Chapter 10
The Black Manor
She had tried to keep her cool. She tried to seem indifferent, but as soon as it was revealed that Lucius was dead she could not do either of those things.
When Bellatrix had escorted her out of the room she had said nothing. She allowed herself to be guided to wherever Bellatrix planned to take her. Hermione could feel her feet moving forward but she did not feel as if she was the one moving them.
The young witch felt bad for what she had done. She had not purposefully tried to kill him but the guilt still stood strong within her. Hermione did not like Lucius but she did not wish him dead.
Bellatrix on the other hand was very proud of Hermione, although she was worried at the witch's current state.
"Is he really dead?" Hermione whispered to Bellatrix when the dark haired witch had sat them both down on a bed.
"Yes," Bellatrix whispered back. "Don't worry about the others. The Dark Lord might be a little mad but I doubt he'll do anything about it," she stated.
Hermione stood up and began walking around the room. Bellatrix stayed where she was on the bed and watched her.
"Draco won't forgive me. It's not like I expect his forgiveness but …," Hermione trailed off, not knowing what to say. "I mean, I knew that I would most likely end up killing someone but I didn't expect … I just …," she tried to finish her thoughts but she found it not possible.
"It'll blow over soon enough," Bellatrix said but soon realized that that wasn't what Hermione wanted to hear.
"Oh, it'll blow over will it?" Hermione snapped angrily. "Well isn't that wonderful. While I wait for that to happen what do you expect me to do?"
At this Bellatrix stood up, walked towards Hermione and placed her hands on the brunette's waist.
"Sleep. I expect you to sleep. You have had a long, tiring day and you'll feel better tomorrow," Bellatrix said softly.
Hermione was taken aback by how nice and sweet Bellatrix was being. She knew that Bellatrix acted differently around her but she could really see that Bellatrix was trying to calm her down. The young witch gave a small smile and kissed the Death Eater lightly on the lips.
Without another word, Bellatrix guided Hermione into bed. The black haired witch took out her wand and quickly transfigured their clothing into pajamas and they settled into bed.
Hermione curled into Bellatrix who had placed her arm around her waist, holding the brunette close against her.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
When Hermione awoke she was surprised to find that Bellatrix was not with her. Slowly, she got up and when her feet hit the ground she almost fell. For a moment she wondered why her legs were so shaky and then she remembered what had happened yesterday. She took in a deep breath and then exhaled loudly. All she wanted to do was to get back underneath the heavy black covers and curl up, but she knew that she shouldn't.
Finding her wand, Hermione transfigured her pajamas into black jeans, a green t-shirt, and a grey cardigan. She opened the door to the hallway and made her way through the house. She wandered throughout the manor until her could hear voices. Following the voices, Hermione walked down a long, dark corridor and stopped once she reached the source.
"She is not staying here anymore!" Narcissa hissed out angrily. Hermione was in front of the room where she saw Narcissa and Bellatrix talking. Neither had noticed her presence yet.
"For Merlin's sake Cissy I don't see why you're so upset. Lucius was a - ," Bellatrix snapped back but was cut off by her younger sister.
"Don't you dare insult him right now Bellatrix," Narcissa seethed. "This is my home. I get to decide who stays, and she is not staying here."
"Listen, I'll leave. I'm really sorry about what happened. I don't want to disturb you all anymore than I have. I'll go back to Hogwarts for the rest of the holidays," Hermione said quickly while entering the room. She was not all that surprised by what Narcissa was saying. The young witch had figured that she would not be able to stay here after what she had done, whether it was on purpose or not.
The two older witches were surprised to see her enter the room. Narcissa fought hard not to draw her wand upon the girl while Bellatrix made her way over to the brunette.
"You will not be going back to Hogwarts," a cold, dark voice echoed throughout the room. Seconds later Voldemort appeared in the middle of the room, his wand perched in his bony hand. "There are many things that I need to discuss with you before the holidays are over," he stated.
Quickly, and very excitedly, Bellatrix came up with a solution.
"She can stay with me at the Black Manor, my Lord," she suggested and looked at the brunette for affirmation that this would be a good idea.
"Yes, that would be best. I do believe we still have initiations to perform, however I have decided that we will do them at the New Year's Eve ball. Sometime before that I shall summon you through Bellatrix so that we can discuss your mission. This means that Hermione will only be here for the ball and on few separate occasions. Does this satisfy you Narcissa?" Voldemort asked.
Narcissa knew that it wouldn't matter if she said that she did not want Hermione to ever step foot in her home again so she just nodded her consent.
"Good. Then I suggest you leave as soon as you can," with that Voldemort disapparated from the room.
Between the three witches in the room it was very quiet. No one said a word, and everyone had different facial expressions. Bellatrix was looking quite pleased with herself and excited for her to have Hermione all to herself. Narcissa still looked angry and had to hold her tongue from lashing out at Hermione. Deep down, she knew that the girl had not meant to kill her husband. However, this did not stop her anger.
The youngest witch in the room was uncomfortable. She honestly felt bad for what she had caused Narcissa but knew that nothing she could say or do would change a thing. Pulling her from her thoughts, Bellatrix grabbed Hermione's arm.
"Come on, let's go. The sooner you pack, the sooner we can leave," Bellatrix said lowly into Hermione's ear. The brunette blushed and let herself be led out by the Death Eater. Hermione almost said something to Narcissa as they were leaving the room but thought better of it.
Bellatrix guided them through the dark manor. They turned many corners until they were finally at Hermione's room.
The brunette packed her things back into her trunk in an organized fashion, as she always did except this time she preferred to do it the muggle way.
"You know, if you used your wand it would be much faster," Bellatrix stated impatiently. Hermione gave a soft little laugh.
"I know but I prefer to do it this way. Besides, don't you have things to pack? Shouldn't you go do that?" Hermione inquired as she folded her shirts neatly.
Bellatrix muttered something underneath her breath before leaving the room, presumably to go pack, but Hermione wasn't sure seeing as Bellatrix could be somewhat unpredictable.
The young witch was soon done her packing. She put on her dark grey coat and started to make her way to the entrance of the manor.
She hadn't been walking long before she ran into Crabbe, Goyle, and Draco. They all stood there in an awkward silence, none of them really knowing what to say. Hermione wanted to apologize to Draco but feared it was unwelcome.
Draco was angry, upset, and confused towards Hermione at the moment so he kept his mouth shut. He did not want to say anything for fear of regretting it later or that if he started talking that he may begin to cry.
"Are you leaving?" Crabbe asked after noticing the trunk.
"Yes I am. I'll be back on occasion and for the ball but other than that I'll be staying elsewhere for the remainder of the holiday," Hermione responded. Draco felt a ping of jealousy when he realized that she would be most likely be staying with his aunt but at the same time anger filled his heart.
Before any comments could be made, Bellatrix rounded the corner. She eyed the three wizards and witch before speaking.
"Come on then pet," Bellatrix said to Hermione and walked past the wizards and witch.
Hermione gave her friends an awkward smile and she muttered a goodbye before following the eldest Black sister down the hall.
Catching up with Bellatrix proved to be difficult. The older witch moved at a very fast pace and by the time Hermione had caught up with her they were at the main door.
"Once we're outside the gates we can disapparate to my manor," the dark witch exited through the doors and beckoned for Hermione to follow.
They were nearing the gates when Marsh, the house elf, appeared in front of Hermione.
"Miss Hermione is leaving?" Marsh said quietly while she fidgeted with her hands.
The brunette bent down and took the house elf's hands in her own.
"I am. I'll be back though for the New Year Eve's ball. I'll miss you," Hermione smiled and then gave Marsh a hug.
Marsh seemed stunned for a moment before returning the hug, small tears forming in her eyes.
"Marsh will be missing you too," she said and gave a small smile.
Bellatrix looked away from the two and stood awkwardly to the side. She had never thought of house elves the way that the young witch did and it made her slightly uncomfortable. However, she wanted to be respectful of Hermione's views and decided to wait until a more appropriate time to ask questions.
The two pulled away from each other and Marsh disappeared back into the manor.
Hermione stood up and gave Bellatrix a smile before continuing on their path to the gates. The brunette walked next to the Death Eater and intertwined their hands together. Bellatrix smirked slightly before pushing open the gates.
Bellatrix took out her wand, held onto Hermione's hand tighter and disapparated them to the Black Manor.
Hermione had closed her eyes and bit her lip as they traveled. The feeling of disapparation still did not sit right with her but she said nothing as the journey was short.
From the outside, the Black Manor seemed to be the same as the Malfoy Manor but upon entering it Hermione knew it would be completely different.
The ceilings were higher, the stone older, and the atmosphere darker.
"Welcome to the Black Manor my pet," Bellatrix whispered softly into Hermione's ear and wrapped her arms around the brunette. She nipped lightly at the witch's earlobe. "Let's get you settled shall we?" she said and proceeded to take off Hermione's coat.