Black Widow

LAYING DOWN IN HER BED, NATASHA CLASPED HER FINGERS AROUND THE NECKLACE. Her eyes fluttered, her body exhausted from the day. Switching between the different time zones… It was killing Natasha. It didn’t even matter that she was traveling to the other time zone when she was physically resting – it was messing her up mentally. 

Still, she knew she had to keep it up. If anyone knew what she was really doing, they’d hunt her down and force her to stop. She sighed softly, snuggling further into her blanket. Before she knew it, an alarm was going off, causing the girl to get up from her “sleep”

Natasha grimaced, getting up from her bed, and flinging her feet onto the ground. The teen started her routine, preparing herself for a day at Hogwarts. She was, undoubtedly, exhausted – mentally drained beyond repair. She felt like she had been run over by a bus, as well as dropped in a vat of acid. “Natasha!” Remus called, his voice traveling up the stairs, “Time to go!” 

“Okay!” She called back, swinging her tote bag over her shoulder, opening her door, and making her way down the stairs. Yelena looked up from her cereal, giving Natasha a once over. Natasha knew her sister was worried for her health but knew to keep her mouth shut. Remus raised an eyebrow at her appearance, walking over to her. 

He placed a hand on her forehead, a look of concern on his face, “Are you feeling okay?” The werewolf asked, taking a deep breath, “You don’t smell sick… Are you stressed, or something, sweetheart?”

She smiled, removing his hand from her forehead, “I’m fine… I’m just a bit tired, Remus.” She replied, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. He nodded slowly, a look of suspicion on his face. “Okay…” He trailed off, concern still high in his eyes, “Well, we have to leave now, unless you wanna be late.”

She hummed in response, walking over to the fireplace. Grabbing a handful of powder, she spoke clearly, “Hogwarts!” Throwing the powder down, she was engulfed in a green flame – disappearing from the Black household. Remus, however, hesitated. Turning around, he faced Yelena with a questioning look on his scarred face. 

“Yelena…” He trailed off, licking his dry, cracked lips as he tried to devise a way to phrase what he wanted to say, “Have you noticed anything off with Natasha? I mean, do you know anything?”

He watched her – gaze as sharp as a wolfs’. He noticed that the blonde’s grip on her spoon tightened, halting her gobbling. “No.” She said quickly, almost too quickly. Remus narrowed his eyes, before humming. Giving her one last look, he gave her a small wave as he stepped into the fireplace. “Hogwarts!” He exclaimed, becoming one with the flame. 

Yelena watched, gnawing on her bottom lip. Gods, she really hoped Natasha knew what she was doing. 

Walking into the great hall, Natasha slid onto the bench, sitting next to someone familiar. Well, familiar to her, at least. Tom looked up from his book, his glamoured green eyes meeting her own green eyes. “Hey, Mangus.” Natasha smirked, leaning into Tom’s personal space to see what he was reading, “Catching up on some subjects?”

Tom’s eye twitched, his annoyance clear to no one but her. He smiled fakely, one perfected over the years that almost looked real. Almost. Natasha was able to see through him, her personality traits, stolen from him. The Red Room may have molded her into the person she was today, but Tom helped harness it. “Yes, Hogwarts' learning curriculum is much different than my old school.” He replied with a fake accent gliding over his tongue easily. “I don’t want to fall behind my peers.” 

I don’t want people to think they can take advantage of my stupidity, was, however, said through his words. Natasha hummed, plucking a muffin off the tray and taking a bite out of it. “Sleep well? I think I only slept four hours.” Natasha asked, eyebrows raising in question. 

Tom’s blonde eyebrow rose, taking in her words. “Really? What do you think could be the cause of it?”

Natasha shrugged, crushing the muffin’s wrapper into a ball. Locking eyes with him, Natasha had a silent conversation with him with their eyes. Realization flashed through his eyes, giving her a discreet nod. Taking in a deep breath, Natasha lowered her occemencly shields, letting Tom into her mind. 

I’m so tired… I feel like I can’t function some days. Why isn’t it working? Natasha asked mentally, grabbing another muffin to busy herself with. Tom, making sure not to draw attention to them, went back to his book. 

Natasha, you do realize you’re not following my rules, yes? You’ve been doing this for a week straight – your magic is basically draining itself to keep this up. I mean, you could be messing up the multiverse significantly. Tom chastised her, anger in his voice. Natasha winced, his volume thundering through her head. Tom sighed beside her, rubbing his forehead in frustration. 

The redhead gulped, taking in his words. She knew what she was doing was wrong, but she’d lose her magic if it meant getting justice for Hermione – for her birth parents, hell, she’d give up everything if it meant she’d be able to have a normal life. No dark lords, no child-trafficking organizations, no secret missions. To be normal… she’d give anything for that. 

“Well,” She stood up from her seat, grabbing her bag off the ground. “I guess I better get going. Wouldn’t want to be late for class… You know how Snape is when you’re late, lots of unpleasant consequences.”

I’ll continue doing this, no matter the consequences.

Giving Tom one last look, she turned around on her heel, heading out of the great hall. 

“She’ll bloody kill herself if she continues doing it..” He muttered under his breath, “Damn her saving people’s complex.” 

Eat. Research. Hunt. Interrogate. Kill. Sleep. School. Job. Repeat. 

That was the life Natasha was living, and she knew the only reason she was still going was spite. Was it dangerous for her? Yes, but she didn’t care. Besides, what was life without taking risks with death?

She blew a piece of her red hair out of her face, fingers itching for some scissors. Her hair was getting too long for her to handle, and while she knew Daphne was loving all the hair she was able to play with, Natasha couldn’t take it. 

Actually on a job for once, instead of her little revenge trip, Natasha felt it would be okay if she decided to cut her hair. Besides, less hair for the enemy to grab was an advantage for her. Mind made up, she made her way to the motel’s shitty bathroom, flicking on the lights. 

Licking her dry lips, Natasha grabbed the knife on her thigh, bringing it up to her hair. Without scissors, the girl knew it would be a struggle. However, it’s nothing she hadn’t done before. Her hands shook slightly, staring at the sharp knife with hesitance. Did she really want to do this? Cut off her hair? If Natasha focused enough, she could almost remember the first she cut her hair clearly. 

It was almost like she was opening a new chapter in her life, cutting herself off from the red room. Tom had thought it was a good idea – maybe it’d give her peace. He was right, in a way. It was very freeing to Natasha, but even with her rebelling against everything she knew, the red room was still engraved into her. 

Jaw clenched in frustration, Natasha grabbed her hair roughly and started chopping off her locks. It was just hair, Natasha reasoned. She didn’t know why she was so stuck up about it–

“You’re hair is pretty… If you left your hair alone long enough, it’d look like a lion’s mane…”

“A lion?”

“A fierce lion.”

Natasha dropped the dagger, barely acknowledging it clattering on the floor. Hermione liked her hair and liked how long it was. “Oh, god..” She stumbled back, bumping into the bathroom’s wall and sliding down to the floor. What had she done? Hermione had loved her hair, and here she was, just chopping it away! 

She was just thinking of herself, but what would Hermione think? Natasha reached up to grab her hair, only to grasp at the air. Oh, god… How short had she cut her hair? 

“Natasha….”

The redhead flinched, hands flying to her ears. It wasn’t real! Hermione was dead – there was no way she could hear her voice! No way! “Nat… Why did you let me die?”

“I didn’t…” She gasped, her chest tightening, “There was nothing I could do!”

“There was nothing? The Great Natasha Romanoff; the Black Widow, couldn’t stop Bellatrix from slitting my throat!?”

Natasha scrambled back, head shaking in disbelief. “You’re not real… You’re dead!” Natasha babbled, eyes trailing up from the boots Hermione was wearing, to the deep wound in her neck. “Oh, god… I’m so sorry, Hermione! I should’ve done more, you’re right!”

Hermione chuckled, although, it sounded more like a gurgle to Natasha. The dead girl crouched down in front of the redhead, a mocking frown on her eternally young face. “This whole revenge thing isn’t going to work. You’re just not strong enough – not good enough. You’re lying to yourself if you think this is going to work.”

Squeezing her eyes shut, Natasha prayed for the girl to go away. This couldn’t be Hermione! Hermione wouldn’t say all these things to her, right? This had to be her mind making this up! Yes, it had to be her guilty conscience! After a few moments, Natasha peeked open her eyes, glancing around the small bathroom. Deeming it okay, Natasha stood up on shaky legs, leaning onto the bathroom sink. Looking up into the bathroom mirror, the girl took in her damage. 

She had cut her hair to her chin – her natural curls making it look shorter than it was. Grabbing the dagger once more, Natasha swiftly cut off the rest of her hair. If she was that attached to her hair because of Hermione… then it was probably time for it to go. 

She was avenging her friend, and having a mental breakdown over her hair wasn’t going to help that. Hair would come back. Hermione wouldn’t. 

Little Hanglition was a small town, with a certain beauty to it. However, having seen many towns – magical or muggle – Natasha could only really describe it as a small town. Once, it may have been beautiful, with its blooming flowers and charming townsfolk. But with time the town lost its charm. 

Natasha, Tom, and Dumbledore walked through the town, standing out in the boring town. If they were lucky, they’d sometimes see a stubborn member – refusing to move out to the city. “Turn here,” Tom murmured, hands tucked into his pants. “Look out for the trees.”

Dumbledore hummed, hiking through the forest with skill. Natasha and Tom shared a look, both wondering how he was able to do that. Dumbledore, wanting to get a head start on all the Horcruxes that were made, decided that he wanted to hunt them down. 

“Why did he want to come again?” Natasha asked, shuffling through the forest. Tom stepped over a large branch, offering a hand to Natasha to help her over. “Honestly, how the man hasn’t broken his ankles amazes me. Who wears bedazzled heels hiking through the forest?”

Tom snorted, his lips twitching slightly in amusement. Making sure to keep his voice down, Tom said, “He still doesn’t trust me. The old goat thinks I’ll betray him.” Rubbing a hand over his face, Tom continued, “I told him this entire forest is boobytrapped, and he still decided to come.” 

“What’d you expect? He’s got a bit of an ego.” The two shared a look, a chuckle coming from the both of them. However, a snap broke the two out of the moment. Both of their heads snapped towards the sound, looking for the source of the sound. 

However, as Natasha was scanning the forest, the redhead noticed something. “Where’s Dumbledore?” She asked, letting her wand fall from her holster and into her hand. Tom licked his lips, cautiously making his way over to where the sound was. 

Natasha followed, keeping an eye out for anything. Tom kneeled down, seemingly staring at something. Natasha leaned over his shoulder, looking at the thing he held in his grasp. “What’s that?” She asked, brows furrowed together in confusion. 

“A trap I set… It was meant to teleport an intruder out of the immediate area. Once used,  it would take a bit to recharge its energy.” Turning around, he met her eyes with a serious look, “He could be anywhere in this bloody forest…”

“…And we don’t have anything to track him with.” The girl finished, an exhausted sign breathing out through her nose. “Does this trap mean we’re close to the hut?” 

Tom shook his head, standing up from his position on the ground. “No, I put traps everywhere in this damn forest. We have, at least, 20 miles left to get the hut.” 

“Well, then I guess we better get hiking. We can search for Dumbledore on the way. If we don’t find him, we can search for him after we’ve secured the Horcrux.” 

Finally reaching the hut, Natasha waited for Tom to undo the wards. However, instead of doing that, Tom tilted his head curiously. “What?” Natasha questioned, pushing herself off the tree she was leaning against and making her way over to him. 

Tom glanced at her, a look in his eyes that Natasha couldn’t decipher. “Someone’s been here already,” He started, pushing open the old door, “The wards were only broken recently, though.”

“So…” Natasha trailed off, “What? You think Dumbledore came here?” 

He hummed, making his way over to a certain spot on the floor, and lifting up the piece of wood. “That’s exactly what I’m thinking.” He replied, gesturing to the empty hole. “The crazy bat must’ve taken it and left.”

“Why, though? Surely he must know it would’ve been wise for him to stay here, or at least close to the area.” Natasha murmured, looking around the old hut for any clue on where he may have gone. Tom winced, crossing his arms over his chest with an uncomfortable look on his face. “What?”

“Well, the ring is special… It shows you the ‘dead’.” He quoted, “Even when I didn’t place a Horcrux in it, the ring still did that.”

Natasha blinked, taking a moment to process what he just said, “So you’re telling me that Dumbledore is hallucinating the dead, and is out wandering in the woods?”

“Yes.”

Taking a moment to breathe through her nose, Natasha took a moment to calm herself down. Clutching the necklace on her chest, Natasha opened her eyes. “Well,” She started, “How hard could it be?”

Little did she know… she’d regret those words.