Harry Gaunt - Chapter 48

Harry lay awake within Bellatrix's room, Bellatrix herself curled against his side. She was asleep, Harry had promised to wake her when it was time to go. "Bellatrix…" She murmured softly. "Wake up."

She tightened her hold upon his arm.

"Bellatrix, we need to go." Harry gently tried to pry it out, he was pretty sure she'd been dribbling on his arm. "Bellatrix, time to go."

"Harrrrry…" Bellatrix rolled on top of him. "Stay. Sirius can wait." She was topless, everything felt warm as she kissed his neck. "I love you." She reached a hand down Harry's belly. "Stay…"

Harry had to be strong now, for Sirius. "I know you do," he whispered with glazy eyes. "But we must go. Or at least me." He stopped her hand from beginning to stroke. "It's not safe to leave him."

The news would have spread by now. Bimock would have had no choice but to notify the Ministry.

"Fine!" Bellatrix huffed and slid off him, covering herself with the covers. "Drop Sirius at Hogwarts, then come straight back." She poked Harry's bare back as he climbed out of bed. "And we still need to decide what to do with my parents."

Bellatrix hadn't dared venture down to the Dungeons yet, not without Harry. And they hadn't checked on Druella yet.

"Your mother should wake up soon," said Harry as he got himself dressed by the mirror. "But I've placed a ward around the sitting room. She can't get out until it's removed." He wiggled his shoes on, still a bit dishevelled as he turned back to Bellatrix. "Feel free to check on her. Just be careful."

He came over to the bed and kissed her goodbye. "I love you," he said. "Be back in a jiffy."

Crack.

Harry disappeared from the bedroom. Bellatrix didn't think she'd ever grow tired of hearing him say that, it meant so much to her after all as she stayed in the warmth for a moment longer. Harry's side was the nicest, she shuffled over where he'd been. "Drat." But thoughts of her mother kept her from enjoying it: Bellatrix sighed. "I'll have to go down."

She climbed out of bed and got herself dressed by the mirror, her clothes in disarray on the floor. Harry hadn't had any trouble taking them off, nor with the rest as she clipped her bra back into place. But unfortunately, they couldn't do that yet. Or more really shouldn't until they were married.

Harry had been so sweet about it, and hadn't minded at all given everything else they'd got up to.

"Okay, all set." Bellatrix straightened her robes in the mirror, she didn't want her mother to realise. as she walked out and down the stairs. She arrived at the sitting room in no time, the door unlocking with a flick from her wand.

"Who's there?" came her mother's worried voice from inside. "Cygnus?" She moved beside the fireplace, watching as Bellatrix stepped inside. "B-bellatrix?"

Druella felt terrible already.

"Hello mother." Bellatrix shut the door behind with an audible click. "What are you doing over there?"

"O-oh, nothing." Druella shifted away, coming behind one of the chairs instead. "How are you?"

Bellatrix looked well. Almost glowing actually.

"That's good," returned Bellatrix falsely. "If you'd tried to escape, Harry's ward would have sent you back, painfully." She gestured Druella sit with her wand. "Now, we need to talk."

Druella sat. "You found your wand then," she said a touch nervously. "I-I am sorry for what happened. I shouldn't ha-"

"No, you shouldn't have." Bellatrix took a seat on the opposite chair. "And while the facts seem obvious, I'd like you to clarify, if you would."

Bellatrix lit the fire with an Incendio. Druella had some explaining to do as it roared into life.

"I can see you're angry." Druella would be too as she looked at her daughter's face. "And you should be. I did as your father asked."

Druella shook her head, she shouldn't have listened.

"And what did he ask exactly?" Bellatrix hated the pitiful look her mother wore. "Aside from abducting me to marry Lestrange."

Druella shifted. She didn't seem keen on saying.

"Cygnus is in the dungeons," stated Bellatrix innocently. "He can tell you again of the muggle I was with, how he drove a car and did magic, or is it obvious by now?"

Druella looked at Bellatrix. She knew she'd made a mistake. "I never did quite believe it. But your father didn't seem to care how absurd it sounded." She slumped in her chair. "And now Arcturus is dead. Cygnus told me to do it, he said it was the only way our family would survive."

Bellatrix scoffed.

"I didn't mean to hurt you Bellatrix," pleaded Druella. "I thought I was helping you. You wouldn't be forced to marry Flint anymore."

Druella tried to stand.

"Don't move." Bellatrix pointed her wand. "Don't. I don't trust you."

Druella looked very upset. Angry almost as she sat back down. Her own daughter didn't trust her?

"How long have you been awake?" asked Bellatrix suspiciously. "You and Walburga were always together, you're involved in this, I know you are." Druella became still. "Tell me the truth, or it'll be Harry you speak to."

Bellatrix came to her feet, her mother looked away.

"Tell me, now!" Bellatrix held her wand. "You're such a fool."

"Careful Bellatrix, I am still your mother," warned Druella as stomped away towards the door. "You can't threaten me with teenaged wizards, being Lord is just a title. Is he even a Pureblood?"

Bellatrix stopped. "What?"

"Pureblood." Druella came to her feet. "Is he?"

It was always unclear when a House was re-established, particularly when the line was a prestigious as the Gaunts. Where did they come from? How had they not seen them until now? Who were their parents. And Grandparents.

Druella sniffed as the two of them looked at each other, doubting if even Bellatrix knew the answers. "And where is Lord Gaunt now?" She mocked as Bellatrix turned away again. "He isn't here, is he? Did you send him away so I wouldn't see the truth?"

Bellatrix grabbed the door handle. That wasn't true.

"I never did get a good look at him before," finished Druella from across the room. "You must be sure Bellatrix," she beseeched. "Lestrange has a future. But Gaunt, Gaunt may not."

She approached the door slowly, hoping Bellatrix would see that she was right as she thought it over. Bellatrix knew what her mother was saying, that Lestrange was a surety while Gaunt was not, that now Cygnus had arranged a suitable match that wasn't Flint, there was no need to garner an attachment with an unknown, potentially Mudblood Lord anymore.

"Harry is everything I need him to be," whispered Bellatrix without fear as she looked to her mother. "He's kind, and strong. He doesn't hate like you do, he - he loves me." Bellatrix took a breath and narrowed her eyes. "And I won't let you, or anyone else get in our way!" Her wand whipped across her Druella's chest, sending her away with a pulse across the room.

Druella tumbled across the carpet and hit the wall, growing in pain as Bellatrix fled through the door. She hurried upstairs, tears beginning to fall.

~~~~~~~

"Right then, you got everything?" asked Harry as they left Bimock's office. "What is all this anyway?"

Bimock made a sound from his desk. "Don't answer that," he snapped. "My Lord." He gave Sirius a look.

Sirius rolled his eyes. Bimock was as paranoid as an old Foe Glass. "I won't. Thank you Bimock."

"Good." Bimock nodded. "Return in three days for the House Elf." He shooed them away.

"Yeah, let's go." Sirius stepped out and begun to walk with his arms full of things. Harry followed behind him. "These are Bimock's old notes about the previous Lord's he's served, wants me to read them, such a pain."

Sirius didn't want to learn about what Lord Black did during the last Goblin Rebellion. It would Professor Binns all over again. "Thanks for coming to get me," he said to Harry who'd been happily listening. "No Bellatrix?"

Harry shook his head. They were following the signs back out to the lobby. "She's back at Grimmauld Place, I am to drop you at Hogwarts then return for her."

"Oh, following her orders now? Nice." Sirius adjusted the boxes in his arms. "I did that once. Did you know we have a Boggart in the attic?"

Harry glanced at him. He hadn't heard this one before. "No, but some families have Ghouls."

"Not us. Arcturus always made sure the Boggart was well cared for." Sirius heard the noise as they approached the corridor's end. The lobby wasn't as busy as before, but with all these boxes…

"Here, let me." Harry offered to take some. "I won't peak."

Sirius's eyes had flashed with suspicion, a good thing in Harry's book. He'd been much the same when alone with Arcturus for the first time.

"They're not that important," said Sirius offhandedly. He came to a stop before the end and handed some over. "And Bellatrix seems to trust you."

Harry nodded, deciding not to say anything as he arranged the heavy boxes. Sirius was working up to something as they stayed put with a view across the lobby.

"Why does she trust you?" he asked. "She cannot know you properly yet. And more than anything, I know her, she's not naïve enough to simply fall in love with you." He looked at Harry from the corner of his eye. "What's really between you two."

There had to be more, something else that had pushed them together.

Harry was watching the crowd. He looked happy. "Arcturus would be proud of this moment," he said. "Truly. And the answer's quite simple really." He smiled and turned back to Sirius. "She just wouldn't leave me alone."

Constant. Constant bothering until now, Harry didn't want her to ever leave as Sirius barked out laugh. He almost dropped one of his boxes. "That's just like her," he smiled in nostalgia. "I gave her one of my toys when we were young, and to this day, she still has it. But I'll find it one day, bloody thing." He stepped out into the lobby. "Come on, it's getting late."

Sirius would ask the rest when they got back. Too many ears here as Harry joined his side, the two walking out to the alley.

Harry took Sirius's arm.

Crack.

They appeared in Arcturus's study. "I figured you'd want them stored here," said Harry as he set the boxes down on the newly repaired desk. "Take a few with you. They'll be safe here."

Sirius nodded. He unpacked the first few volumes. "Are Cygnus and Druella still here?"

"Yes, but I've put up wards to restrict them and secure the house. They can't leave the rooms they're in." Harry stepped out the door to get Bellatrix.

"Wait," said Sirius. "Tell me first before you go. Why did Bellatrix not leave you alone, what did she want?"

Harry turned back. "Me, you, this family. A chance to stop what's going on from destroying everything she loves." Harry looked into Sirius's eyes. "You all knew about Cygnus, but it wasn't until I told Arcturus who was really behind the movement that things began to change. She had all summer to think about it, and while Arcturus hid inside, she made a plan."

Harry stepped back inside and walked to Sirius. "That's why I am here," he said clearly. "I came to stop him, the Dark Lord. I came to kill him and put an end to it all."

"Kill him?" Sirius looked up from his thoughts. "You think you can? Reggie said they practically worship him, call him the most powerful wizard to have ever lived."

Harry scoffed. Sirius did too at the same time. "You're only eighteen," he added. "He's much older. In his prime. And he has followers, loads of them!"

Harry nodded. He knew it didn't seem like a winning hand. "We can do it. I can't tell you how but Bellatrix and I have a plan. It'll work if we just do it right."

"And if it doesn't?" Sirius stepped towards him. "We're allies Harry. If you fail, then I fail, and so do our Houses." He wanted to make that clear. "What if the Dark Lord wins."

Arcturus would demand that House Black have a future in either event, a backup plan, a way forward.

"There is no future if we lose." Harry turned away and walked to the door. "I can promise you that." He headed out and up the stairs to Bellatrix's room.

Sirius followed after him. "That's not good enough," he said. "What's this plan of yours?"

Harry sighed. "You mentioned Reggie, right? Is he with them?" Harry looked back as they arrived on the landing.

"No, of course not!" Sirius tugged him to a stop. "He's not one of them. It's just our mother, she's a nut. Reggie can't say no to her."

Harry brushed his hand away and continued on. "He'd still be here if we lose," offered Harry simply as they climbed the final set of stairs. And at no point could he have Sirius believe that following Tom was the better option. "House Black would continue no matter what happened."

They arrived at Bellatrix's door. Sirius didn't seem very sure about it, Reggie didn't want to be a Death Eater.

"Bellatrix? You ready?" Harry knocked lightly on her door. "Wait out here," he whispered to Sirius before slipping inside.

"Sure, just go on in then." Sirius crossed his arms and looked away. Arcturus would have never let Harry even step foot up here. "I am Lord Black you know."

Sirius tapped his foot while he waited. There was no way they'd done any of that stuff, Bellatrix was a Pureblood, she knew the rules. Sirius shouldn't have to remind her as he begun listening at the door. "Hmm…" He heard shuffling. Not good. "Hmm?"

Harry stepped back out.

"What were you doing?" demanded Sirius. "Where's Bellatrix?"

"She's fine. I'll take you back now." Harry offered his hand. "You got your books?"

"No."

Harry took them back to the office with a snap. "Just let me know if you need to come back here, and feel free to inform whoever you like about your new status." Harry handed him the books. "They'll love it."

Harry winked at him.

"You can't just-"

Crack.

Sirius disappeared. Harry chuckled as he turned and then reappeared inside Bellatrix's bedroom. "Sirius is gone now," he said to her quietly as he joined her on the bed. "Handy trick that is. Passenger Apparition I call it."

Harry could touch someone, then send them away to anyplace he chose.

"Mm." Bellatrix took his hand. She added it to the list of things he was going to teach her. "I should have waited before going down. You're much more intimidating than I am." Bellatrix leaned against his shoulder. She wouldn't have cried if he'd been with her. "You should go down. I might have hurt her earlier."

Bellatrix remembered her mother hitting the wall, then flail on the ground for a bit.

Harry was trying not to laugh, there was no might about it as he came to his feet. "You sure you don't want to come?" he asked.

Bellatrix nodded from the bed. "It's better if she sees you alone. I know she's just concerned for me, but I don't think..." Bellatrix held onto his legs. "I don't think I should be there, so I'll leave it to you."

Druella would be fine once she spoke to Harry, she'd see what Bellatrix did, then everything would be fine as he leant down and kissed her goodbye. "Wish me luck."

Harry stepped away and walked out the door. He was about to be interrogated by Bellatrix's mother, what could go wrong?

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