𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝘂𝗻 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗯𝘂𝗿𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗠𝗼𝗼𝗻

𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟏𝟎: 𝐁𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝 𝐛𝐲 𝐅𝐢𝐫𝐞

The Forest of Dean stretched out around Vivienne like a dark sea of trees, whispering with the wind. The cold bit at her skin, but she didn’t move.
She waited.

Minutes passed.
Then hours.
The moon drifted lower in the sky.

Vivienne’s muscles were stiff, her magic low, but her heart remained fiercely awake. She had called Bellatrix — not with threats, not with fear — but with a memory. A bond. Something that even death could not erase.

And sure enough, the world shifted.

She felt her before she saw her.

The forest grew colder, the trees darker.
Magic buzzed in the air like electricity.

Then — there she was.

Bellatrix Lestrange stepped from the shadows, her wand hanging loosely in her hand, her black robes stirring with the faint breeze. Her eyes found Vivienne instantly, gleaming under the pale light like twin stars.

"You called," Bellatrix said softly, almost wonderingly.

Vivienne said nothing, only studied her. Bellatrix looked almost the same — fierce, wild, beautiful in a way that burned.

But there was a crack in her armor now, a rawness Vivienne could feel like a pulse.

"You should have run," Bellatrix said after a long moment, her voice rough. "You had your chance."

"I wasn’t running," Vivienne said simply. "I was waiting."

Bellatrix’s mouth twitched — not a smile, something darker, sadder.

"Foolish," she whispered.

"Maybe," Vivienne said, taking a step forward, "but not afraid."

Bellatrix didn’t raise her wand. She didn't move at all.

"I should kill you," she said, but there was no conviction in her voice. Only exhaustion. Only longing.

Vivienne took another step, so close now she could feel the heat of Bellatrix’s body through the cold.

"Then do it," Vivienne murmured. "End it. Right here."

Bellatrix's hand trembled — just slightly.

But the wand never rose.

Instead, in a blur of movement, Bellatrix reached out — grabbed the front of Vivienne’s robes — and dragged her close, crushing their bodies together in a violent, desperate kiss.

It was nothing gentle, nothing sweet.
It was war.
It was grief.
It was years of rage and love and loss twisted into one brutal moment.

Vivienne gasped against her mouth, but she didn’t pull away.
Her hands found Bellatrix's face, tangled in her wild hair, clinging to her like she was drowning.

Bellatrix broke the kiss first, breathing hard, her forehead resting against Vivienne’s.

"You ruin me," Bellatrix whispered, her voice breaking. "You always have."

Vivienne closed her eyes, feeling her own tears threaten. "Maybe we were already ruined, Bella. Long before this war. Long before the Dark Mark."

For a moment, neither moved. The forest held its breath around them.

Then Bellatrix pulled back, just enough to search Vivienne’s face.

"I can’t protect you," she said hoarsely. "I can’t save you."

"You don't have to," Vivienne said. "Save yourself."

Bellatrix’s hands dropped away, her expression shattering into something Vivienne couldn’t name. Fear. Fury. Grief. All of it.