned and looked at each other again.
"What happens now?" Bella asked the pair. Right now, her first priority was getting out of here. She would indulge the muggle pair, making up a plan as she went— if the muggles were offering accommodation to her so freely, Bella wouldn't say no.
The couple would never take her to London— Bella didn't bother asking.
"Well," Margaret said, turning to the doctor, who nodded at her. "You come with us."
"Might want to put this on," Lionel said, handing Bella her robe. Only then did Bella feel air where there shouldn't be. She stopped, pulling a blue, thin robe away from her and peering down at her naked body. Bella grabbed the robe off Lionel, her cheeks scarlet, and hastily put it on. What kind of procedures the muggle doctors had to do while she was naked, she didn't know.
Bella's body let out an involuntary shiver. The probe was suddenly all she could think about.
Bella followed the pair through the muggle filled halls and out towards a different set of halls to which she entered. She idly wondered what time of day it was, staring at the white windowless walls. How muggles worked in here, not knowing what time of day it was, Bella didn't know. If they turned off the lights and added dementors it could serve as the backup Azkaban. Bella's body involuntarily shivered at the thought.
Bella had to pick up the front of her robe as she walked, her other hand pinched at the top to keep it from falling. She must have been quite the sight, as muggles eyed her oddly as she walked past them; some sitting in chairs, healers in white coats and a small child tugging at his mother's sleeve pointed at her. Bella resisted the urge to stick her tongue out at him and make a face.
The exit led the trio into a vast, black paved open space, muggle transport parked neatly in formation between white lines as far as the eye could see.
"Where did you park the car, Lionel?" Margaret asked.
Car, Bella repeated in her mind, trudging along behind them.
Their car was a red, unflattering thing. It didn't sparkle like the officer's car. Lionel opened the door and ushered her in.
"Don't forget your seatbelt, Bella." Lionel said, watching her.
Bella stared at Lionel blankly. His statement made no sense. Obviously seeing her confusion, he pointed at a metal fork attached to the seat by her left shoulder.
"Belt. Put it on," he repeated.
Bella grabbed at it and pulled. To her amazement, it gave way, pulling a long grey belt from somewhere. She let go and it magically snapped back. Bella turned to Lionel, her eyes wide.
Lionel was squinting at her now, suspiciously. "There's a red mouth beside you," Bella looked at the mouth. "Put the metal tongue in there till it clicks." Bella pulled at the metal tongue and clicked it into place, the belt strapping itself to her body. She immediately brought both hands up to the belt, her heart racing, pulling it as far away from her body as she could.
Lionel slammed the door shut and sat in front of her behind the wheel. The car spluttered to life, Bella jumped, then they headed out onto a road.
"So… where are you from?" Lionel asked.
"London," Bella said. She let out a shriek as the car stopped and her hips were pressed uncomfortably against the belt.
The car pulled off again. "How old are you?"
"I'm—" Bella paused, catching her reflection in the mirror. "Fourteen." The less they knew, the better.
"How did you get into our house?"
"I don't know;" Bella lied.
"Where did you used to live?"
"I don't know." If she had known they were going to interrogate her, she would have stormed off outside the exit of the hospital.
"Where did you go to school?"
"I don't know," Bella repeated, angrily.
"What do you know, Bella?" Lionel said, frustration evident in his tone.
Margaret raised an arm, hitting Lionel on the arm and scolding him. Bella remained silent.
Bella shifted her gaze out of the window, idly watching cars and buildings pass by as she thought about her current situation. Now out of the muggle hospital, she'd need a plan.
Her top priority was obviously a wand, which meant Diagon Alley. She knew of no place in Scotland that had wand makers.
How Bella would get to London, that was the thousand galleon question.
Continuing to stare out the window, Bella's mind unconsciously drifted to that night. The night she had lost everything. It seemed so long ago, yet it had only happened a day prior. She had been cruelly sent back in time, as a child no less. Bella couldn't quite figure if it was a blessing or a curse. She had cheated death, yes— but at what cost? To live her life in the shadows?
The Dark Lord would never stop; she had seen it first hand. His most loyal follower— he had cast her aside, treated her like a filthy mudblood. She would have done anything for him, bar killing her family.
She could stop him, stop his rise to power. But that would mean choosing a side— a side where mudbloods and squibs would have rights. Able to freely partake in the wizarding world, both leisurely and in positions of power. Is that what she wanted? It's all she had known, raised to think from birth.
He never did anything for her.
The only glaring problem with this plan was Bella was so committed to the Dark Lord's bidding she had absolutely no idea how he had resurrected himself in the first place. She never asked him, bowing and kissing his feet the minute she had been released from Azkaban. It was a well kept secret, the other death eaters never mentioned a word.
Bella sat back into the seat and sighed, closing her eyes. She dropped her hands from the seat belt, the cord snapping back towards her body.
The years from Azkaban had definitely messed with her head. She could think now. Reason with herself. Not everything was so black and white in her mind.
The only problem was the rash, childish decisions she was making. It was almost automatic, the way she would suddenly burst out stupid things in front of these muggles. It was almost if—
She was fourteen again. With memories of committing murder and Azkaban.
Bella opened her eyes, bringing the pendant to her eyes and unclasping it. She rubbed at the soot, seeing the two dials pointing in random directions. The only thing she had from her past life.
The only thing that could prove she wasn't crazy.
"You hungry, love?" Margaret said from the front seat.
Bella's tummy growled almost on queue. "Yes;" Bella replied curtly.
"You want Maccas?"
Bella had no idea what Maccas was, but agreed.
The car pulled off the main road into a smaller car parking area. Lionel drove into a laneway. An amplified voice was suddenly speaking. It asked for an order. Bella, startled, looked around the windows in fright.
Lionel turned around, looking at Bella. "What do you want, Bella?"
"Food?" Bella said nervously, answering the mysterious voice.
Lionel's lips curled into a smile, shaking his head. "Do you want a cheeseburger?"
Bella nodded. No less than a minute later, they were diving away. Bella stared back at the building in astonishment.
"How do they make the food so fast?" Bella questioned. Did they have house elves in there?
"They just slap a burger together." Margaret said matter of factly. "The chips are already cooked."
Muggles were… surprising. Bella thought as the car pulled down the street she had traversed on foot. Their trinkets and gadgets had to have been created with magic. How else would they work?
Minutes later, the car stopped in front of the all too familiar house. "Home sweet home," Lionel said, getting out of the car. Margaret followed suit. Bella pulled away from the seat, but the belt didn't budge.
"You can come out now, Bella;" Lionel said, his voice muffled through the car's window.
Bella put her hands around the front seat and pulled as hard as she could. The belt locked up and Bella raised her hands, pulling at it feverishly, struggling.
"What is this… thing?" Bella screamed. She pulled it slowly and it loosened. Now lax, Bella attempted to pull at it hard again, but it locked into place. Bella growled in frustration. Everything, even in the muggle world, was trying to kill her.
Lionel opened the door and hastily leant over her, pushing down on the red mouth. It released and snapped back into the seat.
"You ever ridden in a car before?" Lionel said, peering down at her.
"Yes," Bella said, matter of factly. She brushed down the front of her robes nervously, attempting to hide her embarrassment, then pushed herself out of the car. "Those cars didn't have seat belts."
Lionel raised an eyebrow.
Bella inwardly cursed. She'd have to be more careful, more observant of their ways. Revealing all now would be disastrous. That's all she'd need— the Ministry of Magic finding out about a time travelling murderer on the loose, or worse: Albus Dumbledore.
Bella idly wondered what would happen if she was revealed as Bellatrix Lestrange in this timeline. Time was dangerous, not to be messed with— even Bella knew that. She'd do everything in her power to make sure no one ever found out.
The universe had obviously chosen her for something. But how did it happen? Bella walked towards the house, her pendant swinging as she walked. She stopped, staring down at it. It had been the only thing that came with her, the only thing that could have possibly caused it…
"You alright, Bella?"
Bella ignored Lionel, following Margaret into the house. She scooped it up in her hand and brought it to her eyes. It was an old, old Black family heirloom. With all the ancient magic the Black's had practiced over the years, the idea wasn't so far fetched.
Bella followed Margaret inside the house, shivering as she passed under the archway. Margaret placed a brown bag on the dining table and a cup with a tube. "Sit and eat, love." She said, pulling the chair out for her.
Bella tentatively sat at Margaret's instructions. She needed to plan to get out of here, but right now she was hungry. She picked up the brown paper bag and it crinkled under her hands, tearing a hole in the side facing Margaret. Bella sheepishly picked it up from the bottom and turned the hole words herself, feeling Margaret's eyes scrutinising her every move. Act normal, Bella.
She brought out the bag's contents and pulled out more white crinkly paper, cheeseburger aptly printed on top. Inside was a circle piece of bread layered with some type of meat and cheese. There was another thin film of paper with some thin yellow chips. An odd paper cup with a tube was placed next to her by Margaret.
"Do you have cutlery?" Bella asked, eyeing the foreign food.
Lionel guffawed from the couch, peering over his newspaper. "Cutlery for a burger? Now I've heard it all!"
Margaret smiled, sitting across from her. "Use your hands, love."
Bella brought the burger to her mouth and took a tentative bite— her eyes widened— it was heaven. She had never tasted something so delicious. She scarfed it down, putting handfuls of chips in her mouth after every bite. Bella sucked the tube on the drink, the sweet bubbly fluid popping over her tongue creating a sensation in her mouth she had never quite felt before.
Bella sat back in the chair, her tummy delightfully full. She'd figure out how to get to London, how to get a wand— how to stop the Dark Lord. She brought the cup to her lips, sucking the tube and relishing the sweet, cold liquid.
The wizarding world could wait a few days.