Chapter 12, Stayin' Alive
"Oh I hurt all over," Hydra groaned, flopping into the nearest chair. It was two hours later, and Bellatrix had just called an end to their training session.
Sortia scowled down at herself as she silently worked at unraveling the binding charm that Bella had hit her with just as she'd called practice to a close. "Never relax until all your enemies are dead," Bellatrix said. "And learn how to get yourself out of a hex when your wand hand is tied or you're dead. Don't help her, Loughness," she added peevishly as he took a step toward Sortia.
"Sorry," Loughness told his friend before sagging into the chair nearest to his twin. "You hurt all over," he huffed, flicking an incredulous glance toward Hydra. "I've been at it for four hours longer than you lot."
"Oh come off it! It isn't as if I was Crucioing you for four hours, prat," Bellatrix told him as she settled onto the sofa. "We learned from the Longbottoms that the mind can't take it for that long, you know." At the mention of the people she and her family had broken and driven literally insane, her lips twitched in fond amusement as if speaking of a favorite memory, which clearly she was.
"Bella would never Crucio us for four hours as a method of training anyway," Hydra said. "Our enemies could and would definitely use other tactics so even if we could deflect and dodge that spell until the cows come home, something else would get us."
"When you're all less pathetic at wandless magic, I shall teach you how to protect in advance against the Imperius Curse. It involves a bit of Occlumency and Legilimency," Bellatrix said. "Loughness is already rather proficient at that, actually. We worked on that first, then some deflects. We'd only just begun on the Crucioing when you lot arrived."
"Man! You only hit me with it twice, and I still ache," James groaned. "And I know you weren't hitting me half as hard as you could."
"Correct," Bellatrix smirked. "But you did well with deflecting, so there is hope for you yet. And the way you Transfigured some of my hexes in mid air is quite advanced for a prat in his fourth year. It must be due to being a Ravenclaw."
James grinned, practically radiating pride at being complimented by Bellatrix Lestrange. "I think so, and thank you, Ma'am."
"Sometimes I can see things, you know before they happen," Guillermo admitted. "So when you praised me earlier for my quick responses, that's sort of why."
"Hey use what you've got," Bellatrix said. "I wish I had a bit of the seer gift. If I did, my family might have avoided a lot." She sighed.
"So why do you like to torture people," Guillermo asked. "I mean you seem proud of the Longbottoms."
"My family has personal reasons not to like Aurors," Bellatrix said darkly. "They can be very selectively good at solving crimes. You know, only the ones that interest them. My mother-in-law was killed in a supposed robbery when Lestrange Manor was broken into, but the Aurors never learned who did it. We never got justice for Esmay Lestrange and she was a good woman."
"Wow," Sortia breathed. "When was that?"
"Before the shit hit the fan in eighty," Bellatrix said, shrugging dismissively. Clearly she was uncomfortable with the painful topic. Sortia must have picked up on that, for she merely nodded and let it drop.
"So may we meet to practice again before I return to Hogwarts," Loughness asked Bella.
She scowled. "I hardly have time off from Shadow Ops, Prat. I want to enjoy my holidays." Ask someone else sometimes."
"But Grindelwald won't teach us," Loughness whined.
"Do you really think he's as good as his dad, though," James asked. Sortia rolled her eyes and he arched his brows at her. "What?"
"He is his bloody dad," Sortia muttered. When Hydra and Loughness gasped in horror, she tossed her head defiantly. "Well who cares? He knows every bloody thing else, doesn't he?"
"Does anyone bloody stay dead," Guillermo yelled. "Am I losing my bloody mind?"
"Who died, Prat," Bellatrix drawled. "As Grindelwald himself once said, great wizards aren't killed off so easily. Regulus, Grindelwald, Dumbledore, Snape, and myself are all among what today's lot truly need to categorize as greats. We aren't stupid and we aren't trying to die."
"But he had a baby with himself? What's it, he's got both parts or what," Guillermo asked, eyes round in horror.
Sortia snickered. "No! I just meant he is pretending to be Grindelwald's son, Grindelwald JR, to you know not tell people he didn't get offed by Voldemort, so he is his own kid. That's all I meant. You are so bloody weird sometimes, Guillermo!"
"Well how can we know it's not possible for those hermaphrodites to have kids with themselves," Guillermo huffed.
"Because it isn't," Sortia said flatly.
"Snape is correct on all counts," Bellatrix agreed.
"You calling me weird too," Guillermo asked.
Bellatrix nodded. "Yes."
"So Voldemort let Grindelwald live," James asked. "What? In order to help him? And how did that go down? Like did Grindelwald want to help him or what?"
"No, no," Hydra hurried to explain. "Nothing like that. Voldemort killed the old guy who Wolfgang and some other Dark wizards paid to take Grindelwald's place in Nurmengard. Voldemort believed he killed Grindelwald just like everyone else. I mean it wouldn't have been nearly so easy cause it's Grindelwald, but people believe what makes them rest easier at night."
"Yes, like Molly Mumma-bear Weasley actually having the skills to kill me," Bellatrix said. "If motherly rage was that powerful, Lily Potter would've offed the Dark Lord and survived it."
"Well there were the Horcruxes, but your general point still stands," Hydra said and Bellatrix gave her a grudging nod.
"True enough."
"Back to Grindelwald, though," James said, literally bouncing in his chair. "So how does he look so young? And when was he freed from prison, and how'd they get someone else to agree to just take his place?" And just WOW!"
"He looks so young because he was given a very Dark and illegal little known potion called The Draught Of Life," Hydra said. "Wolfgang's discovery of it was what gave him the idea to free Grindelwald from prison. He wanted a plan B in case Potter screwed up and didn't manage to kill Voldemort."
"And before you ask, Wolfgang knew about Potter because my dad told him," Sortia interjected. "Dad was working with the others in Wolfgang's group. Those being some Dark wizards who had never become Death Eaters and wanted to stand against Voldemort. Dad was a Death Eater, but one playing double agent, so they let him help."
"How much other shit do I not know," James demanded.
"I think that's all," Hydra said with a reassuring smile. "Don't be offended, though. These weren't our secrets, so we had no business telling them." She shot a glare at Sortia who scowled back.
"Grindelwald won't care. James is in this, so he'd find out eventually," she said. Hydra shrugged, because her friend was likely right.
"I won't tell anyone," James grumbled. "Relax. I haven't told anyone anything else have I?"
"No you haven't," Hydra soothed. "Back to answering your questions, though. The old guy who took Grindelwald's place was dying a slow death, and he wanted the money Wolfgang offered to his family if he died in Nurmengard for a cause rather than at home for nothing." As for when it happened, it was around the Christmas holidays in Ninety-seven, just a few months before Voldemort made his attack on Nurmengard. It was fortunate that Wolfgang acted when he did, though perhaps Grindelwald could've survived Voldemort's attack." Hydra shrugged. "It's good we'll never have to know."
"So what's he like," James asked. "All warm and fuzzy like Bellatrix here?" Bellatrix shot him a sneer and Loughness choke-snickered.
"Grindelwald is... unique," Hydra said thoughtfully. "He's friendly and jokes a lot. Careless in some ways, or rather carefree but he can switch it up in an instant when there is danger. He's very attached to his family, that being the Zabinis. He was practically a teenager when youthened back when he got out of prison, and when he got together with Blaise Zabini, the Zabini family literally adopted him."
"He's gotten soft and doesn't want to risk his precious ass going after the Muggles anymore," Bellatrix complained darkly. "I think prison got to him. I can't think of any other reason."
"I can," Loughness said, rolling his eyes. "It's called Zabini."
"He doesn't like Muggles," Guillermo said. "I know because he's friends with my elder brother," he explained to Bellatrix.
"I mean because of his relationship with Zabini, he's nested and gotten all soft," Loughness explained scathingly. "They can hate Muggles from their nest."
"He certainly refuses to teach anyone," Hydra said. "It's annoying because you know he knows stuff."
"He said he's not a good teacher, and has never taught anyone, though," Sortia said. "So I doubt that bit is about the nesting." She made a face. "I'm never going to nest."
"Me either," Hydra agreed fervently.
"That isn't the problem," Bellatrix said. "Rod and I are a supreme example of that. We've nested just fine and would still gladly go after the Muggles anytime Grindelwald wakes up and decides to finish this."
"Yeah, but that's because you're normal," Loughness said. "When I nest with Kereston some day, I'll still be a Great Dark Lord. But look at the Daddies. They nested and got soft. Then there is the constant shagging and let's not forget the drama if one of them gets upset or depressed or whatever. It's just when two blokes do it."
"You are so weird," Hydra told her twin with a shake of her head. "You talk about them, but you're really obsessive when it comes to Kereston and trust me it's no better; no more sane.
"Is," Loughness grumbled under his breath.
"Bored now," Sortia proclaimed with a sigh.
Bella's lips twitched. "Once again, I find myself agreeing with Snape."
(Dear Reader,
If you'd like more details about what happened with the Lestranges expanding on Bella's brief explanation in the previous chapter, you should check their book, Bad Romance, also uploaded here with our other stories. And if you'd like the full scoop on Grindelwald and the Dark group of wizards who freed him, check his story, In The Dark.)