The B...Witch Came Back | Jan 1996 | Alecto

[Bellatrix Lestrange]

There was nothing quite like the sweet taste of freedom. 

Over 14 years spent behind bars, happy memories being sucked from her soul by Dementors. At least, that had been the intent when they had sentenced her there. But they didn't know Bellatrix, Her memories and happiness didn't come from a place that was normal. So yes, she had served time. She had hated every minute of it as well. Being separated from her husband and her toys - it was cruel. But she had waited, because she knew. Her Dark Lord was not gone, she knew that. And so she had been patient, she had been devoted. And now was her chance to shine yet again.

And her first stop? It wasn't like she could just waltz into her mansion she had shared with Roddy, no. That would obviously be the first place that anyone looked for her. Instead, she would need to be protected. While Roddy was busy with business with the Dark Lord, she had time to sit and think over her options. Obviously her dear sister would take her in, and she would get to spend some time with her darling nephew. But there would be another time for that. For now, she needed to set some things straight. Because certain Death Eaters hadn't been so faithful. Sure, they may have shown up when they were  called, but they hadn't waited behind bars like she had.

And besides, how could her precious Alecto say no to her? Bellatrix Lestrange was everything Alecto had always desired to be, that much Bellatrix knew. And she had betrayed Bellatrix in so many ways. And so with a sharp knock on the door, Bellatrix put on her best smile. It was time to say hello.

[Alecto Carrow]

The days since her not-so-little boy had returned to Hogwarts had gone by painfully slowly, as most days did. Having the boy around was entertaining - he brought back amusing stories from school about the feud between Draco and the Potter child - and it gave her someone else to talk to in the house besides Aaron and the elf. Her son had surpassed her in height over the fall term, evidently, which had simply made her wear heels over the Christmas holiday. She wasn't about to be the shortest member of their dysfunctional family, not if she could help it. It was horrid enough to have to stick with Aaron to keep up appearances, after all these years since the trial. But with the changes happening lately...it was turning out to be good they had their cover.

The Dark Lord was back. He had returned the spring prior, disrupting the reluctant couple's night with abrupt pain in their twin tattoos. Ever since, thankfully, there had been more to do. Since his fall, and their being stuck together, they had learned to occupy their time training and selling show falcons with Amycus, but that was hardly as stimulating as the work they used to do. But they had to do something "productive to society" to stay out of suspicion...

And with more than whispers of returns of their old comrades, having their alibis intact would be useful.

And so the days had gone by painfully slowly if they weren't working, as she was...waiting.

Once Alecto had convinced the authorities of her relative innocence, her enemies outside Azkaban dwindled, while her friends within...would hardly be counted upon to be friendly given their release. They had renewed the wards around their house, adding any defense they could. They knew the minds of those held within, and they were tortured, twisted, minds. Those who had evaded prison would be first on their lists - and she hadn't gone fourteen years playing innocent to get burned by any of them.

That in mind, she was more than wary when their elf reported a knock at the door.

"Don't," she warned harshly, heading to the door with her wand in hand. She couldn't trust the elf to make this decision - any visitor could turn out to be an old friend, a new enemy. But seeing Bellatrix through the peephole...

You'll be lucky to make it out of this alive.

"Bella," she breathed as she opened the door. There was no winning here - she could not get the door and wait for Bella to burn the house down, or she could get the door and...hope she was still quick with her wand.

[Bellatrix Lestrange]

Anyone who thought that a silly little child could have honestly killed the Dark Lord was not worth her time. Surely they should have known that their Lord was far more powerful than a small boy. And while Bellatrix still felt the rage that she had felt that day she found out about his "death", she had always known he would return. It is why she had gone to such great lengths to get information - and the fact the Longbottoms had never recovered was simply a touching gift. She'd kept up on the wizarding world on her years in prison, reading the prophet whenever it was delivered. It was so easy to see the Dark Lord's influence still growing even though he had been temporarily lost.

And when she had felt her tattoo burning that night in Azkaban, not even the dementors could take away her happiness. She had celebrated, yelling into the night about how soon she would be free. And from that day forward she waited patiently, knowing that her Lord was coming for her. Knowing that she would be praised for her faithfulness, that her new duties in his reign would surpass the duties she had been given before. He would lavish her with praise, with promise, and their world was going to pay for the foolish mistakes they had made in the past 14 years.

But not all could be forgiven, not this time. While she had been given strict orders that people were supposed to be kept alive, she wasn't about to let them off without a little bit of punishment. When they betrayed the Dark Lord, they betrayed her as well. Some she could understand - her sister and her husband had always been pathetic - but her equal? Alecto had already betrayed her once, when she had gone off on her own and slept with Aaron. Her two toys were not meant to be together, and yet here they had spent the last 14 years playing house.

So it was no surprise when her knock on the door wasn't quickly answered. Bella's rage at the pregnancy and birth of Vincent Crabbe had been rough, and while she had still been around Alecto during those times, it had taken a bit to get to a place where she could overlook Alecto's mistakes. This time, however, how exactly was she supposed to? Alecto should have been serving her time with the rest of them who were loyal to the Dark Lord. Not pretending to be a house wife and selling Falcons.

And Bella had to admit, once the door finally opened, the years had been just as kind of Alecto as they had been to Bellatrix. You would hardly think that it had been 14 years since they had seen each other, that they were both older women in their society. But Bella's smile faltered at Alecto's words, and she had her wand out within seconds. "Oh Alecto Carrow, did you really think this would be a pleasant visit? That you still have the right to call me Bella after you've done nothing but betray me?"

Pointing her wand at the door Alecto was holding open, she muttered, "Flagrante."

---

flagrante curse

[Alecto Carrow]

As Bella spoke, wands were quickly out, the younger woman gripping hers with all the strength that she had. She had worked too hard to allow Bella to undo it all - much of the admiration, the adoration, she had had for the woman was still there, but even so she wasn't about to lay down her life so Bella could feel better about her lot. She couldn't stop the slight sneer she had at Bella's insistence of her betrayals - did she still not see that the betrayals had begun due to her desire to please her? She'd been with Aaron to see why Bella insisted on being with him, to learn how to please her enough so the boy wouldn't have a place in her bed. But that had backfired a thousand fold, leaving her with a pregnancy she didn't want, a life bound to someone she despised. And as for their Lord...Bella had always been a fanatic, loving him with a fervor no one could match. All accounts reporting his death had made Alecto have to act fast to get out of sure imprisonment - she wanted a life, and she wouldn't get one in there. How could Bella blame her for valuing herself over the Lord? She would have died in his service, but he died first - and that was that.

They had lost.

Alecto snapped away from the door as it began burning under her hand, letting it slam shut behind her as she approached her once-partner. She eyed the woman, mind working to see if there was a way for either of them to escape this alive. For she had observed Bellatrix work for years, she fully knew what the other was capable of, and knew just as well that she'd never truly been able to keep up with her. But by using this curse, Bella showed she wasn't working to kill her - not yet. She wanted her to suffer before she went in for the kill.

Alecto could work with that.

"You forget your real enemies, Bella," she threw back. "I tried to save you from yourself, you can't blame me for how things turned out." Streams of blue light left her wand forcefully as she sent curses at the paired stone gargoyles "guarding" the walk up to their home. They finally proved slightly useful, their sharp shards of stone blasting out into the space between the witches. If she could keep her distance from the other for long enough, maybe she could keep her life until Aaron got back - of all the times for him to go on an errand! When he could have actually been helpful! For although their allegiances in their youth had been much more to Bella than each other, fourteen years of co-existing, of parenting, had at the very least proven the other's value. He wouldn't let Vincent know he'd let his mother die, would he? The boy was gaining strength and knowledge, and although he wasn't quick to learn he was learning. Given time, given training, he would be a force to be reckoned with, just like his parents.

And he would not take her loss lightly.

[Bellatrix Lestrange]

Bellatrix was pleased to see that Alecto hadn't let her guard down, the other woman had her wand at the ready as soon as she saw Bella's. At least the years of playing mom hadn't made Alecto weak, Bella could appreciate that. Alecto had always been her equal, her match. It would have been disappointing to have Alecto be weak, Bella would have had to kill her then. And as much as Bellatrix did desire to end Alecto's life after her betrayal, she wasn't about to defy the Dark Lord.

Not to mention, seeing her once-partner fired up and ready to defend herself brought back good memories. Alecto had always been her favorite, and 14 years away hadn't changed that. Perhaps if Alecto could pay for her actions at the end of the war, Bellatrix might be able to continue things as they once were. But that would require Alecto to admit she was wrong, which didn't seem to be happening.

She let out a laugh as Alecto let go of the door, letting it slam behind her. As much as Bella would have liked to storm the house and burn it down, she was perfectly fine with this happening outside. Her laugh grew louder as Alecto cast curses towards the gargoyles, causing Bellatrix to move backwards as shards of stone flew towards her. Alecto wasn't attacking her outright, which was intriguing. "I haven't forgotten anything Alecto. How is that precious little boy of yours? I'm so glad to see you and Aaron have stuck together, kept your silly little stories straight," she spat back. She wanted to just end things and get back to the Dark Lord, she had already been away for him for too long.

"Tell me, did you use the same excuse as my sister and her worthless husband? That you had been controlled to do what you did?" Bella asked as she spun her wand around, pacing back and forth. "Are you not proud of your actions, of the things you did to help our Lord?" Bellatrix had gladly taken responsbility for her actions at her trial. She hadn't needed Alecto to save her from anything, she was proud of what she had done.

"Was your life here with Aaron really worth this, Alecto?" Bella stopped pacing, pointing her wand at the witch across from her, muttering under her breath.

[Alecto Carrow]

That laugh - a laugh she hadn't heard for so long - bellowed in Alecto's ears, louder than the slamming door, louder than the explosive gargoyles. For her old partner's laugh wasn't one to take lightly. It meant she was game to engage in their "play" - and with what lethal play they had engaged in together in the past, it was now that Alecto had to swallow a rising panic. She couldn't let the other get in her head, couldn't let herself become distracted. One moment at ease could lead to her demise, and she wasn't about to let this be her last day. 

But then, Bellatrix brought up her son.

And Aaron, as an aside.

If she lost today, would Bella's acts of vengeance against her stop? What was there to stop the Azkaban escapee from tracking down Aaron and leaving her son parentless? What was there stopping her from hunting Vincent? It was plain that prison had done nothing in terms of tempering the woman's ways, and while Alecto knew she was a fine duelist, Aaron too, Vincent was still learning. She had little fondness for her current partner, but her son had grown on her, and an instinctive need to protect him now rose within her. If Vincent was faced with the wrath and talent of Bellatrix Lestrange, in no world would he walk away.

She's been back minutes and she's hit a nerve?

"He's nearly grown," Alecto said proudly, beginning to pace opposite the witch to keep the most distance between them. "He'll join up when he is." And you will stay away from him. She kept her eyes locked on Bella, her wand at the ready, not about to be caught unawares. But she had to sneer as Bella hit more nerves. She'd never thought she'd live to see the day where she was lumped into the same category as the Malfoys, but here she was. "We did what we had to do - he has forgiven us of our error. Is his word not good enough for you anymore, Bella?" The woman raised her brows in a taunt, daring the other to speak in contrary to the lord she so loved. But as she spoke, Alecto knew she wasn't going to win this argument. It was like talking to a wall, speaking with someone with the conviction of Bellatrix. Just have to keep her at bay... Aaron would be home soon, and maybe Amycus would decide to come by - with the help of one or the other, Bella could be subdued, restrained -

Bella's next words hit Alecto with a near-physical slap, and she abruptly stopped to match her opponent. While she wanted to spit back that yes, it was - the urge wasn't automatic. Yes, she had a life here, a life that had allowed her to raise a son in relative safety. She'd had to embarrass herself, metaphorically kneeling before the powers that be, begging for forgiveness - and while she'd pretended it was a game, a game she was in control of, she hadn't known if the others would be willing to play along. And while they had been easy enough to manipulate, and succeeding in that was satisfying, she'd been left...lacking. This was not the life she'd planned on. This was never the life she wanted.

But she couldn't very well admit that.

And it was a hell of a lot better than spending her years in prison.

Before she could retort, however, a blinding pain struck her - but it wasn't just the pain that was blinding, causing her to cry out in distress, her body to shake out of her control, but - with every blink, there wasn't - she couldn't - she couldn't see.

That b*tch!

With a cry of fury, Alecto swung about, and she heard the clicking of the stone shards as they rose from the ground, bumping into each other in their haste to obey. At her whipping motion they flew at her target, while she blinked rapidly, pain still shooting from her eyes. There had to be a way - and fast - for her to get rid of the curse. She wouldn't go down like this - blinded, on her own doorstep. She wouldn't.

[Bellatrix Lestrange]

Bellatrix smirked as Alecto spoke proudly of her son, the little creature that had nearly torn the two of them apart. Aaron had been her play thing, and Alecto had broken an unspoken rule by testing those waters. However, as far as Bellatrix was concerned, Alecto had gotten what she deserved. Nine months carrying around a child, and now the rest of her life raising it. She twisted her wand in her fingers, waiting to see what else Alecto had in store for her. But her next statement was like a slap in the face, and Bellatrix scowled. How dare Alecto think that she, Bellatrix Lestrange, doubted the Dark Lord.

"Perhaps he has forgiven you, but that doesn't mean any of the rest of us have," she sneered, doing her best to not let Alecto see how the words had affected her. What would he say, if he knew she was here? She wasn't allowed to kill them, but a little bit of fear? Surely she was doing more good than she was harm, letting Alecto and the like know that their actions back then hadn't been acceptable.

But her spell hit the target, and Bellatrix let out a laugh as Alecto reacted. It was no hard feat to blast away the stones flying at her, and she moved slowly and carefully towards Alecto, lowering her voice to nearly a whisper. "A life with Aaron and a son, and you want me to believe you didn't miss me at all? You could have had so much more if you'd only stayed with me."

[Alecto Carrow]

It was with much satisfaction that Alecto saw a shadow drop over Bellatrix’s face, the blonde feeling she was gaining just the slightest - but sizable - ground. But the words from the woman she had once loved were biting, affirming of her deepest fears about the eventual escapes from Azkaban. She had hoped her intuition was wrong, that those who had been caught would die before escaping - but they were clever. Crafty. Determined. And vile. It had been a looming fear over all these years, one thing shared but never spoken between the reluctant couple, only alluded to in their regular checking of defenses. "Is that so?" Alecto spat back, covering fear with bravado and a lie. "Should I go and get Aaron, then, so you can reprimand him as well as me?"

But then, the duel became real. She was blinded, painfully so, and while she had hoped her spell would damage the witch, Bella’s laughter proved otherwise. Alecto panicked, her fear-ridden brain trying to remember the counter-curse that would get her vision back, but hearing Bella’s soft footfalls coming towards her only made both her fury and panic rise. She twitched at the sound of the other’s voice, eyes teary from the pain, and took a breath to steady herself before she looked in the witch’s direction as calmly as she could. Weakness had only ever made Bella more apt to act - if she was getting out of here alive, she would have to own what she had done.

"I’d rather have had this than Azkaban," Alecto answered firmly, unable to stop her words even though she knew she was at the mercy of the other witch. "There’s naught you can say to glorify what you did enough for me to want it - if there ever had been, I would have been there with you from the start. We had lost, Bella."

[Bellatrix Lestrange]

She would hear about this from the Dark Lord, that she was sure of. And she would take her punishment from him happily, as she should. Because they were servants to him, back then and now. And playing house for years wasn't an excuse to not have properly served the Dark Lord. Aaron was pathetic, Bellatrix had known he would have pleaded his innocence the second he could. But Alecto? Alecto was hers. She didn't belong to Aaron or Amycus. Bellatrix had picked Alecto from the start, and that was the reason her betrayal mattered. She had forgiven the mistaken, she had forgiven the existence of a child. But for Alecto to plead innocence, to pretend as if the actions Bellatrix had taken were pointless.

"Bold words," Bellatrix hissed, closing the distance between her and Alecto. A hand came up to firmly hold Alecto's head, Bellatrix practically seething. "You were a fool to think that a child could defeat our Lord. He was always going to return. I did what had to be done, do you not think the Longbottoms would have continued to hunt us? You were there for the rest, you should have been there for them. Or have you forgotten about those times? When we killed Edgar Bones and his family? When we took down those Prewett blood traitors?" Bellatrix let Alecto go, pushing her back.

"Alice and Frank Longbottom are a waste of space thanks to us. They won't be returning to the fight. You act as if Azkaban was a living hell - you really think dementors would have been enough to twist us? You really think they could have taken me from you?" Bellatrix spat the questions, handing gripping her wand tighter. Her hatred wanted to kill Alecto, but her loyalty to the Dark Lord meant she had to keep her temper at bay.

"It doesn't matter. You may have your false life here, but you have always been mine Alecto. And you will come back to me, I don't doubt that."

[Alecto Carrow]

Unwelcome tears from the pain in her sightless eyes sprang free, and Bella was gripping her tightly, uncomfortably, her words like poison darts hitting her one-by-one. But...with the words came a realization of a possible change to her own tactics. She's not going to kill me. He wouldn't like that. For as much deep shite she was in with the Dark Lord, she was still valuable to him as she was - functional. If Bellatrix truly harmed her, she would have to answer to him, and the longer this went without her ex-partner giving her a death blow, the more in control Alecto actually felt. She could handle this pain, she could handle these taunts - she was ever a survivor, after all. Working with Bella again, working with all of those who had done time, was what she needed to focus on.

Assuming your ego hasn't changed...I can use that.

She hated playing second fiddle, but if that was what it took to get the pair of them through this next phase of life without more death threats, Alecto would put her pride aside and do it. Bella pushed her away, sending her stumbling back onto the front steps until she regained her unsteady footing. She stood taller and wiped her face of both tears and emotion, waiting for the livid woman to finish. The recollections of their past triumphs, of Bella saying the dementors couldn't have taken Alecto from her, gave the blonde the strength to speak again. In those days, they had been truly alive with their power. They had acted, they had been victorious more often than not. And they had been together. Wouldn't mind that again. Aaron had become tolerable as a partner, but she and Bella...distracting thoughts of their youth threatened to blow her focus, to say the least.

"Of course I haven't forgotten," she said, hurried half-lies spat in a voice barely more than a whisper. "You think I could forget everything we did, everything we had? I should've gone with you that night, but I panicked. I was wrong, Bella. I made the most of what I could here, but everything is lacking without you." As she waited for Bella's response, she wanted any one of a number of things to happen. For Aaron to return home, for Bella to lift the curse, for Bella to leave...but most of all, she needed the woman's belief.

[Bellatrix Lestrange]

It would be intriguing to see what Alecto had to say, although Bella's patience was growing thin. She sat in Azkaban too long to have time for games. And while the dementors were laughable, she'd not been entirely able to handle it. Just enough happy memories to keep them around, just enough to drive her mad with frustration and anger. And after enough time, she had just accepted it. Focused her mind on other things - things that weren't Alecto's fingers tracing her skin or the way Alecto moved when Bella was in control.

Because they had been perfect. Alecto had been hers. More than a play thing, she'd found herself enraged when Alecto had told her about the pregnancy, about how she'd fooled around with Aaron. Her Uncle should have known better than to touch, and Alecto had betrayed her. She wouldn't admit that Alecto had hurt her. Sparked a jealous snake that lived inside of her, and cracked her heart into pieces. She had tried to make things the same, to continue on. Until Alecto was showing, and Bella had been done.

And those months while she was pregnant, while Alecto was busy caring for the nosy little infant, Bella had tried to soothe her pain with other woman, other toys. She'd even convinced Aaron to stop playing Dad and come over to share her bed, to spite Alecto as much as she could. But she hadn't been able to keep it going, to stay away. Alecto gave her some sort of sick happiness, and so she'd let Alecto come crawling back.

Just as Alecto always would. While the blonde woman stood her ground, her words were exactly what Bellatrix had been waiting to hear. Because it was always her who was in control. Not Alecto. With a wave of her wand and a mutter counter curse she removed the spell, before tucking her wand away. A smirk played on her lips as she closed the distance, getting as close as she could until Alecto's back was against the door. "There you are love," she whispered, hand reaching out to wipe tears from Alecto's face. "You've done well to survive with out me. But you are mine. You've always been mine, and I don't care to share you ."

[Alecto Carrow]

In the quiet after her desperate half-truths, Alecto stood solidly, waiting for confirmation that she had surmised correctly. Flattery had gotten her out of nearly every trouble she'd fallen in to with Bellatrix over the years, and with a sharp intake of breath at suddenly being able to see again, she found she was right. Or so she hoped. Bella stalked closer, a smirk Alecto didn't quite trust twisting the other's lips, and she warily, slowly, backed up until her back was to the door. Her eyes were trained on the other's, still aching from the pain, but she wasn't about to relax.

That is - until Bella was whispering, caressing her, and she saw the other's wand was no longer in hand.

You could do it, you know, an aggravated voice snarled inside as she smiled into the other's touch, her own wand still tightly held. Bella had thrown her around, wanting to make her point, and she'd been foolish to not realize sooner that no harm could truly come to her. She was no longer used to being second, having easily coerced Aaron into that in their relationship. The ire at being second, something she hadn't felt in so long, was fueling the fire inside at having been magically bested by the Azkaban escapee. You could...but he would have no mercy for you then.

Thus, deciding what to do next was simple.

Furious declarations from years past echoing in her mind after Bella's possessive words (I made you! I loved you!), Alecto slipped her wand into a pocket, tugging the woman's hips to her own impulsively. She was still heated from the fight, from having Bella here, and out of lust, out of love, out of anger - no one had ever compared for the intensity of feelings the wild woman before her had given her. While it was for self-preservation as much as wanting, Alecto was ready to jump back in. To the fight, to their relationship - she had to, if she and Vincent were going to be safe from the likes of Bellatrix Lestrange. "And you mine." The husky words were spoken as eyes met, and a scant moment later her lips were catching her moments-before adversary's.

[Bellatrix Lestrange]

Bellatrix didn’t fear Alecto, she had no reason to. The younger woman would never hurt her, at least not in any way that would anger the Dark Lord. Carrow may have broken her heart so many years ago, but those were different times. There had still been something alive in side of her then, somewhere deep inside. Alecto had been her escaping from the life she had been assigned, the person most hated by her husband. So many years of her life had been spent with the other woman, but she didn’t feel anything anymore. Not really. Not after fourteen very long years. Feelings were weaknesses anyway, that much she had learned.

But that didn’t mean that feelings weren’t something Alecto didn’t possess, as the woman seemed to care for her son at least. And perhaps even still cared for Bellatrix, because Aaron was not nearly as good of a companion for the sharp minded blonde. And wasn’t that truly why she had come here? Bellatrix was taking back everything that was hers, the terror Carrow felt was simply an added bonus. Because while most of her free time had been spent with their Dark Lord, or making up for lost time with her husband.

There was lost time here too.

There was no surprise when Alecto responded, and Bella smirked into the kiss, hands tangling in the other woman’s hair. “I missed you,” she whispered, forcing herself to take a step back. “Tell me more about Vincent, he’s Draco’s age isn’t he?”

[Alecto Carrow]

The entry to her home was all but destroyed from their duel, but Alecto smiled amidst the rubble and the smoke pouring off of the charred wood. Trust would never be something that they felt towards each other again, she knew, even as they held each other through the pain of betrayal and separation, of deceit and loss. But still, Alecto smiled because she was alive, and truly felt alive for the first time in many years. She was "in" Bellatrix Lestrange's pocket. Thus, she and Vincent were as safe as one could be in the world that the escapees and the Dark Lord were making in vogue again. And she doesn't want to share, never has...so there goes the arrangement with Aaron. Being able to separate from her partner-in-survival after so long publicly at his side was enough to make the blonde grin, and she laughed to herself as she thought of the conversation she'd have to have with the man who had all but ruined her body and life by impregnating her.

We're back to the old ways, Crabbe. Pack up and move out before she knows you've been home. You can see Vincent on the holidays if we survive this next wave...

"He'll be something to be proud of, one day - " Once he gets your nephew to start following him, for a change. " - but I do care for him. He knows our ways, our ideals, and he will be ready to assist us, when the time comes." She pushed open the remains of the door and led the other woman inside by the hand, barking an order to the elf to clean up the mess outside. You should have known this would happen, she berated herself briefly, turning talk towards the future. Once her old fellows escaped, it was only a matter of time before one - or more - found her and Aaron. Their presence in the upcoming fight was required - die on the battlefield, or die on the run for refusing. Or maybe, maybe, we'll get away with it one more time...