It was three days late. The birthday had come and gone already. Three days ago. But the gift still sat prettily wrapped with gold and red paper and matching ribbons on the desk in Bellatrix's bedroom. And Bellatrix sat staring at it. Staring at it like it was the most interesting thing in the world.. or the most frightening.
She'd never put much thought into gifts before, not ever, not even for Narcissa. Narcissa wasn't really into anything, oh of course the blonde liked expensive jewellery and such finery, that was why it was so hard to buy her anything really meaningful, but Hermione was different. So very different. She didn't care for expensive items of luxury. She didn't care for diamonds or cashmere, furs or designer clothes. No. Hermione was a simple girl with the most wonderful mind and heart of anyone Bellatrix had ever met. It was because of Hermione she wasn't currently an inmate at Azkaban. It was because of Hermione, who had fought tirelessly night and day, endless meetings and court hearings, heated arguments which the young girl had met with such calm and grace, showing maturity well beyond her years, fighting to free a death eater who had tried to murder her, tortured her, killed friends and loved ones, served a man who almost brought about the end of the wizarding world as anyone knew it. A world where Hermione would have been killed without a second thought.. by Bellatrix herself. It was because of Hermione she was here. Sitting in the pleasantly warm bedroom, in the pleasant house, not locked in a cold, stone cell chained like an animal, but free.
Granted the rehabilitation program wasn't perfect, there were weekly trips to the soul healer who delighted in pulling up her worst memories, insisting she had to deal with them. Those sessions had tended to always end in violence and countless nights of screaming from horrific nightmares brought on by surfaced memories she'd tried to bury. She'd decided that Azkaban was preferable to the mental torture she was being forced to endure. Bella was never a woman to share her fears or feelings, so of course she'd kept the sessions and their impact to herself, that was until Hermione had found her one early morning bleeding and incoherent unable to stop the memories from spilling into her reality.
The girl had been furious and it was the first time Bella had heard her use such language worthy of solider. From then on, the sessions were kinder and Hermione had taken to staying in the room with her, though Bella had obviously protested at first, the thought of this girl, this child, hearing all the things she'd like to keep well hidden, things from her childhood, her horribly abusive father, moving to an equally abusing husband, the horrendous experience of Azkaban, but it wasn't those things Bella wanted to hide from Hermione, what she wanted to hide was the things she had done. Guilt wasn't something Bellatrix had ever felt. Until Hermione. And she was loath to admit, Hermione was right, dealing with said guilt was helping.. a little.
With a flustered sigh, Bella picked up the wrapped gift and left the room, determined now not to falter like she had the million times before in the last three days on giving the girl the present. She tried not to think because she knew if she thought she'd stop, and if she stopped, well.. it would end up back on the desk not in Hermione's hands.
The library was were her house mate would be, and Bella was correct in her assumption when she entered the book room to find Hermione there on one of the squishy chairs with a book. Of course. Always a book. Bella stopped just short of the chair, the wrapped present held behind her back, Hermione looked up and the dark witches heart skipped a beat, skipping again when the girl smiled at her.
"Bella.. are you ok?" Hermione asked softly, she knew the ex death eater well enough by now to know when Bella was worried about something. And she'd been hiding away for the last three days. Closing the book, the younger witch was about to stand when the other woman spoke.
"I missed your birthday." It was an obvious statement. Hermione knew that already.
"It's ok, Bella." Another smile, "I just went to the Weasleys, Molly insisted on a party but in all honesty I couldn't wait to get home. Too many people and it was just to quiet without you around rolling your eyes at everyone and sighing so loudly even Molly gets uncomfortable."
Bella couldn't help the tugging smile at the teasing, Hermione's playful side had surprised her, it was subtle but always hit the mark. "Yeah well, I had rusty nails to dig into various body parts."
Hermione chuckled at the inside joke they shared, Bella once referring to a dinner at the Weasley's being on par with driving nails into her knees. "It was pretty awful actually, Ginny and I spent the whole time trying to escape."
A flush of jealousy made the dark witch frown and her blue eyes to narrow and flash a darker shade, her grip on the present behind her back tightening momentarily. "She still trying to get into your knickers, muddy?" It was spoken with forced distain though the jealousy was utterly clear in her tone.
"She's never once tried to 'get into my knickers' as you so bluntly put it, she's not into girls and she's happily engaged to Harry." An almost inaudible sigh, why this woman was so set on that last statement was beyond her, it wasn't like Bellatrix cared who she had a relationship with anyway. "Why do you care anyway?"
A snorted response, "Don't flatter yourself, muddy, I don't care." Shrugged shoulders and a proud toss of her silky black curls, "you can fuck who you like." But please don't. I don't want you to. Please don't give your attention to anyone else. I don't want to lose you. Can't lose you. You're mine. My little mudblood.
"Well thank you for the permission, but I'm not interested in anyone right now." Expect maybe you. Hermione responded with, looking back down to the book and deciding the conversation was over.
Bella seeing the silent dismissal, almost walked away but at the last minute, the ex death eater moved the present from behind her back and placed it gently into Hermione's lap.
For a moment Hermione didn't move, her eyes running over the gold and red wrapping, her house colours, the thought that had gone just into the wrapping made her feel a flutter in her stomach. "Is this.. for me?" She could practically hear Bellatrix roll her eyes, "dumb question." She said with a soft laugh.
Bella said nothing, fiddling absently with a lock of her hair, a nervous gesture she'd had since childhood. She was watching the girls face intently, studying every expression from shock, to surprise, to curiosity, to.. please let her like it.. utter delight.
Warm brown eyes met cold blue, "I-I don't know what to say.. how did you even get this? Bella, it's.. it's absolutely perfect. I can't.. I'm so happy, it's just.. I'm speechless."
"There's a first." Hiding her own delight with a snarky comment and an eye roll, Bella's heart was doing flips. Seeing Hermione so happy did things to her, things she wasn't quite comfortable with.. yet. "It wasn't that hard to find." A huge lie. The book, one of the rarest in the world, had been that hard to get hold of, and had cost a small fortune but seeing Hermione like that, so happy and gleeful, made her think she'd happily trade in all the gold in her vault to see that everyday.
Hermione, so overcome with emotion, didn't think about her next move and in a show of gratitude and maybe something more, stood from the chair and wrapped her arms around the shorter witch, pulling her into a warm embrace. "Thank you." It was whispered softly through a tearful smile.
Her first instinct was to pull away, to push the girl away, to leave the room after saying something sarcastic.. but she didn't. Slowly, Bella relaxed into the hold, the tension slipping away from her small frame and hesitatingly, her arms found their way around the girls waist. "Happy Birthday, Hermione."
For the first time, Bellatrix used Hermione's name and the young witch in her once enemies arms felt at home with a sense of belonging again. No matter what anyone said, what anyone thought, Bellatrix had been worth fighting for.