Upside Down

Hmm....what will Draco do now? I'm afraid this chapter isn't quite up to par, but it's interesting nonetheless. It shouldn't disappoint...
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Hermione looked up at him, her eyes wide. Surely he wouldn’t? He would, of course, and he was about to.

“Up until recently, I had been too worried with my ‘pureblood reputation’ to deal with any girl that I actually liked. They were all pure of blood, but a few biscuits short of a bakery… I recently discovered a girl who was smart, kind, funny, and beautiful. All in one petit little package. I just wanted to let all of you know that Hermione and I are now an item.” He said, and tilted his head up proudly.

Hermione was shocked. She had been expecting no less that a ‘na na, I got Hermione’ speech. But he had complimented her and then announced proudly that they were together. The table was quiet. A little too quiet.

“Are you sure this is what you want, Hermione?” Molly finally piped up. Hermione remembered with a pang of guilt that Molly had held out hope that Hermione would get back together with Ron. It would be a cold day in hell before that happened….

“Yes, Molly. I’m sure.” She said. Bellatrix looked over at them.

“Good luck to both of you. You’ll need it.” She said.

~~

Hermione hadn’t been very happy with the way Draco handled announcing their relationship. But she had gotten over it after a very hot snogging session later that night. She had came twice later that night just thinking about the way his tongue explored her mouth. Let the world say what they would about Draco….but the man could kiss…

~~

Grimmauld Place had been a rather boring place to be. Bellatrix had finished her training sessions with the newest recruits, and they had moved up in rank. There wouldn’t be another shipment of newbies for a little while, and so she was out of a job.

She sat in the newly redone music room of the once stately house, and picked at the piano that sat in the room. Harry had sent the original piano away to be refinished, and it was quite a beuty when it came back. New strings, brand-new (Slightly illegal) ivory caps for the keys, and a new black varnish made the piano look brand new.

Not many knew that Bellatrix had been quite the prodigy on the piano when she was younger. Her mother had wanted her to be a proper lady of society, so she had made her take lessons for years. Bellatrix had terrorized every teacher she had, until her father finally brought in a tutor that had been given permission to take the rod to her behind when she misbehaved. Needless to say she learned a lot faster when he arrived.

She played a song she used to play when she was young, a quick, toe-tapping tune that had driven her mother crazy when she learned it. When she finished, she sighed aloud.

“Don’t stop. It was beautiful…” she jumped, and turned around to see Harry Potter himself standing in the doorway. She gave a small smile.

“I haven’t played in years…” she said.

“I never learned but I always liked the sound.” Harry said, looking slightly longingly at the gleaming instrument.

“I spent a small fortune having this piano redone. All the strings are new, the finish is fresh…it’s a right beauty.” He said, and ran his hand over the satiny finish.

“Dear Merlin, Potter. Just marry the thing and get it over with.” She teased. Harry made a face at her, and she threw back her head and laughed. Harry discovered that it wasn’t an unpleasant sound. When she wasn’t laughing like a man hyena, she had a very earthy belly laugh. He was glad, too, because he couldn’t stand women who laughed like someone squeezing a squirrel.

Harry sat in a chair nearby, and Bellatrix began to play the piano again. She could play classical, contemporary, and a little in between. Harry found this whole situation to be quite odd. He was sitting in the music room at Grimmauld place listening to Bellatrix Lestrange play the piano. It had been a long time, though, since he had heard someone play so well. She could have had a career as a pianist. When she finished her song, she pushed away from the piano. Harry looked up.

“I’m going to go bother Narcissa and Lucius…that is…if they’re not shagging like bunnies…” she said. Harry snorted.

“Have you not heard?” he asked. She glanced back.

“Heard what?” she asked.

“Well…you know how Narcissa hasn’t been feeling well?” when she nodded, he continued. “Well, they finally called in one of the Order’s Healers to check her out. Turns out she’s pregnant. Just found out today…” he said.

Bellatrix stood there for a moment, shocked.

Bloody fucking Merlin….Narcissa was pregnant. That wasn’t fair. Here that little blonde bimbo was starting on her second child, and Bellatrix couldn’t even get pregnant with her first! Fuck! And it didn’t help that her husband was off doing Hecate knew what! Gods damn it!

Harry saw several emotions flitting across her face. He knew she was on the good side now, but he also knew that she was emotionally unstable. She had been known to laugh with a recruit one moment, and put them flat on their back the next. And being in the room with an emotionally unstable Bellatrix Lestrange could be bad for one’s health.

“Um…B-Bella?” he asked. Her eyes flashed, and she stomped angrily from the room. Harry sighed with relief. “Dear Merlin…I pity the fool that crosses her path in this tizzy…” he said softly.

Bellatrix stomped to her room, where she promptly slammed her door, locked it, and threw herself on her bed for a good cry. Life wasn’t fair…

She didn’t leave her room even when they called her for supper. It was well into the night before hunger drove her out of the room. She walked through the silent house, sniffling slightly when she passed Lucius and Narcissa’s room. She went down to the kitchen, and raided the ice box. She searched the cabinets, and thanked a few gods silently when she found a bottle of firewhiskey. She sat down with her food and the bottle, not even bothering to get a glass.

~~

Remus’ stomach grumbled loudly. He sighed, and rolled off of his bed. Being a werewolf near the full moon was no fun. He was irritable, and always hungry. He slipped on a shirt, and padded downstairs barefooted. His keen nose wrinkled when he smelled alcohol. Sirius was probably down there drinking again. He had random binges once in a while, and Remus usually ended up carrying him back to his room.

He was surprised, however, when he discovered a sobbing and hiccupping Bellatrix Lestrange bent over the bottle, clutching it as if it were a lifeline.

“What’s this, now?” he asked. She looked up, her eyes red and puffy.

“What do you want, Fuzzy?” she asked bitterly.

“I’m hungry.” He said, and went to the icebox. He opened the door, and frowned. “There was a lot more food in here before I went to bed.” He said softly.

“I got hungry, too.” She said. “And if ya got a problem wif it…then fu*hiccup* you.” She said. Remus shook his head.

“I got no problem with it. I’ll just have to make something.” He said, and pulled a few slices of bread from the breadbox.

Bellatrix suddenly broke into a fresh batch of sobs. Remus paused in front of his sandwich, and looked over at her.

“Um…are…are you alright?” he asked. She looked up from the bottle.

“Everything good happens to them! Both of them have had their children, and I can’t even get pregnant. I want a family, too…” she sobbed, and buried her face in her hands. Remus suddenly felt very uncomfortable.

“Um…I’m very sorry…” he said.

“You wouldn’t understand…” she said, and tilted the bottle back. Remus looked at her for a few moments, before snorting.

“You’d be surprised.” He whispered, and slapped the top piece of bread onto his sandwich.

As he started to take a bite of his sandwich, the Floo bell rang violently. Remus’ ears twitched. “Uh oh. Something’s wrong.” He said. He threw down his sandwich, and padded to the family room. The floo flared up green, and several Order members came through. The last two were supporting someone between them. Bellatrix stood at the door, watching and sipping from her bottle.

Remus watched as the two settled the man on the sofa. He was unconscious, and his face so bloody and bruised he was unrecognizable. One of the Order members approached Remus, panting from some overexertion.

“Officer Lupin. Group Alpha 3 on patrol of the Death Eater camp was discovered. We were attacked during the night. But…it was the strangest thing…a group of Death Eaters, all hooded, rose up out of the woods. We thought they were going to join the others, but they turned and fought with us! This was the leader. The others were killed in the fight, along with several of Group Alpha 3. We don’t know who this Death Eater is. We…thought it would be a good idea to bring him here. Maybe one of the….er….resident Death Eaters could identify him.” He said. Remus paused for a moment. There had been an attack. Order Members were dead. There was a Rebellion group in the Death Eaters. The leader was here…

Bellatrix put her bottle down, and walked over to the sofa.

“Who do we have here? Who would be stupid enough to lead a Rebellion against his Brothers?” she asked. She studied the bloody face. Even she couldn’t make out his features underneath the bruising. He had a short beard with a neatly trimmed mustache. His lower lip was busted and swollen, and blood dripped from the side of his mouth. It must have been some fight…

She dropped to her knees beside the injured man, and began looking him over, puling up his sleeves and such to try and find a distinguishing mark.

“What’s she doing?” one of the Order members asked Remus.

“Trying to identify him if you’ll shut your pie-hole.” Bellatrix snapped. She tilted the man’s head to the side, and moved his shaggy brown hair aside. She jumped back as if burned, crab-walking backwards to get away from him. Remus looked at her in alarm.

“Who is it, Bellatrix? Who is this man?” the Order member asked. Remus leaned down, and moved the man’s hair aside to try and see what Bellatrix had seen. There was a small crescent-shaped scar right beneath his ear, and a silver hoop in the lobe of his ear.

Remus stood straight, and looked over at Bellatrix, who had backed against the wall and wrapped her arms around her knees.

“Bellatrix….who is this? You have to tell us who he is…” he said softly.

She looked up, her black eyes wide.

“It’s my husband. That’s Rodolphus.”
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Ooh hoo hoo! What an interesting twist! Do tell me if you think it's a good one, or if it sucks butt. I would appreciate the feedback....and so would the plot bunnies...

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