Black Widow

LIVING WITHOUT A VOICE IN YOUR HEAD WAS WEIRD.

Growing up with someone to talk to 24/7, and now suddenly they're gone... it was... she felt empty in a way. Her first friend just vanished and now she's by herself. Someone had informed the entire school of her little mental breakdown and now people are either mocking her or giving her pitying looks.

God, she hated those looks with a burning passion. With Tom gone, it was like it was easier for her to get her memories back. They were all coming back, and she found herself missing her found family even more.

What happened to them after Yelena and she were taken to the Red Room? From what she could remember, Yelena was taken to a different age group, and Natasha never saw her again. Was Yelena okay? Did she escape? Yelena was younger than her, so she didn't graduate yet. She was most likely still there. Unless she managed to escape the hell hole.

She wasn't sure what happened to her parents. She remembered her mama was shot, and she wasn't quite sure what happened to her Papa. Natasha sighed as she took a sip from her tea, discreetly touching her earpiece. "Clint, is the guy constipated or something? He's taking forever, and I don't see him in my area? Do you still got eyes on the sniper?" She muttered, taking a sip from her cold tea.

She grimaced, pushing the cup away from her. She could hear her blonde partner huffing -- seemingly running from something or running towards something. "Sorry, Nat! The sniper moved rooftops, and the guy should be coming to you soon." Clint explained.

Natasha hummed, smiling at the waiter as the woman took and refilled her tea. She slouched forward, her sunglasses falling down her face slightly. Her green eyes glanced around until her eyes found the target. She watched the man get out of a car, two bodyguards trailing behind him.

Damien Jorden. Age 36. Trafficking little girls and boys, and using the money he gets from them to pay a rouge shield agent to give him files to a certain case involving his brother. "Nat," Clint stated, "Look up." Following his directions, she looked around the rooftops until her eyes locked on the sniper's red dor. She smirked and lifted her palm. On her palm, she wrote in large letters: 'Behind you.' She could see the gun falling out of the man's grasp as an arrow pierced through his left eye. "You're up, Nat! Go kick that guy's ass!" Pulling out a twenty, she placed it underneath her cup so it didn't fly away and started trailing the guy.

It seemed like he didn't have very good security guards because they didn't even notice she was trailing them. But then again, men like to doubt little girls. Probably thought she was just curious about what they were doing and decided to let her follow; maybe even try to traffick her.

She ducked behind a trash can as she watched the three men enter a warehouse. She quickly ran inside before the door could lock and hid behind a pillar as she listened to the men talk. "We got a handsome one, huh, boys? Image how much someone would pay for him." Damien sounded smug, and Natasha felt bile try to come up her throat as she caught eyes with a young boy -- no older than five. She lifted a finger to her lips, and he nodded discreetly.

Ducking behind another pillar, she scanned the warehouse. It didn't have much of an echo, so it made sense why many people didn't hear the crying and screaming children. Or they did, and just didn't care. It was owned by the city, so she was confused about why people didn't come and check in on this place. Grabbing her gun, she crept around the corner slowly and locked eyes with one of the guards. "Hey, buddy." Without any time to react, she reached out and grabbed his arm, twisting it into the opposite position until she heard a satisfying snap. Kicking him in the face, she watched with satisfaction as a few teeth flew out of his mouth. Fury ordered her to make sure they were alive by the end of his, so she simply shot him in the leg and moved on to the next guard.

Sliding underneath his legs, she used one of her legs to kick him in the balls and jumped back up, swinging around and kicking him in the face -- knocking the man out. With both of the guards taken care of, she turned around to see Damien holding a shotgun -- his hands slightly shaking. She quirked an eyebrow up, a playful smirk on her face. "What's wrong, Damien? Scared that someone smaller than you was able to take out your two guards? Or is it the fact that you got caught in human trafficking and using the money from it to get information from a rogue shield agent?" She chuckled at his face. God, he looked ready to throw up.

"I-I'll shoot!" He exclaimed, pointing the gun at her. He cocked it -- as if that would intimidate her. She shook her head with an amused smile on her face and shot the man in the knee. He let out an agonizing scream as he dropped to the ground, clutching his bleeding knee. "Oh, shut up! You really like to pretend you're the Alpha male, but in reality, you're just a coward. Come on, Damien; be a man about it! Or is it easier for you to act that way in front of scared kids?" She watched his face grow redder with each taunt.

Walking towards him, she kneeled in front of him. "You're gonna tell me where the rest of the kids are. We've already arrested your clients that were gonna buy them, so we know they're still here. Come on, you can't lie; I saw one earlier."

He snarled, spitting in her face. She scoffed, wiping the disgusting spit off her face and standing up, punching him in the face. "Really? Spitting in people's faces is something children do." Producing some spit, she spat some in his face. "Luckily, I'm still a minor. I can do it if I want. Now, where are they?"

Damien coughed, pointing to the left. Humming, she quickly alerted the local police that the children were here. Grabbing Damien roughly, she pulled him out of the building. "You're gonna have a fun time in prison, buddy. People like you don't last long in there." She watched as his face paled drastically as she shoved him into the back of Clint's car. Grabbing the rope that Clint handed to her, she tied him up and slammed the door shut.

"Wanna go get tacos after this?" Clint asked, getting into the driver's seat. She shrugged, placing her feet on the mantle. "Sure." She smiled at the older male and he cheered -- both of them ignoring the annoying yells of Damien in the back seat.

Without her personal dictionary, Natasha found it ten times harder to find things now. She groaned as she flipped through another book -- both Blaise and Daphne having the same reactions as they flipped through books. "I'm gonna be floating in the lake dead if I don't find a way for me to breathe underwater for long periods." Natasha honestly felt like banging her head against the table.

"You could always talk to Professor Slytherin in your common room." an airy voice was heard out of nowhere. Turning around, she locked eyes with a blonde girl -- who almost looked like a fairy. Natasha quirked up an eyebrow as she stared at the younger Ravenclaw girl. "I'm sure he'll have all your answers."

Tilting her head to the side, she asked, "And who are you?" The blonde girl smiled, bowing slightly.

"I'm Luna Lovegood, Natasha Romanoff. If you ask him about the stabbing snake incident, he'll be happy to tell you about whatever you wish." Smiling at the three Slytherins, Luna skipped away from the trio. Natasha raised an eyebrow, wanting to know how the hell the girl knew that. Turning back around in her seat, she was faced with the confused faces of Blaise and Daphne. "But, he doesn't speak any English. All he does is hiss at us, and gets frustrated when we don't answer." Blaise said, looking at Natasha in a new light. "Why did Looney Lovegood even know that anyways?"

"Looney?" She inquired, a little concerned for the girl. Sure, Luna did seem a bit weird but... she hoped she wasn't going through any bullying. "Anyways-- why are you all giving me that look?"

Daphne sighed through her nose, rubbing her forehead as she gave Natasha a pointed look. "Because, Natasha," she started, "Lovegood seems to always know everything -- even before it happens. It's rumored to be that she's a seer, and... whenever she does give advice like that -- something good always happens to whoever she told it to. It would be a good idea to talk to him. Maybe... maybe something will happen between you two."

Natasha narrowed her eyes as she stared at the long-haired man in the painting. She never saw it, but sometimes, the students would say that he would switch genders or even species! He had inky black hair, that was slightly wavy, and striking green eyes. He had a mischievous smile on his face and a glint in her eyes she often saw in Tom's eyes. He seemed to notice her staring and tilted his head to the side as he studied her. He opened his mouth and hissed out, "What is it you want?"

"Just wanted to ask about the stabbing snake incident. Really, everyone wants to know, but no one can understand you." A look of surprise flashed through his face and he stared down at her in intrigued. "A speaker? I haven't spoken to one since the 40s. You don't look like him, though..." He trailed off, looking her over.

She smirked, shaking her head as she walked over to the painting. "Are you talking about Tom Riddle?" She asked, the man nodding. "Yes, I'm not related to him. He did live in my head for a while, and a mental breakdown of mine kicked him out. Not sure where he is now." She shrugged, shoving her hands in her pockets. "Now, are you gonna tell me a story or are you gonna keep staring at me in fascination?"

He chuckled, although, to anyone who didn't understand parseltongue, it would just sound like hissing. "I could, but you obviously came here for something else. You've certainly fascinated me, and I'll wait a bit to tell you my tale. What is it you came to me for, child?"

"I need something to help me breathe underwater longer than 30 minutes." She explained. He hummed, stroking his braid as he thought about her question. Opening his mouth once more, he asked the young girl what year she was in. "I'm in 4th. However, I was placed in a tournament meant for 6th years or older without my permission, and I have to compete in the tasks or risk losing my magic."

He stared at her sympathetically. "Have you heard of the Chambers of Secrets?" He asked. She nodded, and he gave her a toothy smile, "If you go to the girl's bathroom on the second floor, you'll see on one of the sinks, a snake lay there. My son -- Jörmungandr --  lay there. As you are not blood of mine, you cannot look him in the eyes. However, since you can speak to him, he'll be happy to close his eyes for you. It's been so long since he's gotten to speak with somebody, and I bet he'll be happy to have company. He'll lead you to my office and library down there, and you'll find what you'll need for this tournament."

She raised an eyebrow at the name, and he seemed to smirk at her reaction. Raising a finger to his mouth, he waved her off.

Did she... did she just talk to Loki? Loki as in the God from Norse Mythology. Oh god, this means... Tom was related to Loki, and now she had to talk to one of Loki's sons in the school's Plummer system. She can't believe one of the mans' behind this school was actually a god-- wait, now that she thinks about it... it makes sense.

"Сукин сын." Shaking her head, she made her way out of the common room. Guess it's time to go talk to a giant snake. Man, she reaaally loved her life right at this moment.

Natasha let out a loud sigh as she walked into the bathroom. God, she didn't wanna do this but she also didn't wanna die by drowning. If anything, she'd rather die by jumping off a cliff by saving the world or something.

She almost dragged her feet up to the sink, dragging her hand along the engravings of the snake. "Well, you only live once." Talking in a deep breath, she hissed out, "Open."

Her mouth almost dropped down as she watched the sink reveal an opening. Peaking in, she muttered Lumos under her breath. "Guess it's a good thing I brought my grappling hook with me." Shooting the hook down, she waited for the nose of it to hit something. Tugging it to make sure it was secure, she quickly jumped down.

Grimacing in disgust, she kicked the rat corpse off of her foot and unhooked the grappling hook. Lifting her wand once more, she cautiously made her way through the chamber. Water filled her shoes, and she closed her eyes in annoyance.

Continuing her journey, she finally ventured into the famous chamber. She gasped and spun around, her eyes wide with awe. This was Tom's legacy. This was his family's legacy. Clearing her throat, she began to hiss, "Jörmungandr,  I know you can hear me. My name is Natasha Romanoff, and your father told me I could come down here to look into his office and library. I am not of his blood, so I ask that you come out with your eyes closed — or at least tell me when you're going to open your eyes so I can have time to close mine."

It was quiet for a moment until the ground started rumbling. She watched as the giant serpent slithered out, his tongue flicking through the air. Thankfully, his eyes were closed. "Father sssent you?" The giant snake hissed out. His voice sounded young but yet so old at the same time. She smiled, although she knew he couldn't see her. "Yes. Well, the painting in the common room did." She replied.

Jor (that's what she started calling him in her mind) was quiet for a moment, before replying, "How can you speak to me if you're not related to me in some way? You smell of the last speaker that was here. I think his name was Terry? Tank? Tom? Yes, Tom Riddle!" Natasha snorted, her mind conjuring up a reaction that Tom would have given. He would have been pissed that Jor hadn't remembered his name.

She shrugged, shifting her weight onto her left leg. "I'm not sure. I've been able to talk to him since I was a baby. But, enough of him. Can you lead me to the library?" She asked. Jor nodded, and before she knew it — a bright green light flashed in the chamber.

She blinked in shock as she stared at the young adult male in front of her. He had wavy, dark black hair that flowed down to his lower back. He had the same pale skin as Loki, although he had green scales on his skin. His eyes were closed, and she noted that he had rather long lashes.

Sea-green clothing lay on his skin, and black leather boots on his feet. Natasha narrowed her eyes at the young man. He smiled, his teeth sharp — two fangs poking out of his mouth. "It would be much easier for me to get into Father's library in this form. Unless he was in a different form in the painting. He enchanted it so whenever he changed genders or species, so would the painting." He said a fond smile on his face.

"He was male last time I spoke to him." She shrugged, tilting her head to the side. "Can you open your eyes or are you gonna go full Medusa on my ass?"

He scoffed, shaking his head. "Ugh! I hated that woman. Last I heard, she was killed by two Greek Demigods and a Satyr." He chuckled, shaking his head, "Hela told me they were children! I had such a good laugh at that. And no, Natasha, my eyes can not kill you in this form." And with that, he opened his eyes.

Killing Curse Green and Sea-Green both locked eyes with each other. Jor's eyes seemed to swirl around — looking like how an ocean would. He smiled, clapping his hands together. "Follow me." She nodded, following after the tall man. He turned around, walking backward. Delicately, he quirked up an eyebrow. "What is it you're looking for, Natasha?"

"I need something to help me breathe underwater longer than an hour." She explained. The man hummed, and he turned back around. She could see how he was related to Tom with that walk. Both were confident were their looks, and liked to show off. She rolled her eyes and continued following the man. "How long have you been down here? And with Hela — does your sister come to visit you or?..." she trailed off.

He stopped, opening up a door and gesturing for her to walk in first. "I have been down here ever since Odin banished my father's children off of Asgard. Father brought me here, and made up a legend that I was here to 'cleanse Hogwarts of its filth.' Of course, when I told little Tommy that I wouldn't help him kill his fellow classmates, his reaction was so funny. He then tried to control me, and succeeded for a bit; just long enough for me to kill a girl. I then broke out of his compulsions and almost had half the mind to eat him. And then I realized having that dumble-man breathing down his neck every five seconds was a much better punishment. I swear, I became that boy's therapist for the next three years until he graduated."

Natasha couldn't help herself — she let out a loud laugh as she thought about that. Tom and Therapy? The only time that would happen is when a grieving witch traps an entire town, forcing them to live out her sitcom fantasies.

"I know, right?" Jor seemed to realize what she was thinking of and let out a good chuckle himself. "Honestly, I've never met someone as dramatic as Tom was."

Shaking her head, she walked over to one of the bookshelves, trailing her hands along the dusty books. "Do you know which books have what?" She asked, blowing some of the dust off of the old books. He hummed, shrugging as he sat down -- kicking up a leg delicately.

"Check the books out in the order of the rainbow. I'm sorry, in all my years of living, I never understood my father's organizations. He did it weird so his brother and his idiotic friends didn't try and ruin his stuff." Jor explained. Natasha let out a long sigh, closing her eyes for a second as she realized what a long night it was going to be.

Natasha grabbed a breakfast sandwich off the table as she made her way over to Blaise, leaning over his shoulder. "Have you seen Daphne, anywhere? She said she was gonna help me practice before the task." She asked the dark-skinned boy.

Blaise shrugged, taking a sip from his coffee as he fixed his septum piercing. "Last I saw her was last night. Professor Snape asked to see her, and that was it. It seems to be happening with all the other champions. The little blonde girl that always follows Fleur around like a puppy was missing this morning, and that Ravenclaw girl you're flirting with is missing as well."

"I-I'm not flirting with her!" Natasha denied, giving Blaise the stink eye as he raised an eyebrow in challenge, a cocky smirk on his face. "She's the person I'm gonna have to save in that cold lake. Honestly, Blaise, why couldn't they wait at least until April to do it? At least it would be higher than 30 degrees." Pursing her lips in annoyance, she slides down next to him.

Malfoy let out a loud, annoying whistle as he took a bite from his apple. "Oi, Potter! My father and I have a bet! He thinks you won't last 10 minutes without drowning your fat-load of an arse! I think you won't last five!" His goons laughed along with him as he stared down the red-head. It seemed he didn't get the reaction he wanted because his grin slowly slid off his face. "Potter?"

"Malfoy, you do realize insulting girls because you have a crush on them doesn't make them like you. It makes me want to strangle you even more than I want to, ferret. And for the last time, my name is Natasha Romanoff! Rosa Potter may be my birth name, but Natasha Romanoff is what I've been calling myself for years." She retorted.

His cheeks lit up a bright red, and his eyes narrowed. Walking over to her, he swung his arm over her shoulder and leaned down to whisper in her ear, "Oh, Potter... why would I ever like a filthy half-bloo-- AHHH!" He wailed as he was thrown onto the floor.

Tilting her head to the side, she held her foot over his throat. "If you don't stop talking; I will make you stop talking." Her voice was quiet, and yet it seemed to travel across the great hall as they stared at the situation in silence. Malfoy went to open his mouth, but Natasha beat him to it, "What? Is your father gonna hear about this?  Everyone in this damn school has heard that one-liner. I mean, with the insane amount of semicolons you put in those letters, you would think you didn't know basic grammar. Which is ironic -- a pureblood not knowing when to put a comma."

"--Y-You read my letters!" Malfoy exploded, staring up at her with wide eyes. She smirked, adding a bit more pressure to his throat. "Oh, yeah. The whole common room does. 'Oh, father! That pottah girl is so annoyingly beautiful, and I don't know why she gives more attention to that stupid granger girl instead of me!' Honestly, you never thought about the fact of you waking up with different hair colors every day. It's payback for talking shit about everyone to your father!" Natasha chuckled, shaking her head as she lifted her foot away from his throat.

However, it seemed that he didn't learn his lesson from getting his ass handed to him. He tried to drag her down by her foot, and she quickly reacted. Doing a quick back walkover, she used one of her legs to hit him in the face and swung her leg into his side when she landed. "Gonna go for someone when they're not looking? You really are a coward!"

"HEY!" A gruff voice shouted. Looking up, she locked eyes with Moody and sent him a charming smile. "What's goin' on here?"

She chuckled, shaking her head as she held out a hand for Malfoy to take. "Oh, nothing, sir! Malfoy just tripped on his shoelaces and I was helping him up! He really needs to learn how to tie them properly." Moody narrowed his eyes in suspicion at the girl. Nodding slowly, he grunted out, "'All right. Malfoy, tie your shoes better next time--"

"But, sir!--"

"--Quiet! Get goin', boy! Romanoff, come with me! All champions must arrive early."

Sending a wink towards Malfoy, she walked away with a smug smirk on her face.

Shivering from the cold winds, she wrapped her arms around herself as if to try and keep her warm. She knew it wouldn't really work, but it was worth a shot in her opinion. Twirling her wand around in her fingers, she looked around the crowd.

She locked eyes with familiar sea-green eyes and she blinked in surprise. Shaking her head, she dismissed the surprise. She should have known Jor would have come. Her eyes trailed over to the other champions, and she tilted her head to the side.

Cedric was chewing on his fingernails, an anxious look on his handsome face. Krum -- his face was even more broody than normal. If she was being honest, he looked constipated in her opinion. And lastly, Fleur was pacing back and forth, looking through the crowds frantically. She felt a pang of sympathy course through her body as she stared at the french woman.

She would be like that if she didn't know where Yelena was. She would be worried sick if her little sister was stuck at the bottom of the lake. Hearing the whistle blow, she waved her wand, "Å puste under vann." The crowd gasped at the spell in Norse.

Looking out into the crowd once more, she jumped into the water. Immediately, she could feel her two legs merge into a bright, green tail. Wiggling it around for a few seconds, she got used to the feeling of having a tail. Once her body got used to the odd feeling, she began swimming to the bottom of the lake. Krum was swimming slightly behind her -- his head a giant shark. She would admit -- it was impressive -- it just looked ridiculous. Slashing her wand through the cold water, she flung the seaweed that was in her way into Krum's direction. She glanced back for a split second to see him eating the seaweed.

Finally, after twenty minutes of swimming, she was able to find Daphne and the others. Swimming over to her blonde friend, she freed her of her restraints and tugged the blonde towards her. After Natasha arrived, Both Krum and Cedric got there, freeing the girls and swimming away.

Natasha couldn't help but get a gut feeling that something was wrong. Where was Fleur? Glancing over to the blonde veela's little sister, she felt her heart drop as her eyes fell onto the little girl. She looked so similar to Yelena. Weighing her options, she decided to screw it and grabbed the girl. Grabbing the ribbon that was holding Daphne's hair together, she yanked it out of her friend's hair and tied Daphne's and Fleur's little sister's wrists together. Satisfied that the young girl wasn't gonna float away, she began to swim back up.

"RHEEEEEEEEE!"

She cursed all the gods above as she was surrounded by merfolk. Thinking quickly, she blasted Daphne and Fleur's little sister up through the water and yanked one of the spears out of their hands. 'Well, there's only one way to find out if I'm good at fighting underwater.' She thought. Readying herself, she curled in on herself before springing forward.

Using the blunt end of the spear, she hit the merfolk in the head and twirled her tail around, slamming her surprising tough tail into their body. Twirling the spear around once more, she jammed it into one of their stomachs and went to go hit another one, when one of them pulled on the spear. Grabbing her wand from her swimsuit, she allowed them to have the spear but hit them with a silent stupefy.

It seemed that watching their friend float away unconscious finally made them decide to flee. Letting out a sigh of relief, she just quickly blasted herself back up to the surface -- she didn't feel like swimming anymore.

It was silent for a moment when Natasha got back up, and then the entire crowd burst into cheers. She held out her arms for someone to help her up, and as soon as she was out of the water -- her tail disappeared. Her teeth chattered as someone placed a towel over her shoulders. "Natasha, you just love to play hero, don't you?" Daphne chided, rubbing her forehead tiredly as she stared down at her friend.

She chuckled, shaking her head as she stood up slowly, stumbling as someone rammed into her. She could feel someone kissing her face, and she opened up her arms to see Fleur kissing her all over her face. "Thank you! Thank you! Thank you for saving my sister!! You truly are an angel! Merci beaucoup! Merci!!" The french girl continued to chant her thanks, hugging her tightly.

Over Fleur's shoulder, she managed to lock eyes with Hermione, who was staring at the two girls with furrowed eyebrows. Raising an eyebrow in question, the dark-skinned girl simply huffed and rolled her eyes, crossing her arms over her chest as she stomped away from Vikor, who trailed after her like a puppy.

Shaking her head at the girl, Natasha tugged the towel around herself tighter.

In another country, a short-blonde girl narrowed her eyes as she stared at the target. Raising her gun, she tilted her head up as she pulled her trigger -- the man's body slumping to the ground.

"Good job, Yelena! I believe you'll soon be ready for your first mission!"

Keeping her face blank, Yelena stepped back into line and handed the gun to the next girl up. It felt as if electricity was flowing through her veins, but she shoved down the feeling to let out the power. She would not end up as Natasha did. She would not make herself seen. She would just be Yelena Bevola.

And that's all she would ever be.