BEAUTIFUL MONSTER
THROWING HER BELONGINGS INTO A BAG, NATASHA MUSED ABOUT HER SITUATION.
The month of August had flown by quickly, which gave the girl a small amount of time to plan. Still, it had flown by a little too quickly for Natasha’s tastes, but she still made do. She managed to gather information throughout the month, whether she did it by sneaking in somewhere, pretending to be someone else, or straight-up kidnapping someone and interrogating them. She had gotten odd looks from people when she asked about certain things, but in the end, she got the information she needed.
From what she knew from Tom, he had created 6 Horcruxes throughout the years — excluding her — she had managed to squeeze some information out of a lower-ranking death eater, who had been boosting the information he had gained. Of course, she had killed him after getting the info, but still… he was a dead man either way.
Apparently, the “great and powerful dark lord” kept his most prized possessions unguarded. Sure, they were guarded by magic, but without people there, that would give her a bit of an advantage.
Zipping up her bag, Natasha glanced over at her clock, waiting for it to turn. Finally, the numbers flipped over to 3 am, and she swung her backpack over her shoulder. Licking her lips, the girl cracked open her window quietly, wincing when it let out a loud creak. Waiting a few moments, she listened for any tell-sign of someone getting up. Letting out a sigh of relief, Natasha attached her grapple to her floor, pulling on it to make sure it was secure.
Deeming it good enough, the girl aimed her grappling gun at the tree across from her window.
“What are you doing?”
Natasha’s heart stopped, eyes widening in surprise. “Hey…” she trailed off, turning away from the window and facing her sister, “Just…” Her tongue became twisted in her mouth, unable to come up with an excuse.
Yelena raised an eyebrow, her blue eyes trailing over to the bag slung over Natasha’s shoulder. “Are you leaving?” She asked incredulously, a look of shock on her face. At Natasha’s silence, the girl shook her head in disbelief, “You’ve got to be kidding me…”
“I can’t just let Hermione’s death go unpunished — all of them deserve to die for what they did to her!” Natasha exclaimed, arms moving with her. “She didn’t deserve what happened to her—!”
“—Neither did any of our victims, Natasha!” Yelena hissed, eyes narrowed angrily, “What happened to not wanting any more red in your ledger, huh?”
Natasha licked her lips, nose flaring with frustration, “You know that doesn’t count, Yelena! They know what they’re doing is wrong!”
“And you don’t?” Her younger sister retorted, hands placed on her hips.
Natasha’s right eye twitched, lips pursing together with displeasure. “You’re on some thin ice right now, Yelena.” The redhead warned, finger pointed threateningly at the younger girl. “Now, just…” Natasha trailed off, running a hand down her face – skin pulling down with her. “Just let me go.”
Turning around, Natasha prepared to leave once more.
“I’m not her, you know?”
Stumbling back, Natasha sucked in a deep breath, “Yelena, if you say one more word…” Natasha hissed out, lips pulled back in a snarl. Her younger sister rolled her eyes, arms crossed over her chest.
“I’m not like Hermione! I can take care of myself! I’m not weak like her-!”
Yelena gasped, hand grasping the cheek her sister just slapped. Natasha’s chest heaved up and down, lips trembling with anger. “Hermione wasn’t weak!” Natasha snapped, “Hermione was the smartest girl in our grade! Hermione was just like us, Yelena! She would’ve been a black widow if it wasn’t for me! I changed her fate, okay? And you know what? It was for nothing! She’s still dead!”
Uncomfortable tension filled the room – the only sound coming from the fluttering of Natasha’s curtains. The two sisters stared each other down, a fury in both of their eyes. Finally, Yelena let out a sigh of defeat, shaking her head in disbelief, “Fine,” The blonde grunted out, “Fine. If you want to do this stupid thing, I’ll help you.”
Natasha raised a brow, tension heavy on her forehead. “This isn’t your fight, Yelena.” Natasha started, sucking in a deep breath to try and ease the tension out of her body, “Going down this path… it’s not the smartest, I’ll admit, but I don’t care. My friend is dead, and she deserves justice… and if the ministry isn’t going to do it, then I will.”
“My sisters’ problems are my problems. I’ll always help you, Natasha.” Yelena whispered, coming up to stand next to her. The blonde held out her hand, gesturing for the redhead to grab on. Natasha snorted, shaking her head in bittersweet amusement.
“Huh… to the edge of the universe and back for us, I guess. Endure and survive whatever comes our way.” Natasha licked her lips, the cool august air blowing her hair about. Gripping her sister’s hand tighter, the girl sucked in a deep breath.
No matter what, she would avenge Hermione.
Taking a sip from her tea, Natasha watched her victim with a narrowed look – the crackling of the fireplace warming the tavern.
Pius Thicknesse, one of Voldemort’s lackeys in the ministry of magic. However, unlike most of his followers, Pius was different… He was under an unbreakable vow. Although he was known to be a bit racist to muggle-borns and half-breeds, he, unlike a lot of darker-pureblood families, stayed neutral during the first war.
Feeling someone’s eyes on her, Natasha took her eyes off the man, meeting the eyes of a young woman. The woman gave her a flirtatious wave, a smirk on her dirty face. She returned the smile, taking a sip of her tea. Brown eyes flickered back toward Pius, tucking her brown wig behind her ear.
The tall man stood up, drunkenly stumbling out of his stool. “Put it on my tab, Bill…” The man slurred, grabbing his coat with sloppy movements. He made his way out of the tavern, the cold, Sokovian air flowing into the building. Pulling out a twenty, Natasha made her way out of the muggle bar. However, before she could leave, the woman from before grabbed her wrist.
“You're… You’re so pretty? You look l-like,” the lady hiccupped, wiping the drool off her chin, “Are you good in bed? You look like y-you are…”
Narrowing her eyes, Natasha gave the woman a petty smile, knocking the rum she was drinking out of her hand, and into her shirt. Yanking her wrist out of the woman’s grip, Natasha made her way out of the tavern, looking for the man.
Eventually, her eyes caught sight of the man, legs speeding toward the drunk man. Pius stumbled, feet dragging across the ground – bumping into people as he went. Still, even with that man being drunk off his ass, he seemed to realize someone was watching him. Natasha watched as he looked around frantically; eyes wide as a window. Natasha stayed out of his sight, using the crowded city to her advantage. People hustled around her, bundled up for the cold weather. However, despite the cold air, they chattered about – walking in and out of restaurants and shops.
Out of the corner of her eye, she caught sight of two, young twins playing in the snow – laughter flowing out like a record. She smiled softly, reminded of her younger sister. Still, she had a mission to complete.
Pursing her lips, Natasha stood off to the side, watching as the man fumbled for his wand. Finally, the man grasped the stick, waving his wand around in a particular way. Natasha studied the movements, practicing with her wrist. With a final touch of his wand, a door appeared in front of the man. As soon as the man stepped in, the door disappeared as well.
Tugging her coat tighter around herself, Natasha waited a few minutes, giving the man a few minutes to get comfortable. After about 15 minutes, she walked up to the area the man had stood, whipping out her wand from her holster.
It only took her about 30 seconds to re-create the pattern, which allowed her to slip into the building quickly (and undetected). Gripping her wand, Natasha made her way through the house – feet as light as a cat. Still, even with her creeping, luck decided to not be on her side. Pius stood in the hallway, eyes as wide as a saucer – his cup of tea dropping from his hands.
“Don’t run,” Natasha said, jaw clenched determinedly. Unfortunately, the wizard didn’t listen, feet sliding across the floor as he booked it away from her. Natasha ran after him, rolling her eyes, and jumping over the broken glass. “Pius, stop! I’m not going to hurt you!”
“AHHHH!!!”
Coming to a stop, Natasha pointed her wand at the man – bursting him across the room. Pius grunted, a cut appearing on his head. “Look,” Natasha started, walking toward him with her hands up, hoping to feel as non-threateningly as possible, “I just… I want to have dinner with you. My treat.”
“…What?” The man breathed out, chest heaving up and down. Sighing through her nose, Natasha closed her eyes for a second, rubbing them tiredly.
“I just wanna talk with you. I’ll make us something to eat, yeah?”
Pius narrowed his eyes suspiciously before nodding slowly, taking the hand Natasha offered to help him up.
“Do you have any pasta? I’m thinking of shrimp-and-scallop Alfredo.”
Natasha watched the man fidget across from her — an uncomfortable silence in the air. His hands shook as he brought the noodles up to his mouth, blowing on them slightly to cool them down. “How is it?” Natasha asked, stabbing her fork onto one of the scallops.
Pius twitched, a wobbly smile forming on his face, “it’s… it’s good, thank you.” His voice shook with his nerves, eyes never meeting hers. Natasha hummed in response, taking a sip of her water. His eyes trailed over to the butter knife on the table, his fingers clearly itching for protection.
“You can grab it,” Natasha stated softly, head tilted to the side, “if it will make you feel better.” Pius scoffed, a defiant look flashing across his face. “Like I said earlier… I just wanna have a chat.”
“And what does the girl who lived want to talk to me about?” He snapped, clearly testing the waters. Humming softly, Natasha continued to eat calmly, keeping her eyes locked on the man.
“...November 8th, 2005. You were at a party, a ministry one, to be exact. You were all celebrating the new budget raise, thanks to a generous donation from an anonymous donor. You, thinking nothing of it, went with Lucius Malfoy to thank the donor.” Natasha leaned back in her chair, her voice calm.
Piuss’ face twitched, fidgeting in his seat nervously, “Why do you sound so pleased with yourself? That’s not like it was secret knowledge…” He scoffed, gnawing on his bottom lip.
Natasha hummed, raising an eyebrow in amusement. She had to admit, watching the man twitch brought her some kind of pleasure – proud of how she was able to make him so uncomfortable, feel so submissive and out of control. “I’m getting there…” She trailed off, pushing herself out of her chair. She brought her empty plate over to the sink, continuing her tale, “However, when you arrived there, something wasn’t right, yes? When you arrived, you were brought to a room with someone in it – someone you know all too well.”
Turning around, she leaned against the sink, locking eyes with the nervous man, “You met your anonymous donor… The Dark Lord.” Pushing herself off the sink, she stalked her way up the man, “Now, with you running for the minister of magic, you knew this was bad. Not only for the wizarding world but for your repetition. What would people think if their minister was accepting money from the Dark Lord?”
“So, in order to save your ass, you agreed to work for the man, in exchange for donations to the ministry. However, Voldemort knew you were a rat – you’d do anything to save your skin. So, he decided to force an unbreakable vow upon you.” Grabbing his tie, Natasha yanked on it playfully, a sadistic look in her eyes. “You, my little rat, are gonna solve all of my problems.”
Pius gulped, eyes almost bulging out of his head. “What?” His voice shook with fear, eyes flickering down to her hand, which still had a playful grip on the piece of fabric he was wearing. Natasha rolled her eyes, letting go of the tie with a huff. “Ugh, how daft could you be? I’m gonna use you as my inside voice, Pius.” Natasha said in a mocking tone, flicking him on the forehead, “God, is there anything even going on in there? Are the lights even on?”
“Hey!-” However, his yelp was quickly cut off as Natasha flicked her wand, a silent slienco flashing through her head. Skin formed on his mouth, preventing the man from speaking.
“Does anyone tell you that you talk a lot?” Natasha snarked out, a look of annoyance on her face. “Now, because I’m going to be using you as my inside my voice, I can’t have anyone finding that out. So, while this has been a lovely chat, I do have to get going.”
Taking a small step away from the man, Natasha raised her wand, muttering a single word,
“Imperio.”
Natalia lay on her bed, the old grandfather clock in the hallway signaling the next hour. It was quiet within the house, the sound of crickets singing from the outside flowing through her open window. It was quiet within her mind, Tom having disappeared far into her mind. He always said he went there when he wanted to have some peace and quiet, but Natalia figured he did that whenever he wanted to feel like a normal person – to remember what it was like to not share a mind with someone else.
She rolled onto her side, her muscles screaming in disagreement. Melina had said she had gone through a growth sprout – their neighbors had called her a string bean, which had amused Alexei greatly. Faintly, she could hear the floors creak below her, somewhere around the kitchen area. It had to be around 5 am, which was when Melina got up for her morning run.
Deciding on a whim, Natalia sat up, brushing her ruffled hair out of her face. She climbed down from her loft, landing softly on the ground. She grabbed her slippers – a bunny pair that Yelena insisted that they have matching pairs – and made her way out of her room, closing her door gently. Alexei was still sleeping, usually waking up around 7 am for work. She knew Yelena would sleep through a hurricane, so she didn’t have to worry about waking up the toddler.
Feet thumping down the staircase, the redhead-recently-dyed-blue, made her way to the kitchen, where she could hear the coffee starting – her “mother” moving throughout the kitchen. It had only been a few weeks since the family moved to Ohio, and while Natalia was getting closer to the others, she was still wary. She knew that this was a mission and wouldn’t last forever, but she wanted it to be. She was… comfortable, which was something she’d never experienced before.
Stopping at the edge of the kitchen, Natalia watched the brunette with sharp eyes. People often told her that her eyes were too cold, too unnatural. To be honest, Natalia liked that about herself. It made her feel good. “Morning,” Melina greeted, turning around with a mug of coffee in her hands. Natalia could see that she was already in her workout clothes, though she had a robe on over it. “Little early up, aren’t you?”
She shrugged, making her way into the kitchen, “Couldn’t sleep.” She admitted, grabbing a mug, and began to pour herself a cup of coffee. Melina raised an eyebrow at that but allowed the girl to continue what she was doing – even offering her the creamer and sugar. She closed her eyes in bliss as she took the first sip, taking a moment to savor the unique taste.
Opening her eyes, Natalia locked eyes with Melina – meeting the woman’s comforting, brown eyes. The young girl’s lips parted, a question on the tip of her tongue. “How are you able to pretend?” The girl blurted out, heart dropping as she spoke. “Sorry. I’ve… It’s been keeping me up these past few days. I don’t get it. How are you so good at pretending to be a wife – a mother, even? I mean, not just out in public; you do it here too. I just… I’m confused.”
Melina paused, taking a second to take in that information. “I’m trying to give you girls what I didn’t have. All I had growing up was darkness, and I guess… I want you girls to see the good in the world – that it’s not all bad.”
“But you know this is going to eventually come to an end, right?” Natalia’s voice cracked, “That we’ll have to go back to that darkness, too.”
The mother and daughter stared down at each other, a slight shimmer in their eyes. “Yes.” Melina replied, “But if I was somehow given another chance at this life – this family. I would do it all over again. Natalia, I’ve only known you for a few weeks, but these have been the best weeks of my life. I would risk everything for this family to be real.”
Natasha groaned, eyes blinking rapidly to wake herself up. God, was she really now having dreams about her family, too? Sure, she had wonderful memories with them, but… reliving those moments are like a nightmare for her – knowing damn well she wouldn’t get those moments back.
Was this her subconscious trying to tell her something? To try, and show her some hidden meaning. Natasha scoffed, rolling her eyes. She sat up, pushing herself off the shitty bed from the room she’d rented, eyes glancing over at the clock. It read 8:00 pm, which meant she had dozed off for 30 minutes. Natasha hoped that wherever she was supposed to be, people didn’t notice anything suspicious about her being gone. She grabbed her boots, tying them up tightly.
It’s not like it mattered anyway.
She had people to hunt down.