Chapter 48: Azkaban Fallout


Hermione's plan to get whatever set Bellatrix off out of the witch at breakfast failed without ever getting underway. Of course, Bellatrix's plan to have Hermione on the spot and explaining herself didn't take off the ground either.

Hermione was finished with breakfast and was idly leafing through the Prophet, when Bellatrix showed up.

And all plans went sideways right then and there.


'What the- Bellatrix!'

The newspaper flew out of Hermione's hands.

AZKABAN EXPLOSION: 5 MONTHS and counting
CULPRITS, STILL UNKNOWN
ESCAPEES, STILL AT LARGE
AURORS, STILL ASLEEP?!..

The front page picture looped between the before and the after of notorious prison: the fortress of before, and the rubble of the after.

'Azkaban was destroyed.'

'That's not news, Bellatrix!'

'In June...'

Bellatrix abruptly turned around and left, taking the paper with her.

'Where are you going? Give me the Prophet back!'

Hermione hurried after the witch.

'Bellatrix, stop! You don't need to act like an arse just because we kissed... or had a real conversation!'

Hermione caught the door to the first-floor study before it hit her in the face.

The house's only floo-enabled fireplace roared to life.

'Cissa!' Bellatrix screeched into the flames when her sister failed to respond promptly, 'Come quick! I killed the girl!'

Hermione's hand drifted to the wand in her pocket at the last statement.

Bellatrix rolled her eyes at the move.

Hermione flushed and glared.

The blonde witch appeared seconds later. Wide-eyed, barefoot, dressed in a bathrobe, and with a wand out.

Hermione eyed the wand curiously wondering whether it was intended for Bellatrix or for her, potentially vengeful, ghost.

'Bella! What have you done?! Please tell me- oh… thank Salazar, you are alright, Miss Granger.'

The wand pointed at the dark witch. Blue eyes narrowed, clearly contemplating some type of retribution. Eventually Narcissa let out a tired sigh and leaned on the nearby desk. She pointedly ignored her sister as she cast drying and styling charms over her body, hair, and robe.

'I'm well too, Cissy.'

The blonde leveled an exasperated gaze at her sibling.

'I had a very stressful morning, Bellatrix!' Narcissa hissed as she conjured slippers. 'I was in the bath. What was-'

'Look!' The paper smacked the blonde.

Narcissa examined the paper.

'Are you feeling nostalgic, Bella?!'

The paper was returned to Bellatrix's arms, with a resounding smack.

Narcissa strode out of the study.

Bellatrix followed.

Hermione hurried after them.

'It was sheer luck you were still recovering and therefore not there…' Narcissa whirled around suddenly. Hermione and Bellatrix barely avoided stumbling into her. 'Many of your former associates died… particularly those held at higher levels.'

The blonde resumed her walking.

They ended up back in the sunroom.

Narcissa took Bellatrix's armchair, and helped herself to the fruits and the wine of the untouched meal.

'Did anything strange happen at the Manor, Cissy?'

'No.'

'What about… the thing?'

The thing?..

Narcissa glanced at Hermione, then shot Bellatrix a very displeased look.

'I told you, that's nothing!'

'So you haven't noticed anyone's presence at the estate?'

'Bellatrix! I am alone there and I'd appreciate you not adding to my nerves!'

'Not anymore. You are moving here.'

'What?'

'Uhh Bellatrix we talked about it, and-'

'Salazar! She isn't moving for that!'

'For what?! I'm not moving anywhere for anything!'

Narcissa rubbed her temple again. She should have finished her bath, and her bottle of wine. Nothing would have changed if she came half an hour later... If Bella truly killed Miss Granger.

'You aren't safe at the Manor, Cissy. It was a revolving door. Have you forgotten your family betrayed our cause?! You betrayed our cause!'

Narcissa frowned as she once again shot a look at Hermione.

'I was protecting my son!' She snapped, before correcting her lapse in tone into a more moderate inflection. 'I'm but a dutiful wife to my husband. Anyone having an issue would approach him. Anyone of proper upbringing would.'

Bellatrix very clearly took offense, as she responded.

'Must be nice to be so respectably protected. Day and night.'

Narcissa visibly winced at the dig.

'At least the wizard I chose had always put me first!'

Bellatrix's clenched fist crackled with magic. Narcissa's wand tip glowed.

Are they going to fight, ran through Hermione's astonished mind. The day was insane!

Then Hermione remembered. She was the one making rules in this set up.

'Stop! Stop! You two are not going to fight here.' She looked at the younger sister. 'Or this unscheduled meeting is over. I'm obviously not dead,' She then looked at the older sister, 'and Mrs. Malfoy was clearly in the middle of something.'

'Fine.'

'Very well'

The manifestations of anger dissipated from the hand and the wand.

'Cissy-'

'How is it you are only now concerned?' Narcissa asked coldly, still smarting from the reprimand. 'All marked high-ranked Death Eaters were held at the top levels. They are dead! Or hunted! The aurors set additional wards around the Manor too.'

'Some of them are alive.' Bellatrix repeated stubbornly. 'You would be foolish to stay at the Manor.'

Bellatrix was not wrong. It wasn't public knowledge, but Harry's team ran into Augustus Rookwood just several days ago. Their lead auror was killed, the rest of the team was on sick leaves of various lengths.

'You are scared of someone…' Hermione felt her ears actually twitch at the blonde's words. 'Who? You were faithful to the bitter end.'

Bellatrix just glared, either unwilling to speak in front of Hermione, or unwilling to explain herself at all.

Heavy silence descended.

'What is wrong with the time of the explosion?'

'Ah, here's the brightest witch.' Bellatrix chirped, happy about the change of topic. 'Azkaban was going to explode. Around the time of the last battle. A day or two later?… Unlikely but possible. The whole month later...'

'Why?!' 'What?!'

Hermione and Narcissa asked at the same time.

Bellatrix just shrugged.

'I don't like the place.'

'It was full of people!'

At that time the place was full of Muggleborns and half-bloods whose only crime was their heritage!

'I didn't like those people either. Are we done with pointless questions? Narcissa-'

Hermione looked at Bellatrix in horror. It was a sobering reminder of the true nature of the person Hermione married, effectively absolved of all crimes, and was kissing earlier in the day; whose feelings she started to consider and worry about.

Hermione felt a little faint and nauseous.

Narcissa too looked troubled, and a little green...

'The Dark Lord intended for the Order and the Resistance to be held there. And-'

Bellatrix shrugged at her companions' dismay.

'I don't like the place. My Lord would have come around… eventually.'

Narcissa rubbed her temples. Even thinking of how the crazed wizard would have come around was painful.

Hermione shook her head. She kept thinking of all the people who could have died.

CULPRITS, STILL UNKNOWN... Here was the main culprit. The culprit she blankly absolved of all crimes prior to their marriage. Brushed all those crimes under the seven year house arrest.

'What could create this much damage?'

'Magic.'

'Bellatrix!'

'It didn't fall over on its own now, did it? A few of us didn't like the place, alright?!'

'But, I killed Rod, and got distracted with you lot to finish off Rabastan, and then that cow…'

'Injured you horribly?'

'No need to rub it in, Cissa!'

The topic was still a sore spot.

'I assume your useless Ministry is actually trying to catch everyone.'

'Aurors are looking for escapees, yes. Harry-' Bellatrix huffed at the mention of Hurry. Hermione decided against sharing confidential information. 'Are you positive, they are alive? Aurors would want to talk to you.'

'The point is there were several, and only Rodolphus is dead for certain. The explosion time skewed so completely because of interference. Before or after the battle.'

'Greyback is dead. His- his head was recovered mostly intact... They kept it for study... at 's I think...' The older witches looked at Hermione in surprise. 'They let my classmate see... He hurt her during the final battle...'

'The beast is of no value!' Bellatrix snapped. 'And I have nothing to say to the aurors!'


Hermione decided against owling Harry. She didn't have much to add to the fact that some Death Eaters were likely alive. Harry knew as much.

Bellatrix's involvement wasn't really relevant. After all, someone else influenced the date. So she decided against sharing that as well... For the time being. The decision left a bad taste in her mind. Bringing attention to her murderous spouse for something she technically didn't do didn't sit well with her either.

Narcissa stayed well past the afternoon tea. She observed their DADA tutoring session. Though she refused to participate. She then later joined Bellatrix and Hermione for dinner.

The witch remained skeptical about the impending dangers. Hermione doubted the auror-fortified estate could be broken into. Still, Narcissa's attachment to the empty Manor with questionable ambience was a bit puzzling.

Before departure, Narcissa promised to consider the move to Grotto.


Hermione still wished to corner Bellatrix into a talk. But the revelations of the day kept her too preoccupied. The news itself was awful. Her own muted reaction to it was awful. Her consideration of the person capable of such an act was awful. She just wanted to hide, think and find a way to live with all that. And that's what she did aside from the tutoring and the dinner. And she suspected she was going to struggle even more with reconciling Bellatrix of the Grotto, and Bellatrix of the world after this latest revelation.

There was one thing Hermione didn't want to leave for later. They rarely saw each other on Monday mornings. So later would come only in four days. And that was too long to let the topic be.

That's how she found herself knocking on Bellatrix's bedroom door for the second evening in a row.

Unlike the previous evening, she clearly dragged the witch out of bed. Of course it was a few hours later than the previous day's visit.

'I won't stay long... won't stay at all... We really should talk...'

The witch took a long measured breath and let it out in a faint groan.

'But it is late, and the day was hectic... and I barely started on my weekend homework... I don't want this to linger though.' Because lingering for four days may give you some more odd ideas! 'The kiss... I kissed you because I wanted to. It wasn't fake. I wasn't pretending.'

One shouldered shrug.

'Fine.'

Hermione sighed.

'I can write it out with the truth quill.'

'No, thanks!'

'So, you believe me?'

Another half-a-shrug.

'I hope you will, in time.' That was it. Whatever mad twist was in Bellatrix's mind, she added her version to consider. 'Uhm... I'm going to go now.'

Bellatrix nodded.

So Hermione turned and headed towards her own wing.

'If that's so,' came quietly from behind her. Hermione turned around. Bellatrix's eyes still had no expression but her hand was clutching her forearm. 'Then why is the physical connection at a Troll for you?'

'Oh...' So the dark witch didn't snoop inside her head after all.

'If you dislike this so much... why all this...' Bellatrix waved between them and her room and the general direction to the master suite. 'and if you aren't put off... why the Troll-like low? Or is it not enough? We could- I told you it's fine-'

Bellatrix's voice rose with every new voiced confusion and query.

And so Hermione did what she had done on a couple of occasions before, when Bellatrix was spinning, and she wasn't sure how to spin with her.

She hugged her.

'Is it a troll hug?'

Bellatrix was stiff in her embrace, her folded arms trapped between their bodies. Even so, the older witch didn't make any move to get free.

'A real hug. Because you are upset...'

'I'm not' a petulant mutter.

'And because the quick answer I have isn't the best, and it's quite late for an extended chat.'

'Try me'

'Scoring is stupid. The 2 reflects my expectations of a love marriage. It's not fair, to judge this by that ideal, but the quill...'

'Oh'

'The 2 also reflects what I think you think... which I start to think might not be what you think at all.'

'You're right, you make no sense'

Despite the snippy words, Bellatrix's stance relaxed.

'Told you'

'So... can you trust that I didn't pretend... just till I'm back from Hogwarts... and we'll have time and space for a better chat.'

It was like all of Bellatrix sighed.

'Fine.'

'Brilliant!' Hermione pecked Bellatrix on the cheek and released her from her not-troll hug.

'Goodnight, Bellatrix'

'Granger, this is not a love marriage. I- It can't... I love My Lord'

Hermione had so many thoughts, questions, and opinions on that. But the time was late, and the pile of homework was high, and Bellatrix and Narcissa's almost-fight was still close to her mind. She didn't expect love in their marriage, but hearing Bellatrix professing love to Voldemort bugged her. She couldn't help but needle the witch a little.

'Don't worry, darling, I'm not in love with you either,' she grinned thinly. 'But, I liked kissing you, and you liked kissing me. We'll work with that.'

With a winning smile and a blown kiss and another goodnight she hurried away.

Not looking back.

Lest Bellatrix saw through that, pretense, confidence!


End of Chapter 48