A/N: Sorry for the lack of updates, I've been a bit lost lately and trying to find my feet again. Thank you for all the follows and reviews and favourites, it means the world to me. I hope you enjoy this chapter.


Hermione stumbled slightly on their landing, as always Bella caught her, after righting Hermione she squeezed her hand. "It's alright." She said in a gentle voice. Hermione felt the tears stinging her eyes again. "It's alright." She whispered again, Hermione shook slightly as she gasped for breath and was embarrassed that it came in spasms. "Shhhh." Bella whispered, she wrapped Hermione in her arms, her lips pressed gently into her hair as she whispered her name softly over and over again feeling the shaking get harder. Bella conjured a blanket and wrapped it carefully around them as they stood in the empty office. "It's alright baby girl." She cooed, her lips pressing again to Hermione's hair and cheeks. "You did such a good job." She said, her voice staying soft and even. Finally Hermione let it go and collapsed against Bella sobbing.

"How- how could they do that? How can people do that-" Her tears wet Bella's neck and she buried her face into the black curls and shut out the world.

"Those weren't people Pet, those were monsters." Bella replied to Hermione sobs of why. They stood for what felt like an eternity in the empty office wrapped in the warm blanket until finally Hermione's shivers ceased and she sniffed still held in Bella's arms. Soft little comforting whispers and kisses pressed against Hermione's hair as they stood.

Hermione let her breath out and lifted her head. They stared at one another in the silence of the room; Hermione's eyes red and puffy from crying, her cheeks wet from her tears. As she looked she felt herself fall into the dark depths of Bella's eyes. How could anyone have such black eyes?

"Bella-" Hermione started, the black eyes narrowed slightly now moving from looking at Hermione's eyes to her moving mouth. She felt the fingers move slowly along her arm and pause at her wrist. The fingers tightened slightly as Bella breathed her in, her eyes finding their way back to Hermione's.

"Come home with me." The voice was low, almost hoarse; Hermione had never heard that tone from Bella before, her wrist throbbing slightly under the feel of Bella's grip. She felt herself nodding as the file landed on Bella's desk and they were gone with the familiar pull that left the office behind and Hermione pressed tightly into Bella's body.


The moment they appeared in Bella's house Hermione felt Bella pulling at her shirt, her lips crashed into Hermione's who groaned at the contact. She worked at the buttons on Hermione's blouse before giving up and pulling it open. Hermione heard the buttons hitting and bouncing off the wooden floor. She hadn't taken in the surroundings for even a second before her own hands were moving to unfasten Bella's cloak. She felt the dark witch moving her back slowly as they kissed, back and back until they were in a heavily scented room. Hermione's head swam, the scent, the vanilla scent from Andromeda's house was deep in the air around her. Bella's scent, she moaned again and felt Bella smile into the kiss.

Bella let out a slight hiss against Hermione's cold fingers on her stomach when she managed to pull Bella's shirt away, her nails scratched lightly along the alabaster skin. Hermione ached all over, what were they doing? Was this right? Another kiss from Bella sent the thoughts out of her head until the only thing she could think about was Bella, Bella beneath her, on top of her, surrounding her. They fell onto the bed together, their hands eagerly pulling at the remaining clothing between them.

"Hermione-" Bella whispered as if the name were the sweetest thing she had ever tasted. Hermione shivered at her name on Bella's lips said that way. Her lover's hand slipped between her legs eliciting another lustful moan from her as the touch was quickly followed by soft kisses along her neck and breasts. She wrapped her fingers into the black curls that trailed over her chest as Bella moved slowly towards her goal.

She groaned nearly as loudly as Hermione when she heard her name whispered into the darkness of the room. The lustful desperate pleas that fell from Hermione's lips made her press harder so she could hear it again. "Bella-" She gasped begging for release, "I- I need- please."

"Fuck baby let me feel you cum." She choked out as Hermione called her name in a strangled cry as she came hard against Bella's fingers.

Hermione lay panting on the bed, her curls stuck to her forehead as Bella crawled her way back up the bed to press her mouth to Hermione's. The groan was nearly enough to send Hermione over the edge once more when she tasted herself on Bella's tongue. She shivered in the afterglow and chill of the night air. They had been in bed for hours now; their only pause was to get something to drink every now and again before they kissed their way back along one another's bodies. They hadn't spoken other than whispered words of each other's names and other endearments. Now however, now there was silence as Bella rolled onto her back to stare at the ceiling for a moment.

They said each other's name at the same time and Bella let out an uncertain laugh. "You first." She said not looking at Hermione.

"I-um- I don't know what I was going to say." Hermione said, her heart pounding as she rolled over on her side looking at Bella's profile.

"Mmmm you were going to say, holy fuck what did we just do." Bella offered turning her head to look at Hermione, those dark eyes pulling her in once more.

"I-" Hermione hesitated, "No- I-" She swallowed hard, her face flushed as she searched for the right words. "What- what were you going to say?"

"I was going to say, holy fuck what did we just do." Bella offered with an easy smile to reassure her bed partner.

"Are you sorry? For what we did?" Hermione asked, her heart pounding so loudly she was certain Bella would hear it in the stillness of the room.

"No." Bella said rolling over and pulled her close, "Are you?"

Hermione shook her head, "No." She was so relieved that Bella did not regret their impromptu love making session she wasn't sure what to say next.

Bella took a deep breath, "Do you have to be somewhere?" she asked.

"No, do you?"

Bella shook her head, "Nowhere to be and nobody to see." She smiled then and trailed her hand slowly over Hermione's hair. "Just here with you, if you want."


They sat in the briefing room with everyone else. Hermione watched as Bella went with the photographs and the file to the front of the room. Ron had joined them from the training room; he frowned in Bella's direction. Hermione sighed; he was so childish it was ridiculous.

"Her name was Abigail, she was eight years old." Bella said with a sigh, she tacked up the photos with her wand. She looked like a little girl asleep, a photograph a parent might take of their child. Bella finished the brief; a few Aurors pinched the bridges of their noses to fight the stinging feeling in their eyes. Hermione did not hear the rest of the details; her eyes were fixed on Ron who was whispering in the corner while Bella spoke. She felt the rage building up inside her; she saw Bella's eyes fall on Ron but before Bella could demand his exit Hermione was on her feet. The table flipped over as she stood, her own papers flew into the air as her wand was out blasting towards Ron.

"You stupid bloody git." She hissed, Bella was on her in a second along with Tonks and Neville. Bella's hand closed on the wrist of her wand hand. The curse hit Ron between the eyes, puss and blood sprang from his nose. "They should have never let you back in here." She shouted feeling Bella forcing her hand down now painfully.

"Let go of your wand Granger." Bella said, her fingers squeezed Hermione's wrist forcing her fingers open until the wand clattered to the floor. "Out." She hissed near Hermione's ear. "Now." Hermione stared at her in disbelief. The eyes burned into hers and she left without protest, her wand clattering away towards the other side of the room as her foot hit it when she walked past it.

"Get him to St. Mungo's." She stated after Hermione had left the room followed by Tonks.

Hermione was in the training room kicking a training dummy.

"You might want to get a good story and calm yourself down before my aunt gets in here." Tonks said offering a word of advice. "What the hell were you thinking? You could have really hurt him."

Hermione glared, "Would have been too good for that stupid prat." She spat out giving the training dummy a well placed kick between the legs. "It was just a puss curse, nothing more painful than a broken nose." She said kicking again.

Tonks looked at her confused, "Hermione- no- you- you"

"Leave us." Bella said appearing in the door way, Hermione's wand in her hand. The other hand Hermione saw was covered in orange ointment, burn cream for severe burns. Had she done that? She had of done that because she had been with Bella all morning, all of the previous night. She glanced at the clock, it couldn't be right, the time, where had the last hour gone?

Tonks swallowed and walked past her aunt giving her a meaningful look before exiting the room entirely.

"Granger, do you mind telling me why you nearly killed Auror Weasley?"