Tending to wounds
Chapter 1: Tending to Wounds
Bellatrix thought herself a sensible woman, one who wasn’t easy to surprise or sway. So now looking at a human gorged Nagini, slithering towards her with the young mudblood that was normally glued to Harry Potter’s hip, wrapped up in her tail almost protectively. Her brow furrowed, unsure of what to make of the scene before.
The snake moved fluidly, despite the full belly and the young woman in her grasp, towards the Dark Lord.
Both Bellatrix and the Dark Lord looked at her, the latter raising an eyebrow. “Who have you eaten little one?” His eyes roved over the mess of bloody chestnut curls, the only part of the woman that was visible.
Nagini let out low hisses, her head bending down towards the girl, tongue flicking out as if to kiss her forehead.
“You ate one of my Death Eaters?” Rage furrowed his brow as he let out a menacing hiss. “For this filth?”
The snake snapped her head back towards her master, hissing and spraying venom in his direction, body coiling further around the girl as if to hide her.
The Dark Lord let out a cackle, making every head snap to his. His eyes shine with glee as he hisses back to Nagini, no longer aggressive.
He turned suddenly, green eyes meeting coal black as he spoke, “Bella, I need you to get the girl from Nagini and tend to her. Make sure she is treated well and cleaned. Something for your sister to do for us.” The threat was clear in his tone, she would not fail in something so simple.
She nodded, leaning forward to let the snake wrap around her. Then with a crack apperated back to Malfoy Manor.
Bellatrix huffed, a sneer painting across her face as Nagini stared down her snout at her. “So we are doing this the hard way are we?”
The snake’s tongue flicked out in what looked like an irritated manor.
Letting out a sigh, the raven haired woman wondered what she did to deserve this. The Dark Lord had tasked her with getting the woman from Nagini’s grasp and to bathe and care for her until Narcissa was called upon. When she had become both a snake and babysitter she had no idea.
“I just want to bathe her,” she tried to reason, only to have that tongue flick out at her once more.
She felt her patience wane at the snake's overprotectiveness towards the girl, and with a growl she pounced on the snake.
Her arms wrapped around the wriggling mass that started to struggle, the large reptilian snout headbutting her as she cursed at it to let the child go. Hands grappled at scaly flesh that flexed beneath her fingertips until she suddenly found herself coiled in Nagini’s tail with the girl she was trying to unravel.
Bellatrix groaned, arms trapped against her body as she struggled in the hold of the cold muscle tightening around her. Another curse left her lips.
A snort of laughter drew the attention of both the woman and snake wrestling on the floor. “What in Morgana’s name is going on here?” The smooth, rich but amused voice of Narcissa flitted through the air.
The dark haired woman tried to crane her neck back to look at her fair haired sister, letting out a huff at the soft laughter emitted at her position.
“Are you having fun playing with Nagini, Bella?”
Bellatrix let out a snarl, shifting against the dark green scales that bound her place harder than before.
“Let me go you overgrown worm,” she bit out through clenched teeth.
A low hum resounded from her younger sister before silence shrouded the room. Then Nagini’s hold on her slowly loosened, until she uncoiled both her and the girl completely. “Thank you Nagini,” Narcissa cooed at the large reptile.
Wasting no time, the raven haired woman scooped up the prone and pale form of one Hermione Granger, letting out an angry growl at the state of the girl.
Her chestnut curls were a wild and tangled mess, her skin pale and clammy. Her shirt was torn and bloody, her bottom half exposed, covered in blood what looked to be other bodily fluids. She snarled, pulling the girl closer to her protectively.
“Bella!” Narcissa gasped, her hands covering her mouth in her shock and horror. “Bella her leg!”
Bellatrix’s eyes snapped down to what drew her sister’s attention and gasped. The poor girl's inner thigh was turning an alarming shade of purple as it weeped a clear liquid from two puncture wounds.
Black eyes rounded on the snake, “You bit her?!”
Nagini seemed to writhe in place, her head swaying back and forth in visible distress. Her tongue barely poked out of her mouth as she let out a soft hiss.
Narcissa hummed again, eyeing the snake, “she was aiming at Dolohov,” her blue eyes raked over Hermione’s lifeless form, clutched tightly in her sister’s arms. “Was he the one who did this to the girl?”
Bellatrix took a step backwards at the fury coating her sister's words.
“She’s just a child!” She shrieked, voice rising in pitch. The black haired woman briefly imagined a banshee in place of her seething sister. “Where is the fool? I’ll kill him myself.”
Bellatrix blinked at the woman, eyes flicking to Nagini’s swollen belly then back to piercing blue.
Narcissa followed her gaze, sighing softly in relief before a whine drew her attention back to the issue at hand.
“What exactly happened Bella?” The blonde walked over to the rosewood cabinet along the far wall. She rummaged through it, side eyeing her sister.
Taking a deep breath, Bellatrix freed one of her hands, running it through her curls in an attempt to tame them. “We went for the prophecy, as you know.” She unconsciously rocked the girl in her arms. “We had cornered them, held all but Potter at wand point.”
The blonde nodded along, a bucket and a milky white potion in her dainty hands.
“Dolohov had the girl,” she continued, frowning “he looked more manic than usual, he was unusually gleeful.” She trailed off, brow furrowing.
Narcissa stepped up to the pair, idly setting the bucket down before uncorking the stopper on the potion.
Bellatrix watched as she gently tiled the girl’s head back and poured the potion into her mouth, her long elegant fingers rubbing her throat to coerce the girl to swallow.
“Lucius was taunting Potter, trying to get the prophecy, before the Order came down on us.” She raised a brow at the potion.
Answering the unspoken question, Narcissa murmured, “It’s a calming draught mixed with a dreamless sleep.”
The dark haired witch nodded at the explanation. “I don’t remember Dolohov in the fight, he must’ve left with her,” she looked back down to the crumpled form in her arms. “Next thing I know Nagini is slithering toward us hissing and spitting venom, while having obviously eaten someone and holding the girl in her tail.”
Bellatrix let out a sigh, “we feared she had eaten one of the children. Though the Dark Lord wasn’t pleased at the loss of Dolohov.” Her dark eyes met intense yellow orbs, “He and Nagini had a hissing match and then he was suddenly giddy. He told me to care for her until you were able to, and here we are.”
Narcissa looked back down to the bite wound, pulling out a wet cloth covered in what smelled strongly of dittany. “And that led you to wrestling Nagini, rather than using magic to free the girl?” She wiped at the girl's legs, frowning as the puncture marks refused to heal. “We might have to do this the muggle way.” She murmured.
The blonde continued to sponge bathe the brunette as best she could, thoroughly cleaning the blood and… she shuddered. She wanted to kill the man currently being digested in Nagini’s stomach.
“Hold her still Bella,” Narcissa dropped to her knees, gently prying the girl's legs open and looping the injured leg over her shoulder for better access to the wound.
“What are you doing?” Dark eyes narrowed at her, but did as she was told.
Blue eyes flickered up to meet the coal eyes of her sister, “saving her life,” her hand slipped up the bottom of Bellatrix’s dress, grasping the knife bound to her leg and raising it slowly. “I need to get the blood flowing, bring the poison to the surface and suck it out.” She glanced at Nagini who had slithered closer.
Bellatrix shifted the girl slightly, using her knees to open the girl up more.
Narcissa nodded to her, gently cutting along the bite. She leaned forward, mouth latching on as soon as blood started to flow.
The blonde sucked hard, face scratching up as the venom burned her tongue. She leaned over, spitting the blood into the bucket before latching on again. Her fingers gripped Hermione’s thigh in a bruising grip, her knuckles turning white.
Nagini let out low hisses, her head butting against the girl’s arm as if to offer comfort to the comatose child.
Bellatrix watched half in worry over her sister and half in amusement at the snake’s actions.
Narcissa was losing color fast, her body seemed to sway slightly and tremble before she gripped the leg harder to steady herself.
“Cissy?”
Blue eyes seemed to glow in determination before closing again before she pulled away from the wound. “I think I got it all.”
Black eyebrows furrowed at the slightly slurred words. Bellatrix peered down over the brunette’s shoulder where Narcissa slumped on the floor between their combined legs.
Narcissa coughed, lurching forward and retching into the bucket. Sweat covered the back of her neck as she emptied her stomach, shivers wracking her body. She waved a hand back towards the cabinet, words jumbled, “anti-venom, red label,” her breathing was ragged, “both need,” She slouched against Hermione, resting her head on the brunette’s thigh.
Bellatrix looked down to the young witch in her arms then to the potion cabinet. Even in Narcissa’s delirious state she could see her elder sister trying to form equations in her head to get the potion.
“Magic Bella,” she panted, snapping the raven haired beauty out of her reverie.
Black curls bounce at the soft self deprecating chuckle from the woman, before waving her hand, “ Accio anti-venom.” The vial shot across the room and into her awaiting palm.
“Feed her a small bit,” the blonde shivered, body growing warm with the slight fever that had begun. She watched as Bellatrix followed her instructions, repeating her earlier ministrations of soothing the liquid down her throat with her fingers, before grasping the bottle herself and knocking it back in one gulp.
“Why didn’t you use that to begin with?” Bellatrix cocked her head to the side, studying her sister quizzically.
Narcissa blinked her bleary eyes at her sister, “there was too much in her system to break down.”
Blue eyes closed, and Narcissa slumped forward lifelessly into the youngest witches lap, her blonde curls splayed over her stomach and her cheek perched on her bare pelvic bone.
“Under any other circumstances, I would tease you about how scandalous a position you are in Cissy.” Bellatrix murmured, flicking her wand to make her sister feather light and levitate her.
She rose with the smaller girl in her arms, guiding the three of them down to her room. She heard the telltale signs of Nagini slowly slithering behind them, seemingly not wanting the child from her sight.
Kicking open the door, she winced as it rebounded loudly off the wall. With a flick of her wand Narcissa floated over to the bed and it tucked her in.
Following the blonde's body she set Hermione upon the bed, before undressing the scraps left of her clothes. She let out a soft hum, debating on redressing her or leaving her in nothing for Narcissa to deal with later.
With a sigh and a swish of her hand a large white button up flew into her hands. As gently as she was able she dressed the girl, and slowly buttoned up the shirt, eyes following the trail of her fingers. The girl was attractive, she would give her that, much more so swaddled in one of her own shirts.
Pulling back the covers she set the girl near Narcissa, watching with glee as the elder woman shifted into her and threw a leg over her hip.
Bellatrix let out a chuckle, changing herself and crawling in after them, she deserved a good rest too she supposed.
She dark haired witch groaned as she felt the bed dip again. Cool scales rubbed pleasantly against her skin as Nagini slinked under the covers like an overgrown cat, curling into all three of them.
With a smile Bellatrix closed her eyes and welcomed the dark to take her. Thoughts flickering to what role the young and injured woman would play in their lives.