Chapter Text
Hermione coughed to expel the water from her lungs. Wet and cold, she lay on the bank of Cauldron Lake, exhausted and shivering. Her mind tried to make sense of what just happened to her, but she was so grateful to see light again. Hell, she never wanted to be in the dark ever again. So… so cold. She felt so very cold.
The mere memories of it all. She endured torture and pain in her life, but nothing compared to what she had experienced in the past two weeks. She wasn"t taunted or hurt, bruised and battered. No. She had just been left floating in a dark void. Just… existing without any form of external stimuli. Her own sharp and active mind turned against her. She screamed without sound, scratched herself and bit her own tongue just to feel and experience something… anything… Her own thoughts were driving her mad: her mind conjuring gigantic non-existing sea-monsters patrolling the waters beneath her and above her.
Being a therapist herself, she was acutely aware just how damaging two weeks of complete sensory deprivation could be. Even now, she sheer amount of smells, sound and sights were beyond overwhelming. But infinitely welcoming.
And Belle…
Oh, poor Belle… Now stuck in that same place.
She had no energy left in her body to cry, no matter how much she wanted to.
For now, she would simply lie there and let herself bask in the warmth of the sunlight. That was, until something very wet and very cold touched her cheek, followed by something wet and warm and ticklish. With a groan, Hermione rolled on her back only to see a golden retriever looming over her. Of course, the licking assault never stopped, not even when she painfully raised her arms to pet the dog. "Hello there," Hermione managed weakly. "Do… is your owner near?"
The dog, of course, said nothing. Hermione, tired as she was, thought she could hear the sound of a car door slamming shut. People running. Good, she needed help since she could barely move. The dog barked again. Hermione closed her eyes, and when she opened them again, she saw…
"Nymphadora?" asked Hermione as she was being sat up. "What are you doing here?"
Three women were with her, two she didn"t recognize and… the waitress from the diner?
She felt a soft and warm blanket being wrapped around her while a rotund red-headed woman examined her. "You"re into shock, ma"am," said the rotund lady. "We"ll get you warmed up and take you straight to the doctor."
"N-no," Hermione protested weakly. "I… I can"t leave. B-Belle…"
Her teeth started to chatter. God, she was still so cold…
"Where"s auntie Bella?" Nymphadora pressed.
Hermione let out a sob just as she weakly pointed to the lake. It was all she could do not to break down further. In her mind she knew she had lost her. Belle had exchanged herself to free her and was now trapped in the same darkness she had been held prisoner in. She knew how terrifying that had been. She knew how cold she had been. Hermione couldn"t leave her Belle down there, not after all they had been through, not after all she had built together.
"Oh, no," Nymphadora let out vile curse under her breath. "Stupid, stupid…"
Hermione could only look at the lake as the sunlight reflected off its mirror like surface. She only hoped that some of that light could reach Belle.
She hoped that Belle would remember that she had people who loved her and wanted her to return.
The dog started barking again and shot off to some underbrush. It didn"t take long for the dog to appear again, bark some more and then run back into the underbrush. More impatient barks sounded from further along.
"I"d say Max wants us to follow him," Nymphadora said.
Hermione didn"t dare hope. She was still shivering from the cold as Nymphadora took her by the hand. She clutched the blanket tighter around her body as she and the woman with the sheriff badge followed Nymphadora and the dog. And then her heart skipped a beat: lying face-down at the bank of the lake, lay Belle.
"BELLE!" Hermione shouted, fearing the worst as Bellatrix lay there, waterlogged and unmoving. By now, the golden retriever had reached her already and had started licking her face. And the moment he did…
"Mrph, hey!" sounded the voice of Bellatrix as she struggled to move. A wave of relief washed over Hermione instantly.
The young witch fell down onto her knees just as Bellatrix pushed herself off the ground. She immediately wrapped her arms around her and hugged her tightly. "Belle!" she exclaimed. "Oh, Belle…"
Bellatrix looked her in the eye. Intensely, as if the older witch couldn"t believe her eyes at first. Then, she smiled. A broad warm smile Hermione couldn"t have imagined seeing on the dark witch"s face a mere ten years ago.
They kissed. Passionately and madly. And then Hermione broke the kiss to look her in the eyes and lay her hands on her cheeks, she took one look at Bellatrix" watery eyes and simply had to kiss her again. Two strong arms wrapped around her waist and she never wanted them to let her go. In the meantime, the golden retriever barked happily and ran circles around them.
"I knew you"d come for me," Hermione whispered.
"I"d carve through mountains to get to you," Bellatrix whispered in her ear, just as the sheriff wrapped a blanket around her as well. "I fought to reach you. I fought so hard. Once I realized what you"d been put through, I swore I"d tear through those creatures."
Memories of her own experiences, of screaming into the void until her lungs felt like they would burst, came bubbling to the surface. Indeed, Bellatrix" body was covered with cuts and bruises. She looked as if she"d gone to war. Seeing her history, Bellatrix would know a thing or two about fighting vicious and desperate battles. With Bellatrix" insanity tempered, what would be left would be ruthless efficiency and lethal precision. She almost pitied the monsters in the dark, but she felt sorry for Bellatrix even more.
"I"m so sorry you had to," sniffed Hermione. "If I hadn"t lied to you, lured you to Bright Falls under false pretenses, none of this would have happened… I swear I"ll never lie to you again."
"Sssh, it"s fine," replied Bellatrix. "I cocked it up to begin with, back at the ranch. Besides, part of me had a lot of fun, surprisingly. It"s good to know that I got it, as the young people say."
Hermione blinked and gave her love an incredulous look, studying her closely. There was a twinkle in Bellatrix" eye which made it seem like she wasn"t entirely serious with that comment, but she was enough of a therapist to know that Bellatrix was a woman with hidden depths who to this day kept a tight lid on parts of herself. Hermione could see some rather arduous therapy sessions in the near future. For both of them, in fact.
Nymphadora laughed heartily. "Well, well, well, you two love-birds seem to be quite alright."
That startled Hermione a little. Oh, god, she had kissed Bellatrix right in front of Nymphadora. Oh god, their secret…
"It"s fine!" said Nymphadora, sensing Hermione"s distress. "After all we"ve just been through, I"d say your illicit affair is the least of our concerns. And it"s really rather cute. Oh, almost forgot something."
Nymphadora fished something from her pocket. "I managed to rescue some things from the Lodge before that thing turned it into driftwood. Your phone at least, Hermione, and this… figured this might be the right time to ask her, auntie."
Hermione"s eyebrows shot into her hairline when Nymphadora pressed a small box into Bellatrix" hands. Her lover grinned for a moment and opened it, revealing two rings. And lovely rings they were too, made from silver with a single stone set into it while magic runes spelt out their names in ancient wizarding script. They shimmered as they caught the light. Hermione gave Bellatrix a questioning look. Her beloved took it from the box, gently grabbed hold of Hermione"s hand and placed the ring onto her finger. She then placed the other around hers. It took Hermione a few moments to realize what had just happened.
"I"m not asking you," said Bellatrix resolutely. "I"m claiming you. I want to spend the rest of my life with you and I don"t give a toss who knows."
"B-belle…" Hermione stammered, utterly flabbergasted. The ring was beautiful, but… this would cause so many complications.
"I know what you"re thinking," said Bellatrix as she gently cupped Hermione"s chin, rubbing a bit of sand from her cheek. "But let"s just not worry about it, alright?"
"A-okay…"
The woman with the sheriff star announced herself. "Excuse me, ma"am," she said. "Sarah Breaker, local sheriff. We"ve never met, but I"ve heard plenty of good things about you. Might I be so bold to suggest paying a visit to the ferry captain? Old Paul is a good sort and would be happy to marry you both under maritime law."
"I think that sounds lovely, hm?" Bellatrix winked.
Hermione couldn"t help but smile. This woman had gone through hell just for her. She could handle a little heat from the higher ups. In facts, plans were already forming in her head to deal with the situation.
The golden retriever barked happily as he ran circles around her.
"Oh, this is Max," said Bellatrix. "He"ll be coming home to the ranch with us. We have a dog now."
"Hello," Hermione reached out to pet the dog, only to be treated to an eager lick to the face.
"Yeah, he does that, get used to it," chuckled Bellatrix.
Max barked happily.
Sarah Breaker reflected on what a strange week she had had. Truth be told a lot of things didn"t make sense. Half the countryside had been destroyed and yet… it wasn"t. Her boys had been decimated and yet… there they were, making sure nobody at Deerfest got too drunk to stand. Shadows and monsters and… and… well, details seemed to be fading a little from her mind. All she knew for certain is that everyone in Bright Falls and the surrounding area owed their asses to this Bellatrix Black and her niece with the weird-ass name, so she wasn"t about to question any of it.
At least miss Black had found her girlfriend. They were an odd couple, these two, and not only because of the age-difference. Miss Granger reminded her of one of those Southern belles from the old movies, albeit a very stern and posh one. She had kind, intelligent eyes, even if there was a sadness behind them. Again, Miss Black reminded her of her brother, who went for a tour of duty to Afghanistan and came back forever changed.
Miss Black and Miss Granger were never seen apart and it was clear the two of them loved the bones of each other. One minor complaint came from a local busybody who had noticed that the room they had rented above the general store had its lights on all night, but considering what the both of them had been through, Sarah didn"t blame them one bit.
And then there were Rose and Nymphadora, two more people who were never seen far apart. Rose"s amorous proclivities had the subject of many a gossipy church lady for years, but the young woman had confided in her that she had had quite an unlucky streak in the ways of love. Well, it looked like her luck was finally turning. In fact, the Oh Deer Diner would likely be looking for a new waitress sooner rather than later. Rose was over the moon that Nymphadora was going to show her England, though Sarah suspected that once there, Rose wouldn"t ever leave again. Especially not if the way those two were holding hands was any indication.
While the sounds of Deerfest traveled over the water and the floats could be seen driving slowly through the streets as their background, Sarah found herself as a witness on the ferry, along with Nymphadora and Rose. Max sat next to her as well, the golden retriever not collared but instead had its neck adorned with a while bow-tie. As she understood it, Bellatrix had "strongly objected" to collaring Max. Technically, Sarah was supposed to give her a citation for that, but considering this was Max she had decided to forgo said formalities.
The Anderson brothers had been playing the wedding, as it were, their usual repertoire of heavy metal. And damn, were they good. Both brothers were supposedly quite happy to do so, even though Nymphadora seemed rather skittish around Odin for some reason. Flanking them were former patients of the now destroyed Cauldron Lake Lodge, with Dr. Hartman still missing. The whole thing was a bit of a mystery, but with evidence of mistreatment being clear, Hartman would have to answer some serious questions when found… if found. One of the patients was painting the couple on a canvas, one of them was ranting about future and one woman named Wendy was smiling as she regarded the proceedings. Though these people were now staying at the Anderson farm, they were supposed to be under proper care. Sarah had decided to turn a blind eye to it for now as all of these former patients were doing much better than before. Especially Wendy, whom apparently had been completely catatonic until fairly recently.
Old Paul, the captain of the ferry, had worn his Sunday best… which looked suspiciously like his usual clothes with a jacket draped over it… and had dusted off his old maritime law book. He read from the book while Bellatrix and Hermione gazed in each other"s eyes. Hermione"s eyes turned slightly watery as Bellatrix slipped the ring on her finger. God, Sarah could swear there was a smug grin on the older woman"s face, as if she wanted to scream "this woman is mine and I challenge everyone who thinks otherwise!".
This ceremony wasn"t a legal marriage, sadly. Hopefully that would change at some point in the near future, sooner rather than later. Old Paul didn"t seem to mind, and neither seemed the brides. Sarah also had to admit to having a warm, fuzzy feeling when seeming them embrace and kiss. They held on to each other and never let go. She watched Rose and Nymphadora cuddle up a little closer and felt a twinge of jealousy: she hadn"t found her own mister right yet while everyone else around her seemed to be falling in love. Sarah wondered if she had simply been looking in the wrong places.
Still, as the ferry slowly headed back to shore to resume service, Sarah simply leaned against the railing. For now, at least, all was once again well in Bright Falls.
Stood at the railing of the wharf, Bellatrix, now freshly wed, simply took in the sights and smells of the Oregon woods. The mountains, the trees and the otherworldly qualities of the wispy mists moving over the mountains like a silk blanket. She would never forget these woods, for reasons which were both obvious and less so. Max, still wearing his bow, sat next to her while Hermione had lain a hand on hers.
Bellatrix smiled at the ring.
"I can"t believe you managed to scrounge enough money together to buy these," said Hermione. "Effectively from siphoning off lunch-money."
Bellatrix shrugged. "It"s not that dramatic. I had some free budget to spend, I sold some things here and there, put some money aside from working at Sorcerous Sundries… which is still mine, by the way, once you clear the finances."
"Will you be happy being a humble shopkeeper?" asked Hermione.
"Will you be happy having only one patient to treat?" said Bellatrix. "Open your own practice. Take on more patients. A lot more people could use your help. As long as you don"t make a trend of falling in love with your patients."
"Hah bloody hah," Hermione rolled her eyes. "And don"t change the subject. I asked you a question, remember?"
Bellatrix snorted, leaned in to kiss her on the temple and then spoke softly. "Nothing gets past you, hm?" said Bellatrix. "Will I be happy? As long as there"s challenge in it. I"m an old soldier, pet. I will never stop being an old soldier. That tenacity, that aspect of living on the edge, survival of the fittest, facing an enemy and defeating it by the skin of my teeth. That"s a monster living inside of me which needs to be fed constantly until the day I die. Perhaps I fill find it in running a business and competing with others. And if it"s not, I will keep looking. One thing I know for certain, though."
"Oh?"
"I am in far better shape than you and will continue to outrun you when it comes both to speed and endurance. Because you"re a sad urban pustule with the endurance of sloth and the speed of a garden slug."
Hermione blinked. "Bitch!" she giggled.
"Correct," Bellatrix confirmed with a smile.
Zachariah Trench sat in his office, rubbing his chin as he poured over the paperwork just delivered to him. The Oldest House had been unusually quiet as of late, which was oddly enough the same during the earlier Altered World Events happening in Bright Falls. Heavily redacted files from the earlier events lay on his desk as preliminary reports of the latest event formed the basis of a potential new one. Bright Falls had been a cause for some concern over the years.
Opposite to him sat Casper Darling, his Head of Research. Jovial and eccentric, if a little obsequinous, he had been doing a lot of the legwork from a distance.
"And our survey team?" asked Trench.
"Lost with all hands," said Darling. "They got sloppy and paid the price, I"m afraid."
"Hm," said Trench impassionately. "At least they gathered the necessary data. Cauldron Lake has gone dormant again?"
"The Threshold Event has been confirmed dormant. For now, at least. There is no way to tell," said Darling. "Though there is clear indication of reality-edits on multiple levels, spanning back for decades in both directions. Agents on the grounds have gathered all necessary intel. But it"s… notoriously difficult to keep track of reality-edits when you are actually in said edited reality, as you know."
Trench leafed through a bunch of photographs. A curly-haired older woman and a slightly taller and younger brown-haired woman. "This Bellatrix Black is of particular interest. She has a rather colourful history."
"They are witches," said Darling. "Doesn"t that muddle the waters?"
Trench gave Darling a harsh glare. "AWE"s are our jurisdiction, not MACUSA"s. The Federal Bureau of Control has all say in this matter, I assure you."
"If that"s the case, I"d love it if you"d bring her in. Or both of them," said Darling.
"Dissection or questioning?" replied Trench, only half joking.
"She"s the only ever person who sank into the depths of Cauldron Lake and managed to get out again under her own power. Do you know what that means? Do you realize what an asset such a strong-willed person could be to our Dimensional Research program?" said Darling, passionate as always and clear in his intent.
Trench leaned back for a moment. While it was true that their research had hit some serious walls as of later, bringing in an outsider, no matter how special, might also be a serious risk. Once part of the Bureau, one never left the Bureau, after all. The Board usually saw to that.
"We can always use the girl as leverage," Darling suggested.
Trench raised an eyebrow. "Because that ended so well for the Threshold Entity, Casper."
Darling made a face. "I meant recruiting her, of course! I"ve read her file. She seems like the type who"d very much enjoy working here. And if we bring one into the fold, the other will undoubtedly follow."
Trench leaned forward again. "I"ll take it under advisement, Casper," said Trench. "For now, it"s enough to mark both of them as Persons of Interest and have them watched."
Zacharias Trench took another look at the photograph of Bellatrix Black. From all the paperwork he had received, he likely knew more about her than she knew herself. All of this information would be appended to the file. For now, the AWE-35 casefile would be closed, but he would certainly be watching Bellatrix Black and Hermione Granger with great interest.