Chapter 24: TBD, Part 5

Bellatrix crossed number 1 on her day tracker. She then set the thin strip of the parchment on fire, and watched it burn. There was no need for it anymore.

Her eyes slid over the thin envelope on her desk. The enchantment on the letter was as good as she could make it without a wand.

She left her room.

'Bellatrix! Must you disappear on a day like this! I've been looking- Oh you are…' The girl stopped when she noticed the book the Bellatrix was looking through. 'Uhm… have you changed your mind about the-'

'No.'

'But why?!…'

Bellatrix hoped the question was rhetorical as she had no intention to discuss the topic.

'Was there a reason you looked for me?'

'Ah yes! I need help… testing the lantern.'

'The lant- how many times did you read that journal?'

'Enough to hope that this would be the last time!'

Bellatrix looked over the younger witch. She was dressed oddly even for her. the girl spotted long loose pants and loose t-shirt under... a bathrobe. It was not that late, not even time for diner yet...

'You figured out how to make the stick work as intended?'

'If that's how you want to call it, sure, I think I know how to make the purple stick work.'

'How?'

The girl produced her ancestor's journal and opened it at the last page.

Bellatrix frowned.

'I'm aware he killed most of his bastards... the male bastards, at the very least.'

At that the girl looked at her strangely. Bellatrix had a feeling she wouldn't like whatever the girl wanted to say or ask. The girl didn't say anything though. Just let out a breath, shook her head and returned to the open page.

'Not that, well not exactly… look at the squiggles and letters at the end of almost every entry. The fallen V for Reducto, and Z for Confringo… It has to be the manner in which he killed them. Look! That has to be Incarcerous… how do you kill someone with that…'

'Tighten the ropes… or throw them in the water.' Bellatrix murmured absentmindedly studying the page, completely missing the startled look from the brown eyes.

'I suppose you are correct. This is a fancy way to cast Avada,' the thin finger tapped on the frequently-appearing elaborate squiggle, 'and these are blood curses…boils, freezes, turns to acid...' the finger tapped on the squiggles in question. 'Messy. Kill or torture... why mix the two...' she murmured, completely missing another wide-eyed look. Finally black eyes rose up to meet the younger witch's. 'What does this have to do with the stick?'

The girl flipped several pages back and tapped forcefully on the page with doodles.

'These remind me of those squiggles. Look! Pages are from different notebooks. Why would he add them? He is a doodler! He must have had stacks of the doodled-on papers, why add these ones? I think these are wand moves for a spell to make it work. The magic item is already made. So perhaps incantation is not needed, just the proper intent and the right wand movement. I simply need to figure out the right intent.'

The girl's assumptions and conclusions were logical enough...

'Why do you need me?'

'I've tried casting by myself, but I think by design or by flaw it responds to another's presence. Ursus doesn't strike me as a solo traveler… if you understand what I mean…'

'I wish I didn't.' Bellatrix murmured, she had a bad feeling about this testing. 'Do you want to test now?'

'Are you busy?'

Brown eyes landed on Bellatrix's choice of literature, and a brow rose mockingly, in a mirror of their interaction of the several days prior.

'Very well. How?'

'I'm going to cast and you... ah well... you'd need to touch my pants while I do it.'

She just blinked. Her bad feeling was clearly justified.

'Please don't make me repeat.'

Bellatrix stared at the girl waiting, but the younger witch was staring back in confusion.

'Don't you need to get it?'

'Ah, I already have it!'

Black eyes dropped to the girl's hips.

'Don't stare!'

'I'll be touching it and you are worried about my staring?'

The girl shrugged, shifted her feet and pulled at the lock of her hair.

'You do want to try again, right? After it works.'

'If it works.'

'It will… Maybe we should change the location then?'

Bellatrix rose silently and headed towards the library's exit. She turned when she realized the girl was not following.

The younger witch was collecting the old journal, and then the several books and the bowl of snacks Bellatrix left behind.

'It might take awhile.'

Salazar!

Bellatrix spent the next hour cursing Molly Prewett's poor dueling skills all over again...

As she sat on a sofa with a bowl of grapes in the master suite's sitting room...

Leafing aimlessly through the magical theory book...

With a hand on the mudblood girl's crotch.

Bellatrix was jolted from her thoughts when the inanimate object her hand rested on suddenly moved up. Hermione squeaked. Wide brown eyes stared at the pale hand.

'It worked! Take off your hand!'

Bellatrix snatched her hand, and saw how the bump under the loose pants reduced.

'Hm… that's inconvenient. Let's see… Touch me but not the stick.'

Bellatrix did as asked lightly touching the other witch's thigh. Nothing happened until the spell was recast.

'I think it is bigger than before…' Hermione pulled the waistband of her pants. 'Oh… still purple…'

'What do you mean oh?'

'Hey! Don't look!' The younger witch slapped thin hand away and slid to the far end of the sofa.

'Miss Granger, this is my purple stick.'

'Too bad. It's attached to my body.'

Hermione flipped the page of the journal.

'Let's see what this one does.' She gave the older witch a warning glare to keep her hands, and eyes, to allowed places, then shimmered back next to her. 'This should not take long now that I know what I'm doing-'

'And what are you doing?'

'Oh I finally just wished it to work. And it worked!'

She tried to cast without Bellatrix's touch but nothing happened.

'Alright, you can touch…'

Next moment black eyes rounded and she snatched her hand away.

'You are not using that spell.'

'Why? What did it do? Felt the same as with the first…'

Bellatrix put her hand on the other witch's leg and nodded to her to recast.

'Touch it.'

'Oh… it's squishy…like real…' she pulled at her pants. 'Looks the same though, how curious.'

Bellatrix removed her hand.

'Wait, there is another doodle page. I want to see what that does.'

Next second Hermione jumped away with a yelp breaking the connection.

'Horrible! Just horrible! Why would he add that?! It felt like it was borrowing itself into my skin!..'

She turned to the dark witch waiting for her to rise.

'So you said to use the first spell? Oh, you know you'd probably need to cast the lubrication spell from the guide. Can you do that? Or I can-' She stopped when she noticed the glare. 'Or not. You know... this thing is not modest anymore.'

Bellatrix closed her eyes and imagined Molly under the Cruciatus. It helped absolutely nothing.

Hermione Granger crushed the note in her fist. Eight days! It took them eight days to respond! Giving personal consideration, or a timely response, to teens barely legal to marry was too much of an inconvenience for the Ministry, it seemed. Unlike hiding for years behind the backs of the same teens while that madman was on the warpath.

The last pangs of regret over her rash actions of several nights ago dissipated the more she fumed. The events of the previous evening contributed to that too.

… The evening progressed very much the same as the other one did. Only now Hermione actually felt everything that was happening with the purple stick. Her body responded to the sensations without need or want for any input from her brain.

Bellatrix's right hand rested lightly on her waist under her loose shirt to ensure the spell held. The light touch sent curious warmth through her body. Hermione suspected any contact between their bodies would have been enough, but she wanted the conscious connection from the witch.

She kept wishing the witch would acknowledge her beyond that concession though.

And eventually, black orbs left the curtains and met hers. The left hand that rested by the dark witch side softly ran over Hermione's hair, then just as carefully ran through it, finally settling tangled in her locks, as if contemplating pulling her closer.

Next moment the light touch turned to vice grip pushing her head into the hard floor. The black eyes that looked up at her with an unreadable expression turned to the coals of malice and rage glaring down at her.

Dark spots peppered her vision.

She couldn't breath.

'I don't understand' flat voice broke through the ringing in her ears. 'Did enchantment fail?'

Hermione realized she was off the witch and flat on her back looking up at the bed canopy desperately trying to pull air into her lungs.

'It worked fine.' She whispered. 'I think this should be sufficient.'

The furrow between the black brows cleared, and within the next blink the confusion dissipated from the older witch eyes.

'Very well.'

She left Bellatrix on the bed as she hurried from the room…

She lied.

And she left.

She knew the other witch knew it too.

She remembered the flat tone that held no challenge. Bellatrix expected to be toyed with... appeared resigned to it.

When or why she started to notice or consider the dark witch's feelings was not too clear to the younger witch. Yet, at some point over the last month she obviously had started to do so. Perhaps it was when she decided to make the situation work... The witch was part of the situation...

Hermione stepped into the library. The fire was roaring. She had no doubt she'd find Bellatrix curled in front of it.

Bellatrix stared at the fire. The morning had come. Soon she'd have to deal with whatever consequence of violating the Marriage Law was for her. Her past, and her ill-advised curiosity, truly and most inconveniently bit her in the butt. She couldn't have been more furious with herself if she tried.

She just started to believe she might get another five months of living.

Foolish.

She wished she knew when she became so foolish. She would obliviate that moment from her mind and go back to her normal self then.

She thought back to the events of the previous evening. The girl was stubbornly careful and slow and agreeable.

Kind.

Despite the mudblood's doubts, Bellatrix comprehended the concept just fine. She simply found it rare to encounter and foolish to practice. Why the mudblood chose to practice it towards her continued to confuse Bellatrix to no end.

Bellatrix thought it would be alright to touch out of order, to learn what those locks she stared at so often felt like.

She puffed a breath in wry amusement.

She certainly learnt that, at the very least.

So foolish!

Bellatrix heard the girl enter the library, and slowly walk closer.

Hermione found the other witch in the library, curled in front of the roaring fireplace.

'It didn't count, did it?'

'Uhm no, it did not.'

Magical contracts updated immediately as relevant actions occurred. However, the Ministry acknowledgment and registry started at 5am and ran till the sunset. The validation seal on Hermione's Intent contract stayed faded. She didn't really believe it would change after the way the previous evening went. To be absolutely sure, she waited until half past five before going to look for the dark witch.

'When are the aurors coming?'

Aurors?

'They are not.'

Hermione watched as Bellatrix rose up and rearranged her body to sit on her heels looking up at the younger witch.

'There is a letter for Narcissa in my rooms.'

Dark head cocked to the side studying Hermione.

'Do as you will, pet.'

Hermione took several steps back, away from the witch.

'What… what do you expect me to do, exactly?'

'Kill me of course.' Dark eyes peered at her curiously. 'How are you going to do that, anyway?'

Hermione moved away some more from the witch.

Just in case.

'Why… why would I kill you... now?' After going to all the trouble and humiliation of the last several days...

Pale hand ran through the black curls pushing them off the pale face.

'Narcissa explained everything.' The dark witch frowned and something flitted behind the customary indifference. 'Wouldn't even come, little traitor.'

Hermione took several more paces back, and ran into a footstool almost falling over it. She would be in the fireplace if she moved any further. She sat down on the footstool. Bellatrix's old comments started to make some sense.

'What exactly did Mrs. Malfoy say?'

Bellatrix frowned at her.

'If in 30 days contract is not validated, I die, either in the Ministry dungeons or by your wand.'

Mrs. Malfoy had interesting take on the facts.

'And you'd just sit there waiting to die?'

'If Molly was a better duelist...' Thin shoulder rose. 'It's confinement I detest.'

Hermione pulled out a wand. Black eyes widened almost imperceptibly before settling into indifferent stare again.

'Mrs. Malfoy was very creative with the truth, Bellatrix. Running out of time won't void the contract immediately.'

She put the crumpled parchment on the floor, so that Bellatrix could see it.

'Wingardium Leviosa' she stated clearly, and sent it towards the older witch.

"Hermione,

If you intend to continue with this marriage and I, as many others, wish you did not, you will get a chance to get in compliance with the Law as any other couple.

The Marriage Law provisions allow for 3 days to come into compliance without Commission's involvement.

-K.S.

PS: There was really no need for that type of language "

'I didn't realize there is an automatic 3-day extension... but even without it... unless someone is incapable of complying Ministry would try to compell for a time...' Hermione trailed off.

Bellatrix wasn't paying her any attention anyway.

Black eyes blinked confusedly at the parchment.

'You asked the Ministry for an extension. Before last night.'

Some new expression was in the dark eyes. It was subtle, and Hermione didn't know the older witch well enough to guess it. Though she was fairly certain whatever it was, she never noticed it directed at her before.

'Simply a precaution given our conflicting personalities. Asked for extra two weeks but… I'm not their favorite person at the moment.'

'Because of this?' a hand waved between them.

Hermione shrugged.

'Then we have three more days?'

Hermione shrugged again, and frowned.

'I... don't know if that would be enough... I… go back there sometimes… I'm sure you've guessed. I suppose you take it as foolish and extremely weak-minded of me... Be as it may, I fear there isn't enough excitement … or alcohol… in the world to switch off my brain completely…'

'Last night it was my f-'

'No! Well, yes, I suppose in the big picture of things it was. But in that specific moment... You just startled me and well... one thought led to another...'

Bellatrix nodded thoughtfully.

Sensing that the witch was all talked out for the moment and having no interest in further discussion herself, Hermione moved to a nearby armchair and promptly fell asleep.

Accepting that she most likely wouldn't die just yet, Bellatrix shifted to lean on the couch and stared at the flames. Once in a while she would glance with renewed wonder at the crumpled paper and then at the slumbering girl.

..Simply a precaution...

..why would I kill you...

..intend to continue with this...

Just for a day.

She could take the girl's words at face value and allow herself to enjoy the unfamiliar warmth they brought.

Then she'd forget such foolishness.

End of Chapter 24