Twisted Souls (A Bellamort Story)

Chapter 11: Bellatrix

Bellatrix wasn't sure what to think in the next few days. Her boyfriend was Slytherin's heir! Tom didn't allow her to tell this to anyone, and understandably so. She had no objection with the discovery, instead a prideful feeling of awe. It was eating at her to brag about it to someone, though.

What was even better, Rodolphus had ceased trying to best Tom, or trying to win Bellatrix over. In fact, he had become a mere shadow of what his confidence once was. His eyes would widen every time Tom entered a room before hastily shoving himself out of sight, stumbling as he did. He didn't make eye contact with Bellatrix, especially not when Tom was around. His friends had begun to tease him for it, which greatly amused Bellatrix. It was one of those months where things couldn't go wrong.

Until it did.

Bellatrix stared in stunned silence, her eyes fixed on the grotesque figure that cowered before her. It was as if her worst nightmares had shaped into the physical form of the abomination that now stood amidst the dark woods or the Forbidden Forest. Her stomach churned with revulsion, bile rising in her throat at the sight before her. The creature's eight bony legs crawled into view, along with eight rapidly rotating eyes which gleamed with a sickly sheen. But what was most terrifying was the curved outline of its pincers, which clicked with a sound that made sweat bead Bellatrix's forehead.

A paralysing fear gripped her; every instinct screamed at her to flee, to escape the terrible creature that stood before her, but she found herself rooted to the spot, unable to tear her gaze away monstrosity.

The monster slowly crept forward toward Bellatrix, its gaze cold and calculating. Movement seemed to return to her as she drew her wand and pointed it at the thing, her heart pummelling her ribcage. The creature seemed to narrow its eyes, as if taken a back. It seemed to tense, sensing danger.

"Stupefy!" Bellatrix hissed, and a bright shot of white zoomed out of her wand. The spider vanished in a blitz of light, and didn't appear again. She exhaled. the cold darkness drew out for a moment or two. She called out, her wand still aloft in her hand.

"Professor Hornette? No response. She tried, tentatively. "Tom?" Still, no response. Bellatrix breath quickened. When she had gotten detention, she had expected nothing more than lines, but she guessed certain teachers enjoyed other forms of discipline. At least is wasn't like what her father did.

Well, if that spider's still there, it won't stay different for very long.

Cautiously, she stepped through the underbrush, mind racing. She held her wand out like a guard, jumping at the slightest sounds. Eventually, she found herself in a small clearing, thick canopy dancing with the eerie breeze.

"Tom!" she cried out again. Her heart began to hammer again. Would she find any of them? How far deep was she in the forest? Where was Tom!?

"Tom!" she yelled. Instead, a faint skittering answered her. Bellatrix's breathe caught and she whirled around, determined to find the source. But she couldn't pinpoint it.

"Lumos!" she whispered. The light splashed across trees and gaps, revealing a creature with eight hairy legs that matched eight shiny eyes. She let out a panicked screamed.

"Stupefy! Stupefy! Stupefy!" But the spider seemed to sense her attacks, and dodged around them, advancing quickly on Bellatrix. She began to feel tiny legs scramble onto her; the spiders' swollen abdomen brushing against her bare skin. Sudden pain shot up her shoulder as it must have punctured her skin. Spots began to form in her sight, growing larger and larger. Her brain went foggy and numbness coursed through her. Through her rapidly decreasing vision, she saw a lone figure of a human appear, pause, then yell,

"Arania Exumai!" The spider fell away at once. Even so, Bellatrix found it increasingly hard to keep her eyes open. A firm grip closed around her arms; just as the numbness took full control, she heard a thick voice cry out.

"Bella!"