Harry Gaunt - Chapter 8

"Bellatrix?"

Bellatrix looked away from the letter she read. "Yes?" she rose from her chair. "What is it Cissy?"

Cissy stepped through the door, the time very late in the Slytherin dorms. "This," said Cissy quietly, presenting her letter as she stared at Bellatrix's. "You too then."

She lumped sadly. She didn't want to marry Brown.

"Oh Cissy," said Bellatrix weakly, opening her arms to embrace her. "We knew this was coming" Bellatrix held her tightly. "But do not lose hope, I have a year and you have two. It's Andromeda we need to worry about."

Andromeda would leave Hogwarts in a few weeks, making Bellatrix a seventh year and Cissy a sixth. They wouldn't marry until they'd finished their schooling, that was non-negotiable.

Cissy stepped away. "I haven't seen her," she whispered, sharing a worried look with her closest sister. "She's probably with him Bellatrix, you know the one."

Bellatrix soured, she'd caught them once on her Prefect patrols. But Andromeda would marry within the month, and to a Lestrange no less. Bellatrix was comforted that at least one of them would marry well. "She'll have received her letter too," concluded Bellatrix, nibbling her lip in thought. "I don't think mother realises, but Andi loves him. She won't marry Lestrange."

She'd run. Cissy realised with a gasp. "We have to stop her Bellatrix!" she became frantic, clutching at Bellatrix's arms. "Where is she now. She won't go now will she?"

"No, not yet," stopped Bellatrix, looking off with a frown. "At least I hope so. Let's go."

They'd find out for themselves as Cissy followed her back to the door, the two heading out into the dark dungeons. It was already past midnight, it would just be Flitch and his cat they had to worry about. "It's this way," guided Bellatrix, lighting her wand for them both to see. The seventh-year dorms were in a different place, as were they all each year you went up.

But before they could make it far, Bellatrix saw a light up ahead and grabbed Cissy's hand, tugging them in behind a statue of a climbing serpent. Bellatrix peeked through the gap.

It was Rodolphus, muttering as he stormed through the corridors. "Bloody bint," he said with venom as he passed without a glance. "She should be grateful."

And then he was gone, sweeping round a bend in the corridor. Bellatrix waited for his footsteps to disappear, feeling as Cissy clutched her arm. "Bellatrix?" she whispered, no doubt realising what direction he'd come from.

"Come on."

Bellatrix crept out between the gap, lighting her wand as she kept a hold of Cissy's hand. They hurried down the corridor, arriving soon at number 14 of the seventh year dorms, just at the end of the thin corridor.

"Andi?" knocked Bellatrix on the open door. It was just shy of the latch. "Andi it's us, are you alright?"

Bellatrix pushed it open, peering with Cissy just beside.

"Cissy?" they heard, seeing their sister cry from her bed. "Bellatrix?"

Andi tried to hold back her tears, but couldn't as the sobs came out. Her room was a mess, the bed sheets tussled and dishevelled. "Y-you got the letters then," observed Andi, seeing Cissy's own still grasped in her hand. "I don't know what to do."

Andi slumped on her bed, joined quickly by a now equally tearful Cissy. "Oh Andi," she hugged her side, the two crying together at the edge of Andi's bed. "We should have been here."

Andi had clearly had to fight Rodolphus off, which Bellatrix understood at as she closed the door, walking in with her hands at her side. It was all but certain now, Andi could never abide being married to Rodolphus. "What did he say Andi?" probed Bellatrix, not so inclined to cry at the moment. "What did you say, for that matter."

Andi looked up at her, then scowled. "Is that all you care about," she sniffed. "How this has all affected House Black." Andi rubbed her nose. "But what does it matter now, he attacked me."

Andi wrapped her arms around herself, letting Cissy go in the process. "I suppose I shouldn't be surprised," she said, hanging her head. "Lestrange doesn't even want me. It's always been you he wants Bella."

Andi's looked at Bellatrix, her expression one of pity. It would be Bellatrix that took her place now.

"He only says that because I hexed him in 4th year," returned Bellatrix, turning away with a tired huff. "But it doesn't matter," she contemplated. "Rodolphus is an example of what all the Pureblood's are like. Arrogant. Cruel. And greedy."

She turned back to her sisters, an amused glint to them. "Maybe we should all just leave. Never to return."

Maybe then she'd be free. But it would never happen. Bellatrix couldn't leave her family, she loved them.

"That's exactly what I plan to do," resolved Andromeda with a stiff nod. "Ted's got a job with a solicitor's firm, and I'll work at the Apothecary. Andromeda Tonks," her lips played the name with a smile. "It has a nice ring to it."

She felt Cissy touch her arm. "But they'll cast you out," she explained with worry. "Or worse, bring you back. And Ted-"

"-Ted will protect me," finished Andromeda firmly, standing with a breath as she retrieved her wand from the bedside table.

"You're leaving now?" said Bellatrix incredulously. "In the middle of the night? Wait till morning, sleep on it." Bellatrix took a cautious step near.

But Andi shook her head, stepping around as she waved her wand. Her things began to gather. "If I wait till morning, it'll be too late," she said, hearing Cissy begin to cry again. "Rodolphus wasn't happy I refused him. He will return." Andi looked clearly into Bellatrix's eyes. "You won't say anything, will you Bellatrix?"

"I won't. I promise."

"Thank you," Andi hugged Bellatrix too, hoping they could one day resolve their troubled differences. Andi took a step back so she could see them both. "Thank you for being my sisters. We'll see each other again, I promise."

She couldn't help but look down in shame, knowing that once she left they'd be left on their own. Andi was abandoning them. "Forgive me," she murmured when they came to her side, hugging one last time.

They'd miss her. Their dear sister.

Break.

There was an empty space beside Bellatrix on the morning they were due to depart from Hogwarts, the great hall all but empty at this early hour. It was where Andi usually sat, left vacant these past few weeks.

Bellatrix looked uninspired at her plate. She didn't want to go home, not ever as she cut a slice of warm bacon. Cissy had been inconsolable too, drifting from place to place after Andi had left.

It didn't help either that there were many rumours circulating, which in Bellatrix's mind had been warped by fear and prejudice. "Idiots," she grumbled, chomping on some bread as well. "Ted didn't kidnap her."

Bellatrix knew the boy, had known him since Andi and he had started dating. He was a duffer, loyal and true to the core. But that didn't stop the likes of Rodolphus and his friends, even the lower years from spreading such nasty rumours.

She supposed it was all Rodolphus really, as Bellatrix glanced to the doors where students had begun walking in. It was the last day of term today, a short one which meant that before the day was out, she'd back at Grimmauld Place, explaining herself.

Bellatrix felt like burying her head.

"Ah, Ms Black," said Horace as he trotted down the aisle. "Good morning, lovely day." He seemed in such a good mood, more so than usual anyway.

"Good morning Professor," greeted Bellatrix back, watching him with a curious eye. He soon slowed down too, then turned back as if he'd remembered something. "This'll cheer you up," he said, leaning slightly on the other side of the table. "I assume you've not heard already?"

Horace wasn't keen on retelling stories already told.

"Of what sir?" replied a perplexed Bellatrix. "You'll have to tell me," she smiled. Bellatrix liked Horace, you got what you saw with him, nothing more.

"Oh alright then," he said, swinging himself onto the bench. He leaned in as if to guard the secret. "A new Lord has been crowned," he uttered excitedly, looking much like a gossiping school boy.

Bellatrix leaned away.

"No sir, I hadn't heard of that," she gave him a grateful nod. "But how fascinating, do you know which House it is?"

Horace nodded quickly, becoming even more excited. "Yes," he said. "A Most Ancient and Noble House, one you yourself will surely remember…"

He looked at Bellatrix, who was as ever at a loss as to how this man had so many friends. The hall was filling up with how long he was taking. "I couldn't say," replied Bellatrix, thinking for a moment as she tapped her cheek. "Barnabas?"

"No not Barnabas," huffed Horace, looking her up and down to make sure she was okay. "It's Gaunt. House Gaunt Bellatrix."

He shook his head, expecting far too much from the middle sister. "Anyway, I must be going," he rose from the bench, sparing but a glance before leaving in a hurry, perhaps to tell someone else of this pressing news.

"Gaunt?" said Bellatrix aloud, scrunching her face in momentary pain. "Of all the houses to come back, it had to be them."

She looked back to her plate, disquiet in her heart at all the things she'd heard about House Gaunt, which encapsulated all the worst bits of Pureblood ideology. Bellatrix was a clever girl, nor naïve enough to believe that marrying sisters would proffer anything but misfortune. "Oh dear," she covered her mouth. "He must be an ugly bugger."

Her laughter threatened to rise, and was contained by the swift and startling realisation that some of her family were indeed, cousins.

And married.

She pushed her plate away, massaging her head with the tips of her fingers. "My luck really is the worst," she bemoaned, curling a locks hair around her fingers. "I'll probably be forced to meet him too. That's just what mother would do."

And with the holidays starting tomorrow, there was every chance he'd be having tea with Walburga and her mother, chatting about the finer points of Pureblood Society when she arrived back home.

Bellatrix hoped that wouldn't happen as she rose from the bench, collecting her bag from between her feet as she did. The plan for today was simple, get through the few hours of class until midday, when they'd be set free, meet up with Cissy, then find a carriage to hide in.

Beyond that, she didn't know.

Break.

It was this time later when Bellatrix hurried through the halls towards Cissy's classroom, that she bumped into a strange man. Her bag fell between them.

"My bad," he said, turning about in his comfortable looking robes. "This place looks so different," he began, kneeling on the floor to help collect her sprawled books. "Here-"

He froze mid-motion, a book on Charms in his hand as Bellatrix looked at him, seeing for a moment his pure shock, and green eyes.

Bellatrix plucked the book from his hands.

"Excuse me," she said, standing up with forced politeness. "It was my fault, I wasn't looking where was I going."

She glanced down at him, seeing him snap to attention before rising quickly. He stared at her face with a strange expression. Bellatrix thought it was rather off-putting. "Are you alright?" he asked out of the blue, fumbling with his hands before tucking them behind his back. "Miss?"

"Black," said Bellatrix, inclining her head in the way that was proper. "Bellatrix Black."

She smiled politely at him, no different than she would with any other. But in him, it seemed evoke something more as his eyes flickered with pain. She heard him take a breath, then step near.

"It's nice to meet you, Miss Black," he held out his hand, a ring sitting comfortably on his finger. "I am Harry Gaunt."

Bellatrix startled, her eyes flicking from the ring to his face, then back again. "Gaunt?" she confirmed, getting a happy nod from the messy haired man. "As in House Gaunt, the Most Noble and Ancient?"

Bellatrix looked him up and down, surely this couldn't be him. She was stunned at how normal he looked.

"The very same," he confirmed kindly, not bothered by her line of questioning. "You can call me Harry." He made a point of looking at his waiting hand.

Bellatrix quickly shook it, despite how muggle she knew the act to be. "Pleasure," she returned, soon letting go and to her immense surprise, he didn't linger. She knew he noticed her surprise.

"Well, I must be going now," he said, stepping smoothly around her. "I've got a meeting with the Headmaster; apparently today was the only day he could slip me in." Harry seemed a little put out by the fact, evidenced by his subtle frown.

Bellatrix noticed that too, having shifted with him as they swivelled around. She had questions, like why he wasn't ugly and deformed. "It's a half-day today," she offered instead, clutching her bag with a small smile. "The Headmaster likes to travel."

She peeked at his eyes, which hadn't left her for a moment. He thanked her kindly for the knowledge, bowing as a Lord should do before turning to leave down the empty corridor.

Bellatrix watched him go.

…

"Bellatrix?" asked Cissy as she hurried round a corridor. "There you are! I thought you were meeting me by Charms? Bellatrix?"

Cissy noticed her sisters absent gaze, which looked off as a figure disappeared from view. Bellatrix twitched around. "What?" she said with a blink, taking a moment to find where Cissy stood. "Oh, Cissy."

Cissy looked at her expectantly. "What were you doing?" she posed, hands on her hips and her bag on her shoulder. "Were you staring at someone?" she accused.

"No," denied Bellatrix immediately. "I was just thinking. Now let's go, or we'll miss the carriage." Bellatrix slipped her hand into Cissy's, leading them back the way she'd come. "Were there any problems?" she asked in concern.

People had been saying things to them, mean things that Cissy ought not to hear. She was still fifteen.

"Nothing too bad," she said, holding Bellatrix's hand as they walked together towards the carriages. "Severus stopped them. It was Potter and his lot."

They were always terrorising people, they didn't care who.

"Good," Bellatrix has told Severus to look out for her. "Let's find a carriage, there should be some still here." Bellatrix scanned ahead at the spot where they arrived, then hurried them along when she saw one.

"Are you sure you're alright?" inquired Cissy with a curious tone as they came to the carriage.

"Yes Cissy," Bellatrix opened the door with a gesture inside. "It was nothing. Promise."

Cissy looked at her, seeing something more as she hopped inside, followed right behind by her smiling sister. She couldn't tell Cissy what had happened, she'd go mad with stories of love and romance, when all that had happened was a simple conversation. Lord Gaunt was certainly not what Bellatrix had envisioned, he was it seemed, quite handsome.

"There is something!" pointed Cissy who'd been watching her face. "Tell! TELL MEEEEEE!"

Her laughter was infectious, with Bellatrix soon joining in as the two giggled in the trundling carriage. "Fine," sighed Bellatrix. "I'll tell you. But you must promise to tell no one."

Cissy nodded rapidly, promising she would.

"Well, I bumped into this man…"

Bellatrix told her everything about the man with green eyes.

Support me! Read ahead at /Bactum on Pa treon dot com or Ko-fi dot com to buy me a pack of cookies.

Till next time!