A/N: Thank you to everyone continued to show their support :) Someone asked if this story would eventually be Bellamione and the answer is, yes, most definitely :). I understand not everyone enjoyed ch3, so I hope this one makes up for it ;) Some reviews will be answered at the bottom, enjoy!
Big thanks to Rose Russo who beta'd for this chapter :).
Disclaimer: The world of Harry Potter and the original storyline are not mine; they belong to J.K. Rowling.
Read, review and most of all… Enjoy!
Chapter 4: No Longer The Best?
Hermione
After guiding a smirking Bellatrix to the bathroom, she left the deceiving and cruel girl to it and headed back to their dormitory after quickly fixing her appearance. 'I can't believe I fell for that stupid act!' Hermione thought angrily as she chucked herself onto her bed with a huff, she was almost as furious with herself as she was with the dark haired girl. She lay there for some time fuming, too irritated to do any homework or even to move and after a while, Lavender and the other two returned from dinner.
After exchanging brief pleasantries and telling them where Belladonna was when they asked, she drew the curtains around her bed and began to change for bed. Sighing to herself, she slowly began to shed her uniform as she listened to the girl's chatting away, it was still early, it couldn't have been any later than half 8. But she was in no mood to face anyone right now for fear she'd say something rash out of anger, it had been a long day and she hoped that a bit of light reading would be enough to help send her to sleep.
She changed into a white tank top and a pair of short light blue shorts after ridding herself of the last of her uniform and slipped into bed. Her current read was still tucked under her pillow from where she had left it the previous night, pulling it out and lighting her wand; she picked up where she had previously left of and began reading The Dark Arts Outsmarted.
'One of the most dangerous and difficult shield charms a caster has at their disposal is the Propulsant Charm. Pronounced Pro – Puls – Ant, which means To Deflect. The Propulsant Charm, as the meaning suggests, is a shield designed to deflect a hostile spell at the original caster with double the speed and spell intensity. It is widely known as the Tie Breaker as either a successful or unsuccessful Propulsant Charm usually can end a match between anyone but the greatest of witches and wizards.
However the charm is very rarely utilized due to its complex nature and great difficulty. The Propulsant Charm requires the utmost precision timing, to use Propulsant successfully the caster must cast the charm the exact second the hostile spell is about to connect with the target. A split second too early or too late and the charm will fail. An unsuccessful Propulsant Charm will nearly always result in the casters defeat, hence why in serious life or death situations the Protego Charm will always be favoured as the most reliable and safest defense.
Timing is also not solely reliant on the casters skill, but the caster also must master their emotions too, only those whose minds are in a complete state of serenity will be able to sense when the timing is right. It is widely believed that due to the peaceful and calm nature required to cast a successful Propulsant that dark witches and wizards are unable to produce the charm, as Propulsant can only be manifested by the exact opposite forces of those required by the dark arts.
Despite all of its con's, the difficulty involved and the suicidal nature, the Propulsant Charm is a valuable tool for those who are capable of mastering it, especially against the dark arts. Out of all defences, it is one of the greatest ways to outsmart the dark arts. Down below are the wand movements required to cast Propulsant, note that the Propulsant Charm should never be casted non-verbally by those inexperienced with it.'
Frowning to herself at the supposed difficulty, Hermione began practising the wand movements until she heard Bellatrix's voice and froze. The dark haired girl seemed to be talking kindly to their dorm mates; she heard footsteps walk close by her bed, they paused momentarily before heading over to where the bed by the window would have been. Glaring darkly at her curtains and in the direction of where Bellatrix was mostly likely to be, she slammed the book shut and shoved it under her pillow before laying down.
"Nox." She whispered as she put out her light. Pulling the covers around her tight, she listened to the voices and the laughter, mostly to Bellatrix's before her eyes began to droop and shut.
A noise piecing Hermione's ears had her eyes snapping open and her hand reaching for her wand. She looked around blindly in the darkness, for the best part, the dorm was mostly silent. She had no idea what time it was but from the near lack of sounds she guessed everyone was fast asleep, or at least nearly everyone. Someone was moving about and Hermione had a good guess who.
Curiosity got the better of her as she sat up slightly, not daring to light her wand, she slowly reached over to her curtains and lifted them partially so she could have a peek.
The dorm was almost pitch black, the only source of light keeping the room being cloaked in complete darkness was the moonlight that was shining through their large window. And sitting by that window, with her knees pulled close to her chest, was Bellatrix. The dark haired girl was resting the side of her head against her knees as she stared out of the window, shivering as she wore nothing but a small black nighty and a pair of dark underwear. Hermione watched her for some time, listening to the girl's strained breathing, she sounded… Upset, almost like she was crying, or at least had been.
Part of Hermione wanted to say something, to reach out and comfort the girl. She wasn't a cruel person; she knew that Bellatrix had learnt some distressing information in the last few hours and Hermione took a guess that she must have been reflecting on it now that she believed she was alone. But then she remembered how Bellatrix had turned on her in the blink of an eye earlier and resisted the urge to comfort her. Her decision wasn't made out of spite, she just believed the girl wouldn't appreciate the gesture and that she would overact and turn hostile to compensate for looking weak in front of someone like her.
Sighing inwardly and feeling horrible about herself regardless, she took one last look at the girl who was silently sobbing, before letting go of the curtain and going back to sleep with a heavy heart.
The next morning Hermione was woken up by the sound of people complaining and getting ready for the day ahead. Yawning to herself, she stretched and arched her back before gently kicking the covers of herself.
Slipping sleepily of her bed, she pulled out her trunk and found a clean set of uniform before chucking it on hastily. Once she was modest, she pulled open her curtains only to be greeted with the sight of Bellatrix's bare legs stretched out in the air, a sight which apparently her eyes couldn't tear themselves away from.
She couldn't help but notice the way that the morning light caught on Bellatrix's long and slender pale legs, while the dark haired slowly pulled on a pair of knee high black socks as she hummed away. Her eyes followed Bellatrix's hands as they pulled up the last sock over her elegant ankle, then slowly up along her shapely leg to her knee. After that her eyes continued on without Bellatrix's hands, sweeping slowly along her thigh and came to a halt at the curves of the girls rear. A sight that she was unable to stop herself blushing at, a blush that only burned brighter when a cough caught her attention and she was forced to look away and up at the dark eyes of Bellatrix.
"Well good morning Hermione." The pureblood said with a husky tone and a sly grin. "Enjoying the view?" She asked cheekily and winked at her as she slowly lowered her legs.
"Mor… Morning Belladonna." Hermione replied nervously, trying to casually grab the sideboard and keep herself propped up when she felt herself go weak at the knees. "Sorry was completely lost in thought." She added politely, trying to remain civil and kind for the benefit of the other girl's still in their dorm.
Bellatrix stared at her, none of the malice or contempt that she saw last night was anywhere to be seen on the girl's face. "Of course you were." The girl chuckled softly before bending over, which Hermione was convinced she did on purpose, in front of her to retrieve a skirt.
Mentally chastising herself as she turned even redder, Hermione turned away and finished getting ready. 'For Merlin's sake! Why am I blushing so hard! It's not like I haven't seen other girl's half naked before, I do share a bathroom with them after all… So why am I blushing at the sight of her! Stupid, stupid body!' Hermione sighed, the last thing she wanted to do was give the devious girl the wrong impression, she would only twist it and use it to her advantage somehow if she believed Hermione liked… Girls, which she swore adamant she didn't. She had nothing against girls who did, it just was never something that appealed to her. At the most she could admit another girl being attractive… However this was the first time she found herself admiring, so very hungrily, another girl's body.
Mumbling under her breath she picked up her bag and turned to wait for Bellatrix to finish getting ready, knowing that she'd have to escort the new girl to breakfast. She forced her eyes to remain above the girls shoulders as she finished slipping her skirt on and pulling on her robe. The image of her bare legs and curvy rear kept flashing in the forefront of her mind and it took several attempts to force the mental images away as the girl approached her.
"Ready." She stated cheerily. Hermione forced a smile and nodded before turning on her heels and leading the dark haired girl out of the dormitory. She led her down the stairs swiftly, not wanting to be put in a position where they'd be alone, not after last night. She had planned on telling the boys and perhaps Professor McGonagall too about last night, but after seeing her upset during the night she had changed her mind. By no means did she trust the girl nor had she forgiven her, but she did feel somewhat sorry for her. Hermione felt it would be cruel to cause trouble for her so soon after what Dumbledore had told her, so she decided that just this once… She'd let it slide. But her eyes were now open; she wouldn't forget who she was deep down, what the girl was capable of and would remain ever vigilant.
"Morning Harry. Morning Ron." Hermione said when they reached the common room, strolling over to the boys and giving each one a brief hug. The boys returned her good mornings and after a short awkward moment, Bellatrix swapped pleasantries with them too, which they returned civilly, even if Harry's was through gritted teeth.
The boys gathered their stuff and together all four of them headed for the portrait, they were just about to leave when they were stopped by a familiar voice. "Hey wait up." Ginny called out, Hermione looked back to see the smiling redhead girl bidding farewell to Dean before walking over to them. "Morning." Ginny said with a smile, which grew when her eyes fell on Harry. Something Hermione didn't miss and chuckled lightly at.
"Morning Ginny." They all replied in turn, Harry of course replied the happiest of them all as they all then left the common room.
"So Belladonna how was your first night at Hogwarts?" Ginny asked as she moved to stand beside the dark haired girl.
"Had a little trouble getting to sleep, but that's to be expected I suppose." Bellatrix replied with a shrug, Ginny gave her a small smile and nodded before engaging in small chat with the dark haired girl, the pair of them slowly fell back behind the trio as they gossiped.
Hermione gave them a fleeting glance before keeping pace with the boys, both of them kept looking at her questionably, as if they were promoting her to say something. "What?" She asked lowly when they looked at her for the fourth time without a word.
"Is everything ok?" Harry asked.
"Nothing happen with her did it?" Ron added after his best friend.
She bit her lip as she considered how to answer them, should she be honest like she had originally planned on being? Hermione glance around them at the other students passing by, if she told them there and then, they would kick off in full view. Sighing to herself, Hermione shook her head slowly. "No, she was surprisingly quiet. She even thanked me for my help." 'Before she whacked me one.' Hermione nearly added before giving the boys a reassuring smile.
The boys exchanged a glance before nodding their acceptance of her answer to her, the suspicion and doubt regarding Bellatrix was fainter then it previously was, but it was still there. 'Good, don't make the same mistake I made.' Of course she couldn't tell them that, she just hoped that their naturally suspicious nature, especially when regarding Slytherins, would keep them alert.
Once they arrived at the Great Hall for breakfast, the boys once again sided with each other, leaving Hermione to sit with Bellatrix, somehow she got the idea this might have now become the norm. Breakfast went smoothly enough; Hermione had helped herself to a couple slices of buttered toast, a banana and a glass of orange juice as she listened to what went on around her. Bellatrix was largely the same as she was last night only she had toned it down a little, particularly when it came to the flirting. They hadn't been seated long when Professor McGonagall walked briskly over to them.
"Your timetable Miss Melania." The stern deputy announced as she handed Bellatrix her timetable, Hermione suppressed a groan when she saw it was an exact duplicate of hers. Bellatrix thanked her sweetly enough before the Professor nodded, she briefly caught Hermione's eye and for the second time that morning, Hermione found herself giving someone a fake reassuring smile.
"Double Potions followed by double Defence Against the Dark Arts after break and a double study period after. " Bellatrix said to herself, studying the timetable after McGonagall had left, both boys simultaneously groaned at the reminder. "An easy day, my last timetable was much more full on."
Harry scoffed in response. "See if you say that after two hours with Snape."
"Yeah he's a right greasy haired git." Ron added as he nodded towards the staff table. "He's the one with long black greasy hair and black robes."
Bellatrix looked past Hermione to follow Ron's gaze, Hermione nibbled slightly on her toast, slightly surprised at the boys interacting with Bellatrix, it was the first time either had made noticeable contact with her. And not just that, but both of them lacked the hostility they had last night, she frowned to herself, not knowing if she was happy about that. "Does he always look like he has a wand stuck up his arse?" Bellatrix asked after a moment silence. Hermione almost chocked on her toast as people around her including the boys laughed at the remark and she tried hard not to snigger herself, but she still managed a small smirk.
The morning post arrived near the end of breakfast and with it a sombre mood fell upon the hall, most of the chatter died down as students unravelled their copies of the Daily Prophet and saw the front page. Hermione grimaced upon hearing small snippets; she picked up hers and undid the twine, rolling out the paper so she could see for herself. A picture of Bellatrix Lestrange was on the front under the articles heading, Hermione stopped herself looking at the young Bellatrix while she quickly skimmed over the article.
Death Eaters, led by Bellatrix had terrorized a rural muggle area, burning down homes, torturing and killing the inhabitants.
Hermione threw the paper down in disgust, not knowing what to say, she didn't dare look at Bellatrix or Harry and Ron for fear someone would slip up. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Bellatrix pick up her paper and read it for herself, after a few minutes of reading in silence, she folded it and placed it back down, not saying a word as her face remained unreadable. People were muttering in anger and fear around them, Hermione could feel the thick tension in the air around her, it was intoxicating, the knowledge that Bellatrix was in their midst was suffocating her.
She couldn't stay a second longer; she stood up and grabbed her bag. Both the boys seemed to have the same idea and followed suit, she chanced a look down at Bellatrix, not daring to tell her what to do again, but she wanted to see if the dark haired girl needed to escape too. However the girl's gaze remained fixed on the table, her face was hard and her jaw tight. Hermione knew she should offer to show her to class as her guide, but she didn't trust her tongue at the moment. Instead she frowned and nodded to the boys, the three of them left in silence as they headed towards the dungeons.
They reached Professor Slughorns class early, taking her seat in between the two boys, Hermione pulled out her book. Her mind was lost in thoughts about Bellatrix, the pureblood had given nothing away in her silence, her face and eyes had remained expressionless. 'I wonder what she was thinking… Was she pleased? Was she upset? It's one thing to… Bully and give people a hard time, but it's another to kill… Is she at that stage yet? To be able to kill… Was she feeling remorse over her future self's actions?' Hermione was starting to regret leaving the girl on her own, she should have checked to see if she was ok.
Hermione debated going back to get her, to check up on her, but the bell signalling the end of breakfast and the start of classes told her it was too late. Sighing she shook her and waited for the rest of the class to turn up. After a few minutes, her classmates had finished arriving barring Bellatrix. 'She knows the way, I'm sure she'll be along any minute…' She thought guiltily as Professor Slughorn entered the class, moving to the front of the room to his blackboard and began writing.
"Morning class." The slightly larger than average Professor said merrily as he rocked on his heels, his eyes swept over his students and his smile grew when they settled on his star pupil, Harry. "Today we'll be brewing a particularly difficult potion, so could you all turn to page 72 in your textbooks please."
The sound of books opening and flickering open filled the once silent classroom, Hermione naturally found the page first. 'Burn Bane' her eyes took in the content of the page, feeling slightly pleased at the challenge that lay ahead. "We'll be attempting to brew Burn Bane, now as you might have guessed from the name. Burn Bane is a burn treatment, but who can tell me what sets it apart from other burn treatments?" Professor Slughorn asked as his eyes remained on Harry, obviously expecting him to have the answer. But he didn't raise his hand nor utter a word; instead he just looked blankly at the Professor with the rest of the class. Smirking slightly to herself at the fact that the Half-Blood Prince couldn't help him here, Hermione raised her hand. "Miss Granger?"
Smiling, she held her head high as she lowered her hand. "Burn Bane, or Urit Lues, is the only remedy and treatment to burns both externally and internally, caused by dark magic and dark creatures. It is also used to treat burns inflicted by some variety of Dragons."
"Excellent Miss Granger, 10 points to Gryffindor." Slughorn said cheerfully as he turned back to his blackboard and continued writing. "As Miss Granger said, Burn Bane is the only burn treatment for burns caused by dark means, such as Fiendfyre. Ironically the main ingredient in Burn Bane is fire itself, or to be more precise, Liquid Fire. One of the most volatile-"
Slughorn was interrupted by the sound of his classroom door opened; Hermione looked around with most the class to see Belladonna standing in the doorway. 'Her eyes look a little… Red… Has she been crying?' Hermione thought as she looked at the girl, her eyes did look a little puffy but maybe Hermione was imagining things; however that didn't stop the stab of guilt that struck at her for selfishly leaving the girl all alone. "Sorry I'm late Professor, I got lost." Bellatrix said almost shyly as she looked down at the floor.
"Ah you must be Miss Melania? Come in my girl." The Professor said with an anxious voice, his tone suggested that Dumbledore had had words with him about Belladonna's identity. Bellatrix smiled slightly at the Potions master and closed the door behind her before heading over to the spare seat not far from Hermione. "I thought you had been assigned a guide? Ah well it doesn't matter, don't worry about it. It's good to have you join us."
"Thank you Professor." Bellatrix said sweetly as she sat down and pulled out her book.
"It's Belladonna Melania right?" Slughorn asked as he watched her carefully, Bellatrix gave a small yes sir in reply. Slughorn looked like he was about to mention something regarding her name, but instead turned back to his blackboard. "You haven't missed much Miss Melania, turn to page 72 please; we're going to look into Burn Bane today." Slughorn paused as he scribbled a note on his board. "Now as I was saying, Liquid Fire is the key component, it is also a highly dangerous one. Liquid Fire is taken from the glands of the same variety of Dragons whose burns can only be treated with Burn Bane. If utmost care is not used when utilising it, the brewer will suffer the very burns their potion is meant to treat, which is why I have a brew already prepared just in case."
Slughorn turned to look at his class, his eyes once more falling to Harry as he asked his next question. "Can anyone tell me how Burn Bane is best applied for external burns?" Hermione's hand darted up, but it wasn't her that caught the Professor's attention. "Miss Melania?"
"Thank you sir. Despite having the properties of an oral treatment, Burn Bane is best applied directly to the burnt area, but only if the burnt area is still either hot or warm and the skin tender. If applied as soon as possible after an incident, Burn Bane will nullify all pain and completely restore the burnt area, leaving no blemishes or scaring." Bellatrix paused for a moment; Slughorn nodded happily and was about so speak when she carried on. "However for external burns that have been allowed to set or if too much time has elapsed before treatment can be administered. Then Burn Bane will have little to no effect if applied directly, it then can only be treated by consuming Burn Bane. But it's far less effective and there is a moderate chance of blemishes and scaring remaining after treatment."
"Well done Miss Melania, a perfect answer! 15 points to Gryffindor." Slughorn beamed as he turned to scribble more notes. Hermione however was less than pleased. '15 points? I only got 10! My answer was perfect too!' She thought childishly, she should have been happy as it just meant more points to Gryffindor, but for some reason she couldn't help but feel a little jealous. She had always been the top student, the one who got the points and high praise for questions answered in class. Harry's latest successes with Potions didn't count since he was getting aid from another source she thought bitterly, before turning her attention back to what Slughorn was now saying.
Hermione scribbled down notes on a bit of parchment as the Professor finished explaining the process involved in making the potion and moved over to a large hourglass. "You have one hour to brew the potion, after which I'll be testing them on you." He chuckled softly at the looks he got then turned the hourglass. "Begin."
"He's going to test them on us?!" Ron whispered as he moved close to Hermione. "He's bonkers I tell you!" He muttered, Harry nodded beside her and after that both of them barely spoke, the incentive of getting burnt by Slughorn and using the Liquid Fire poorly kept everyone engrossed on the lesson. Slughorn moved around the class, putting a vial of Liquid Fire on each of their desks as students started to get what they needed.
Hermione waited for most of the class to collect their ingredients before she got up and headed over to the cabinet to get what she needed. Bellatrix seemingly had the same idea of waiting and headed up at the same time, Hermione gave her a fleeting glance as they both rummaged for what they needed. 'Her eyes are definitely puffy…' She thought as Bellatrix caught her looking, her eyebrow rose up as she silently probed her for a reason for the look she was giving the dark haired girl. "You ok?" She asked Bellatrix as she politely handed the girl a small flask of Honeywater.
"Thank you." Bellatrix took the flask from her gently, as Bellatrix's fingers brushed softly against hers, a warm tingling sensation moved though out her body, a sensation that felt oddly pleasing. As Bellatrix smiled, she wondered if the girl had felt it too. "I'm fine thanks, why do you ask?" Bellatrix cocked her head to the side and looked directly at her.
"You look… Well… Sort of upset." Hermione asked nervously as she grabbed a small tuff of Manticore hair.
Bellatrix stared at her for a few moments before smiling and shaking her head.
"No I'm fine, but thanks for asking." A warm smile grew as she turned back to the cabinet and picked up two vials of Salamander blood, handing one politely to Hermione. Again the same pleasing sensation tickled at her as their skin brushed ever so lightly against each other. Feeling herself blush, Hermione muttered a quick thanks before returning to her station. 'That was… Weird…'
Filling her cauldron with the base ingredients, her mind kept turning back to Bellatrix. The girl was back to being sweet and kind, but that had to be because they were in public and yet, the kindness in her eyes looked genuine. 'She's a fantastic performer… I'm not forgetting what happened, no matter how sweetly she smiles or how nice her touch is…'After letting her mind ponder a little longer, she let out a small sigh before pushing Bellatrix from her mind and turning her full attention to the potion.
Turning up the heat, she slowly poured in a portion of her mixture of Salamander blood and Honeywater and began stirring it clockwise seven times and then anticlockwise the same amount of times. A process she had to repeat for the next half an hour almost, apart from the occasional comment, the class was largely silent of human sounds, only the bubbling of the potions and the sound of the liquid slushing about when it was stirred broke the silence. Even the boys were concentrating hard; Harry was flickering through the Half-Blood Prince's copy, while Ron kept watching what she was doing. No one seemed to be eager to get burnt, well… One person wasn't concentrating quite as hard.
Bellatrix was humming slightly to herself not far from her; Hermione chanced a look back to see the dark haired girl casually stirring her potion. She wasn't even paying attention to it as she lazily looked around the room. When her dark orbs swept over to Hermione, she smiled when they gazes met then tilted her head towards her potion. Hermione blinked in confusion before turning back to look at what Bellatrix had been motioning too; she had overdone the clockwise stirring motion while not looking, groaning to herself she mentally scolded herself for getting distracted.
Ten minutes later, most of the class were ready to start adding their Liquid Fire. A feat that most looked very anxious about doing, everyone seemed to be waiting for someone else to go first, and even Hermione wasn't particular looking forward to this part. One slight slip would ruin her hard work. An angry sizzling behind her drew most of the class's attention, Hermione turned to watch as Bellatrix added the Liquid Fire. The girl didn't look the least bit concerned as she added another drop, again the potion sizzled furiously, smiling to herself, Bellatrix allowed the sizzling to die down before adding the last drop.
Slughorn strolled over and peaked down at her brew; his face lit up and practically bounced with pride. "Wonderful! Simply wonderful, I dare say I couldn't have made a more perfect remedy." Picking up a ladle, he scooped up a sample of her mixture and poured it into a shallow bowl. "Hold out your hand please my dear." He asked politely, Hermione watched as Bellatrix obeyed without hesitation. The Professor drew his wand; he pointed it at her palm and muttered a spell which burnt at a small section of her skin, apart from a minor hiss, Bellatrix showed no display of discomfort. Putting his wand down, he pulled out a small cloth and dabbed it in the sample of Bellatrix's potion, then wiped it over the burn. Slughorn stared for a few moments then his face brightened up even more as the burn completely healed and vanished. "Perfect! Oh well done Miss Melania. I think you deserve another 10 points for your house for finishing first and brewing such a perfect sample of Burn Bane."
"Thank you sir." Bellatrix replied proudly then began packing away her desk after being given Slughorn's permission.
Spurred on by Belladonna's success, the rest of the class gained some confidence and started to slowly add their fiery component, which seemed to go poorly for most, but luckily not disastrous. Ron hurried to do his, hoping to get it out of the way quickly, he added his three drops too quickly without giving his potion a chance to cool down between each one, which resulted in a sharp lick of fire spooking him and ruining his potion. Harry's went just as bad, he timed the first two drops well but grew too nervous and shakily added two drops in quick succession instead of one final drop, the result being a puff of black smoke blowing in his face.
Trying to hide her amusement at Harry's now black face as he coughed lightly, she turned and prepared herself for hers. Drip. Went the first drop followed by the potion sizzling. Drip. Went the second drop after it had cooled down, then she went to add a third.
But something nudged her hard in the back, caught by surprise and off guard, Hermione was pushed forward, her hand accidently emptied the remainder of the Liquid Fire into her potion. Blistering flames lashed out from the surface of her potion, the fiery prongs struck her, scorching her cheek before she could react. She cried out in agonizing pain as the boys quickly grabbed her shoulders and pulled her away from the blazing cauldron, her hand instinctively came up to cradle her cheek, only to make it worse when she touched the burnt area.
Her eyes began to swim with tears, the painful sensation eating up the side of her face was unbearable, she could faintly see through misty eyes the Professor panicking as she tried to uncork his own brew of Burn Bane. "Move!" A sharp voice said to Ron, she faintly saw Ron being roughly pulled away before a hand grabbed her shoulder and turned her around. Bellatrix was standing in front of her, when her hand started to come up Hermione cringed away, at that time not understanding what she was going to do. But she couldn't stop her, and then she felt something warm and creamy against her cheek.
Almost instantly the pain started to clear away and as it vanished, understanding dawned on her. Bellatrix had the small bowl in her hand with the sample she had made, her other hand was dabbing the cloth delicately against her cheek; she dipped it back in the bowl before applying more of the remedy to other areas of her face.
Bellatrix pulled away slowly, she had a worried expression etched on her face, her eyes narrowed as they swept over her face before nodding and putting the bowl down. "How do you feel Hermione?" She asked softly.
Hermione blinked in bewilderment, not only confused at what happened, but even more confused at how Bellatrix rushed to her aid. "I… I feel fine… I think… Thank you…" Answered Hermione softly as she looked up into Bellatrix large dark orbs, the worried look on her face faded and a warm smile replaced her frown, before she then stood up and made way for Slughorn. 'She helped me… Why?'
"Oh Miss Granger, are you ok?" The Professor asked as he checked her over, Hermione nodded in reply, 'Just confused.' Her hand came up and slightly touched her cheek, it still felt warm but that was about it. Her fingers softly traced her skin but she found no marks, no areas that were painful of sensitive to touch. She continued to feel her way around face until raised voices drew her attention.
"You did that to her!" Ron snapped at Bellatrix.
Bellatrix scoffed with her arms folded. "I tipped over your bag which you had left just lying about in the aisle!" She hissed back in annoyance.
"Yeah right! You must have seen it! You did that it purpose!" He shouted at her, turning as red as his hair as he stepped closer.
"Why would I do that?" Bellatrix shouted back, not shying away from Ron's bigger and more threatening build.
"I think you know why…" He growled out as his hands clenched into fists at his side.
"That's quite enough you two, I'm sure it was a complete accident. This is exactly why bags should remain under the desk Wallenby." Slughorn said with a slightly raised tone, ignoring the sniggering from Draco and the other Slytherins for him getting Ron's name wrong as usual. 'She knocked me? Could she have done it on purpose? And if so… Why did she rush so quickly to help me if it was done on purpose? She could have done nothing and let Slughorn treat me…'
"Right class dismissed, leave you potions in a marked bowl on my desk and I'll check them later." Slughorn said to the class before turning his attention to Hermione. "I best get you checked out in the Hospital Wing just to be sure Miss Granger, don't want to risk the wrath of Madam Pomfrey." He added with a chuckle.
Hermione bent over slightly to get her bag only to be stopped by Slughorn. "I'm sure Harry won't mind collecting your stuff." Professor Slughorn said softly to her while Harry nodded in agreement behind the Professor.
"Thanks Harry, I'll see you both next lesson." Hermione said with a smile and started off with the bald Professor but stopped when she passed Bellatrix. "Thanks again Bella." Bellatrix smirked and lightly touched her shoulder before Slughorn hurried her along, she threw a quick smile over her shoulder at Bellatrix and the boys before she began to make her way to the Hospital Wing.
Hermione spent the remainder of the lesson and all of break being fussed over by Madam Pomfrey before the nurse was satisfied that she was perfectly ok. She had almost escaped her clutches when Professor McGonagall turned up, her favourite Professor had a very worried look on her usually stern face as she marched over to her bed.
"Is everything ok Miss Granger?" She asked softly, not hiding the concern in her voice.
She nodded politely in reply. "Yes Professor."
Professor McGonagall looked around the ward and noted it was just the three of them before looking back to meet her gaze. "Do you think Miss Black do this on purpose?" The deputy asked in a low cold tone.
Again Hermione pondered this before answering. "No Professor, I believe it was an accident, she reacted swiftly to aid me, she could have pretended to be mortified and let Professor Slughorn deal with it. But she didn't." She answered honestly, Bellatrix didn't have to help, and she could have easily pretended to have been too shocked. 'Last night she hit me, today she rushes to my aid… Wish she'd make up her mind would be much easily to suss her out then…'
"And there have been no other incidents?" She asked as if she had just been reading her thoughts.
'Should I lie? She just helped me, should I repay her by getting her in trouble?' Hermione answered her own question and the Deputy by shaking her head. "No, she's been perfectly fine."
McGonagall frowned as she stared at her before sighing and nodding. "Very well. You best get going to class then Miss Granger, I'm sure Professor Snape won't hesitate to deduct points if you're too late."
Nodding to the Professor, Hermione thanked the two older women and hurried on along her way, her hand coming up to briefly stroke her cheek again as she rushed to class.
By the time she had reached the Defence Against the Dark Arts classrooms she was nearly ten minutes late. Groaning to herself, she knocked on the door and waited for the Head of Slytherins cold hard voice. "Enter."
Hermione opened the door and stepped inside, her eyes sweeping over her classmates to the dark haired Professor at the front. "Sorry I'm late Professor, I was in the Hospital Wing."
"Yes… We've all… Heard about your accident. Go and take your seat, and be quick about it girl!" He snapped before he turned back to his class. Not needing to be told twice, Hermione hurried over to where she usual sat, a familiar black haired girl sitting next to an empty seat silently told her that seating had changed a little. 'Boys…' Shaking her head, she quickly retrieved her bag from Harry and after muttering thanks she sat next to Bellatrix.
The girl gave her a quick look and smiled before looking back up at Snape. "Now as I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted." Snape paused to sneer in Hermione's direction. "Due to current events… The Headmaster wishes that any double lessons you have with me, to be used to… Hone your duelling skills. And while I feel… Most of you will require more than a little honing to improve your skills… It is what we'll be doing today regardless, however… I still wish to see you at least… Attempting non-verbal magic. Stand and move away from your desks." Snape commanded coldly.
With little noise, the class stood and stepped back from their seats. With a flick of his wand, Snape sent their desks and seats over against the wall and arranged them in a neat pile, with another flick everyone's bags piled up in the corner of the class. "Now… Since you are already in pairs… I see no reason to sort you again. Today I'll be observing and taking note while you attempt to defeat your partners. I imagine this will not take… Long. Everyone stand by the wall with your partners… Except Mr Longbottom and Mr Macmillan, you're up first."
Neville looked terrified at the prospect of going first, Harry, Ron, Dean and Seamus all gave him an encouraging pat on the shoulder as they passed him. Hermione gave him a small smile and whispered good luck before heading over to the wall with Bellatrix. "Begin." Snape said coldly from the corner of his classroom.
Neville and Ernest did the customary bow before they started their duel. "I bet that git picked on Neville on purpose." Ron hissed in her ear as the pair started their duel. Hermione couldn't argue with Ron's assessment, Snape had always shown a strong dislike for Neville and seemed to love tormenting him. 'Still, it could be worst… At least Ernest isn't a bad guy.'
The duel, much to Snape's and the Slytherins pleasure, didn't last long. After a few jinxes were exchanged, Ernest managed to hit Neville with a Jelly-Legs Jinx and had Neville collapsing to the floor. "How disappointing." Snape stated flatly before using the counter curse, allowing a red faced Neville to scurry away. "Mr Finnigan and Mr Thomas next."
The next two boys moved up to take their positions and after bowing, began their duel. Hermione watched as two by two, her classmates went up and duelled, some lasted longer than others, but largely they all remained fairly short. Something that Hermione couldn't tell if Snape looked pleased or disappointed about.
"Nervous?" Bellatrix asked quietly in her ear.
Hermione slowly tore her eyes away from Harry and Ron who were the latest pair up, and so far had lasted the longest with both parrying each other's jinxes. "No, you?"
Bellatrix smiled slyly. "Can't wait, I'll try not to hurt you."
"Likewise." Hermione bit back a snigger and smiled. She hoped Bellatrix couldn't tell she was lying, she was nervous, on one hand she didn't want to lose to Bellatrix and on another, she didn't want to beat her. If she lost, Bellatrix might believe her weak and walk all over her if today's kindness had been a very good act. If she won, Bellatrix might take it badly and in turn, take it out on her later. 'Either way this may end badly… May as well show I can stand up for myself. Maybe it will discourage her from striking me if she's playing us all for fools again.'
She turned back to the duel just in time to see Harry disarm Ron, Snape didn't make a comment, nor did he praise them, he just glared at the boys before looking over to her. "Miss Granger and Miss Melania, you're up next."
Gulping slightly, Hermione withdrew her wand as she moved to one end of the room and turned to face Bellatrix. The pureblood smiled at her and bowed, Hermione quickly returned the gesture before getting readying herself. "Begin." Snape snapped.
Bellatrix carried on smiling, her posture was lazy as she held her wand loosely at her side. She seemed to be inviting her to make the first move. 'Stupefy!' Hermione sent her non-verbal stunner at Bellatrix, partly hoping for quick finish to this before it begun, but that hope was in vain as Bellatrix parried it without a word.
With a quick flick, Bellatrix sent her reply effortless and silently. 'Protego!' Hermione casted her shield with as little effort as Bellatrix had and blocked her Impediment Curse. She could feel everyone watching her, watching them, it made her feel uneasy, she had always hated being in the spotlight. Taking a deep breath Hermione sent another spell 'Petrificus Totalus.' And just like before, Bellatrix blocked it with little to no effort. The dark haired girl just stood there casually, still smiling as she cocked her head to the side. 'What is she doing? It's like she can't be bothered.' Hermione thought with a frown.
Or so she thought until she felt a ripple in the air, quickly she raised her shield again, just in time to block a bludgeoning curse. 'I didn't even see that coming! She is distracting me with her casualness.' She thought with mild annoyance, she knew she only had herself to blame for not paying closer attention to her wand rather than Bellatrix. Although she couldn't miss what Bellatrix did next, with a flurry of movement and her wand slashing viciously at the air, Bellatrix sent a handful of jinxes and then… Giggled. Her laughter almost distracted Hermione from producing and holding a stronger shield. Different colour bright lights hit her shield, the force of the combined attack made her take a step back.
'She can't do that! She can't laugh in a fight! People will know its Bellatrix!' She stole a quick look at her classmates; none of them showed any signs that something was amiss. 'No of course they wouldn't, why would they? Bellatrix was in the paper today while Belladonna was here… And others joked and laughed in their duel, maybe I'm just being…' A flash stopped her line of thought and quickly she blocked another spell. 'Paranoid…' Scowling again at being allowed to get distracted, Hermione sent a few of her own jinxes at Bellatrix, who was no longer staying motionless and dropped her casual act; instead she practically danced and twirled as she blocked each one. Without pausing the dark haired girl sent several in return. 'She moves her body so well…' Hermione mused as she defended herself, not failing to notice how Bellatrix's dance flapped around which gave her a sneak peek at her slender thighs. 'Stop it Hermione! Watch her wand not her legs!'
From there it escalated quickly, neither paused to study their opponent as they blocked and sent curses back and forth. Bellatrix seemed to be in her stride as she became increasingly verbal, laughing, grunting and yelling, in Hermione's eyes she was doing everything apart from yelling 'I'm Bellatrix Black' at the top of her voice. But no one seemed to notice the connection, 'Maybe it's only because I know who she is that I can make the connection… Guess I'll see what the boys say after…' Bellatrix laughed again as she sent a strong curse that exploded against her shield. 'Least she's not using Lestranges trademark cackle.'
Shaking her head free of her paranoia, she concentrated on the match. Beads of sweat were starting to run down her forehead and her wand arm was becoming strained under the now relentless assault. 'I can't keep this up…' She though with mild panic, Bellatrix had stepped up her assault and now had Hermione defending herself full time as curse after curse after curse hit her shield with varying intensity.
It wasn't long till her whole body was starting to sweat, her clothes were beginning to cling to her skin, her breath was becoming increasingly heavy and drawn out. She was tiring, she could feel the effects all over her body, and she could barely keep her footing as spells collided with her shield hard. Bellatrix however, seemed perfectly ok, not a single bead of sweat was glistening on her smooth pale skin. 'I can't beat her… Not on the offensive… But maybe…' She thought back to the book she had been reading for the past week. 'Maybe I can beat her while on the defensive… Yes.'
With the idea in her head, she smiled at Bellatrix and readied herself, waiting for the perfect moment. She watched as Bellatrix flicked her wand once more, she felt the rippling sensation in the air coming towards her. 'Perfect timing and a verbal incantation… Ok here goes…' Hermione waited until the spell was just about upon her then shouted out. "Propu-"
But she never got to finish the spell as the breath was knocked out of her, the sensation of something hard and heavy connected with her stomach. Gasping for breath she fell to her knees, her knees hit the stone floor hard, which gave way to a sharp pain shooting through her legs as one hand clutched at her stomach. She coughed and spluttered as she keeled over on the floor as footsteps approached her, as she looked up she saw someone's black shoes then a pair of long black knee high socks. 'Bellatrix.'
Bellatrix lent down and grabbed her arm lightly; the dark haired girl bent down slightly and lowered her head so she could whisper in her ear. "Good to see you haven't forgotten your place mudblood." She whispered darkly before standing and pulling Hermione up.
Hermione glared at her, too winded to reply, but even if she could have she was too angry for words. 'I knew it! It was just another act! She managed to get another one over on me! In front of everyone too!' The girl let her go and smiled warmly as Harry and Ron came over. "Well… It seems…" Snape's voice drew her attention to the front of the class. "That Miss Granger, is no longer the… Best." He said with a smirk, much to the delight of the Slytherin students. Hermione scowled and looked hard at Bellatrix, who was smirking at her from behind the boys. 'You wait Bellatrix, this isn't over… Not by a long shot.'
A/N: I'm sure most will want to hurt me for being so mean to Hermione ;) but she'll get her own back soon! Hope you enjoyed Chapter 4 and I'll update soon! X
LoveSKINS94: Glad you are enjoying it ^^ and yeah an absolutely perfect alias for her, so lucky to have a name that close to Bellatrix with hidden meanings pointing to her real identity. Hermione will get her own back, especially after this chapter :p
EagleRay: Sorry for dashing your hopes ;) but there will be plenty of time for that soon, whether it will be part of Bellatrix's game plan :P that's another matter lol.
DrunknMunky85: Lol I can't imagine a young Bella would wish or want her little cousins who wouldn't have even been in their teens dead at that time. Wouldn't have drifted apart until Sirius got to Hogwarts at least. Yep lol poor Hermione, she'll suffer a while longer ;)
MunkyTerror: She certainly sounds like she's dabbled with the same-sex before :p Won't answer that ;) but she may do lol. Nah Hermione don't play the submissive here, Bella is still just a student here, not a Death Eater, they are on an even playing ground.
Randy87M: I can't imagine Bella being happy if a mudblood gives her a taste of her own medicine ;) things may turn nasty :D.
