CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Harmony cracked her eyelids open a sliver. She was now alone in the Dark Lord's bed, tucked snugly under the blankets which spread heavy and warm over her weary body. A bright light entered from somewhere and she sighed and curled her toes in contentment. She rolled onto her side, ready to go back to sleep, but became suddenly aware of another presence in the room.
The sound of labored breathing met her ears somewhere beyond the foot of the bed. She slowly turned onto her back, peering up and over the blankets. The bedroom door was wide open, which let in the afternoon sunlight.
Long-fingered claws gripped one edge of the door, and Harmony's eyes fell on a wide-eyed Bellatrix Lestrange.
The look on the woman's face made Harmony shiver violently. Bellatrix wasn't just angry; her eyes didn't have that glare they usually held when turned on her. She was livid. Only death flared in her smoldering eyes. The only thing keeping Bellatrix from lunging at Harmony was her grip on the door. Then she let go.
Deep indents appeared where her long fingernails had pierced the wood. With a snarl, she flung herself at Harmony and grabbed her around the throat. She lugged her out of Master's bed and flung her down onto the cold floor.
Harmony tried desperately to loosen the woman's death grip around her neck. She tried to gasp, but it was impossible to fill her burning lungs with air.
Their faces were nose-to-nose when Bellatrix managed to spit out a few words. "You!" she screeched, "Y—you whore!"
She gripped Harmony so hard the young witch thought her head might sever completely from her shoulders. She shook her violently and stars flashed in Harmony's vision. When her Serpentine charm reacted on her right arm, Harmony realized this crazy witch really did want her dead.
"He belongs to me! He used to teach me the spells he knew. I bet you didn't know that, did you? I was the one who always fought by his side! He loved me!"
Harmony made a deep noise in the back of her throat as she tried to speak. She had suddenly remembered something her friend Harry Potter had once said, and with a surge from her abdomen she repeated it now. "Voldemort. Can't. Love."
Shock ignited in Bellatrix's enraged eyes. With her teeth clenched, she brought a clawed hand up and slashed it down on Harmony's face.
Stars burst behind her eyes. Even though her scarf still covered her lower face, her exposed eyelids and upper cheeks seared painfully where the centimeter long nails had broken the skin. Since one of Bellatrix's hands had released her throat, Harmony was able to breathe in enough air to shriek with pain.
"How dare you speak his name!?" Bellatrix screeched. "I don't care if you do have the Serpentine charm. I don't even care if he kills me, but if I can't have him, no one can."
Harmony felt the tip of a wand stab her between the eyes.
"As much as I would love to watch you two lovely ladies fight to the death...," said a familiar voice in the doorway.
Bellatrix spun around on her knees and Harmony peeked over the witch's shoulder at Barty Crouch Jr.
He grinned down at them as he continued, "We're on a bit of a tight schedule, so if you don't mind. Could you save it for later, perhaps? I'd love to watch."
Harmony couldn't remember ever being so happy to see him. She stared up at him with pleading eyes.
"You're interrupting, Barty," Bellatrix snarled as she turned back to Harmony.
"Oh, important business, I'm sure, but I've got orders from the Dark Lord himself to bring you two downstairs. Everyone has been waiting on you to retrieve Harmony. We're all ready to go now."
"She wasn't in her room," Bellatrix explained, prodding Harmony's face with her wand. "I wasn't sure where else to look, but when I saw the Dark Lord's bedroom door cracked open, I found her here—in his bed!"
"Yeah, yeah, we all know you want the Dark Lord for yourself. But couldn't you at least wait until after the mission to murder his favorite?"
Bellatrix's eyes brightened at his words.
Harmony was relieved to see her eyes had returned to their usual, less murderous glare.
"Right. We'll make a deal," the witch said as she jabbed Harmony's nose with her wand. "If you're not dead by the end of today's mission, then we have another date. Deal?"
Bellatrix stood up off her and left before Harmony could comply, passing Barty with a sneer.
Harmony struggled to sit up. With a grunt, she grasped onto the bedpost to help her up to her feet. Her head spun from lack of oxygen and she took a couple of deep breaths. When she heard a laugh from the doorway, she glared over at Barty.
"I think I just saved your life," he said with a look of astonishment on his face.
She glowered. "Don't even think about it."
"What?" he asked with a sly grin.
"I don't owe you anything." She continued to cling to a bedpost until her head cleared. When she felt better, she walked shakily out the door.
"Wait," said Barty as he grabbed her arm to stop her.
Harmony violently yanked herself free.
He didn't back away, but pointed at her face. "You're bleeding."
Her hands shot up to the wound on her face. When she brought them away they were covered in blood.
"I think I'm going to puke—hey, stop touching it! You'll make it worse. Now, I can stop the bleeding, but it'll scar. Not to worry, though," he added with a wide grin, "some men find scars attractive."
There was a twinge of worry as Barty pulled out his wand and pointed it at her face, but when a pink light emanated from the tip, the pain ebbed away.
"There. What did I tell you? You're more attractive than ever. But there's still some blood. Here." He licked his thumb and brought it toward her face, but Harmony swatted his hand away in disgust.
She used the edge of her glove to wipe away the blood as she followed Barty down the stairs. When it was mostly clean, she fingered the new scar under her left eye along the ridge of her cheekbone. She wondered how noticeable it was likely to be.
"Bellatrix mentioned a mission," Harmony stated. "Master didn't say anything to me about any mission."
"What? You mean you don't know?" asked Barty with a raised brow. "Oh, that's right. I've forgotten that you were sleeping in his bed all day, you lazy git."
Harmony restrained herself from slapping him upside the head. She knew that was just the reaction he was hoping for.
Barty glanced back only to see her looking forward as if he hadn't said a thing. "The mission is just a little pick-up delivery in Knockturn Alley," he told her as they turned a corner and saw the group of Death Eaters ahead.
"What are we picking up?"
"A very important item," he replied. "The Ministry won't be pleased about this, mark my words."
Harmony poked him in the back with her finger. "What is the pick-up, Bartimus?"
A sudden thought occurred to her, and it sent her curiosity reeling. Whatever they were about to pick up, it sounded to Harmony like some kind of a weapon against the Ministry. She didn't have to be a dark witch to know that everything that came out of Knockturn Alley was dangerous. If she could learn exactly what they were obtaining, she might be able to warn the Ministry in time before Voldemort got his hands on it. Whatever he had planned, she could stop it.
They were coming up on the group, so Barty lowered his voice as he said, "What I'm wondering is why our Lord hadn't told you about the mission. It's quite a large step towards getting what he needs. So surely he should've told you, of all the Death Eaters."
Harmony watched him closely, egging him to continue.
Barty hesitated, as if he knew he shouldn't say more. "Maybe our Lord has reason not to trust you."
Harmony withheld her dissatisfaction. But Master has spoken to me about things he's never mentioned to anyone else, she thought. She was certain they had overcome the trust issue by now.
Then she mentally slapped herself across the face. She had been so ready to tattle on her Master to the Ministry not even a minute ago. She had been ready to warn the Aurors and bring Master's plans to a stop. Because of her, Voldemort's wicked rein could have come to an end.
Barty was right. He shouldn't trust her. None of them should.
Despite her considerable fear of him in the beginning, an obvious trust had formed between them—a trust unlike what he had with even his most loyal Death Eaters. And last night, conversing in the privacy of his bed: who else in the world had ever been so close to the Dark Lord Voldemort?
And she had still considered handing him over to his death.
The unexpected shame brought a sudden and painful blow to her stomach. As they approached the others gathered around Master, Harmony grasped her abdomen with a gloved hand and gave a small moan. Barty glanced back at her in concern but they did not stop.
Master had his cloak hood up so his face was in shadow. He was speaking to the large gathering of Death Eaters who hung on his every word. Harmony was too lost in thought to hear everything he said, but when he paused to acknowledge the two of them she gave him a brief nod.
His eyes lingered on her a while longer, as if he was making sure she was all right. He must have felt when her Serpentine charm activated during Bellatrix's attack.
The group of Death Eaters that surrounded their black-clad Master contained the usual individuals, including Severus Snape. She was surprised to see her Potions Professor. She hadn't seen much of him since she'd first arrived at the Riddle mansion. His sudden appearance was like a shining beacon to the outside world. He was the only one she could talk to without the fear of discovery—the only one in this nightmarish charade who knew who she truly was.
She tried to get his attention and signal that she needed to talk. Snape stared at her desperate look without expression, and then gave a nod so brief only she could have noticed. Harmony nodded in relief and focused intently on Master.
"We have to be quick in the retrieval, in case there are any Aurors about," he said. "It's heavy, so I'll need three of you to transport it properly. Barty, Darius, Felix, you will use the hover charm and Apparate it back here."
"Yes, my Lord," the three men chimed in unison.
"Any questions?" Voldemort asked in a sharp voice, daring anyone to come forward.
"What about the civilians?" asked a lanky witch in long, black robes to his right. "You want us to get rid of any eyewitnesses?" The way she said 'get rid of' put a smile on Barty's face and made Harmony's skin crawl.
"If any onlookers give you trouble or seem like Ministry material, then deal with them as you please," he said. The lanky witch grinned wickedly and twiddled her wand between her long-nailed fingers.
"And what of the unfortunate owner of the shop?" Bellatrix asked evilly with a smirk on her lips. When she placed on a hand on her hip, she winced. Harmony imagined whatever the Dark Lord did to her in punishment was still giving her pain. "May I have the honor of dispatching him for you, Master?"
Voldemort sneered at her in response. The very sound of her voice seemed to bite at him in annoyance. "Leave him to me," he told her coldly.
Several dark chuckles followed.
Harmony's stomach flipped and a flare of anger ignited inside. When he looked over at her—expecting a smile—he got an icy look instead. His own smile faltered.
"Any more questions?" he asked, but his eyes never left hers.
Harmony always had questions. Like right now she wanted to scream, "What in the world are we doing and why didn't you tell me?" But she kept her lips sealed—something she was getting used to doing nowadays.
After a moment of silence, he glanced around and then nodded with satisfaction.
"Then let us be off," he said briskly, then turned on his heel; his black cloak swished around and flowed behind him like wings when he moved. The Death Eaters parted to let their Master pass and then followed him as one, wands out, with grave expressions on each of their faces.