126The Beginning:
Frost covered the windows at Grimmauld 12; snow lightly covered the dismal yard. It was cold today; I could see my breath like an unwonted friend. I was all alone. Well not truly alone; everyone was off doing their normal day-to-day activities. Ron and Harry were in the living room playing chess. For some reason I found Wizard Chess to be so barbaric. I couldn't stand to watch them play.I instantly left the room like a bat from hell when Ron mentioned playing that insufferable game. Ginny was with Fred and George at their shop; she had a job there for the summer. A part of me wanted to floo over there, but that could be dangerous. There was a chance that floo could be intercepted and the troubles that would cause was too much for me to take.
I hated this...fearing what will happen to me each day. Damn purebloods and their damn egotistical ways. It was tearing everyone's lives apart. Even pure-blooded families were being hit by the acts of the Death Eaters. Draco had disappeared, supposedly beVoldemort's doing, no one knew; his failure in killing Dumbledore had resulted in his disappearance. Out of grief, Narcissa Malfoy killed herself. Death by poison...or so the elders say. I rarely read the Daily Prophet anymore after the lies they publicized about Harry and me during our fourth year. I now had to rely on second hand information from the members of the Order. Sometimes it wasn't even worth asking them.
As I walked aimlessly through the hallways, I could swear that somebody was playing music. There was something about it that felt so...familiar. I quickened my step as the sight of a door jared open. Perhaps someone was listening to a recording of classical music. I would do the right thing and tell them to close the door next time. I opened the door slowly and looked around.
I was in the tapestry room. I could barely remember Harry talking about the House of Black tapestry. He had been amazed with the winding pictures. All those faces...the tapestry had to be centuries old. I obliviously whirled around to take in everything. It was the first time I had ever laid eyes on this room. The scorch marks on the wall were dark; looked like they were done yesterday. I looked at one of the marks and sighed. Sirius. Tears brimmed my eyes as the memory of his death ran through my mind. He should have never died. Harry had been devastated...I could still remember how he looked during the weeks that followed. So empty and lifeless; I had become his rock almost instantly. Late at night, when everyone else was asleep, Harry would tell me the things that plagued his dreams. It helped him more than he realized. The coloring returned to his face; he looked alive instead of a figure of Death. Everything he held in came out and into me. I wiped my eyes quickly leaving no trace of the tears. There would be a time for crying, and right now wasn' it.
My fingers started to trace the lines almost like a small child would. Some of the names were familiar; I could remember Professor Binns's lecture on some of the Black ancestors. I stopped at one particular name and cringed.
Bellatrix Lestrange
That blasted woman...so many deaths in the name of her beloved Lord. How can somebody be so evil? Those mad eyes and wild, unruly hair; she could have been a beautiful woman. A random idea popped into my head. Maybe something led her to that dark life. Did something traumatic happen to her? I quickly pulled out my wand and placed it on the painting; I closed my eyes to concentrate.
"el mayor dolor" I whispered trying a new spell I had read up on in the Black library. The spell was "grey"...neither dark or light magic; most people have forgotten about it. It was suppose to reflect that person's greatest pain in life. Doubt ran through my body as nothing happened. I must have performed the spell wrong; something I rarely did. As I started to pull my wand away, a tremendous force jerked me back the spot. Bright light emerged through the painting causing me to flinch. Damn my curiosity! I watched as a new painting appeared underneath Bellatrix's. It was female, I could blandly see the feminine shape of the face. The hair was similar as well, but the curls were more defined than her mother's. Her amber eyes grew as the face took its appearance. The girl was beautiful...I could instantly name people that would kill for this girl's looks. Those green eyes were almond-shaped. Yet it was strange, a pinprick of red could be seen in the emerald green irises. The girl in question was gifted with pale skin and a fair complexion. I quickly looked down at the name and bit my lip.
Alecia Antoinette Riddle
That name...it seemed familiar. The coppery taste of blood tainted my mouth as I stopped biting my lip. Everything beganto tilt as if I was on an aixs. A sharp pain began to take form in my skull; spreading the back to the middle of my eyes. I leaned up against the wall of ancients as the pain began to escalate. "HARRY!" I screamed clutching my head tightly. I could feel my nails making groves in my skull. So much pain...my vision began to blur from the continuous torture. I felt like I was dying...my body began to convulse. The last thing I saw was the emerald green eyes that I had grown so fond of over the years.
Where was I? I looked around; twirling in place like a five-year old girl. It was dark...too dark to see anything vastly important. I pushed back a strand of my curly brown hair and sighed. What was happening to me? I could remember passing out...those green eyes hovering over me. Harry must have heard me cry out for him. He always saved me; even when I didn't want him to. A faint cry brought me back to my issue. I wasn't alone. I didn't know where I was and somebody was coming. I could hear faint footsteps even from where I was stanidng.
"We have to inform him immediately." a familiar voice insisted. "The Dark Lord must be here for the birth of his daughter." A faint glow appeared at the end of the hallway; giving me more light to see. Bloody hell, I was standing in a hallway. I looked around looking for some place to hide, but found none. I was going to get caught...I looked to find Lucius Malfoy and Professor Snape walking down the hall; Lucius's wand was the source of light in the dark hallway. Something strange was definitely going on; they looked so much younger. Their manly features had been replaced with boyish looks. They at least had to be in their late twenties-early thirties. I braced myself for the immediate capture, yet watched as their images passed through me. BLOODY HELL, WHAT WAS GOING ON?
"He has already been informed, Severus." Lucius drawled. Best thing to do was follow them; maybe the spell was working out. I followed them as they bounded down the dark hallways. I could only guess that they were at Malfoy Manor. It looked nothing like Grimmauld 12. More embellishment in the details; it was too far extravegent to be the Black household. "We can't make her stop. Bella is giving birth, for Merlin's sake." The image of the girl flashed through my eyes like wildfire. I was witnessing Alecia Riddle's birth! I ran after them as they raced down the labyrinth of hallways. I couldn't miss this! A pair of teak doors appeared to their left; a scream pierced the air like a hot brand. Lucius opened the door giving us entry.
"Lucius...Severus, you shouldn't be in here." a beautiful woman hissed. The woman had to be Narcissa Malfoy. Her long, platinum blond hair was held up in a messy bun; a few tendrils stuck to her face from sweat. She was dressed in black robes that were embroidered with silver thread. The woman looked like she should be at a fashion show instead of a birthing room. I rolled my eyes at the thought. This was so...I felt dizzy just trying to grasp this. That damn spell, I MUST be reliving Belatrix's greatest pain. How can having a child be your greatest pain? The room was light; no dark objects decorated the walls. There was a Healer of course. To say I was surprised would be an understatement.
"GET THEM OUT OF HERE!" a familiar voice screamed. I watched as Narcissa turned and smiled at the woman giving birth. Oh my god...Bellatrix looked positively human. Her features were softer, more toned than the sunken shape she had from her years in Azkaban. Her black hair was wild and her eyes still held the intensity I knew, but it didn't scare me. "I WILL KILL THEM!"
"Bella, push!" Narcissa cooed shooting a glare at her husband. The Healer didn't speak, but I could see that the woman was scared. Who wouldn't be? "Get out, Lucius. It's not proper." Lucius smirked at his wife and lead Severus to the side of the room where they could lean up against the wall. Narcissa looked at them with annoyance before returning her attention to Bella. "Come on, Bella. Just one more push." I continued to watch as she gave birth to a baby girl. The soft cries echoed through the air with a frailty that seemed sweet to her.
"My baby girl...so beautiful." Bellatrix muttered looking at the baby. This picture would always stay in my mind.
A wave of dizziness overcome me instantly; I fell to my knees as my surroundings changed from the room to what-appeared-to-be a nursery. I was really starting to hate this spell. I slowly picked myself up and sighed. This was too much to handle right now. I looked around slowly. This place was so beautiful; alot of thought was placed in the decorations. As I mulled over the decorations a loud bang echoed through the air. A soft whimper reached my ears. I had totally forgotten about the baby. I watched as the door swung open, revealing Bellatrix. She was dressed in a blood red gown. You could hardly tell that she had a baby. Her hair was down, reaching the middle of her back.I She glided over to the crib; wand in hand.
"Alecia," she murmured picking the baby up. Bellatrix raised her wand up; ready to apparate.
"Expelliarmus," a too familiar voice stated. Bellatrix watched her wand fly out of her hand. I turned to the door and shrieked. Standing in the doorway was Albus Dumbledore. A carbon-copy of the man I grew to appreciate.
"I won't let you take my baby!" Bellatrix screamed. A sigh escaped Albus's lips making me tremble.
"You have no choice, Bella." Headmaster stated. "Imperio." I watched as Bellatrix began to walk towards Dumbledore. I could see the fighting within. Her eyes were twitching almost like she was in REM sleep. The baby finally was in his arms; cooing as Dumbledore wrapped a oink blanket around her. A sob escaped my lips at the sight of this. It wasn't right to take sombody's baby. It was kidnapping; even in the wizarding world, the act of kidnapping was unmentionable. Childern were precious to wizarding families. Bounds appeared around the womans's hands and wrists almost instantly.
"GIVE ME BACK MY BABY!" Bellatrix screamed making the Headmaster turn back around. I could swear I saw a twinge of guilt in his periwinkle blue eyes.
"This is for the greater good," He muttered. The greater good? Bellatrix's widen with anger and tears as she watched the man apparated with her baby. I could feel my body being shaken awake, but part of me wanted to stay here. I pitied her; a right that she shouldn't have with as much hell as she put me through. This wasn't right. How could someone do that?
Hermione...
"HERMIONE!" a familiar voice stated making me open my eyes. Emerald eyes hovered over me; Merlin, why was he so close? I pushed Harry away from me as I pulled myself up. I was in my room; I could see Crookshanks on the desk, purring like he was a kitten again. I blinked my eyes as a brief flash of pain ran its course through my skull. That spell...it let me see all those events. I looked at Harry who was watching me; his eyes reflected the worry I knew I should be feeling.
"Harry... Ron..." I murmured running my fingers through my hair. Harry nodded; his facial expression twisted into an unknown frown.
"Bloody hell, Hermione. You scared me! I almost called the Order members... I thought you were dying." he stammered making me realise why he was so worried. He didn't want to lose another friend. Cedric, Sirius...it took alot out of him when they dead. If that ever happened to me; I don't know how Harry would be able to cope.
"What happened to you?" Ron asked sitting on the oppostie side of the bed. I looked at his blue eyes and held back a sob as I remembered those perwinkle blue eyes in my dream.
"I'm fine. It was just an accident." I whispered sitting Indian-style on the bed. "Spell gone wrong." The bed dipped in slightly as Crookshanks sat between my legs. I rubbed him softly and looked back at Harry. "Thank you for not telling anyone." Harry sighed. He couldn't deny her. He always felt the need to protect her; she was the sister he never had.
"Don't ever do that again. I don't care how profficent you are in spells." Harry hissed. "You're not to go in the room either. THere is something about it...you shouldn't be alone in that room." I glared at Harry. How dare he boss me around like that? Before I could say anything a loud bang echoed through the room.
"Oi, Harry? Roniikins, where are you?" the twins's voices rang making me smile. Sweet revenge...oh how sweet it can be. A frightened expression appeared on Ron's face makign me giggle.
"Bloody hell, they are going to kill me." he sputtered running out the bedroom. I laughed as a rampage if footsteps echoed through the hall, with an immediate crash following. I looked at Harry whow as shaking his head.
"I better go save him." Harry muttered looking at me with a smile on his face. "Take better care fo yourself, ok?" I nodded in agreement and watched as he left the room. I would take better care of myself, but I had to know more about that girl. Almost like an addiction, I had to figure out what happened to her. Another Riddle for me to solve in this dark house.