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Chapter 9: r
A week had passed since me and Bellatrix decided to reveal our relationship to her sister Andromeda. She was thrilled, Dromeda had no prejudice against Muggle-borns and was glad to see that Bellatrix was finally happy.
Things were progressing quite well, the only person who was giving me some trouble was Sirius. He continued to avoid talking to me, unless it was absolutely necessary, and when our eyes met by accident, he wrinkled his nose and looked at me coldly.
Bellatrix kept telling me to leave him alone, that he had probably his panties in a twist, but his behavior worried me. He had always been one of my best friends and I didn't understand what could have made him change so suddenly.
Right now I was seated on top of the Astronomy tower with Bellatrix lying next to me with her head on my lap. The holydays were close and the Christmas spirit could be felt everywhere in the castle thanks to the beautiful decorations.
"Bellatrix"
"Yes?" she said without stopping playing with my fingers.
"Tonight I want to talk to Sirius"
She sighed and smiled.
"You really care about him, don't you?" I nodded.
"Yes, he's one of my best friends since practically forever. I want to know what's wrong with him" I explained.
"But tonight it's Friday night... I was thinking maybe we could spend it together" she took a lock of my hair and began to play it.
"Yes, it won't take long... wait for me on the shore of the Black Lake and for nine o'clock. I should be finished by then"
"Okay" she whispered before placing a feather light kiss on my lips.
I closed the distance between us and started to kiss her deeper, but then the sound of footsteps and shout made us jump apart.
"Bellatrix! Bellatrix! "
A blonde girl was running in our direction.
"Bella, I've been looking everywhere for you!" she said stopping in front of us.
Her blue eyes stopped on me before Bella got her attention.
"What happened Cissy?"
"Sirius told me to get you" said the younger of the Blacks sisters.
"What?"
"Yeah, I don't know what he wants. He's in the Great Hall"
Bellatrix looked at me and I nodded. Together we made our way to the Great Hall, but as we crossed the courtyard entrance, I saw something that made my blood run cold.
The black dog was there, in the snow, and was growling at us.
"Bellatrix..."
"Narcissa go inside!"
"What is a dog doing here?" she asked.
"Get back in the castle! Cissy do as I say!"
The girl began to run away and as soon as she disappeared inside the castle the dog came up to us.
I pulled out my wand and pointed it at him.
"Bella... it is possible that it's truly the Grim?"
I took her free hand and pulled her further away from the dog.
"Don't be silly Hermione, that's not the Grim. STUPEFY! "
The spell caught the dog by surprise and hit it in the chest, throwing it against the wall. He got up after a few seconds and ran away.
"Merlin... come on, let's go before it comes back"
"Bella! Where's the dog?" Narcissa was waiting for us out of the Great Hall.
"He's gone Cissy... So, where is Sirius?"
"I don't know" said her sister "He should be here"
"Well then I guess it wasn't anything important then... Granger, we have a job to finish" she said to me.
"Hurry Black, I have other things to do"
In front of other people we acted like this, we didn't want to arouse suspicions.
The rest of the day passed quietly. At lunch Lily and James told us that they were a couple now, not that it caught us by surprise, we knew it would happen sooner or later.
That evening I was in the common room, Lily and James were talking on a couch, but Sirius was nowhere to be seen.
"James?"
"Yes Mione?" he said.
"Do you know where Sirius is?"
"No ... but I have here the Marauder's Map, take a look"
He pulled out the map from his pocket and handed it to me.
"I solemnly swear I am up to no good"
Gradually, the castle appeared before my eyes and I began to turn the pages looking for Sirius. On the shore of the Black Lake I noticed Bellatrix's name which was walking, I stared at it for a while and when I turned the page Sirius appeared in the entrance courtyard.
"Thank you James"
I gave him the map and started running toward where I had seen Sirius. I saw him right away in a corner of the yard, he was sitting on a bench and was watching the sky covered in clouds.
"Sirius"
He looked at me.
"What are you doing here?" he snapped.
"I came to talk to you. What have I done wrong? It's been a week since you started acting like this"
He stood up and walked over to me.
"I'll answer you if you will answer my question first... Why her? Why her, Hermione?"
"W-what are you talking about?"
"You know what I'm talking about!" he yelled making me flinch.
I backed up again until I found myself against the wall. He knows.
"...Do you think that's the Grim...? Don't be silly, the Grim doesn't exist" he continued.
"H-how...?"
"How do I know, Hermione? I am the dog! I am an Animagus and I saw your revolting love scene! Why Bellatrix Black? "
Now everything was clear to me, I just have to try to explain it to Sirius.
"I love her" I whispered.
"And do you think she feels the same way for you? My cousin doesn't know love, let alone feeling it toward a Mudblood!"
"You know nothing" I growled, Bellatrix had warned me that this could happen. I was not going to let him intimidate me.
"I don't? And what do you think will happen next? You will be hurt, both of you. Hermione I am your friend, I want the best for you" he said putting a hand on my shoulder.
"You don't know what is best for me"
I shook his hand off and started running towards the Black Lake, I had to find Bellatrix.
"Wait!"
I could hear footsteps behind me while Sirius was trying to reach me. In the distance I could see Bellatrix's silhouette near the water.
"Bella" I said when I was close to her.
She could see the shocked expression on my face and she hugged me.
"What happened honey?" she whispered softly "YOU!" she yelled detaching from me and noticing Sirius "What have you done to her?"
"Me?" Sirius replied "What have I done? I'm not the one who seduced her!"
"Seduced? Are you kidding me? I love Hermione" said Bellatrix.
"Sure you do, Bellatrix" Sirius replied "And tell me, have you thought about what to say to your parents? What will they say when you present them not only a Muggle-born, but a girl also?"
"This is not any of your business, Sirius" Bellatrix said coldly.
"Yes it is my business! Hermione is my friend, and you'll hurt her! Your parents will never accept your relationship and you think she" he pointed to me "will be happy when you'll eventually have to wed... "
"Don't you dare" hissed Bellatrix.
"You know that what I'm saying it's true. It's our fate, I'm just trying to protect Hermione, something that you're not doing"
Bellatrix bit her lower lip 'til I could see a bit of blood.
"We are happy Sirius" I said.
"For now"
"What's that supposed to mean?" I asked.
"Why don't you ask your girlfriend? I'm sure she knows what I mean... I'm going now, I think I have given you something to think about" he turned and started to walk away.
"Sirius" Bellatrix called him.
"Don't worry Bellatrix, I will not tell anyone" he said "Trust me, I know what it feels like to have a secret like this" then disappeared into the night.
Bellatrix sat down near the water and a couple of tears flowed down her face. I sat beside her and put my arm around her shoulders.
"Bella... don't cry, it's okay"
"No, it's not. Sirius is right, my parents will never approve"
"There is no need for them to know... we can be just me and you, together" I whispered.
"No... it's your right to know" she took a deep breath before speaking "My parents want me to marry Rodolphus Lestrange"
When the words left her lips they poured over me like a bucket of cold water. Bellatrix was supposed to marry a Pureblood, it was the fate of the Blacks. How could I forget about this? How could I be so foolish to think that one day we'd be able to live together peacefully? It was what she was bound to do and we can't live a lie for the rest of our lives.
My arm fell from her shoulders and I walked away from her.
"Hermione..." she whispered, more tears streamed down her face "Hermione I love you"
This time I didn't say it back, I couldn't find the strength in me to say it back. We didn't have a future, there was no chance for us. Maybe it was better to end it now, before the feelings got too deep.
"Hermione please..."
"When?" my voice was cold and it surprised even me.
"I-I don't know... I think when I finish school..."
"You-you knew? And you've been with me all this time... "I whispered and I was no longer able to hold back the tears. Nor look her in the eyes.
"Hermione, it's not like this, I don't want to marry Lestrange!" she said, trying to take my hand.
"And your opinion matters in all of this? I've seen how Lestrange looks at you! He'll not think twice to marry you!" I shouted through the tears and walked away again.
"Hermione, I love you. I'm willing to do anything, even run away with you when we finish school. I have so much money, my late uncle left me a fortune, we can go wherever we want!" she pleaded.
"Bellatrix..."
"Please don't throw away all we have"
At that point I didn't know what to do. I loved Bellatrix too much to give up on her like that.
"Hermione, you have to believe me. I love you"
She looked at me with pleading eyes and I was no longer able to deny it.
"I love you too Bellatrix, so much" she took a sigh of relief "But I can't ask you to choose between me and your family"
"I don't care about my parents. I hate them. They're controlling monsters"
She took me in her arms and we kissed. In that moment I knew I would never be able to let her go, no matter how difficult or painful it would be, we'd be together. We were meant for each other.
"What will you do Bellatrix?" I asked her when we parted.
"I don't know yet, but we don't have to think about it now... we still have a long time"
I nodded and we lay down on the perfectly white snow. Her head was resting on my shoulder and I was running my fingers through her curls.
We sat in silence in that position for a long time, until I decided to speak again.
"What do you think Sirius meant?" I asked.
Bellatrix raised a perfectly shaped eyebrow. She always did this when she didn't understand what someone was getting at.
"Earlier" I added "When he told us that he knows what it feels like to have a secret like ours"
"I don't know Mione. Sirius has always been the rebel of the family, starting from the fact that he is a Gryffindor"
She wrinkled her nose and I hit her lightly on the arm.
"Hey!"
"You know I'm kidding" she laughed as she stood up.
"You better be" I said mimicking her movements and putting my arms around her waist "I love you Bella" I added.
"I love you too Mione" she said stroking my hair "I love you too"
A/N:
Here we are at the end of the ninth chapter! I hope you enjoyed it, push that little button below and leave a review!
