InsaneJournal

A long cool woman in a black dress
Characters: Debi, Bellatrix
Status: complete



It was a brisk day, with a hint of snow in the air. Debi took a deep breath and decided that it would do her good to stretch her legs. She had a package of fan mail to take down to the processing center for the usual reply, publicity shot, and free issue of the RJ Blythe fan club newsletter, and it was just far enough she'd get a good workout. The processing center wasn't in the best part of town, but she had her pepper spray and her wand, and she'd been there often enough that she wasn't particularly nervous.

By the time she'd dropped off the package and given the instructions to the eager young clerk, it was getting on toward dusk. She thought about taking the Underground, but the early commuters would already be clogging the tunnels, plus the rickety wooden tracks in some of the older stations were downright terrifying. She could warm up some leftovers for dinner, or maybe Zach would be in the mood to order out.

And then she'd pop a nice romantic movie into the DVD player, and they'd cuddle, and maybe this time they'd get lucky and -

"Ooo, lookie lookie. Little girl all by herself." A thin woman in a rusty black cloak emerged from an alley. She was beautiful, or would have been if her eyes weren't quite so wide open, or her expression a little less bright. "Little ugly muggly, come on and play - don't look so serious, that's my cousin and he's such a killjoy, never let me have any fun - "

Debi's left hand tightened on her pepper spray, and she picked up her pace. There was a bus stop on the corner, and with luck there'd be enough people around that this person would leave her alone. Her wand was vibrating slightly, and without thinking she twisted her arm the way Remus had shown her and let the wood slide into her hand.

"Now, now! It's rude to ignore someone," said the woman. Her voice had a sing-songy quality that made the hairs on Debi's neck stand on end. "Little mudblood, think you're too good to play? We'll stop that soon enough, never get any fun - "

A too-strong hand grabbed at her sleeve. Debi jerked away. The woman was taller than she was, and leanly muscled like an athlete. And her eyes were utterly mad. "Get away from me. I haven't done anything to you. I - "

"What you want doesn't matter, little bitty mudblood." The woman laughed and took a step closer. "Little Muggle, need to be put in your place - "

Muggle???? She had to be a witch, and a crazy one, too. Debi's breath caught in her throat as she recalled what had nearly happened to Serenus and his brother when they'd run into a crazy witch. "Belladonna, I mean Bellatrix," she whispered. "Oh, shit."

"Naughty girl, speaking dirty words - I should scourgify you." Her teeth were very, very white. "Naughty little girls deserve a spanky, and more - "

She'd nearly grabbed Debi's wrist again when Debi half-stumbled backward into the wall of the nearest building. She was shaking with terror that made her fear of Travis look like nothing - she'd read the books and heard the stories, and she knew she was dead if she didn't think fast.

"Maybe I'm not the naughty one," she gasped. It was so hard to breathe, and think, with the blood pounding in her ears. "I said get away from me! I haven't - "

"You exist, mudblood," Bellatrix hissed. "You and your kind are a - AAAHHH!!!!!"

She screamed and stumbled backwards, wand sending a fire-red bolt upwards as the pepper spray caught her full in the face. Debi dropped the empty cannister and bolted for the nearest Tube station, praying she'd given herself enough of a head start to make it before Bellatrix could catch her.

There was a burst of swearing, and then a chant in Latin that she just barely recognized as an air purifying charm. Shit, shit, she's cleaning her eyes, I'll never make it -

"Levicorpus!"

Debi clutched at her wand as she felt herself swing upwards. Bellatrix was almost on her, her own wand out, beautiful face contorted in a snarl that wasn't human.

Think, Deborah Anne, think think think - But the only spells she could recall were household spells, all the little charms she'd learned to help her cook and clean and make the beds. She wasn't strong enough for anything useful, no matter what, and without the pepper spray -

"Little whore, you dare strike a Black! I should - "

The madwoman's wand came up, and Debi nearly shrieked as she recognized the first syllables of the next spell.

"Avada ke - "

"Protego! Debi had only used the spell to shield herself against bacon grease and oven cleaner, but it was all she had. Her eyes squeezed shut as she felt the power build inside her, stronger than it ever had, and burst out in a flood that seemed to suck the life right out of her.

There was a scream, and a crack, and before she could react she'd fallen shoulder-first onto the pavement. Her wand clattered to the sidewalk as she rolled onto her back, sucking in breaths in great, labored gasps. The world grayed out for a few minutes, and all she could see was a strange golden pattern before her eyes, swirling and glowing and blinding her until enough energy returned that she could force back the urge to vomit.

Eventually she rolled over and stared about her. The street was quiet and dark, with no sign of Bellatrix or anyone else. She had to drag herself upright, and it was almost five minutes before she was steady enough to walk without pitching face first into the gutter. She was beyond tired, and the spark that she'd learned to recognize as her magical core was so faint that she nearly missed it.

A taxi came around the corner. "Need a lift, miss? You look like you could use one."

Debi blinked at the cabbie's round, slightly squashy face. "Um. Yeah." She staggered to the cab and all but fell into the back seat. She stammered out the address and slumped into the thick cushions. "Home."

"Home it is, miss, unless you want me to take you to hospital. You look a bit - "

"I'm fine, really. I just need to get home."

Home, where Zach would heal whatever had happened, and she could fall apart in peace. Where crazy ladies didn't talk about killing ugly Muggles.

Where she'd be safe.