A/N: Life has been more than a little hectic of late. I promise that I have not abandoned any of my projects. My updates are just a little (or a lot) slow at the moment.
Heat. Red hot singeing heat was all that Hermione could feel. She opened her eyes and swept them around the room. All she could see was a wall of flames and they were closing in. And then she heard the pained screams. Bellatrix was calling out for her. Begging her to tame the magical fire to save her. But Hermione had no wand and could call no magic into her body. She was entirely powerless. She watched the flames lick at the skin of the woman she loved. She screamed for Bellatrix, telling her to protect herself, not to die, not to leave her. There was a high pitched yell and then an eerie silence save the crackling of the fire. Hermione fell to her knees screaming. She prayed the flames would move quickly. She had been unable to save the only person who ever truly cared for her, loved her. Dying seemed favorable to hearing Bella's pleas in her head in both sleep and waking hours.
Her head was wretched backwards roughly by an invisible hand and the heat abated. She knew that she could hear someone speaking, but she could not decipher the words or identity of her person over her own mournful wails. She had lost everything. She gave up her old life for the promise of what the dark witch could offer her, only to have it ripped away. She curled in on herself not caring about the pain in her scalp or whoever had cursed her by saving her. She refused to open her eyes. A sharp slap against her cheek finally coerced her back to reality. The pain barely registered as she took in wild curls and dark eyes. She raised a shaking hand to the pale cheek touching it reverently.
"Bella," she asked in a quiet unsteady voice.
"Of course it is me, pet. Do you have plans to be in others' beds?" Bellatrix spat the question.
Hermione ignored the accusation, far more concerned that the witch was not an illusion. "Are you real? Is this a dream?"
"Muddy," she said in a warning tone. "What are you talking about? First you wake me up screaming. You refused to look at me when I command it. Now you want to know if this is real. Are you gunning for punishment or are you simply daft in the middle of the night?"
"Legilimens," Hermione said quietly in a tone that made it clear she wasn't making an attempt to cast the spell, but rather suggesting that it should be cast. This was the second time in as many days that she had openly invited Bellatrix into her mind, but the dark witch rendered her so out of sorts that she struggled to communicate. And she was not ready to say anything about the nightmare she apparently just awoke from. At least she hoped that was the dream and not the rest.
"Very well, mudbaby. This had better be good. I do not enjoy being awoken and disobeyed."
Hermione closed her eyes and nodded. She would accept anything the dark witch deemed appropriate if she could just be ensured that this was reality, not the flames. The tip of a wand touched her temple and the young witch relaxed into the Death Eater's body and spell. As before, Bellatrix moved through her mind with considerable skill. The feeling carried pain and pleasure not unlike the woman's physical touch. Hermione attempted to keep panic at bay as she felt Bellatrix witnessing her own death and her subsequent reaction. She allowed her desperate thoughts to float to the top of her consciousness laying plain for the witch how she felt in those moments. She was so focused on the world ending pain of the memory that she didn't feel the dark witch withdraw from her mind.
"Muddy," Bellatrix cooed in her ear pulling her close. The girl once again didn't react. Having seen the dream first hand, the older witch could certainly understand how the girl was reacting. She didn't wish for the girl to be in pain caused by anything but her own hand. There was a satisfying power in her pet's absolute distress at what occurred in her dream.
Hermione moved her head slightly so that she could look at the dark witch as she spoke.
"That was indeed a nightmare," the dark witch said slowly so that she could be sure the distraught witch understood each word she said.
"It felt so real. How can you be certain that it was not reality?"
Bellatrix studied the young woman to ascertain if there was any malice or attitude in the question. Finding none she stroked the pale and still damp face. "There were several things that were out of character for me. Of course, you wouldn't know that yet. You will learn. First, I am unlikely to ever take your wand from you." She continued to move her hands in soothing motions hoping to quiet the girl enough that they might get back to sleep before the sun rose. "You are far more useful when you are able to defend yourself and my interests. I also have a strong grasp of wandless magic. I could manage a fire even without my own wand."
"That makes sense," Hermione said biting her bottom lip nervously.
"But I haven't even gotten to the most important part, Mudbaby." Bellatrix rolled herself over on top of the naked woman. Aggression lapped at the edges of the tenderness with which she had been treating the young witch. She lowered her lips to Hermione's neck alternating kisses and nips. The bites were enough to leave marks. In the coming days she would look fondly at the proof of her ownership. The young witch gasped at the initial movement, but had given herself over entirely to the treatment. Her hips were starting to subtly shift in a rocking motion. "You are never ever allowed to leave me, pet. You belong to me heart, mind, body and soul. We can never be parted. This," she said slipping her hand between the parted thighs. "This is real. No dream could feel like this." She drove 3 fingers forcefully into her witch. The young woman moaned at the intrusion and cantered her hips in time. It was clear she was trying to prove out Bellatrix's words that this could not possibly be a dream.
"You will wake up everyday in my bed or next to it. When and if I die, you will die too. There is no reason for you to worry about living without me. The ancient magic itself prevents it. Afterall you are far less likely to kill your mistress if you will in turn die."
Bellatrix leaned back to gain better leverage to push herself into her pet. She wanted the words and her actions to sink it. It was truly a shame that the girl hadn't been raised in the old ways. Perhaps had she not been sent to Azkaban, she would have learned of the girl when she was younger. Cissy could have raised her during the summers and taught her about her future. She wouldn't have claimed her until she was an adult, but they wouldn't have been strangers. Hermione would understand what she had committed to. Yet there was beauty in the way that Hermione had handed her life over to the dark witch. She placed an inordinate amount of trust in a woman who had previously treated her with no particular kindness.
The witch was writhing under her rough treatment and leaning into each touch.
"Promise me, Bella. Promise."
The dark witch kept moving her hand adding a thumb to roughly brush against the firm clit. She weighed her options. It was surprising how little the ancient texts discussed the effect of the bond on the dominant party. She had somewhat naively presumed that there would be no changes to her or her magic. Yet she felt an undeniable draw to the begging witch. And emotions she did not wish to name that she had not felt in many years.
"I will not leave you." She punctuated each word with a particularly hard thrust. "Not a single day will pass where you question to whom you belong. You are mine, muddy. I care for my possessions."
"Yours," the witch moaned beneath her in relief and echoed promise.
"Come for me, pet," Bellatrix commanded before biting down hard on the pale neck drawing blood.
Hermione screamed her release at the intense pain and dissolved into tears. The dark witch slowed her movements through the orgasm until the last waves ebbed away. She removed her fingers and allowed the witch to burrow into a close embrace.
"I thought you were dead."
"I know. And perhaps had you not committed to me I would have been yesterday. But we survived to fight another day. I will not give you up easily."
"Nor will I," Hermione said with a conviction that surprised her.
Bellatrix let all other words of comfort die on her lips. She was out of practice in supply such emotional support to anyone. There had been a time when she treated Narcissa with such care, but a decade and a half in prison had largely erased any traces of empathy she once had. The girl's breathing deepened and her frantic embrace lightened.
"Thank you, Bella," she mumbled on the edge of sleep. There was so much more she wanted to say to the older witch and so much more to ask her, but being used so roughly after such an emotional dream left her unable to do anything but succomb to exhaustion.
Hermione woke first surrounded by the smell of Bellatrix. It was a distinct mixture of cinnamon and pine that was deliciously luxurious. In sleep the witch's stern face was relaxed and peaceful. For a fleeting moment, Hermione wondered what she might have looked like when she was younger. It wasn't as though the dark witch looked her age. Like most purebloods she had aged much slower. Her body bore a few scars from the rougher periods in her life, but the healing after Azkaban rendered her once again a beautiful specimen. Hermione was unsure if she could rely on her opinions of the witch to be unbiased now. She felt completely at home waking up naked next to the fierce warrior and there was undeniable affection buzzing just under her skin.
There was so much about the current situation that she didn't understand and was entirely unprepared for. The strength of the connection was like something out of a fairytale book about true love. Her muggle parents must have skipped over the chapters about rough kinky sexy and ownership. As she could do nothing about her lack of information, aside from waiting to be told exactly what the parameters were, Hermione decided to take advantage of the opportunity in front of her.
Very slowly as to not wake her companion, she drew the sheet away from their naked bodies. In the light of morning, Bellatrix was even more beautiful than she had been in candle light. Hermione lightly drew her fingertips over nipples that hardened in the cool air. Under her touch they tightened more until she knew they must be aching. She longed to draw them into her mouth, but that would surely wake the witch. She moved slowly to the edge of the bed settling between legs thrown apart in sleep. Hermione touched toned thighs lightly baring a warm center to her more fully. The witch was drenched. The young witch inhaled deeply and suspected that the arousal was likely from the midnight interruption when she had been fucked so thoroughly. Bellatrix relaxed her beyond being able to reciprocate and apparently fell asleep without taking matters into her own hands.
She knew it was unlikely that the dark witch would stay asleep through even gentle touches. So she decided to rather get to the point. She pressed the flat of her tongue against the dark witch's wetness. As the night before, she found the taste of the woman intoxicating. Previously she had never given serious thought to what it might be like to nestle between another woman's legs, but this might be her personal definition of nirvana. As she gently swiped her tongue in a circle around the woman's clit, a hand anchored in her hair holding her in place.
"This is a very good way to wake me up, pet," Bellatrix growled through the edges of sleep. She would allow the girl to wake her slowly. There was no reason to rush this morning. At her words, she felt the girl engage her more fully. Small hands pushed her legs firmly apart, spreading her wide for whatever the little witch had come up with. The tongue seemed to be everywhere. It was clear that the brightest witch of her age had every intention of unlocking every secret of her body. Normally Bellatrix would run at such an invasion of privacy, but this delightful creature was bonded to her. Letting the girl learn such things would be advantageous. After all, morning came everyday and a witch could certainly get used to it.
Hermione enjoyed the uncontrolled reactions of the sleepy death eater. There was something uncontrolled and and malleable about her. That was something that Hermione could not resist exploring. She nipped at the hardened bundle of nerves using her teeth for the first time. A second hand joined the first in her hair and pulling harder than before.
"Pushing limits today, are you, pet?"
Hermione thought of answering, but couldn't be bothered to remove her mouth from its current task. She figured that a second love bite to sensitive skin was likely as good of an answer as anything else.
"Fuck, Muddy. Just like that. Be rough. Fingers in me now. Do not keep me waiting," she growled.
The young witch complied happily giving into the older witch's desires. The harder she pushed the more Bellatrix tugged at her, moaned and demanded that she continue. With a hard twist turning her entire hand over. The dark witch shouted and clutched her close spasming around her fingers. Hermione was not immediately released from her position so she continued to kiss and nuzzle contentedly. After a few minutes, Bellatrix tugged her hair upwards roughly until she could capture the girl's lips.
"I misjudged you, my dirty girl. I didn't think you had that in you. But I am very pleased." She ran her hand down the moist cheek knowing that the wetness was her own. "And how do you feel about it?" Instead of waiting for an answer, she possessed Hermione's mouth with her tongue. She slipped her hand between the girl's legs. Her fingers came away moist. She broke the kiss replacing her lips with her fingers. Hermione took them enthusiastically into her mouth.
"Well, pet. I am glad you enjoyed me as much as you did. You seem rather on edge now. Is there something you would like from me?"
"You."
"I have no doubt you do. Be a good girl today and we will see about you tonight."
Hermione opened her mouth to protest, but a slender finger covered her lips.
"No, pet. You are mine to do with as I please. And I want you aching for me all day. You should still be sore from earlier. You are, aren't you?"
"Yes. I am," she whispered eyes cast down.
"Good. Time to get up."
Bellatrix removed herself from the embrace that she was enjoying far too much and sauntered to the bathroom. As she got to the door she paused with a chilling look in her eyes. Hermione scrambled to get out of bed and follow her.
