Chapter 58: The Issue of Trust
It was fairly late on Friday evening when Hermione Granger appeared inside the stone circle marking Grotto Island's apparition site.
The rain was pouring. The thunder was cracking.
The usually glowing markers were barely visible in the dense fog; the main house, normally the very distinct bright spot between the mostly leafless trees, was gone completely.
Hermione took a step out of the circle to apparate to the house entrance and the lightning struck. Barely ten feet away from her.
The island's welcome was startling enough, for a few moments Hermione forgot the frustrations of her afternoon.
Freshly showered, clad in warm, and dry, PJs, Hermione sat on the kitchen counter enjoying solitary dinner.
Her day at the Ministry started nicely enough.
No one seemed to be the wiser about what had been discovered at the Grotto's ballroom.
There were no reporters with random questions trailing after her... no more random than usual at the very least.
All her meetings went as expected.
By all accounts Hogwarts initiatives were going well, and some even ahead of schedule.
School stocks of medical and educational supplies were at acceptable levels. Hogwarts' usual re-supply operations were restored, or replaced The emergency replenishments for Hogwarts as a result were officially put on hold, freeing the resources for others.
The progress continued to be made on Hagrid's requests regarding Forbidden Forest and its creatures.
The magical and physical repairs at Hogwarts during Christmas and Easter holidays were approved. Student housing plans for those dates were confirmed. Contracts with the specialists willing to work over the holidays were finalized.
Even Hogwarts Progress draft review with Commissioner Tonks, and the Minister, stayed on point, and concluded exceptionally well. Hermione was going to be the one to present the Hogwarts report at the Wizengamot's War Recovery Progress hearing. The honor was Andromeda's idea. But, the Minister, though looking rather ambushed, agreed.
The development deserved a glass of a good wine to celebrate.
Unfortunately, the memories of the MICs meeting, her final meeting of the day, dampened the mood.
Hermione jumped at the trembling windows.
The restless weather was not letting up.
The storm was making even her a bit weary.
She wondered what Bellatrix was doing.
If things were normal, Hermione would have looked for Bellatrix. She would have likely found her at the Master bedroom pretending to be asleep under a mountain of blankets. And depending on the hour, Hermione would have stayed to sleep there too, or would have settled there with a book for a while.
Things were not normal however.
Hermione chewed slowly on the last piece of carrot.
The lightning struck somewhere close setting the windows to a blinding white for a moment.
'Merlin!' she exclaimed running hands through her freshly dried, unstyled, and thus rather unrully hair. 'Do I really want to be called a Muggle again?..'
She jumped of the counter.
'Well, she might point out I am a witch instead'
Hermione quickly cleaned and put away the dishes.
In Bellatrix's delivery, the witch statement sounded somehow even more insulting.
Hermione eyed the cupboard.
'This is mental'
Yet, soon after, Hermione held two large steaming mugs in one hand, and a thick book with a few parchments in another, as she awkwardly maneuvered the library doors open.
The library was brightly lit, and very quiet.
Bellatrix was exactly where Hermione suspected her to be. In front of the library's fireplace. In the midst of pillows and blankets.
Only, unlike Hermione's assumptions, there was no pretense of sleep.
Bellatrix was awake, propped up on one arm, with her free hand clutching a blanket in white-knuckle grip, studying Hermione tensely.
Hermione swallowed.
The two stared at each other.
Until the hot liquid on Hermione's wrist interrupted the moment in a rather painful way.
She inhaled sharply, quickly sat the mugs on the nearby side table, and went to put the book and the parchments on the desk.
'The MIC's meeting… It wasn't about us.' Hermione said without looking back at the dark witch.
She busied herself looking for an inkwell and quills in the desk's small drawer.
The reading materials and writing supplies were all found, and arranged and rearranged neatly.
The silence stretched.
Hermione glanced back.
Bellatrix's posture had relaxed slightly. The fingers were tapping over the blanket. The annoyed glare was focused on Hermione's desk arrangement.
'I feel like studying,' Hermione muttered into the silence, annoyed that she felt compelled to justify her presence.
She flipped the book open on a random page.
'You are welcome to a hot cocoa,' Hermione added, and motioned to the mugs for good measure.
Uncomfortable with the silence and the glower, and regretting her impulsive decision to find Bellatrix, Hermione went to look through the shelves of books.
She was mental to think the witch would appreciate her gesture.
And she refused to leave too soon.
'Child's drink,' came a sullen mutter.
Hermione rolled her eyes, peaked out from behind the shelf she was perusing, and shrugged.
'Then don't drink it. I'll happily have both with the day I've had!'
Bellatrix's eyes narrowed.
Hermione bit back a grin.
Child's drink, indeed.
Bellatrix made a common summoning gesture with her hand. Bellatrix had used the same movement many times before, with enviously controlled results. One of the mugs wobbled loudly.
Bellatrix exhaled irritably, frowned, and repeated the gesture.
The other mug then suddenly shot towards Bellatrix at a rather impressive speed and in a very straight un-wobbly line. With a sickening crack, it collided with the dark witch's forehead.
The mug broke in half.
The cocoa, and blood, spilt all over.
Hermione gasped.
Bellatrix yelped, then screamed in fury.
She jumped to her feet.
Wide-eyed Hermione observed mutely as the second mug flew Bellatrix's way. Bellatrix caught that one. But it flew even faster than the first, and most of the fairly hot liquid ended up all over the already wet witch.
Hermione winced.
Bellatrix yelped again.
Hermione's wand was in her hand. Scourgify… Reparo… Tergeo… Vulnera… Protego… She hesitated even as the spells danced over her tongue. To heal the witch?… To clean the mess?… To protect the witch from any new self-inflicted missiles?.. The interference was likely to set Bellatrix off even worse than she was already.
Bellatrix wiped the blood dripping from her brow, and wobbled.
Hermione rushed to her.
Bellatrix froze. Whatever emotion was in the dark eyes stilled as well.
Hermione looked between her raised wand and Bellatrix's flat eyes.
She slowly lowered her wand.
'I just want to clean the blood. To see if I can fix it or if you need a healer?... I won't hurt you.'
Bellatrix blinked silently, eyes glued to Hermione's wand.
Hermione pursed her lips.
'Do you want me to heal you or not?!'
'Not!'
'Alright then!' Hermione took a few steps back for good measure. 'Feel free to bleed all over the place! Merlin! Why do I bother?!'
And yet, Hermione did bother.
Bellatrix made no move to leave, or to summon the elves. She just stood there seemingly lost, hugging herself, deflated, and bleeding.
Hermione went to hug the witch then thought better of it. That was what she had done on a couple of occasions when things seemed too much. And at those times that worked. But they were not in the before.
Instead, Hermione quickly cleaned the mess left on the bedding and the floor by the cocoa and the blood, summoned new PJs from her own stash and left them nearby the dark witch.
She then conjured a bowl of water and a towel, pushed both into Bellatrix's hands, and left the witch to it.
To go fix another cup... or two... of cocoa.
Hermione stared out the large window anticipating the next flash of lightning.
Library's couch was comfortable enough.
The sleep was simply not there.
'..Mr. Potter made the case for certain information to be shared... ..revealing this information would result in serious consequences all around...'
She fluffed her pillow with extra vigor.
What did she care at this point...
'The Ministry wanted to marry me off to Draco.' Hermione said into the silence of the room. 'And, after that failed, to Ron. And Ron somehow turned into you. They claim to have no explanation for that. Supposedly, no one else was impacted. It was all for the Greater Good, of course.'
She couldn't keep the bitterness out of her voice.
It was one thing to speculate about Harry's words in the Ballroom. It was another to hear it stated plainly by the Minister. Greater Good excuses and all.
'That's what the meeting was about. Harry is tired of secrets. So Ron and I were graced with the truth.'
There was a snort from under the blankets.
Hermione didn't expect much sympathy from the older witch. She didn't know why she was revealing things which would cause great heartbreak for many innocent people to Bellatrix of all people.
But, there weren't many available candidates after all.
Harry was her person. And he was the one who didn't want to make things worse by revealing things that didn't work anyway. At the time he wasn't even under the secrecy charms.
The Commissioner and the Minister tried to make her sign a Secrecy agreement. Hermione refused. Ron followed suite. After much posturing from everybody, they were told things anyway.
'And, it was Harry who maintained the Confundus on the Ballroom entrance. The Minister cast it, but Harry maintained it. And said nothing!' Hermione said into the silence of the room. 'For the Greater Good, of course.' She added sarcastically. 'He thought he was helping to catch you in some evil act.'
The blankets shifted. Bellatrix's head popped out and stayed up, propped on her elbow.
'Oh?'
That was entirely too mild of a reaction to anything Harry Potter related.
Hermione sat up.
'How did you know?!'
There was a long sigh.
'Confundus is not a well-meaning spell, girl. The estate wards prevent foreign magic to take hold. Harmful magic, even more so. To confuse you for days someone had to strengthen the spell often. Cissa said Potter was the only one here daily. First, accompanying the healer, then just checking on you.'
'You didn't say anything!'
'I said' Bellatrix even tone dropped to an angry hiss. 'I don't want him to have access to the Grotto!'
'But you didn't explain!'
'Would you have believed me?! And, he hates me. That should be the reason enough!'
Hermione plopped back down with a loud huff.
She refused to think about the reproach in Bellatrix tone.
She didn't want to block Harry's access.
But, Harry had no right to keep such things secret! She had a right to know things that affected her!
Harry was very regretful and apologetic.
Ron was upset, but not that upset.
She didn't want to block Harry.
But they were now adults with conflicting priorities.
Apparently.
'Don't you just love the Greater Good,' sang from under the blankets.
Hermione glared at the window willing a particularly loud thunder to come.
End of Chapter 58
