Bellatrix's Outfits:
Dean's Party -
Spending the day with Matthew -
Diana forced Bellatrix to accompany her to the Dean's party causing her to pout as she followed Diana. Bellatrix wore a white blouse with a patterned black skirt matched with a thick black belt. "Dr Bishop." A professor greeted causing Diana to walk over to him, pulling Bellatrix with her. "Good evening, Professor Marsh."
"Welcome."He greeted. "Thank you. I understand you gave an excellent talk and that you are writing it up."
"Yes, yes, I am indeed." She said nodding.
"And I look forward to reading it. We want to get you on that shortlist."
"Well, thank you."
"Now, there's someone I would like you to meet." He said guiding the pair of them. "He has a very interesting specialisation in the occult... sciences."
"Alchemy." The man said causing Diana's smile to drop, which Bellatrix noticed. "It's quite a subject. Especially for someone who says she lacks interest in magic."
"I don't just lack interest. I lack aptitude." She greeted.
"Are you sure? The book came out for you two and no one else." The man said before turning to Bellatrix. "I'm Peter Knox."
"You're a witch," Bellatrix said.
"I told you, I don't know how that happened. I told all I did was ask Bellatrix to pick up the book we need." Diana said confidently.
"But you didn't tell me a vampire's been following your friend," Peter said glancing at Bellatrix.
"How do you know that?" Bellatrix asked.
"It would be catastrophic if it falls into their hands. Can't you see the danger you're in?" Peter asked.
"We can take care of ourselves." Diana and Bellatrix said in unison.
"Laudable, but naive. The fact that vampires are now involved makes this so much more urgent."
"I'm not going to call it up for you," Diana said confidently.
"Why not?"
"Because I don't happen to like the idea of un-creating other species," Diana said.
"They would do the same to us if they could," Peter said.
"I'm like my mother, Mr Knox. If I've made up my mind I don't change it." Diana said before turning away.
"Diana. Think about what you're doing. You must be true to your blood and your heritage. Don't make me force you to recall that book. Diana. Don't walk away! You can't escape me that easily." Peter said telepathically as Diana and Bellatrix walked away.
"I can be with you wherever you are. I need the book. We need the book." Peter said talking to both girls. Bellatrix grabs her head feeling the pain more than Diana.
"Get out of my head! Leave my friend alone!" Diana said telepathically as her hands started to glow and the glass of the window he was staring out of smashed.
☯︎
Diana and Bellatrix walked towards one of the colleges and headed towards the office box. "Professor Clairmont's rooms, please," Bellatrix said causing the officer to lead her and Diana to the hallway. Bellatrix and Diana walked up the stairs, heading towards Matthew's room.
Bellatrix knocked on the door but the door didn't open causing her to walk down the stairs with a sigh where she saw Matthew standing. Matthew led Diana and Bellatrix to his room where Diana sat in the chair by his desk while Bellatrix stood to the right of her and Matthew stood facing his bookcase on the other side of the room.
"You were right... about creatures coming to look for the book." Bellatrix said.
"Peter Knox from the Congregation and there was this Scandinavian witch. I don't know...I don't know who she was." Diana added.
"Dr. Volenca, try to calm down. Your adrenaline is very high." Matthew said.
"You can smell my adrenaline?" She asked.
"Course I can," Matthew said and Bellatrix breathed deeply, calming her racing heart. "Thank you. Why did you come to me? Last time I saw you, you said you never wanted to see me again."
"We have no one else to talk to," Diana said.
"You must have friends," Matthew said.
"There's not many shapeshifters in Oxford and I don't do friends," Bellatrix said.
"None I can trust," Diana said.
Bellatrix pulled Diana up from the chair by her elbow and started walking towards the door. "It was a mistake to come here. I'm sorry I disturbed you." Bellatrix said.
"Does Knox want the book?" Matthew asked.
"He says it has the witches' first spells in it. Is that what you think it is?" Diana asked.
"Peter Knox believes that witches created everything and everyone. I'm not of that opinion. Does he know that you sent it back?" Matthew asked leaning against the desk.
"Yes. He wants me or Bells to try and get it out again." Diana answered.
"Will you?" Matthew asked.
"I don't want him to have it," Diana answered.
Matthew walked over to the bookshelf before picking up a book and handing it to Bellatrix, who opened the book. "Dear sir...Your letter of 15th October has reached me at last." She read before looking up at him. "You knew Charles Darwin?"
"Yes. I met him on several occasions particularly when he was building up to his publication of Origin. I began to wonder how his theories might relate to us creatures. I was desperate to understand our origins. You see, I'd already heard rumours, whisperings about a book...hidden from human eyes, an alchemical text." Matthew explained.
"Ashmole seven-eighty-two," Bellatrix said in realisation.
"Ashmole," Matthew said nodding slowly. "That man had an uncanny ability to find bizarre manuscripts. And I found and read every one of them. Apart from seven-eighty-two."
"You've been searching for the book since 1859," Diana said causing Matthew to hum as he nodded.
"How old are you?" Bellatrix asked.
"I'm older than I look," Matthew said.
"Three hundred years?" Bellatrix asked causing him to shake his head, chuckling slightly. "Five hundred years? Did you know Machiavelli? Survive the fall of Carthage?"
"Which fall of Carthage?" He asked with a small laugh. "I'd like to show you my laboratory. The work we've been doing recently links to creature origin. I won't harm you. You have my word." Matthew said looking at Bellatrix directly before turning to Diana briefly. "Either of you."
"Alright," Diana said nodding while Bellatrix nodded.
Matthew turned to behind him and picked up a coat. "Put this on. You're cold."
"How do you know that?" Bellatrix asked turning around.
"Adrenalin causes a rise in metabolic heat production. Your adrenalin has dropped and so has your heart rate." Matthew explained.
"You can hear my heart?" Bellatrix asked softly.
"Yes. All the time.
☯︎
"We're among hundreds of laboratories using genetics to study species origin, but in our lab humans aren't the only species we're studying," Matthew explained as the pair of women walked around the lab.
"You're studying vampire genetics?" Bellatrix asked as she recognised the genetic makeup diagram on a screen.
"Witches and demons, too," Matthew said nodding. "We take physical specimens from burial sites, mostly, and...extract DNA from the samples."
"Hey, Matthew!" A voice said causing Diana and Bellatrix to turn away from the sample and towards the woman and man standing in front of them.
"He's been helping me while you've been away." She said.
"Diana, this is my colleague and lab manager Dr Miriam Shepherd. Miriam, this is Dr. Diana Bishop."
"It's a pleasure to meet you." Diana greeted shaking Miriam's hand.
"Dr Bellatrix Volencia." Bellatrix said shaking Miriam's hand.
"I noticed in your paper one of your subjects was a Demon," Miriam said curiously.
"And I'm Dr. Marcus Whitmore. Different type of doctor." Marcus said shaking Bellatrix's hand before pulling her into him and sniffing her deeply. "Wow! AB negative, the both of you." Bellatrix sniffs her nails in claws and stretches Marcus' wrist making him let go of her and grab his wrist. "Don't suppose I could take some of your blood, could I? It's tough getting a sample from a living witch or living shapeshifter."
"No... thank you," Diana said awkwardly.
"No chance in hell." Bellatrix said.
"If your friends aren't here to give blood, what are they here for exactly?" Miriam asked.
"I wanted to show Diana and Bellatrix that the work we're doing here proves beyond all doubt...that creatures are dying out. Vampires are failing to sire. Demons are increasingly prone to madness. Shapeshifters are failing to turn or are decreasing in fertility." Matthew explained.
"And witches?" Diana asked.
"Are losing their powers," Matthew answered before motioning with his hand towards his station. "Come and see. Please, sit down. Allow me." Matthew pulled out his chair for Bellatrix while Marcus handed Diana a chair.
"Thank you," Bellatrix said as Matthew pulled up a diagram.
"Now, this graph shows the mitochondrial DNA of a witch named Benvenguda. She lived in Brittany in the 7th century and she was very, very powerful. A marvel, really...in an age that produced... many marvels. Now, compare that to the graph belonging to Beatrice Good; Benvenguda's last known direct descendant. Now, as you can see, Beatrice's DNA shows far fewer markers common amongst witches, indicating that...her ancestors, as the centuries passed relied less and less upon witchcraft to survive. Now...is this pattern of...denying power the reason why witches will eventually become...extinct?"
"You think seven-eighty-two's going to help you with your research, don't you?" Bellatrix asked as Matthew led her around the garden connected to his laboratory.
"It could explain our origins, yes," Matthew said.
"But we aren't going to go extinct tomorrow. There are still plenty of creatures in the world." Bellatrix said.
"I have a different sense of time to you," Matthew said. "When humans talk about climate change that's exactly the argument they use. 'Oh, the polar ice caps will take so many years to melt. Who cares?' I remember when the Thames iced over every winter. I used to skate on it. You're right, though. It's not going to happen immediately, tomorrow, but it's already begun. One day, there'll be just one species. Humans. At first, they won't notice the difference because they've never noticed us, but, gradually...eventually, they'll come to see that...all the magic has seeped out of the world. And they'll look around them...and everyone will be the same."
"You think whatever power Diana or I have I should use?" Bellatrix asked.
"I think, at the very least, you should try not to be frightened of it. Although, as far as I can tell there are only two emotions that keep the world turning. One is... desire. And the other is fear." Matthew said.
"Magic is desire made real. That's what my aunt says or more correctly Diana's aunt but she was always an aunt to me." Bellatrix said as they stood at the door. "The book's a palimpsest. Old words are hidden under new ones. That's what Diana explained to me. It was heavy. It smelt. It smelt odd. Three pages were cut out. The only page I saw showed a baby floating in an upside-down vessel. It was probably the alchemical child although I've never seen it represented like that before or Diana."
"Thank you," Matthew said before grabbing Bellatrix's hand and turning her wrist up before placing a kiss on her wrist, turning around and walking away.