The Fall of Hermione

The Fall of Hermione

Chapter Eight

Firewhisky For Two?

For a brief moment, Hermione felt as if she had gone mad. Bellatrix Lestrange was dead; Hermione had seen to that personally, and yet Bellatrix was speaking to Hermione, apparently from within her own mind. Possession, while possible, could only be done temporarily and between two living beings, and therefore could not apply to the current situation. That made for only one possible explanation for the events of the past few minutes: Hermione was succumbing to complete and total insanity. Could schizophrenia be brought about by stress? Evidently, it could.

You think like a Muggle, Mudblood, Bellatrix laughed, the sound seeming to echo in Hermione\'s mind.

\"You\'re dead; I killed you myself. What other reason could there be?\" Hermione argued aloud. Yes, I have definitely gone mad; I\'m talking to the voice in my head.

Perhaps magic? Bellatrix sneered. And there\'s no need to speak; I can hear your thoughts.

Oh wonderful, Hermione thought wryly. I can\'t even be alone with my thoughts anymore!

Nor can I, Bellatrix chuckled.

\"I fail to see what is so humorous about this situation,\" Hermione snapped before realizing that she was talking aloud once more and continuing her statement in thought. If I have truly lost my mind, then you are nothing more than another facet of my personality that I cannot bring myself to express as me. If I have not gone mad, and you are indeed Bellatrix Lestrange, then we have both found ourselves stuck in a companionship that neither one of us would willingly enter into. Either way, I see no cause for laughter.

Oh, but I do, Bellatrix replied, the amusement clearly evident in her voice. You see, when I first came to be in your mind…

And how exactly did you get in there, anyway? Hermione interrupted.

You mean the little know-it-all doesn\'t know it all? Bellatrix cackled. My, my, were you not paying attention to Dark Arts of the Soul?

I never got to finish it, Hermione admitted. I had just read about casting the Memory Extraction Spell when Grimmauld Place was attacked. But what does that have to do with it? I killed you! I watched your soul be taken! You simply cannot be here, and therefore I have gone mad!

Think what you will, Mudblood. Bellatrix sighed. I\'m not arguing with you anymore. Taking control of my body earlier was quite taxing, and I need some rest.

Fine, Hermione said, taking a seat in one of the chairs and crossing her arms before her. Gods know I don\'t need this right now.

Bellatrix did not reply, but Hermione detected a faint yawn in her mind before everything was quiet and she could finally think. This had to be brought on by stress. Hermione knew that she had not been crazy before the end of the war. She only hoped that this was temporary insanity and that when she had escaped with Ginny, Bellatrix would go away. At least this was only the first time Bellatrix had spoken to her; it made it much easier to dismiss the threat of permanent madness. After all, so much had happened to Hermione that day that it was no wonder her mind was protesting.

A smile had begun to form on Hermione\'s face, her lips barely curved, when she recalled the thought that had gone through her mind at the Inner Circle meeting.

Yes, fucking Severus is rather delicious, isn\'t it?

That was me as well, Mudblood. Bellatrix\' voice startled Hermione from her thoughts, causing her to jump.

\"I thought you were resting!\" Hermione exclaimed, forgetting momentarily that it was unnecessary to speak aloud.

That\'s impossible when you won\'t stop thinking, Bellatrix said, and Hermione could hear the smile in her voice. And I thought that you didn\'t believe I was here.

I don\'t, Hermione snapped, angered by her thoughts being interrupted. And just what do you have to be so happy about?

Had you allowed me to finish what I was saying earlier, you would know.

And I suppose you\'re not going to tell me now? Hermione\'s question was bitter, and she folded her arms across her chest.

It\'s rather disturbing to find that a Mudblood knows me so well, Bellatrix laughed. I suppose I should get used to it. After all, who knows when we shall be free of one another?

\"As soon as I get to a bloody psychiatrist,\" Hermione yelled. \"They make pills that get rid of voices in your head!\"

Sorry to disappoint you, Mudblood, but unless they make one to exorcise souls, it won\'t do you any good, Bellatrix laughed.

Well, you\'ll have to forgive me if I don\'t believe you, Hermione replied testily. I\'m not so far gone that I don\'t know it\'s not wise to listen to voices only you can hear. Now, if you don\'t mind, go away! I have bigger things to worry about than my obvious insanity!

Oh, are you still thinking to save your little red-headed friend? Bellatrix asked. You really don\'t think she\'s being kept at my dear brother-in-law\'s, do you? Your reputation as a know-it-all is certainly not apt. But, then again, I don\'t suppose a Mudblood would know.

What are you on about? Hermione barked. Either come to the point or let me be!

The point, my oh so impatient Gryffindor body snatcher, Bellatrix hissed, is this: no pureblood wizard would ever keep his lover in his house, unless he was married to her. Rabastan is keeping her elsewhere.

You\'re lying.

That\'s an interesting accusation, Bellatrix laughed, coming from someone who doesn\'t even believe that I\'m here. However, I can understand why you won\'t take my word for it. So, go on and dig through my memories like you have been since you stole them.

Fine, Hermione spat. It did not take long to find what she was looking for, and tears began to flow down her face as she realized that Bellatrix was right. The Fates seemed determined to thwart each and every one of Hermione\'s plans.

Oh, I made the little Mudblood cry, Bellatrix jeered.

\"Sod off!\" Hermione screamed aloud, jumping from her seat.

Off to cry alone? Bellatrix laughed. You can\'t, remember? I\'m still here.

\"Hardly,\" Hermione replied in a bored tone as she walked to the door, wiping the tears from her face. \"I\'m going to shut you up. If I must be mad, then I will be so in silence.\"

******

Hermione awoke the next morning with the feeling that her head had split in two. Groggily, and with a loud moan, she rolled onto her back, grabbing a pillow and laying it upon her face to block out the sunlight that filtered in through the gaps in the drapes. What had she done last night?

\"Well, obviously you got pissed, Hermione,\" she answered herself aloud, wincing as the sound of her muffled voice caused her temples to give a particularly nasty throb. Once she was sure her head would not explode, she cast her mind over the few and scattered memories of the night before.

She remembered quite clearly storming from the parlor and upstairs to her room, where she Summoned a house-elf and requested a bottle of Firewhisky. When the bottle was firmly in hand, she had locked the door and proceeded to get thoroughly smashed. Vague images of staggering across her room and muttering curses under her breath followed, with the final image being of herself looking at her reflection in the full length mirror beside the window. Her face had been contorted with rage, and she had drawn her wand, screaming at her visage. A jet of red light had shot forward, ricocheted off the mirror, and hit her in the chest. Hermione could recall nothing after that.

\"Oh, of all the idiotic things!\" she muttered, her annoyance at herself for trying to Stupefy her reflection overriding the pounding in her head that seemed to double when she spoke. Deciding that a hot bath and a Hangover Be-Gone Potion were just the ticket, she pulled the pillow from her face and slowly sat up, pausing halfway.

How did I get in bed? Hermione thought, glancing at the mirror. Surely I didn\'t get up and walk after that profound display of stupidity?

Concluding that a house-elf must be responsible, Hermione turned her attention back to climbing out of bed, noticing a small vial upon the night table as she moved. Slowly, and with much wincing, she managed to sit up and tried to focus her blurry vision on the small glass vial. It only took a moment before she recognized the contents within, Hangover Be-Gone Potion.

\"Gods bless the house-elves,\" she sighed, picking up the vial and opening it. She swallowed the potion quickly, the foul tasting concoction burning its way down her throat, and waited for it to take effect. Once the throbbing in her head had subsided to a small ache, she stood and made her way to the bathroom. A few minutes later, she was chin deep in the warm water and lavender scented bubbles that filled the swimming pool sized tub.

Time to see if I am truly mad, Hermione thought. Bellatrix?

There was no response; all remained quiet. Not being content with that, she delved into her mind, searching for any trace of Bellatrix. There were memories, both Hermione and Bellatrix\'s, but no trace of a separate entity. Hermione was not entirely sure she was comforted by this, after all, weren\'t people with multiple personalities unaware of their other selves?

Well, if that\'s true, then that can\'t be the case with me, can it? Hermione laughed at the thought. I had an entire conversation with Bellatrix! She\'s dead; therefore she cannot be inside my mind. I simply had a very stressful day yesterday and had a bit of a breakdown. I\'m fine now. Fine.

Feeling somewhat better, Hermione began to formulate a plan. There was nothing she could do for Ginny now. Hermione would have to wait until Ginny gave birth to her child before they could escape, which meant that not only would Hermione have to continue her charade for at least nine months, but she would also have to marry and have a child of her own. All in all, she was looking at almost a year before she could leave, a year of being a Death Eater. Could she do it?

Immediate problems first, Hermione, she admonished herself. Marriage and a child as soon as possible, she would like to give birth shortly after Ginny, ensuring that the wait for their escape would not be postponed any longer than necessary.

\"Keep your friends close and your enemies closer,\" Hermione muttered. The solution was simple: marry Snape. By doing this, she would keep him from becoming suspicious of her, fulfill the Dark Lord\'s request, and find a cure for the Imperius Potion. But can I sleep with him for a year?

Yes, I can, she answered in thought. I will do what I must. Now, onto the next problem: Rabastan.

He, indeed, seemed to present the most danger in her present situation, and Hermione could not afford to give him more reasons to doubt her. She would stay clear of him unless Lord Voldemort bade her to be in Rabastan\'s company. Speaking of which, she had meetings to hold tomorrow.

\"Time to play the head Death Eater,\" Hermione sighed, standing and stepping out of the tub. She would need to be thorough, give no one the opportunity to question her loyalty or motives. She would do as the Dark Lord said, and she would do it to perfection. There would be no attempts to sabotage his plans. She would use this time to gather information, learn everything she could so that when she escaped, she would be able to help in the fight against Lord Voldemort.

With that in mind, she wrapped herself in the emerald green bathrobe hanging on the back of the door, and made her way down to the library and her desk. She summoned a house-elf, ordered toast and coffee, and began to write out notes to her fellow members of the Inner Circle, informing them of when they were to meet with her the following day.


******

Author\'s Note-Sorry this took so long, but you would not believe how hard this chapter was to write! The first draft had entire too many revelations in it, and I ended up only being able to salvage three lines from it. I was so frustrated that I had to take a break and write somehting else before completeing it. And, of course, I had to stop long enough to read HBP before I finished it. But finally, chapter eight, in all of its now AU glory, is up!