Chapter 7: Harry finds himself in mortal peril

This time they felt the ward, someone was at the door. Bellatrix quickly reapplied her glamour and walked with him to the foyer. Molly Weasley, Ginny Weasley, and Hermione Granger were standing there. Tonks had apparently been busy, now Harry had three women in various stages of anger and confusion staring at him.

Harry had faced death, many times at this point. His earliest memories after all were flashes of his mothers death. He'd faced Voldemort, he'd fought a basilisk, he'd survived horrors the likes of which would cause many others to faint. However, the looks he was getting from the gathered women gave him cause of alarm.

Molly's anger seemed to be directed towards Bellatrix-as-Josephine, Just who is this woman, and why does she have her claws in Harry? I might have not birthed him, but he's one of my boys all the same!

Ginny, on the other hand was focused directly at Harry, Harry is supposed to be with me. Who does this woman think she is? Finally there was Hermione.

Hermione, like Tonks, prided herself on her intelligence. She was rather concerned about this feeling in the pit of her stomach, seeing Harry with his hand in this unknown witches own. Who is she? She's not a student at Hogwarts, she's too old for that. She looks like she's about Tonk's age, what is she doing with a fifteen year old.. Those thoughts wouldn't leave her mind, she was secretly glad of it, because it meant she didn't have to deal with the sick feeling she had when she saw Harry squeeze the witches hand gently.

"Hello there, Josephine Reed, nice to meet all of you." Bellatrix smiled to them, acting again, like the pleasant but slightly dim Josephine Reed. "Harry, are these the ones you told me about? Molly Weasley, her daughter Ginny, and this must be Hermione, your classmate and one of your best friends!"

Bellatrix had put a little more emphasis on the word friend than she had intended. She was a clever witch, she always had been, she knew jealousy when she saw it. Molly might just be an overly protective mother figure, but the other two...they were looking at Bellatrix like she was a trespasser.

Harry moved forward, "I'm sorry, I keep meaning to introduce you all to Josephine, but..I keep thinking one day she'll come to her senses and find someone better suited to her." Bellatrix looked to him, how would Josephine answer something like that? She smiled and retook his hand,

"Now Harry, we've had this discussion since the day we started dating, I'm here because I want to be, and you're not getting rid of me that easily." She leaned over and kissed his cheek in what she hoped would pass as a girlfriend trying to make sure that her boyfriend knew she cared about him. It seemed to pacify Molly at least.

The older woman smiled to her then, "You'll have to tell us all about yourself, since Harry has been hiding you all to himself."

Bellatrix recognized this trick, this was an interrogation behind a smiling face. She mentally drew herself taller and started in on the story she'd devised. "Well, as you can tell I was born in Ireland, Belfast to be exact, I'm a half-blood, mum was a witch, my father was a doctor. I work here in London as a freelance Curse Breaker. Harry and I met when I was coming out of Flourish and Blotts...I accidentally knocked him over.."

It was Hermione who stopped her then, "Wait, how old are you? I don't remember seeing you at Hogwarts.." Bellatrix began again, "Well you wouldn't have remembered me, I was homeschooled. When I was a child I was very sick so my parents didn't want me going on such a long trip. As for my age I am 23, and yes, we are aware of the age difference, but Harry has been a perfect gentleman. We have agreed not to go too far until he's a legal adult." That earned her another smile from Molly, though it looked as if Ginny took it to mean that she had a chance in the intervening period.

Ginny had a question of her own, "So, where do you live?"

Bellatrix decided that while she would not hurt the youngest witch, she did not like her. "Actually, Harry let me move in here with him. I was renting a flat, but thanks to a neighbors lack of planning, that flat and two on their side of it are covered in green goo that they have thus far been unable to remove."

The smile left Molly's face now, "You're living here? But, Harry, does Professor Dumbledore know about this?"

It was Harry's turn to face the firing squad now, "Not yet Mrs. Weasley, but I did tell Josephine that we had certain 'meetings' here on a semi regular basis, she's agreed to leave the house during those meetings."

Bellatrix decided that this interrogation had lasted long enough, "I'm sorry to break this up, but the House Elf had told us that dinner was served just before you arrived, I'm sure we'll get a chance to meet again very soon."

The three looked to her, then to Harry who was quietly wishing that a hole would open up and take him anywhere else. Molly turned to the girls, "Right then ladies, let's go back to the Burrow, Goodbye Harry, Ms. Reed. May we use the floo Harry?" Harry gave his consent and with a shouted 'The Burrow!" the three ladies were gone, leaving Harry and Bellatrix to have their dinner.

Once at the Burrow Molly Weasley looked to Ginny and Hermione, "Ginny, please send an owl to Nymphadora...it's time for a war council to figure out what to do about Ms. Reed."