The Black Riddle

Ch. 3 Where The Hell Am I?

Bellatrix opened her eyes expecting to see either her adoptive father, or the black draping around her four-poster bed. She saw neither. The room she was in was quite cool, and unlike anything she had ever seen at Slytherin Castle. The walls were dark and the floors even darker. the cool light coming from the small opening in the wall light up the room just enough for her to see two tables; one bare and one with loads of bottles on it, seemingly set in a systemised order, two chests, two doors and a couple of chairs. She sniffed the air then moved her nose down the pillow; it smelled so good. So…primal.

“This is not the time to panic or sniff Bella” she said to herself. She swung her feet down to the floor and as the soft sheet fell off her she noticed that she was indeed naked with the exception of her panties and brah. She spun around in desperate search of her dress. There it was, handing off the back of a chair. Her steps were unsteady and she had to grip the chair so that she would not fall. The room was hot and a sheen of sweat had covered her skin. The dress fell easily in place and clung itself to her body. She felt the floor beneath her feet rock gently back and forth. The panic returning full force when she realised that she was not even in the castle anymore.

She ripped open the door closest to her and she entered a room filled to the brim with scrolls, books, chests, bottles, dresses and uniforms that seemed to be from a different era. She backed out the door, took a deep breath and opened the other. She found her self in a pitch-black tiny hallway with another door at the other end.

She opened the new door just enough to get a ray of sun in her face. She could not see anyone and opened the door a bit further. Her magic could sense that there were many people very close by and they were all muggles. She frowned any extended her reach a bit further and deeper, all were muggles, but one and this magical signature seemed to be woven in the walls.

She took another deep breath and opened the door fully and stepped out. Strong arms circled around her waist and pinned her arms to her sides.

“’Ey there now lassie. Who said you could go out?” Bella kicked and wiggled, all to no just, he was too big and god, he smelled awful. On instinct Bella conjured a small blade and stuck it into the man’s thigh, but he still didn’t let go. She felt her panic step aside to her fury at being trapped. Her eyes closed and she focused on a spell that would vent her anger and release her all in one go. She opened her eyes, which were now black and whispered one word;

“Curcio.”

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Jack was standing at the rig when he saw the girl enter the deck. Fortunately he also saw one of his crewmembers grab her from behind and lift her off her feet. She kicked and thrashed around and suddenly he saw the sun glimmer in the blade of a knife. Before he could react it was safely planted in the crewmember’s thigh. Jack winched, that must have hurt, but he still didn’t let go. He knew that this girl was capable of a lot of damage if she was anything like him, and the foreign surge of magic that had flooded his ship a moment ago told him that she was. He felt another load of energy gathering, much more concentrated this time. He needed to get down there quick.

“Gibbs, take the wheel”

“Aye, Capt’n” Jack was halfway down the stairs when an inhuman scream assaulter his ears. He saw the crewmember, Boyd, fall to the ground twisting and screaming in agony. The girl had huddled herself up in a corner and was clenching her hands so tight her knuckles were white.

Jack ran over to the girl. When he saw her black eyes he knew what he had to do. He knew those eyes. It was the same look he had seen in his own face when he faced things he could not handle; the magic and instinct would take over. It had happened so many times to him, most frequently when he was without his Pearl, that it had become a permanent feature; his magic was constant and his senses where on high gear all the time.

He sat down beside her and gently stroked her shoulder. When she leaned into his touch he gathered her in his arms and whispered soothing words that only she could hear. He didn’t notice the crew that had gathered around them and Boyd who was still thrashing blindly. He started to sing a pirate song that his mother had sung for him when he was a child.

“Yo, ho, haul together, hoist the colors high.” The men had never heard their captain sing, apart from the drunken holler they sometimes had to endure. They had often wondered of why a man who could yell orders loud enough to be heard down in Davy Jones’, or rather Will Turner’s locker, could not hold a tune, but the soft baritone flowing from his lips had them mesmerized.

“Heave ho, thieves and beggars, never say we die.” The girl had slid between Jack’s legs and was resting her head on his chest while he was petting her dark hair and twisting small locks between his fingers. Her small puffs of warm air emitting from her lips made his skin tingle.

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Bellatrix was dozing in the arms of a man she didn’t know. His hand was playing with her hair while the other was draped around her bare shoulders. She dimly registered that he had released the ‘curcio’ from the other man. She had wanted to hold him under it a bit longer but this man was so…calming. His scent of the ocean and something distinctly masculine was drowning her senses while his voice slowly lulled her to a state of absolute calm. She heard him tell the other people to get on with their work and take Boyd with them and clean his wound.

They sat in silence for a while and both secretly enjoyed the subtle skin-to-skin contact and the salty wind.

“You alright now love?”

“Yes, I think so.”

“Good, ‘cause I’ve got a ship to run, and no matter how great a ship, she wont do it by herself.” The girl sat up and Jack did not like the cold that seeped into his skin when she pulled away, that in itself sent a chill to his bones. He had lived his 29 years without needing anyone, he wouldn’t start now.

“C’mon, you’re coming with me to the rig. Can’t risk the crew sneaking up on you again, wouldn’t be good to loose them to the whelp just yet.”

“The whelp?” Bella asked puzzled and still a bit bleary eyed.

“Will Turner. He’s the captain of the Flying Duchess.”

“I though that was Davy Jones.”

“Aye, he was, but he, um, retired last year.”

“Oh” was all she could say. Even three hundred years later, when she had grown up, the stories were all about Davy Jones and the Flying Duchess, not this Will Turner guy.

“Do you have a name, I can’t go around calling you ‘love’, now can I?”

“Bellatrix Black. Um, Riddle” She said.

“Bellatrix Black or Bellatrix Riddle?” The man asked with light mocking tone.

“Bellatrix Black Riddle you prat! And you?” she replied with equal mocking.

“Captain Jack Sparrow. Not completely at your service, but if you ask nicely I’ll…obey.” Bellatrix giggled. This was definitely someone she could get on with.

“I’ll be sure to do so Captain. I have one question though.”

“Aye…” he said distracted as he headed towards the rig with Bella in tow. She forgot herself for a moment because of the warmth of his hand. Jack let go of her hand and focused on getting his directions right.

“Um, yeah… Where the hell am I?”

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