Chapter Text
Though she hated to admit it, the two attackers had gotten the best of Bellatrix Lestrange. She was alone in some part of the forest with them, and they were slowly moving towards her. They were two people in long cloaks with silver masks, and she had no idea who the hell they were.
She tried to raise her arm to cast a spell, but one of them was too quick. They cast one right back. A spark flew out, and she soon felt a deep slash in her arm. Pain shot through her as she stumbled backwards, barely keeping her balance.
Damn this…Bellatrix thought in frustration. As blood dripped from her arm, she tried to fight back once again. But there was another spark, and she felt another cut deep into her flesh. They hit her again and again as she dropped to her knees and blood seeped through her black dress.
Eventually, the two masked figures stopped their attacks but started to move closer to her. As she winced in pain, she knew they were going to kill her. As hard as it was, she tried not to show fear. “If you’re going to do it, get it the hell over with,” she said when they stood before her. The masked faces glanced at one another and then back at her. They nodded at each other before they each raised a hand in unison.
Bellatrix had to chastise herself. Is this how your life is going to end? Pathetic! She watched as a glow formed in their hands as they prepared to throw a spell at her.
But then a loud bang sounded from behind her, there was a blue glow, and the two of them were sent flying backwards. Bellatrix turned around to see a young woman approaching. She had bushy brown hair and wore a long red cloak, her hand was outstretched as she was using her magic against the attackers.
They were scrambling to get up, but the young woman used another spell. “Go on, get out of here!” she shouted. She stood next to Bellatrix.
If only I could move, I could take care of this myself…
The attackers apparently didn’t want to fight with this woman, whoever she was, because they stood up and ran off, leaving just her and Bellatrix.
“Are you okay?” the young woman said, kneeling down to have a look at her.
Bellatrix gritted her teeth. The pain was getting worse, and she was losing a lot of blood. But she was ashamed that she had needed to be saved, especially by a witch significantly younger than herself. “I-I’m fine, you can go now,” she said. Then, she tried to stand up and, much to her dismay, ended up falling right down to the ground.
“I need to get you to my house, I can treat you,” insisted the younger witch. She started to help Bellatrix up, but she was stubborn and started to resist.
“I don’t need you – I don’t need anything…” She felt light-headed. And before she could protest further, she lost consciousness and went limp in the young woman’s arms.
**
Bellatrix woke up in a bed that was in a room she didn’t recognize. Her wounds, which were on her arms, chest, and various other places on her body, had all been bandaged. She had also been put into a white nightgown. She sat up. The pain was still there, though less severe. It was still a struggle to move.
“Glad to see you're awake.”
Bellatrix turned to see the young woman who had rescued her, sitting in a chair on the left side of the room.
“You’ve been asleep for hours,” she continued. “My name is Hermione, by the way.”
Bellatrix was still humiliated by the fact that she had needed to be rescued. The attack kept flashing in her mind, with her wounds seeming to ache just remembering it. Then all she could think about was finding the two people who had done it and killing them…slowly. That was the only way to restore her pride.
“Are you going to tell me who you are?” Hermione asked.
“Ugh…” Bellatrix grumbled in response. “I’m Bellatrix Lestrange, if you must know.”
“Do you have any family around here? I could call them for you.”
Immediately, Bellatrix thought of her sister, Narcissa, but she still lived rather far away. There was Andromeda, but they weren’t exactly on good terms. She was also technically married to Rodolphus, though they were separated and she hadn’t spoken to the man in nearly a year. She didn’t want anyone else to see her like this anyway.
“None that are close by,” she said, then tried to get out of the bed. But when she felt a stabbing pain throughout her body, she was quick to lie back down.
Hermione moved next to the bed, looking down at her disapprovingly. “Don’t try to get up yet, you’re not healed yet. The magic used against you was powerful, and I wasn’t fully able to mend your wounds. It may take a while for you to improve…and you may have some scars.”
I could stay here a few days, then hunt down the bastards who attacked me, Bellatrix thought in frustration. She looked up at her new caretaker. She wasn’t going to like this, but it was the best plan for now.
“Do you know anything about the people who attacked you?”
“Why are you asking so many questions?” Bellatrix snapped.
Hermione crossed her arms and frowned. “You know, you’re welcome to stay here for a while, but you'd better fix your attitude.”
“I obviously don’t know who attacked me. They were wearing masks.” Bellatrix smirked. “Let’s just say I have many enemies.”
“Hmm. That’s easy to believe.”
“And what are you going to do if they come looking for me and they find your little cottage here?”
Now Hermione smirked at her. “I’ll be ready for them.”
Bellatrix had to admit, the young woman’s confidence was sort of impressive.
Hermione
She’s not even remotely grateful…Hermione thought as she prepared a pot of vegetable stew on the stove. It had been a full two days since she had taken in Bellatrix Lestrange. And she had yet to say thank you. If she hadn’t been foraging in the woods that day, the damned woman would have been killed by those assailants.
She stirred the broth in anger. And I’m putting myself at risk for her if those people decide to look for her. While she was ready to fight, it felt foolish to do so for someone who didn’t appreciate it.
I’m even cooking for this woman, for goodness’s sakes…Hermione then grabbed a bowl, which she filled with some of the soup. She sat on a tray with a glass of ice water and a piece of rye bread, then made her way to the bedroom.
Bellatrix had made a little progress but was clearly still in significant pain. Sitting in the bed, in one of Hermione’s white nightgowns, she still looked broken with all the bandages and her hair in disarray. She was also very pale. Overall, Hermione thought she looked just plain fragile in her current state. Though, since it was obvious Bellatrix hated being seen as weak, it probably wasn’t good to say this out loud.
“I have your lunch ready,” she said.
Bellatrix nodded and took the tray. Then began the process of eating small bits of her food. The simple act of lifting the spoon to her mouth was difficult because when she did so, she dropped it, and the broth splattered on the tray.
“I can help you,” said Hermione as she reached for the spoon.
But Bellatrix swatted her hand away. “I’m not going to let you feed me.” She picked up the piece of rye and took a big bite out of it.
“If you say so,” Hermione said, rolling her eyes. “Well, when you finish up, I will need to change your bandages. You definitely can’t do that on your own.” Despite having a difficult patient, she somewhat enjoyed caring for someone. Since she had been living in an isolated cottage for so long, having some company was a welcome change. Even if it was someone like Bellatrix.
After swallowing the bread, Bellatrix said, “Fine then.”
She’s much older than, but has been behaving like a child. She assumed it must be all about ego, Bellatrix didn’t like the fact that she had needed saving. In a way, Hermione could empathize with that. Honing one’s skill for years only to get bested by someone had to hurt. But nevertheless, that simple thank you would still be nice.
Bellatrix
After she finished eating supper, Bellatrix would get out of bed so Hermione could begin the process of switching out the bandages. She started by removing what was on her arm, slowly unraveling it and revealing the red gash underneath. Though it was partially healed, it was still a nasty sight. Bellatrix couldn’t help but grimace seeing her own skin like this.
The young woman’s touch was, admittedly, comforting. She was careful and gentle with her delicate fingers. It had been a long time since Bellatrix had had close human contact with someone like this. Even when her estranged husband was still around, the relationship hadn’t exactly been intimate.
She felt heat rise to her face as Hermione began wrapping a fresh new bandage on her arm. The fact that the girl was attractive was something Bellatrix had noticed…
Quickly, she tried to shake such thoughts from her mind. “Are you almost done?” she grumbled.
“Of course not.” After starting and finishing the second arm, she nodded at Bellatrix. “Could you lower the nightgown?”
Glancing to the side, Bellatrix lowered the straps of the garment to reveal her breasts. Her chest area had a few abrasions as well. This part was difficult because she couldn’t help but become slightly aroused when she was touched there. If Hermione was aware of the effect she was having, she didn’t make it known. She just removed, applied medicine, and re-bandaged like a skilled nurse.
“So, I remember you said you had many enemies,” Hermione said, once she had finished patching her up. “Could you give me some names? So that I know what to expect.”
“There are far too many to list,” Bellatrix replied, pulling up the nightgown.
“What exactly have you done to have so many people hate you?”
Bellatrix shook her head. “If I told you, you would probably tell me to leave your home immediately.”
“You must have done some terrible things, then.” Hermione stared into her eyes. Her gaze seemed to be full of judgment, but then she said, “I wouldn’t kick you out. Or, well, I would wait until you were healthy again at least.”
Just then, Bellatrix started to think about all of those people she had harmed…and killed. She had done it without remorse, and even now she still felt nothing. In fact, it had often been fun for her. Her attackers could have easily been friends or family of someone she had harmed, but as she had told Hermione, there were just too damn many. She couldn’t even begin to narrow it down.
“Maybe you’ll tell me about it later,” Hermione said, interrupting her thoughts. She grabbed onto her arm. “Now, let’s get you back to bed.”
Bellatrix gritted her teeth. “I don’t need you to help me into bed like I’m some old decrepit grandmother,” she snapped. Despite saying this, she didn’t pull away. Her legs still hurt quite a bit, so having someone to lean on was helpful, but it was still humiliating.
“Stop being stubborn. That nastiness might be what keeps you from improving.” She was gently guided to the bed, where Hermione helped her lie down. And for some reason, she was smiling down at Bellatrix. What is wrong with this girl…
***
Outside of the cottage, two people were watching Bellatrix and Hermione. A man and a woman, who wore black robes and silver masks. They could see through the round window from where they stood in the trees. The young woman standing beside Bellatrix was treating her and taking care of her. To see someone helping her made them both sick.
“Should we go in and deal with them now?” the man asked.
The woman thought for a moment. “No, not yet…the girl is strong, and I sense that she has a protective spell around the cottage. We’ll wait for a better opportunity.”
“Are you sure we should take her out along with Bellatrix? Maybe she doesn’t know –” the man started to say.
“No, it doesn’t matter, she goes too. She shouldn’t have gotten in our way.”
The man nodded, and they both turned back towards the window. They just watched the two women for several minutes, wondering what they were saying to each other. When Hermione came to the window to close the curtains, they would hide behind a large tree before she could spot them.
Just then, the masked woman said, “Here’s what we’re going to do…”