chapter seven.

honey, you're familiar

Hermione fidgeted with her wand as she walked towards the hospital wing, absently tracking the various groves and scratches. At some point, she figured she'd need to get a new wand that wasn't intrinsically connected to a dark witch, but Ollivander was still in St. Mungo's recovering and Hermione wasn't willing to settle for a lesser wandmaker.

The walnut wand had been unresponsive at first, given that Ron had been the one to disarm Bellatrix. But Hermione seemed to have won it over with sheer willpower by the end of the Battle of Hogwarts. Ollivander had described it as unweilding. It certainly had served her well, despite her reservations about all the evil it had done. It was first and foremost incredibly powerful, practically radiating magic. Admittedly, Hermione's knowledge of wandlore was limited, so she wasn't sure if that was a result of Bellatrix's power or the wand itself.

The wand certainly made Hermione question the origins of Bellatrix's seemingly inherent evilness. Bellatrix Black seemed like a spoiled, prejudiced brat, but she didn't seem evil. More like Draco Malfoy. But the walnut wand was a dangerous warning of the potential Bellatrix had for darkness. In most folklore, the walnut tree was associated with witches of darkness and evil deeds. And while the use of a walnut wand can benefit a most intelligent witch, it can easily bend towards dark magic in the right hands.

The Blacks seemed to ooze dark magic as Hermione could attest. Their properties and belongings were practically all cursed or dark. There was a deep seeded blood-prejudice that outpaced practically every other pureblood family. And yet, Hermione wasn't sure if such sweeping conclusions were fair to the Blacks.

Of course, Bellatrix Lestrange had been a homicidal sadist of the highest order, but Bellatrix Black didn't seem to that extreme. Sirius had been good; he had been a Gryffindor, for God's sake. Even Draco, despite his brattish behavior when they were younger, wasn't evil. He had done bad things, but he wasn't evil. Narcissa Malfoy saved Harry and likely all of their lives a mere week ago. Tonks had been as far from evil as any person Hermione had ever met. And that left of course, "Mrs. Tonks?" Hermione yelped as she all but ran over the older witch.

"Hermione! You must come at once! Where is Minerva? That, that monster…" A harsh sob fell from Andromeda's throat. "That monster, she, she was in the… in the…"

"Okay, just breathe, Mrs. Tonks," Hermione spoke softly, carefully moving to touch Andromeda. "Easy does it." Andromeda inhaled shakily, her hands twitching at her side. "In and out. That's it."

"We don't have time for this. She's loose in the castle!"

"Mrs. Tonks-"

"Hermione," implored Andromeda, "That bitch is here!"

"Mrs. Tonks!" Hermione winced as she raised her voice. "I'm sorry to raise my voice, but there's something you should know. The person you saw isn't Bellatrix Lestrange."

"Then what? What kind of sick joke is this?" Andromeda's hand curled around Hermione's left wrist, her nails biting into her skin. The word carved onto Hermione's skin throbbed painfully.

"It's not a joke. I swear on my parents. It's not."

"Explain," Andromeda all but hissed.

Hermione exhaled shakily. "She's from 1968. She's not Bellatrix Lestrange."

"1968? When in 1968?" Hermione hesitated and Andromeda's nails dug deeper. "This is important, Miss Granger. When in 1968? Because there is a big difference between the spring and the fall of that year."

"May of 1968."

Andromeda relaxed back with a sigh. "How?" Her voice was barely above a croak. "How is this possible? Timeturner?"

"It's more complicated than a timeturner unfortunately. She is physically and mentally from May of 1968, but spiritually, I suppose, she is the person that was buried last week. Professor McGonagall has been trying to work out how it's possible. But she is not displaced from time."

"Does she remember what she's done? The horrors she's committed, what she's taken from me, from so many people." Andromeda's shoulders shook with a contained sob.

Hermione had to fight back tears as the image of Remus and Tonks seemingly asleep in the Great Hall rose unbidden. "No. She only remembers up to the night of the ninth of May, 1968. A Quidditch party. Nothing after that."

Andromeda let out a half-sob, half-chuckle. "The Quidditch party. She went upstairs with that American girl, the radio star. She used to be so happy." A wistful look crossed her face, even as silent tears tracked down her cheeks. "But how is she here? I don't understand."

"I'm sorry, we don't know."

"I thought it was all over," mumbled Andromeda. "I thought it was finally over." Years of anguish and devastation crossed Andromeda's face. Hermione's heart ached for Andromeda. She had held Harry as he cried after he spoke to Andromeda, but that didn't prepare her for the devastation in Andromeda's dark eyes. "I have tried to hate her for so long. The things she's done. The things she's done to me and my family…." With the haunted look in the older witch's eyes, it was clear to Hermione that she wasn't just speaking about Tonks' death. "Why would she get a second chance? Why? When my, my Nymphadora won't see her son grow up. When Ted died alone and afraid."

Hermione impulsively pulled Andromeda into a hug, desperate to comfort the older witch. "I'm so, so sorry." Hermione struggled to find words, the pain of losing so many still so fresh. Every day since the second had felt as if the world should be collapsing in on itself. She couldn't even imagine the pain Andromeda was experiencing. "You don't have to do this."

Andromeda clung to Hermione as sobs racked her body. Hermione patted her back gently. Hermione could barely believe that any of this was happening, but she knew it was so much worse for Andromeda. She couldn't even comprehend the pain of losing a child, of losing a husband.

"I hit her. Oh sweet Merlin, I hit her." Hermione barely managed to catch Andromeda as her knees buckled. "I hit her. She was bleeding. I'm no better, I'm as bad as them."

Hermione felt that she had only scratched the surface of the trauma of the Blacks. This wasn't just about the war and the Death Eaters and Voldemort. There were things buried so deep that they might never have come to the surface if it wasn't for this bizarre bit of magic.

"She was bleeding?"

"She looked so hurt, like I betrayed her. I hit her. Oh Merlin."

"Andromeda, where is she now?"

"She ran off. I hit her."

Hermione's mind was racing. If Bellatrix managed to get out of Hogwarts, it would be pure chaos. It would be impossible to stop somebody from hurting her or capturing her or worse, killing her. That line of thought knocked the breath out of her chest. Did she care if Bellatrix got hurt? When did that happen?

"I ought to send a message to Professor McGonagall to let her know. Expecto patronus!" A silvery otter burst forth from her wand. "Please tell Professor McGonagall that Mrs. Tonks is here and that Bellatrix is somewhere in the castle and we'll find her, but it would be prudent to check the castle's boundaries." The otter nodded before bounding off. Hermione focused back on Andromeda, but her gaze was fixed on the wand in Hermione's hand. "Mrs. Tonks?"

"That wand. That's her wand."

"Er, yes, it is."

"How?"

"When we were held at Malfoy Manor," Hermione swallowed audibly, phantom pains lingering in her body. "And then escaped, we took some wands. I had to take polyjuice potion to break into the Lestrange vault so I took Bellatrix's."

"And it works for you?"

"It does now." Andromeda's eyes widened. "It's a stubborn and powerful wand."

"Ollivander described it as dangerously full of potential," said Andromeda, almost in a trance. "I remember the day she bought that wand. It was the first wand she tried and finally, her magical outbursts stopped. Magic always came so easy to her." Andromeda shook her head. "You don't think she could've left the castle?"

"I hope not. The wards around the castle are minimal at best still. They were completely broken and the auror department is struggling to keep up with all of the Death Eaters on the loose, so there hasn't been a chance to rebuild them completely. Hopefully, McGonagall and Kingsley can get to them before she gets a chance. Would she have gone back to the Slytherin common room?"

Andromeda pinched the bridge of her nose. "I don't know. I suppose. It's what she knows."

Hermione nodded, grateful to have a purpose. "We'll check there first then."

xx

Bella clutched at herself, her nails biting into her skin painfully. It felt as if the world was pressing in on her. The darkness that kept overtaking her threatened the edges of her vision, but she fought against it.

How could Andromeda, of all people, hit her?

She called her a monster. She hated her.

Her sweet Annie hated her.

A sob was ripped from her throat, echoing around the empty tower.

If Andy called her a monster, she must have been.

Bella curled in on herself as tears poured down her cheeks.

xx

"Merlin, I haven't been here in so long," Andromeda said with wonder as the pair stepped into the Slytherin common room.

Hermione glanced around the dungeon room. She much preferred the warmth of the Gryffindor common room, but she could see the appeal of the darkness and quiet. The common room had been left essentially as it had been after the Slytherins had collected their belongings, or in the case of those who sided with Voldemort, packed and shipped out by the elves to their homes. Only a few scattered bits of paper and books remained.

Andromeda wandered over to the trophy case in one corner as Hermione looked around for any trace of Bellatrix.

"Christ," murmured Andromeda. Hermione whipped around, surprised to hear such a Muggle phrase from a witch. Andromeda chuckled wetly at the reaction. "I lived with a Muggleborn for almost thirty years, Hermione." Hermione managed a smile. "I had forgotten what she used to look like."

"Bellatrix?" Hermione asked as she joined Andromeda at the cabinet. Andromeda pointed to a photo framed in silver. Sure enough, there was Bellatrix as she had appeared days ago, but rather than seeming terrified or angry, she just had a smile on her face. The photo Bellatrix had her arms wrapped around two taller boys while the rest of the Quidditch team cheered around them, one of them holding up the Quidditch Cup. The expression on Bellatrix's face, it was that same prideful, knowing smirk that she associated with Sirius.

"This was from her seventh year. Probably the last time Bellatrix was genuinely happy." Hermione twisted to look at Andromeda. Her mind was quickly filled with memories of Bellatrix Lestrange shrieking with glee as she taunted Neville and ecstatic screams of 'I killed Sirius Black!'. She practically had to shake herself to rid herself of those memories. "I mean, the last time Bellatrix Black was happy. Whatever she did later, those things." A shudder passed through Andromeda's body.

"We ought to keep looking for her. Where there any places she might have gone if she was upset?" They had only started with the Slytherin common room in hopes that Bellatrix may have returned there.

Andromeda closed her eyes. "The Astronomy Tower. She's probably in the Astronomy Tower. She used to spend hours up there when everything with- when everything got too much."

xx

Bella lay on her back, still trying to regulate her breathing and her heartbeat. Her chest ached painfully to the point it felt like she couldn't breathe.

Thankfully, the stars didn't change just because it was 1998. A long habit of hers had been to find as many constellations as she could. It gave her something to focus on.

She traced the shape of Corvus, counting each star carefully. Cygnus was close by. Bella had always thought it was fitting that the crow, a symbol of bad luck and death, was so near to Cygnus, a symbol of darkness for her entire life.

He must be long dead by now. He couldn't touch her. He couldn't hurt her.

But just thinking of him caused the panic to rise in her chest again.

She could only barely make out Perseus, it having moved away almost a month ago. She probably was almost imagining the stars to be there. It was always one of her favorites along with its pair, Andromeda.

But as she located where the stars should be, Andromeda's words echoed in her mind and her cheek throbbed painfully. It was as if all her breath had been stolen and her ribcage was about to crack.

"I'll always keep you safe. I'll always keep you safe." The words she had repeated for as long as she could remember were the only thing keeping her some semblance of grounded. "I'll always keep you safe."

She must have started crying again at one point as the wind cut across her wet cheeks.

The words became slowly jumbled and broken as she sobbed once more.

"Always keep you safe. Always."

At the sound of footsteps, she tried to move behind the cabinet she used to hide in, but apparently somebody had redecorated in the past thirty years. She reached for her wand, but realized she must have left it in the hospital wing. Biting back a curse, she turned to face whoever had found her.

"Annie?" She hated how weak she sounded. She was the strong one. She wasn't weak.

"Trixie..." Andromeda spoke softly, almost as if she expected Bella to explode. She took a few steps forward, but Bella backed away quickly. The cut on her cheek pulsed. As Andromeda stepped forward, a beam of moonlight fell on her face, revealing wet tracks on her cheeks.

The lines on her face shocked Bella to her very core. She looked like Andromeda, particularly in the eyes, but she seemed tired and aged beyond what Bella could comprehend.

"'Trix, let me see your cheek."

Andromeda slowly reached out with one hand, moving as if she was approaching a feral animal. Bella flinched away.

"Bella, please, you're bleeding."

That sparked something within Bella. "Because you hit me! We promised never to hurt each other!"

Fury and an emotion Bella didn't recognize rose in Andromeda's face. "Do not speak to me about hurting each other, Bellatrix!" But before Bella could respond, Andromeda inhaled sharply, seemingly coming to peace with herself. "Trixie, please just let me help you. I know you're scared. Just let me at least heal your cheek." When Bella didn't move, Andromeda drew her wand. "Why don't we sit down?" The pair settled on the floor. Andromeda gently cupped Bella's chin, turning her face to examine the cut. "What's the last thing you remember from 1968?"

"A Quidditch match, I hurt my ribs because of my moronic beater. We had a party. I went upstairs with Elnora Hawke. You disapproved. That's it. And then I was here." Bella focused less on her words and more on examining her sister before her.

She looked...old. It was too strange. Lines creased around her eyes and mouth that weren't there before. But even more than that, there was so much sadness and pain in her dark eyes that Bella had never seen. Andromeda had always been so thoughtful and careful, while Bellatrix had been reckless and foolish.

"How did I die?"

Andromeda's reaction was more than telling. She gasped, then immediately looked away from Bella. "I don't know."

"You're lying. I can always tell when you're lying, Annie." Bella twisted to try to meet her sister's eyes. "Andromeda, please, no one will tell me anything. What has happened?" When Andromeda remained silent, Bella let out an irritated hiss. "This is all dragon shit. I don't want to be here! I don't want to sit around while everybody lies and twists everything around me. I'd rather be back in my last year of Hogwarts than sitting around with a fucking mudblood watching my other move!" Andromeda's lips formed a tight line that was all Druella and far too close for Bella's comfort. "What, Andy? That mudblood has been on me since I got here. I don't even know her. She should know to respect her betters. Ah, Andy!" Andromeda's fingers tightened around her wrist.

"That is enough, Bellatrix."

Bellatrix's eyes narrowed in frustration. "What happened to you? Last week, I saw you laughing along with Jen King when that mudblood boy fell down the stairs. That dopey Hufflepuff."

"Enough, Bellatrix. The world is different."

"Clearly," mumbled Bella, almost disturbed by the vehemence in her sister's voice.

"Trixie, shut up."

Bella swallowed down the lump that was starting to form in her throat. She watched her sister as she murmured the spells, focusing on her eyes. In anyone else, she wouldn't have noticed, but she knew Andromeda better than she knew herself. Or at least she used to. But there were tears in Andromeda's eyes and as always, that broke Bella's heart.

So she sat dutifully silent.

"There. Try not to touch your face for the next hour or so, but it won't scar."

"Thank you, Andy."

Andromeda patted her cheek. "It's been a long time since I had to patch you up."

"Probably for the best." She tried to smile, but she was sure it appeared more like a grimace. "I don't know what's happened between us in the past thirty years, but I am so glad to see you. Everything, everything since I woke up here has been so strange and unfamiliar. No one will tell me anything. McGonagall is trying to figure everything out and then, did you know Aunt Walburga's elf works here? Kreacher, the nutty one?"

A crease formed in Andromeda's brow. "The one who wanted his head put on the wall?"

"That's the one. He works in the kitchen. Threw himself at my feet, wailing about not betraying the Blacks and blood traitors and mixed breed pups." Bella chuckled at that. But Andromeda remained stonefaced. "I tried to talk to him, but they wouldn't let me."

"Sometimes it's better not to know, Trix."

Bella rolled her eyes. Andromeda was just always so careful. "I suppose the elf has always been nutty, but really, blood traitors? And Sirius and Reggie are both dead? Are they actually dead or did they do something idiotic like marry filth?"

"Christ, Bellatrix. You just don't stop do you?" Andromeda stood abruptly to her feet.

Bella lept to her feet. "Christ, Andromeda?" She sneered mockingly. "What are you the blood traitor? Saying filth like that?" At 16, the Andromeda Bella knew would've backed down, trying to make peace with her sister. Apparently, the older Andromeda didn't care for that as she advanced threateningly towards Bella.

"Yes, Trixie," she snarled, spitting out the childhood nickname like poison, "I'm the blood traitor."

Bella's eyes went as wide as teacups, her heart dropping into the floor. Not her sister. She wouldn't do that. What would their parents think of that? How was Andromeda still alive? "No, no, no."

"Oh yes," Andromeda was mere centimeters away from her face as she spoke, "I married a Muggleborn. I've lived with a Muggleborn for almost thirty years. I had a child with a Muggleborn. Am I filth to you, Bellatrix?" It was as if Andromeda had torn her heart out of her chest. Bella was giving up everything for Andy. She was giving up her future, her freedom and Andy threw it all away for a mudblood?

"You're lying."

"I swear on, on," Andromeda's voice cracked painfully, "my daughter that I am not. I would never lie about this, Bellatrix."

"How could you?"

"How could I be happy? How couldn't I be happy away from the Blacks? Away from you and our father?"

This is what Bella had always feared. Was she going to become her father? He had long been afflicted by a cruel madness. He was a sick bastard who loved nothing more than inflicting pain.

"From me, Annie?" Bella curled back on herself, her eyes filling with tears. The oppressive blackness from before started pushing in on her vision. The screams started up again. "No! No! Get out of my head!" Bella clawed at her hair, trying to fight off the darkness.

Andromeda's eyes went wide and she stepped back quickly, assessing the situation in front of her. As Bella stumbled, Andromeda stepped forward to catch her. Andromeda cradled her in her arms, guiding them to the ground again. "Reste avec moi, Trixie. Je suis ici. Je suis ici. Tu es en sécurité. Je te promets que tu es en sécurité. (Stay with me, Trixie. I'm here. I'm here. You're safe. I promise you're safe)." Andromeda smoothed her fingers through Bella's wild curls, moving on muscle memory alone. "Look at the stars, Trixie. Just look at the stars."

Bella desperately tried to find the stars, but the darkness kept coming. She tried to focus on the feeling of Andy holding her. It was all she wanted for the past few days, but Andy… Andy…

"What's going on?" Granger burst into the room, her wand in her hand. The girl was hazy, a mere figure in dark clothes, but it gave something for Bella to focus on. "Andromeda?"

"Come here, I need you to help me stabilize her magical core." Andromeda motioned for Granger to join her. The girl dropped to her knees, knocking into Bella slightly.

Spots kept appearing in her vision and a bone deep cold settled in her bones. "S-s-so cold."

A look passed between Granger and Andy that Bella couldn't understand in her state.

They were speaking, but Bella couldn't hear. There was so much screaming in her head.

Then there was light around her body and she was floating, how long was she floating for? Hours, days? It felt like it would never end.

And then there was darkness, but it wasn't as oppressive anymore. It was more like a tight hug. Or the warmth when she and Andy built a blanket fort in the wardrobe, hiding from their father. Safe, warm, loved.

"Bellatrix?" A soft, sweet voice was calling to her. She blinked slowly, light pouring into her vision. There was Granger, just like always, right next to her. "Hey there, just keep getting your eyes open. Almost there."

Granger was perhaps the most frustrating person she had ever met, but in that moment, Bella was so grateful for her. "'Ranger, what happened?"

"We had to stabilize your magical core. There's some ancient magic attached to you."

"Annie?"

Granger averted her eyes, which was all too telling. Bella may not remember the last thirty years, but she remembered the fight with her sister. "She had things to take care of at home."

"With her mudblood?" To her credit, Granger didn't even flinch.

"Bellatrix, both Andromeda's husband and daughter are dead. She's taking care of her grandson." Bella's stomach dropped. "She'll be back in the next few days to look further into what's happening to you. She's the top of her field. She'll figure it out."

Bella scoffed, "You don't need to tell me my sister is brilliant. I know that, Granger." Granger rolled her eyes. "I saw that disrespect, Granger."

"Yeah, what are you gonna do about it, Black?" Granger said with a chuckle, settling back in her chair with a book.

"What're you reading?"

"Advanced Transfigurations Applications in Charm Building."

"Read it to me?" Bella hated how small she sounded, but she needed something not in her head.

"Sure," said Granger, flipping to the beginning of the book, "To understand any advanced magic, one must first look to the fundamentals of magic. Firstly, the external and internal magics…"

"You have a nice voice, Granger."

"Just rest, Bella."

"'s the first time you called me Bella, Granger. I think you like me."

"Don't get used to it, Black."

But when Bella looked over at the other girl, she had a soft, almost fond smile on her lips.

please let me know your thoughts ! this chapter was a bitch to write!

b xx