The useless husband
The hoarse, mocking voice still echoed along the cold, gloomy lakeshore.
Above her head, the silver-white peacock Patronus had not yet dissipated, and the flowing silver light poured down from mid-air, illuminating the tall and slender woman in front of the stone steps on her way home.
The moment Hermione saw that face, a chill even more biting than when she faced the Dementors ran down her spine and up to her head.
The madwoman on the wanted poster, who had tortured Harley's parents to death at St. Mungo's's and killed without blinking an eye, appeared right in front of them.
Hermione felt as if her heart had been gripped by a cold, large hand, and even her right hand, which was holding the Wand, began to tremble uncontrollably.
Draco, who was leaning on her left shoulder, reacted even more violently than she did.
The agonizing nightmare that had haunted him for months suddenly came true. The boy's body stiffened instantly, his already pale face turned almost transparent, and his light gray pupils contracted violently due to extreme fear. Even his breathing became rapid and broken.
Even in his extreme fear, his fingers on Hermione's forearm slowly tightened, and with the last of his strength, he pulled her back, squeezing out a hoarse sound:
"Don't worry about me... run..."
Hermione bit her lower lip hard.
Her legs were also going weak, and her back was already soaked with cold sweat, but she didn't back down even an inch. Instead, she reached out her left hand to support Draco's cold, trembling shoulder and moved him closer to the protruding black rock behind him, so that his back could rest firmly against the rock.
Then, she gently pried open the boy's fingers that were gripping her sleeve, and with a heavy push on the damp, cold gravel, she forced her trembling legs to stand up.
The girl took half a step forward, her slender yet stubborn figure blocking Draco's path, completely cutting off Bellatrix's gaze from Draco.
Bellatrix tilted her head.
A cruel smile curved his pale, thin face as his sunken eyes scanned the girl before him.
"What, Mudblood trying to be a hero?"
Hermione didn't waste a single word on her.
The only way out was the upward stone steps behind the woman.
If they could force her back even half a step, or blow up the nearby wall to make a sound, Professor Snape and Professor Lupin on the walkway above would definitely notice the commotion.
"Expelliarmus!"
Hermione swung her right hand down suddenly, and a full Red Light tore through the silver light, heading straight for Bellatrix's right wrist, which was holding the staff.
However, the woman opposite her didn't even move her heels.
With a casual flick of her wrist, the curved black Wand twirled in a tiny semi-circle in front of her.
Snap!
Hermione's full-force Disarming Charm was easily blocked; the spell's beam deflected and crashed into the roadside bushes, shattering a clump of withered branches and leaves.
Hermione's pupils contracted slightly, and she immediately took a half-step to the side, the tip of her staff pointing directly at the pile of rocks beside her opponent.
"Confringo!"
The rubble exploded with a bang, carrying mud, water, and sharp stone fragments that hurtled towards them.
Bellatrix's sneer deepened.
She simply took a step forward, flicked the hem of her Black Robes, and an invisible Magic instantly pulverized all the flying pebbles.
Then, the black Wand was raised.
It was so fast that you couldn't even see the initial trajectory.
Several beams of magical light shot out instantly.
Hermione's scalp tingled, and relying entirely on her instincts from practicing Spells in Defense Against the Law class, she gripped her Wand with both hands and held it horizontally in front of her chest:
"Protego-- "
Boom!
A dark purple, violent Curse slammed head-on into the newly formed transparent shield.
That was a force that a third-grade student simply couldn't contend with.
The transparent shield shattered in less than half a second, and the terrifying impact slammed into Hermione's chest.
Hermione's feet left the ground, and she was violently thrown back, crashing heavily onto the gravel beach a few steps away.
His back slammed against the hard rock, and his internal organs churned and throbbed with pain. A strong Rust, sweet taste rose in his throat.
The White Peacock circling in mid-air shook violently and let out a short, low, mournful cry.
The slender tail screen shattered inch by inch, turning into countless tiny silver specks in the blink of an eye, dissipating in the night wind.
The warm, silvery light faded, and the lakeshore was once again shrouded in a thick, gloomy darkness.
The crunching sound of boots grinding over gravel drew ever closer.
"Draco, look!"
Bellatrix pointed lightly at the ground with the tip of her Wand, her husky voice filled with pleasure:
"This is the helper you found? A piece of trash who can't even withstand two or three moves? How pathetic."
Hermione lay on the cold stone floor, her chest aching so badly that each breath she took was accompanied by a burning, stabbing pain.
She swallowed the blood that welled up in her mouth, and out of the corner of her eye, she glanced again at the path above. Her right hand gripped the Wand that had almost slipped from her grasp, and she braced herself forward little by little on the sharp pebbles with her elbow.
Even though she couldn't even lift her knees, she still desperately moved towards Draco, trying to block the woman's path again.
Bellatrix followed her gaze and glanced at the top of the hill, a mocking smile playing on her lips:
"You deliberately blew up the rocks just now, were you trying to lure the professor down from upstairs to save your life?"
Hermione's fingers, which were bracing her on the ground, suddenly stiffened, but she still managed to say:
"You know why you're not running? Wait for Dumbledore— "
"Don't waste your energy, Mudblood."
Bellatrix interrupted her abruptly, stopping leisurely three steps in front of Hermione, looking down at the two people on the ground, his hoarse voice revealing a smug, cat-like satisfaction:
"To infiltrate this school and find you, Draco, I specially prepared over a dozen Polyjuice Potion to feed to a dozen idiots afflicted with the Imperius Curse."
"The Entrance Hall and the hillside are now teeming with 'Bellatrixes.' Dumbledore and your professors have long been lured away."
"By the time they find out those were all fakes, your corpses will be cold, haha~"
Behind him, beside the black stone, Draco's pupils suddenly contracted.
The woman lowered her eyelids, her deep-set eyes fixed directly on Hermione. The mockery in her eyes gradually turned into real killing intent, and she didn't even spare a glance for the boy beside the black stone who hadn't been able to stand up from beginning to end.
"So, no one can come to save you today, but—"
Bellatrix looked at the girl on the ground, a cruel glint in her eyes.
"Since this Mudblood is so eager to die in your place, then I'll grant her wish first—"
The black Wand slowly rose, its tip pointing at Hermione's head.
Hermione tried her best to raise her hand, but her trembling arm couldn't muster any Magic at all.
In this suffocating despair--
A hoarse, deep voice suddenly rang out from the shadows behind her:
Avada Kedavra!
A blindingly bright green light suddenly shot out from behind Hermione, skimming along the ground.
The distance was too close, and the speed was too fast.
Bellatrix looked up sharply at the sound, and before she could even retract her Wand that was pointing at Hermione, the green light slammed into the center of her chest.
Time stood still.
The cruel smile on the woman's face froze instantly.
Her deep-set black eyes widened in shock and disbelief.
The next second, the tall, slender body fell straight backward with a muffled thud, crashing heavily onto the gravel path leading to the stone steps.
The Dust that had been raised slowly settled.
The arrogant woman on the ground remained motionless, completely silent.
The lake shore was deathly silent, with only the rustling of the reeds in the cold wind.
Immediately afterwards, I heard a series of heavy, intermittent breaths behind me.
Hermione turned her head sharply.
Just two steps away, Draco was kneeling on the ground beside the black stone.
He gripped his bandaged right wrist tightly with the five fingers of his left hand, while the Wand in his right hand remained held forward, its tip trembling violently out of control.
That was the Killing Curse he used.
The boy's face was deathly pale, his forehead was covered in beads of cold sweat, and his light gray eyes were fixed on the fallen figure in front of him, not daring to blink.
Hermione's heart pounded. She tried to stand up, bracing herself against the rubble, but her knees buckled as soon as they left the ground, and she fell back down.
Draco immediately released his left hand from her wrist, used the Black Stone to support himself, and staggered over, catching Hermione's arm just before Hermione fell.
He himself was already exhausted to the extreme, and with this support, he could not stand up at all. He and Hermione fell to their knees with a "thump" on the cold, gravelly ground.
Hermione grabbed the Black Robes fabric at his chest with her other hand, her knuckles turning white from the force.
She turned her head, glanced at Bellatrix lying a few steps away in the middle of the gravel road, not even moving a finger, then looked up at the boy who was close at hand, her voice trembling uncontrollably:
Is it over?
Draco was breathing heavily.
His gaze passed over Hermione's shoulder, staring intently at the woman on the ground for two seconds before slowly turning his gaze back to Hermione's tear-filled eyes.
The hand holding the Wand was still trembling, but the boy's voice was steady, each word enunciated with exceptional certainty:
"Yes, it's completely over."
The madwoman who had been chasing Draco for months, trying to drag him into hell, finally collapsed here.
The moment Hermione heard those five words, the tension that had been stretched to its limit in her mind suddenly eased.
She could no longer control herself; she released her Wand, stretched out her arms, and hugged his neck tightly, letting out a sobbing cry.
Draco stiffened slightly, and the next second, he raised his left arm and pulled the girl into his arms.
The boy's chin pressed heavily against her shoulder, his cool forehead against her neck, and the breath he had been holding back finally escaped in a trembling, gasping gasp.
Two disheveled and injured people knelt on the gravel beach, instinctively clinging to each other.
They survived!
Is that right?
Less than three seconds had passed.
At that very moment, as the two embraced tightly, thankful to have escaped death—
Hermione felt an extremely violent force slamming into her from the side without warning.
There wasn't even the sound of chanting.
She felt a sudden emptiness in her arms; her fingers, which had been gripping Draco's Black Robes at the back, were forcibly ripped off, leaving her fingertips burning with pain.
Bang--!
Draco was sent flying by that invisible force, his tall, thin body crashing heavily into a pile of rocks a dozen feet away!
The Wand slipped from his hand and rolled away, clattering into the grass at the edge of the stone steps.
"Draco!!"
Hermione screamed in shock and looked up in horror toward the stone steps.
Bellatrix, who had been lying stiffly in the middle of the gravel road, had somehow opened her dark eyes.
She was using one hand to support herself as she shakily got up from the ground.
That Killing Curse had truly and severely injured her.
A scorch mark was visible on the black Robes at her chest, her face was ashen, and she staggered half a step when she stood up.
The right hand that was raising the Wand and pointing it at Draco was trembling violently, and even his breathing was heavy and rattling.
But her eyes were fixed menacingly on the boy struggling and coughing up blood amidst the rubble, her cracked lips stretching slowly to her ears.
"A very good Killing Curse, Draco. I was so close... so close, I was going to die."
The hoarse voice paused for a moment, then she suddenly threw her head back and let out a hysterical, shrill laugh:
"Ha ha--!"
Laughter echoed in the cold Lake Bay, aggravating the injury in his chest. He coughed violently twice halfway through his laughter, but the madness in his eyes was so intense it was chilling.
She was breathing heavily, her trembling Wand fixed on Draco, and spoke, word by word:
"It's a pity, your hatred isn't strong enough, you lack the real resolve to kill—ultimately, you're still too weak!"
Amidst the pile of rocks, Draco coughed up a mouthful of blood, his left hand struggling to support himself against the stones, his eyes red as he stretched out his right arm, desperately trying to reach the Wand in the grass not far away.
A cold glint flashed in Bellatrix's eyes, and her maniacal laughter instantly vanished, replaced by a savage, ferocious expression.
Let me teach you--
What truly constitutes Unforgivable Curses!
"What kind of mood is needed to unleash this Spell?!"
She suddenly pressed her wrist down:
"Cruciatus Curse!"
An invisible curse instantly struck the boy in the pile of rocks.
"Ah--!"
Draco let out a bloodcurdling scream, abruptly pulling back his hand that had been reaching for his Wand, and his entire body arched up abruptly on the gravel.
His ten fingers dug deep into the sharp cracks in the stone, his nails splitting and bleeding on the spot, the veins on his forehead and neck bulging, and every inch of his flesh and bone convulsing violently under extreme torture.
"Stop!!"
Hermione's mind went blank. She grabbed her Wand and scrambled to her feet, rushing towards Bellatrix to try and interrupt the spellcasting.
The woman didn't even turn around.
Hearing footsteps from the side, a cold smile curled at the corner of her lips. She twisted her Wand, which had been aimed at Draco, and turned it around, pointing it directly at him.
"Cruciatus Curse!"
Hermione couldn't even take a second step.
Thousands upon thousands of red-hot white knives pierced the bone marrow at the same instant, brutally shredding every nerve.
Her vision suddenly went white, Hermione let out a short, broken cry of pain. Her legs gave way, and she collapsed heavily onto the gravel ground at Bellatrix's feet.
The Wand slipped from her violently convulsing fingers and fell to the stone with a thud.
On the other side, amidst the pile of rubble, Draco, finally able to catch his breath after the Spell shifted, suddenly opened his eyes.
Seeing Hermione lying at the feet of that madwoman, writhing in agony, the boy's bloodshot eyes nearly burst from their sockets as he roared:
"Let her go... you let her go right now!!"
Ignoring the severe spasm in his right wrist, he braced himself against the sharp stones on the ground with his elbows and knees, crawling frantically toward Hermione, his palms leaving glaring bloody streaks on the stones.
Bellatrix put down her Wand.
The Cruciatus Curse stopped, but the lingering pain from her nerves being torn apart still made Hermione tremble all over, unable to lift even a finger.
The woman walked forward slowly, first kicking Hermione's Wand, which had fallen to the side, far into the shadows, then raising her mud-covered boot and stomping heavily on Hermione's cheek!
"Hmm--"
Hermione let out a muffled groan.
The woman watched Draco frantically crawling through the rubble, her boots pressing against the girl's cheeks as she ground them into the cold, hard stones, and then she laughed hoarsely.
"She's very important to you? You feel so sorry for her?"
Bellatrix felt a surge of pleasure at the sight of Draco.
"Then let me take better care of this Mudblood for you!"
The sharp edges of the stone pierced her skin, making it difficult for Hermione to breathe. She could only see Draco struggling to crawl forward a few steps away through the blurry edges of her vision.
Bellatrix looked down at the boy who couldn't climb over, her boots applying a slight pressure, her hoarse voice soft and chilling:
"You must be in a lot of pain, right? You really want to save her, don't you?"
"It's a pity you can't do it."
"Get your foot off me..." Draco braced himself on the rubble, his heavy breathing mingled with the metallic taste of blood in his throat, his voice hoarse and incoherent, "Come at me! Come at me if you have a problem!"
Bellatrix looked into his bloodshot eyes, and the neurotic smile on her face gradually faded.
Her eyes suddenly became vacant, and she whispered:
"Actually, I'm just like you, Draco."
Draco paused.
The woman tilted her head, her cold gaze falling on his face, her voice suddenly turning cold:
Do you know why I hate you so much, Draco?
Bellatrix's eyes flashed with ferocity, and she kicked fiercely.
"Because the person I loved most—died because of you!!"
Hermione's breath hitched as she was being stepped on by the boot.
A few steps away, Draco's hand, which was bracing itself on the rubble, suddenly froze, and a look of absurdity and astonishment flashed in his bloodshot eyes:
"What's wrong with you... Your husband Rodolphus is still alive in Azkaban-- "
"Who cares if that good-for-nothing lives or dies?!"
Bellatrix interrupted him sharply, a sickly flush rising on her pale, thin face, her deep-set eyes churning with fanatical obsession and deep-seated resentment.
"I'm talking about the Dark Lord! The only person I truly loved was killed by your Malfoy family!!"
Hermione lay prone on the cold, rubble, her pupils dilated.
Bellatrix's lover--
It turns out--
Is it You-Know-Who?!
Draco, on the other side, also changed his expression drastically, gritting his teeth as he forced out a voice:
"What nonsense are you talking about... The Dark Lord died at Longbottom's hands!"
"Then why would he go looking for Longbottom?! Have you thought about that?!"
Bellatrix suddenly raised her voice, her thin face Transfiguration with extreme resentment:
"The Dark Lord was killed by Lucius!"
She pressed down hard on her feet, her chest heaving violently, and she gritted her teeth:
"Lucius used to be so smart and respectable! But ever since you came into his life, he's become afraid of death and is actually thinking of quitting?!"
"On one hand, he encouraged the Dark Lord to go to Longbottom, hoping to use this credit to extricate himself; on the other hand, to leave himself a way out, he secretly leaked the news that the Dark Lord had his eye on the Prophecy —which resulted in the Dark Lord running headlong into a trap and dying a miserable death at Neville Longbottom's hands!"
Draco froze on the gravel, his eyes wide with disbelief:
"Impossible..."
"How is that impossible?!"
Bellatrix shrieked, interrupting him, her eyes gleaming with a ravenous madness.
"When he realized he couldn't back out, he turned around and sold the entire list of his accomplices to the Ministry of Magic just before the Dark Lord fell from power!"
At this point, the woman suddenly let out a short, mocking laugh:
"He thought he could save you by selling us out? Too bad, Fudge, for the sake of his political achievements, still sent him to Azkaban, wanting him to stay there for a year to make a show of it!"
Upon hearing the word "one year," Draco's fingers, which were supporting him on the stone ground, trembled, and his lips parted slightly, but he couldn't utter a single word.
Seeing his distraught state, Bellatrix's face broke into a wild, triumphant laugh once more.
"What a pity, didn't you? There were still some in Azkaban loyal to the Dark Lord, who killed him before he even survived that year! Haha, that's great!"
Hermione's cheek pressed against the cold, gritty stones, feeling the shiver from the soles of her boots, she forced out half a sentence through clenched teeth:
"He was only one year old then..."
This feeble rebuttal did nothing to sober up the woman above her; instead, it ignited her fury.
Bellatrix suddenly lowered her head, stomped her foot hard, and screamed hysterically at the two children on the ground:
"So what?! He only lost his father, but I lost the love of my life!"
"If it weren't for him, why would Lucius have wanted to stop?! Why would he have leaked the Prophecy, and why would he have betrayed us and handed over the list?!"
She looked up, her eyes filled with the chill and despair of twelve years in Azkaban, fixed on Draco's face, her voice piercing the night with a mournful shriek:
"Twelve whole years! He never came back!"
"For the past twelve years, I've wanted to kill you! I stormed into Hogwarts alone to find you—"
"It's all because of you that I lost my lover!!"
The woman suddenly raised her right hand, her black Wand pointing directly at Draco, who was immobilized a few steps away, her eyes filled with murderous intent.
Die!
Draco didn't close his eyes, nor did he even look at the Wand pointing at his forehead. He simply mustered his last bit of strength and, with his bleeding hand, moved half an inch closer to Hermione.
Looking at the bloodstained hand, Hermione's breath caught in her throat, and tears mingled with the blood on her face, sliding into the rubble.
"Don't want..."
She struggled desperately to sit up, but her head, crushed by the heavy soles of the boots, couldn't lift an inch. She could only manage a desperate whimper from deep in her throat.
A dark green death light suddenly shone at the tip of the staff:
Avada Kedavra!
However, at the very instant the ghastly green light burst forth—
Bellatrix's right wrist, which was holding the Wand, was suddenly pulled to the side by an invisible force, and the tip of the wand was violently deflected half an inch.
Boom!
The green light grazed Draco's shoulder and slammed into a black rock half a foot away from him, instantly blasting the half-man-high boulder into Diffindo.
"What--?!"
Bellatrix's pupils contracted sharply, and she was about to forcefully twist her wrist back to place the second Killing Curse—
Without warning, a thick, white fog appeared out of nowhere in front of her, completely obscuring her vision.
The woman's heart skipped a beat. She abruptly turned her head, looking around warily, while simultaneously taking a half-step back with her right foot.
The sole of the boot that had been pressing against Hermione's cheek suddenly came off.
However, something even stranger happened—
Bellatrix tilted her head to the left, and the thick white mist followed her to the left without fail; she took a half step back, and the mist followed her half step closer, right up to her nose, completely obscuring her vision.
Hermione lay on the rubble, coughing violently, and lifted her eyelids slightly, just in time to see this incredibly familiar scene.
"This is?--"
In the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom, what was that blob of white powder that never left Professor Lupin's face?
Is it him?
The thought had only flashed through my mind for half a second.
A gentle yet incredibly powerful force suddenly supported her shoulders and back from below.
It wasn't just her.
Draco, a few steps away, along with the two Wands that had rolled down from the grass and the shadows, were simultaneously lifted into the air by this invisible force and slid sideways at an astonishing speed, skimming along the damp lakeshore.
The wind whistled past their ears, and in the blink of an eye, the two were steadily transported behind a bunker where a boulder and half a wall intersected a dozen steps away, and two Wands landed with a "clatter" beside them.
Bellatrix was completely enraged by the strange white mist that she couldn't shake off.
"Get out of here!"
She gave a sharp shout, and with a sudden jerk of her Wand, she was about to unleash a powerful gust of wind to dispel the charlatan-like white mist—
At the very moment she raised her cane.
The massive white mist covering her suddenly began to spin rapidly without warning!
An invisible whirlwind stirred the highly concentrated white powder into a violently churning vortex in just half a second, drawing in all the surrounding air.
Bellatrix's expression changed drastically, and she tried to pull away and retreat abruptly.
The next second, a tiny red flame, no bigger than a fingernail, quietly lit up in the very center of the rapidly spinning white mist.
Boom--!
A deafening, terrifying explosion resounded on the shore of Black Lake!
A violent fireball, a blend of blazing white and orange-red, instantly engulfed the entire stone steps, and a violent shockwave Cleansweep across the ground, sending clumps of rubble and bushes flying into the air.
Behind the cover, Draco pressed Hermione's head down to shield her to his side. A scorching wave of air roared past the edge of the boulder, causing rocks to tumble down and the ground beneath their feet to tremble violently.
The flames at the epicenter of the explosion lasted for several seconds before slowly dissipating.
The pungent smell of burning and billowing black smoke filled the air on the lake.
Hermione, ignoring the ringing in her ears, leaned against the edge of the boulder and peered half her head toward the stone steps.
The once smooth gravel road surface has been blasted into a charred, shallow crater.
A dozen feet away, Bellatrix knelt on one knee at the edge of the rubble pit.
A faint, shattering dark shield still lingered in front of her—
It was clear that it had managed to erect a defense the instant the flames appeared, thus avoiding being blown to pieces on the spot.
But before he could protect his entire body, he was still completely engulfed by the Dustflame that exploded right in front of his face.
The left half of her black Robes had been blown into charred strips, her disheveled black hair was singed and curled, her left cheek and left shoulder were covered in shocking charred flesh, and blood was constantly flowing from the corner of her mouth. She was in a terrible state.
From the bend in the hillside above, one could faintly hear Professor McGonagall's cold shouts and the sounds of the handover of the wounded.
From the thick smoke billowing at the stone steps below, the sound of unhurried footsteps echoed as they trod on the gravel.
Hermione looked up abruptly.
Behind the lingering gray-white dust, a tall and slender Slytherin boy emerged from the shadow of the broken wall to his side and above.
Gavin Gu, holding the Hawthorn Wand in his right hand, his Black Robes robe spotless, stood a few steps above the stone steps, calmly looking down at the woman whose face was half charred.
"You miss him that much? You should have said so earlier."
The black-haired boy's lips curled up slightly.
"I'll take you to see him right away."