Author's Notes: Chapter edited and corrected by Scott Fellman.
December 18, 1976 – Bellatrix POV
"Go, don't let anyone see you, and for Morgana's sake, only the Death Eaters." Serena had given me the green light, I didn't need it, but I could feel my smile growing wider.
I melted into the shadows and began to move. All the training I had done with Serena had been useful. I was trying to understand my new powers and how to use them, seeing that I had so much power in my body, in my hands, was orgasmic.
No one understood why I had chosen Marshal D. Teach's template along with Alucard's; they did not complement each other in any way, but the ability to shake my fist and make all of Great Britain tremble? The idea that I could tear entire countries to pieces if I pushed myself as hard as I could was as close to ecstasy as I could get.
And now I was having a new epiphany as I stalked the idiots who called themselves Death Eaters. The idea of hunting them, sucking their blood dry, and absorbing their souls to give me immortality? It was a new kind of pleasure. One I was more than willing to indulge in.
Kazikli Bey materialized in my left hand, and I grabbed my wand with my right hand as I looked at the group of Death Eaters. There were five of them, all distracted as they laughed while destroying the village. There was no one else around, no victims, or rather, no witnesses.
I moved faster than any wizard or witch could react. Kazikli Bey pierced the first one's stomach without them being able to respond. I moved my wand and, with a Sectumsempra, I cut two others enough to incapacitate them.
"W-what?!" I ignored the incredulous screams of the remaining two. I put both weapons back into my inventory and took out the Casull. I shot the fourth Death Eater in the chest, put the gun back into my inventory, and looked at the fifth.
He looked like he was about to piss himself on the spot, I could smell his fear, but he pointed his wand at me. Slowly, they were awfully slow compared to Serena, I moved before he could cast a curse, I broke his wrist with a simple squeeze of my hand. I spun him around without hesitation and sank all my teeth into his neck, there was no need to hold back like with Serena.
The blood touched my mouth instantly…
…it was horrible…
It tasted awful, and I stopped the urge to back away from my victim and continued drinking. It tasted horrible, far behind the ambrosia that was Serena's blood, but… I could feel it, the soul of the wizard beneath my teeth flowing into me, being absorbed into my body, and that… that was definitely pleasurable.
I could bear the horrible taste for that moment where I took the souls of my victims, and so I did. I threw the dried corpse I had in my arms to the side and looked at the other four remaining, still alive, but all bleeding out; they definitely wouldn't last much longer, so I was quick.
Five souls, I had five souls inside me now. I could feel them, I could manipulate them, I could… I could see inside them; everything they were, everything they knew - their entire being was laid bare to me, and it was intoxicating.
I spat out the disgusting blood left in my mouth and looked at the bodies below me. I pulled my wand out of my inventory again, a quick action, and their wands were stored inside me, along with the souls of their owners. In the meantime, I turned the remaining corpses into pebbles before my gaze turned to another part of the town.
There were more Death Eaters to hunt, more souls to absorb.
And then… I would go to Serena to clean the horrible taste from my mouth.
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December 27, 1976 – Bellatrix Pov
I was standing watching the fight in front of me.
I had decided to use my familiars to fight each other; I wanted to test Serena's creations.
Koloss.
A monstrosity of blue skin and open wounds that never healed.
Serena had created four more of them, giving a total of 5 Koloss in my repertoire, and they were taking on the giants I had absorbed. The giants didn't stand a chance.
The Koloss were half the size of the giants, three meters to the giants' seven meters. Still, the Koloss were almost as strong, but faster, and more dangerous. The giants were simply tough, and since neither side had weapons, there was only so much damage they could inflict.
I could ask Serena to alchemy transmute some weapons for them, such as great swords for the Koloss or giant clubs. They could never fail. I could make them with transfiguration, but they would be temporary. I don't want to find out what happens when my body absorbs them. I'm sure something permanent happens. I can absorb them back into me and use them when I release them once more.
Once the fight was over, I pulled the souls back into my body. I could feel all the souls I had within me, all the familiars. It was easy to push them down and suppress them, the hundreds of souls I had now. But there was more I wanted to test - I wanted to see their limits. However, there was something else to test first, so I pushed them all down, except for one.
I had wanted to try shapeshifting, animal shapeshifting. Animagus was something I had been interested in for a while. The only reason I hadn't done it was that it was too time-consuming, and you couldn't decide what animal you were going to be; you could end up with something totally useless.
But now, with the souls of different beings and animals, he had a wide range to choose from.
And I clearly chose the Hungarian Horntail.
It was easy, using the soul as a disguise —a 20-meter disguise made of pure wild muscle and flames. I couldn't help but let out a roar. This was fun, too bad I was still inside the training room, there wasn't enough room to go flying.
So I shapeshifted into a raven, proper. It took me a few seconds to figure out the mechanics of flying, but once I did, it was… liberating in a way. It wasn't like Serena could just fly by… willing it at any moment, but it was still flying under my own power, without a broom, without anything, that was liberating, it was terrific.
I landed while changing back to my original form once again.
It was always fun to see what new things she could accomplish, and the change in form certainly didn't disappoint. Now, there were other things to continue trying before Serena returned to training.
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January 1, 1976 – Bellatrix Pov.
"So… what do you want to talk about?" Lucius asked as he looked at me cautiously.
"About Serena and how she's an idiot." I said, simply that I could see my sister and her fiancé bristling defensively; both of them were about to explode in Serena's defense. I didn't mind; if anyone else had insulted Serena, I'd have had Kazikli Bey right through their skull, but I had to make a point, so I held up my hand to stop them both. "Let me explain."
"I hope you have a point, Bellatrix." Lucius said with a scowl, glaring at me. I sighed as I dropped into a seat across from them.
"I love Serena, it doesn't matter right now if it was fabricated by the seal, the contract, or anything else. I love Serena, I would destroy the world for her if I had to." As I settled into my seat, I made the statement casually, so casually that you would think I was commenting on the weather, and I was. I loved Serena, and that was a fact. They both looked at me in surprise. "But, as much as I love her, I'm not blind to her flaws, and Serena, she's an idiot." I stated simply.
"Can you… explain more?" Narcissa asked slowly, and I nodded.
"Can you honestly tell me that all of Serena's decisions or how she handled situations, most of them, weren't stupid?" The duo grimaced. "Starting with her outfit, she doesn't really want or like to stand out, but she sticks out like a sore thumb; she's… oblivious to her surroundings."
"The way she dealt with Dumbledore, or rather, attempted to deal with Dumbledore, was ridiculous, and don't get me started on a list of other things she did, because we'd be on a roll for a while. Like deciding to leave this world without solving the Voldemort thing or the Dumbledore thing, like she was running away. As we are now, we could solve both problems quickly, but she's running away for some reason."
"But most of all, her decision to tell us everything about her even before sealing us, even before having a safeguard in case we decided to betray her, was the height of stupidity. Even… even family is not to be trusted." I made a bitter face, which was repeated by the pair in front of me; the three of us fell silent.
"That may be, I really don't… I won't deny that there were better ways to confront the facts, but…" Lucius said thoughtfully, before smiling weakly. "But… if she hadn't, we wouldn't be here, would we?" he asked softly, and I sighed.
"Yeah... I guess so." I agreed with him while making a face. "But it doesn't change the fact that she is, or at least, does stupid things, and will continue to do so, because she's Serena. It took me a while to realize that she doesn't have the experience of adult Severus Snape, only his memories; when she changed her base template to Baiser, she lost his experience, so she only has her experience as Serena, a moody and stubborn teenager and her... past, so it's not unusual for her to make mistakes, often."
"I like this Serena, I don't want her to change." Narcissa said while pouting. I made a face.
"Me neither, really." I said honestly. "That's why I wanted to talk to you two, I want to help her." The pair looked at me curiously. "We're about to go to a new world, and I want to help her… I want to take care of her so she doesn't screw it up… too much." I looked away; I really didn't want to see the expressions on either of their faces. Narcissa's coo alone was annoying. "Or at least, be there for her and help her when something happens."
"You're so sweet, Bella." Narcissa cooed, and I snorted. I could feel my cheeks heating up, but I ignored it.
"As I was saying, I want to help her, but I can't do it alone. If it were just about combat, I could do it. I can get stronger if necessary, keep up with Serena, and stand by her side fighting. But… despite knowing the ins and outs of politics, I have to admit that… It's not my strong suit or that of my future counterpart, something we'll need quite a bit." I confessed nervously, and I could hear Narcissa gasp.
"You want Lucius to help you?!" Narcissa asked excitedly, and I made a huge face, glaring at Narcissa. However, I didn't deny it, even though I didn't want to admit it. According to my memories of my future self, Lucius had been playing the game for two decades. He had had the Minister and the Wizengamot in his pocket for years, it was good, now that he had a power that helped him read other people? It was going to be better.
"You didn't even have to ask Bella, I would do it anyway," Lucius interrupted with an honest smile. I sighed in relief; that was one weight off my shoulders.
"Well… well, well, well," I repeated to myself in relief, stood up, straightened my clothes, and cleared my throat, "I won't repeat it, but… thanks." I nodded in the direction of both of them.
"Don't mention it." Lucius returned, and Narcissa shrieked.
"I'll help out where I can, too!" Narcissa added cheerfully, the three of us smiling before I cleared my throat once more.
"Okay, we have to prepare for a new world."