#tranquillitas

@thestrongestmagic, continued from here: X

(From corda-comminuta:) [ sleepy ] for Bellatrix to slowly fall alseep with her head resting on Nagini’s lap

thestrongestmagic answered:

Bellatrix did not know peace, it wasn’t something that came to her often after her time in Azkaban and yet there was something about Nagini’s presence that brought her that peace. When she had discovered that Nagini was a woman in snake form, a Maledictus, she had felt a surge of unpleasant feelings within her, that her bond with her Master was somehow not as strong as she had once believed it to be. Those feelings were quickly banished when she realised that she had been entrusted with a special secret, that no one else knew Nagini’s truth.

The relationship that they had developed had only deepened and grew with silent strength, both knowing that the other was devoted to Him beyond the devotion of anyone else within the Faithful. As such, Bella had allowed Nagini to draw closer to her, to be closer to her than anyone else, even her own husband.

That evening found her slipping into Nagini’s room and flopping down on the bed, exhaustion having wrapped it’s tendrils around her throat. She had been busy on mission, carrying out the will of the Dark Lord, acting as His executioner. There was blood on the hem of her dress but she thought little of it. With a little squirm, she found her way to Nagini’s lap, resting her head there and sighing, eyes closing at the feeling of warmth that exuded from her.

“They never listen.” She murmured almost sleepily, a hand reaching up to brush a loose curl behind her ear. She took pleasure in killing her Master’s enemies, of course she did, but the sheer number of people who refused to see that His way was the only way to preserve them and their culture, boggled the mind. She couldn’t understand it and they were beginning to prove an inconvenience.

It did not take long before Bella drifted off to sleep, dreaming of the day when her Master won this stupid, silly war and the glories that would be heaped upon them all when the filth had been expunged from the face of the earth.

At the beginning, it had been a touch difficult for Nagini to grasp why Bellatrix had come to consider her a source of comfort as a human woman as well, having expected Bellatrix to think of her as a rival for Tom’s affections and attention in the way Nagini may have thought of her, had she not been perfectly certain about her position and the strength of the bond she shared with Tom.

For that reason, it had been a pleasant surprise for her to realize that Bellatrix was neither as foolish nor as simple-minded as most others would have been in this particular situation, that she, too, placed Tom’s well-being above anything else and thus recognized Nagini as the only like-minded person. The two of them had formed a strong bond from that moment, a bond founded on a deep mutual understanding and a shared goal, and they had thus joined forces, treating one another with loyalty and a unique brand of affection and trust.

That night, Nagini had been reading in her room when the door opened and Bellatrix approached her, resting her head on Nagini’s lap with no semblance of hesitation nor doubt, and immediately, Nagini began to card her fingers through Bellatrix’s luscious locks as though there were no course of action more natural.

“People have always feared and condemned that which they do not understand,” Nagini agreed. “Yet it is the duty of any wizard or witch to rise above the instincts of a mere Muggle or beast. I do not fault you for regarding them with exasperation.”

A gentle smile crept its way onto Nagini’s features when Bellatrix’s breathing slowed down and her limbs grew heavy, making it clear that she was fast asleep. She would let Bellatrix rest for as long as she needed to, and Bellatrix would wake in the very same position, for Nagini had no intention to leave.