Chapter 1

Her knuckles paled as they gripped the edge of her seat, the hat sat firmly on her head. She noticed it was a lot heavier than it appeared and as her shut her eyes she swore she could feel its awesome magic tickling her scalp. After only a few moments of sitting there the entity above her let out loud "Gryffindor" and was hastily removed from her head. Around her cheers erupted from a table filled with other children in red and gold and a warmth grew in her chest at the thought that for once there was a group who actually wanted her. With a wide grin on her face Hermione looked around at the room filled with her peers, eventually her eyes drifted to the Slytherin table where the only celebration was a forced clap. Amongst the sea of green and black Hermione noticed a bowed head, as she stared the curly mop on the girls head swung up and she met eyes with a girl who appeared to be a year or so her senior, her hair was so dark brown it appeared black and her eyes were a similar shade, so dark that you almost missed where her pupils began. They were a striking contrast to her pale, almost luminous skin and plump rosy lips. Hermione's smile had long been forgotten and the warmth in her stomach had spread to her chest as she stood transfixed looking at sharp cheekbones and a perfect jaw, she noticed the old tattered book on the table and a flutter of excitement flushed her face. There were people here just like her, suddenly the dark eyes across the room met hers, Hermione dared a small smile, in return the stranger studied her face for a moment but lost contact as Hermione was engulfed into the large table of her new house mates.

Hermione woke with a start, she kept having that stupid dream of her first day, she was happy to remember joining her house, that was where she met her friends who she now considered family. But her brain decided to focus on her, soon after that day Hermione had learnt who the beautiful face belong to, she also learnt what mudblood meant. The warmth and curiosity she had initially felt had now been replaced by fear and anger whenever she saw Bellatrix black. It had been 5 years since then and Hermione had endured so much torment from Black that she could barely stomach to think about how she had gotten even more beautiful since that day, Bellatrix was now in her 6th year and had learn over time how to tame her curls into flowing ringlets that looked both wild but controlled, and her time as Slytherin's seeker had gained her a fit and very well proportioned body. There was no logical way to deny that she was beautiful and intelligent and witty, but it was also impossible to deny the fact that she was spiteful and cruel when she was in the mood. Therefore, Hermione avoided her like dragon pox, luckily, they had no lessons together thanks to the age gap, but Black had a talent for popping up whenever Hermione was alone to make jabs at her. She had always gotten the worst of Black's treatment since last year when Hermione had almost by chance realised that mad eye moody was not who he said he was and Dumbledore had managed to get to Harry and prevent Voldemort's return for good, unfortunately Cedrick couldn't be saved but the ministry, with the help of Dumbledore, were able to destroy Voldemort and all the dark magic that had been sustaining him, even finding a way to remove the part of him from Harry. There had been rumours that Black's father had been one of the main death eaters aiding Voldemort's return and he was swiftly sent to Azkaban and so it was only logical that Black would hate her, that and he was muggleborn, Hermione always wondered if it was that fact that made black target her over her friends, or perhaps she just sensed a weakness in Hermione and so did it for some kind of sport. Regardless Hermione didn't let it get to her and instead got her revenge by challenging Black's test scores every year with her own, the most gifted witch of their time was undoubtedly one of them, so the competition was quite motivating, not that she would thank Black for that. With that thought Hermione rolled over and closed her eyes in the hope the dreaded dream of dark eyes and a sculpted jaw wouldn't come back.

The next week or so flew by, the beginning of the year was a blur of people asking her Ron and Harry loads of questions, they'd been nicknamed "the golden trio" after facing Voldemort over the years and finally defeating him for good and were getting used to the new level of fame. It was so busy that Hermione had forgotten all about her weird dream, that is until one evening whilst browsing the library, she turned down a random aisle and there she was, book in hand with a clam focussed expression. Before Hermione could even attempt to silently flee, the young woman before her twitched in recognition of someone's presence and turned her head to look at her. As Bellatrix's smirk grew, the dread in Hermione's stomach did too. "well hello there muddy, been following me around again? And here I thought you'd grown out of that", Hermione stared at Bellatrix's face, ignoring the jab she had made Hermione's mind was on her dream. This was almost like a parallel, with Bellatrix holding a book and her dark eyes examining her. Hermione noticed the candle light catching the silky curls around Bellatrix's face and her mind flashed back to the tournament ball where Hermione had walked in with Krum and saw Bellatrix in a tight black gown, makeup sparkling in the lights around the room. The expression on Bellatrix's face had been blank when she saw Hermione and she didn't see her again that night. "hello? Something on my face Granger or have you finally burnt out that pea brain of yours" the bold voice shook Hermione from her thoughts and she immediately looked down, her face flushing red. Why was this happening now, in private was tolerable but with Bellatrix Black staring down her nose at her? She must be coming down with some sort of fever causing some confusion. "whatever black" Hermione mumbled as she turned to leave, embarrassed. "Ooh come now Mudblood, whats got you all quiet, don't tell me you've lost the guts for a tiny comeback, I need some entertainment in my life", Hermione looked a little panicked, unsure what to say and now more urgently backed away. "well if you're so shy about it why don't I have a look, Legilimens" Bellatrix threw the curse with ease and a chuckle. Hermione tried to think of something else, anything else, potions, her books, Ron and Harry, but her mind was in panic and the thoughts came back with full force. They flicked through her head faster and faster, Bellatrix looking at her, the smell of her perfume and lavender shampoo when she had barged past her, her perfect white teeth as she laughed in Hermione's face. Suddenly it stopped and before anything could be said Hermione ran from the library, abandoning her books and