Chapter 31: 31 Revelations

To Harry's utter surprise, the various roles he played were not taxing in the least. He became different people in different situations almost automatically now and everyone liked him, especially Bellatrix. Her growing obsession with him was a bit concerning, especially after she had learned about what happened to the warden of the prison and her previous guards.

The old Egyptian curse called 'An Eye for and Eye', was a very good spell. It paid someone back with an equivalent amount of wounds and hardships that they had inflicted or allowed inflicted upon others. It was a very useful spell and quite efficient. It started with slights at first and escalated to the worst offences.

The thing was, Harry seemed to have inadvertently found a kindred spirit as he played the role that was best suited to sway Bellatrix into cooperating with him, Confused Dark Grey Lord. She had latched onto him and her thoughts of corrupting him were both intriguing and concerning. Her utter desire for him to have her as much as she wanted him to in a few years, was also alarming and flattering.

Mind you, Bellatrix was 40 years old and had been in prison for ten years. He was the only male that had talked to her like a normal person in all that time, so she would have some favorable thoughts about him because of that. That she also assumed he was Voldemort reincarnated was just extra motivation for her.

Harry loved Padma and would marry her, as he promised her and contracted with her family to do. He would make her more powerful and their children might inherit their prodigious abilities. If not, then by then he might have enough Party Slots open to include them. Then again, he had already set aside the next three slots for Padma's sister, Susan, and Hermione.

His latest level benchmark of Level 50 had given him the Party Slot he had expected, which meant he should get another at 75 and another at 100, if the pattern of every 25 levels held true. Padma on the other hand, had a lot of skills and was levelling them up quickly, thanks to his own experience. The problem was, she was not gaining a lot of personal levels to raise or boost her normal stats.

Of course, Harry would discuss things with Padma and see what she wanted to do. She loved her sister; but, maybe they could defer her getting a spot until after Susan, or perhaps after both Susan and Hermione. He couldn't deny that he believed that they would benefit the most from the abilities that they would gain by becoming a party member.

The problem with that idea was that if he invited Susan, she would want her best friend Hannah to be next. The same would be true if they added Parvati and she would want Lavender to be added next. It would also let his secret out to a lot more people, because he was sure that there was no way that either of those girls wouldn't tell their best friends about it.

Harry sighed and pushed those thoughts aside, especially his ridiculous thought about adding Bellatrix as a party member. There would be no way to hide Bellatrix from Padma if she was a party member, so that was off the table. For now, anyway. He had already added Kreacher as a Familiar and the little elf gained the Minion (Devoted) class, which opened up a lot of possibilities.

Could Padma also add a house elf as a familiar? Would they also benefit from it like Kreacher had? Harry asked himself as he popped away from his bed to Grimmauld Place to pick up the elf and then they both popped over to Azkaban prison.

Things were quiet in the prison hallway and they walked over to Bellatrix's cell. Once again, she wore a nearly see-through nightgown and Harry was glad that he hadn't started puberty yet, because even concealed behind a bra and panties, he could easily tell that Bellatrix benefitted greatly from the nutrition and health potions he had been feeding her every night.

Harry couldn't tell you why he didn't cast the Egyptian curse on the woman. If anyone deserved it for their actions, it was her. Then again, she had spent ten very long years in prison being tortured. Was that enough for someone to suffer through? Did getting revenge for her replace the revenge that her own victims would want on her? Was it fair?

The laugh in Harry's throat came out and Bellatrix gave him a beautiful smile at the familiar sound. It had been a lot like her own laugh and she approved, since it gave Harry a manic look to his eyes. She knew he had realized something important and looked eager to find out what it was.

“Life isn't fair.” Harry told her.

“Why would it be fair, my lord?” Bellatrix asked, a little confused.

“Exactly.” Harry said. “I was debating giving you the same curse that I gave the warden.”

Bellatrix took a moment to think that through. “You are weighing my worth against those of the people I killed during the war.”

“No.” Harry shook his head and Bellatrix was surprised. “I was weighing what you went through since you were captured against what I did to your tormentors. Was it fair that they paid for their actions and you didn't? Or have you paid for them already by being treated as you were while also being a prisoner of Azkaban?”

“My... my lord, I...” Bellatrix reached out through the bars and Harry took her hand. “I am an evil woman. I've always been cruel and harsh to those that treated me badly, just because of my family name. My behavior didn't help and actually made the Black Family even more infamous and known for dark magic and sadistic members.”

Harry breathed in a huge breath and let it out. “I understand your position, Bella.”

“Do you, my lord? You didn't let your family affect you, both times. You escaped from them as soon as you could and made your own way. The only difference this time is that you didn't take revenge on the muggles because the Ministry would have detected the magic and known it was you.”

Harry wasn't sure how to respond to that. She had guessed damn near exactly what Harry was thinking, because the curse would be easily detected at the Dursley's. Since he was the only magical known to live there, he would be the first and probably only suspect if anything happened to them.

“Don't worry, my lord. They will be dealt with in due time.” Bellatrix said and regretted that she couldn't pull Harry's hand through the bars to let him feel her up. “If you don't want to wait that long, you can always ask Kreacher to deal with them in a more normal way.”

Harry looked down at the house elf and Kreacher nodded several times. “I might accept that offer at some point in the future.”

“Kreacher is happy to serve, Master.” Kreacher said with a smile and slipped a tray of potions and food through the slot under the cell's door.

“Bella, you need to eat and then drink the potions.” Harry said.

“I wish I could do more than that for you.” Bellatrix said and she pulled Harry close to the bars. Her hand reached up and she ran her fingers through his hair. “We can't hug and I can't kiss your... cheek.”

Harry knew exactly what she really meant. “That would activate the infidelity clause in the contract.”

Bellatrix smiled as her hand slid down to his neck and she gently caressed the skin there. “If that is your only reason to refuse, then you should read the fine print of the infidelity clauses.”

“I love her.” Harry said.

“And I love my lord.” Bellatrix said and her fingertips danced along the nape of Harry's neck to make him shiver. “That didn't stop me from having a proper marriage as was expected of me.”

Harry really didn't know what to say to that.

“Will you stay here and watch me eat? It could be like we're having a picnic.” Bellatrix said.

“I will get Master a matching meal.” Kreacher said and popped away.

Harry chuckled and Bellatrix gave him a questioning look. “He can't pop back without me guiding him through the wards.”

Bellatrix softly laughed and reluctantly let him go. “Then you better chase him down before he tries.”

“We'll be right back.” Harry said and apparated away.

Bellatrix cleared off her nightstand and brought it over to the front of the cell and set it up with her tray and carried over the comfy chair from her tiny writing desk.

Harry and Kreacher popped back in and Bellatrix smiled at them as Kreacher set up a similar table and Harry sat down to be served. The pair had an interspersed conversation as they ate and Bellatrix drank her potions.

“They found Sirius today, too.” Bellatrix said and sipped a glass of wine. It had been water before it was slipped through the food slot. That little bit of magic made her very grateful to her lord.

“What happened?” Harry asked, curious.

“Nothing.” Bellatrix said with a shrug. “They carried him out into the grounds and buried him.”

“Hold on.” Harry put down his own wine. “A prisoner died under mysterious circumstances and nothing was done? There was no investigation or even questions asked?”

“Mysterious circumstances?” Bellatrix laughed. “My lord, you presume too much! We are prisoners for life. When we die, there is no fanfare or questions asked. We are fully expected to die and will be buried right afterwards.”

Harry stared at her for a moment, then shook his head. “I removed someone that betrayed my family by having Pettegrew as the secret keeper instead of him, who betrayed me personally by abandoning his duty to take care of me and I grew up in an abusive home, and nothing will be done about it?”

Bellatrix reached out through the bars to take Harry's hand. “Do you feel guilty that he chose vengeance over your safety? That his revenge was more important to him than family?”

“No, I... it's just that...”

Bellatrix squeezed his hand. “My lord, you are trying to assign feelings where you think feelings should be. He was someone that hurt you and you dealt with him. It is over. It is done.”

Harry looked into Bellatrix's eyes and knew she fully believed that. “And what you did during the war?”

Bellatrix knew what he was insinuating. “I could claim I was under orders.”

Harry had to chuckle about that.

Bellatrix smiled. “I removed obstacles for my lord to take over. Like anyone loyal to any cause, we were right and everyone else was wrong. If you opposed us, you were the enemy.”

“And the Longbottoms?” Harry asked.

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“I, my husband, my brother in law, and their friend Barty, assaulted the protected and barricaded home of two Aurors and Order of the Phoenix members, because we suspected that they knew where you were.”

Harry gave her a pointed look. “Do you mean the me I am now or the me I used to be?”

Bellatrix interlaced her fingers with his. “Both, of course. My lord only had two main families left to deal with, the Potters and the Longbottoms. The Potters were first and they died. Since the Longbottoms were still alive, there was no one else that might have seen or known where either of you were.”

Harry took a deep breath and let it out. “Your logic is destroying my preconceptions, Bella.”

Bellatrix softly laughed. “I told you, my lord. I am an evil woman. I've grown up with evil, played with evil, and loved evil. That I've never lain with my lord because of my marriage vows, doesn't matter, because I desperately wanted to.”

“He refrained, specifically because you were married.” Harry prompted.

“Yes, and his appearance had started to change over the years and he became self-conscious. By the time he met you, he was too deep into madness and self mutilation to consider my feelings. I didn't care if he had lost his pureblood looks, his aristocratic air, and his caring attitude.” Bellatrix whispered. “I loved him and that was all that mattered.”

“He was too deep into madness and not you?” Harry asked.

“I really wish I could kiss you for being so cute!” Bellatrix let out a girlish giggle. “Who ever said I wasn't mad?”

Harry opened his mouth to say something and realized he didn't really know how to continue the conversation after that revelation.

Bellatrix gave him a coy smile. “So, is your blushing future bride starting to bud? Are her lady bits as dark as I suspect they are?”

“BELLA!” Harry gasped with a blush.

Bellatrix laughed and cackled, because teasing her lord was so much fun when he least expected it.

*

Hermione actually had to fight for a seat at the very front row of the History of Magic class. That had never happened before, in any of her classes, and she wondered exactly why everyone was so eager to listen to Harry teach what everyone else in the school thought was a boring subject.

Then he started teaching.

Then he performed magic that she had never seen before.

Then he awed everyone, especially her, by imparting knowledge in the best way possible.

Hermione vibrated in her seat as she watched the bloody carnage on a battlefield, the spellwork cast from tiny witches and wizards, and the ruthless goblins as they desperately fought to win by any means necessary.

In her mind, she started breaking down the spells she knew about and applied them to both the animation of the figures and the spells those figures cast. Thanks to her Occlumency practice, this process did not interfere with her enjoyment of the spectacle or stopped her from appreciating what Harry was doing. He took dry, boring, facts and dates and made them fun for everyone to learn.

If her guess was right, there were at least six girls on the edge of their seats as they watched both the battle and Harry himself. Hermione would never admit that she was one of them and that she really liked him. Everyone knew he was betrothed to Padma Patil, who stared at the battlefield and nodded along as different things happened.

She knows this already! Hermione thought with surprise and looked up from the display to see Harry's smile and slight nod. He knows I know she knows!

Harry winked and her and pointed to the battlefield.

Hermione changed her gaze to there and saw a group of wizards gather together for several moments, then a quarter of the battlefield disappeared around them and took out most of the goblin offensive with them.

The battle was over.

“As you saw, that was a last ditch and desperate ploy to devastate the enemy.” Harry said as the battlefield calmed down and the figures stopped moving. “Can anyone tell me why it almost didn't work?”

Hermione's hand shot into the air and joined all of the others.

“Miss Granger.” Harry said.

“If the goblins had realized that the wizards needed all seven members of that small group to make the spell work, they could have stopped it before it went off.”

“Exactly, Miss Granger. Ten points to Griffindor.” Harry said.

Hermione felt a little thrill go through her and she looked up from the battlefield at his smiling face. She somehow knew that his awarded points would actually be applied and it wasn't just lip service to make her happy.

“That's why I said it was a desperate attempt. Anything at all could have made it fail. One of them could have tripped as they ran over the uneven ground or a bit of debris flung at them from any number of spells could have distracted them.” Harry said and had everyone's attention now. “Luckily for everyone, that wasn't the case. It worked and it ended the goblin's rebellion. The notable figures...”

No one reacted as Harry talked and several sheets of papers appeared on their desks with the summarized information. He waved his wand and the battlefield reset itself and then the little figures disappeared and everyone had a pair of them appear on their desks.

“That concludes today's class. Thank you all for coming and I'll see you on Thursday.” Harry said and everyone started packing up.

“That was wonderful, Harry!” Padma exclaimed and hugged him. “You really brought that lackluster and boring accounting to life.”

Harry hugged her back. “I embellished a bit with the smaller details, because they hadn't been included as important notes.”

“It didn't affect the battle, since it was just aesthetics.” Padma added.

“Seeing it instead of reading it, is a great way to teach a history class.” Susan said as she and Hannah approached. The other blonde girl nodded.

“Most of the school is jealous of us.” Mandy Brocklehurst said, proudly. “The poor sods can't have our Harry! He's ours!”

The other people gathering around let out a cheer.

Hermione was a bit in awe at Harry's confirmed popularity.

“We have free time until supper...” Harry started to say.

“LAWN GAMES!” Most of the boys in both Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff yelled at the same time.

“I have one vote for lawn games. Anyone else?” Harry asked and everyone laughed.

Hermione was surprised as she was included, with both a hand on her arm from Harry and Padma had taken her hand. They met up with Parvati and Lavender in the Entrance Hall and both girls only gave her a cursory glance before they were all outside and something like a little carnival appeared down beside the Black Lake.

Different games like Cornhole with beanbags, lawn darts, horseshoes, lawn bowling, cricket, and a few others were all set up in only a few minutes and everyone started having fun. A lot of fun.

Hermione had never seen anything like it before and she stared at everything for nearly the entire time, right up until her eyes locked onto Harry's and he gave her a shy smile.

Padma handed her a lawn dart. “I want you to put this right into Snape's foul mouth.”

“Wh-wh-what?” Hermione asked, shocked.

Padma and everyone around them laughed.

“A picture of his face is inside the target loop.” Harry said and pointed. “Snape's mouth is worth the most points.”

Hermione looked over and saw that he was right. Snape's trademark sneer stared at her and she felt annoyed at the man for ruining two of her classes. Despite never having played the game before, the dart made a shunk sound as it sank right into the ground between Snape's twisted lips.

“Well done, Hermione. Well done.” Harry praised her.

Everyone cheered and Hermione blushed from both embarrassment and pride.

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