Author's Note: Sorry for taking so long to get this posted. There was a lot of thought placed within this chapter (Also, the fact that I ended up having to stay two hours later than necessary at work on a project that someone else started and I had to finish, kept me from posting this a day earlier.) But, it is now ready for everyone's reading pleasure. This is actually the last chapter before the epilogue, I feel that the story has drawn to a close and the epilogue will give a lay out of the future for our lovely couple! I have a few more stories rolling around in my head, so don't fret! One story that I am currently working on is another Bellamione that is going to be a continuation of my two one-shots (Where Once was Light, Now Darkness Falls and To Forgive, Divine), it will be dark just like the one-shots. But, they always say there is a light at the end of the tunnel!
Hermione finds herself unwilling to fall asleep, though it tries to prevail every step of the way, after Bellatrix left for Narcissa's. She had paced the raven-haired witch's bedchamber for over an hour, her gaze constantly drifting towards the bed which in turn caused her to become even more weary from lack of sleep. Deciding that her current situation was detrimental to her attempts to thwart the grasps of slumber, the brunette made her way to the library. Upon entering the library, Hermione realised that this location might not be better suited for her quest to conquer sleep. The deep, rich mahogany wood along with the black satin curtains caused a slumberous mood to settle over the young witch. Shaking her head to keep her eyelids from drifting close, Hermione walks over to the book laden shelves that covered all four walls of the room and peered through the titles. Though most of the titles were magical in origin, the witch found a few titles that she had often seen during her regular perusal of the local book shops near her parents' home in London.
'I would have never thought to have found copies of Pride and Prejudice or Homer's Odyssey gracing the shelves in Black Manor.' Hermione smirks at her own musing as she pulls The Odyssey off the shelf and walks over to the overly stuffed black leather sofa beside the fireplace.
Reading normally got her mind off anything that tried to take over. When she was to the point where she wanted to Avada Kadavra either Ron or Harry she would pull out Hogwarts, A History. Considering how ragged the hardback book looked after seven years and how she knew more about the castle than even the Bloody Baron, Hermione thought her method in satiating her urges was top notch. This time however, the studying of a book did nothing for her condition. Slowly the words unfocused in front of her and as much as she struggled the darkness behind her eyelids prevailed, causing her to finally fall asleep.
"Hermione... Hermione." Bellatrix whispers frantically whilst shaking the young witch awake. When the brunette's eyes fluttered open the raven-haired witch sighed in relief. "I have been trying to wake you up for the past five minutes. Y-you didn't slip into that other world did you?"
Hermione blinks a couple of times before furrowing her brow, trying to think back to while she slept. Her expression became one of surprise, "No... I don't remember anything. Well, I remember coming into the study to keep my mind off falling asleep. And then I remember that I started to read and then I seem to recall you calling me out from my slumber." She smiles as she looks into Bellatrix's eyes, then turns away with a frown. "What time is it?" She asks as she looks around, failing to see a clock anywhere about the room.
"It is six- thirty, why?" The older witch asks voice full of concern, something that had never actually been used to describe the woman before she had met Hermione.
"Merlin's beard! I was sleeping for five hours!" The brunette jumps up from the sofa she was lying on and paces the floor in front of the now dying embers of the fireplace. "I can't believe it... five hours? That possibly can't be. Maybe I was only asleep for a few moments. Yeah, that's it." Hermione mumbles to herself, never wavering in her step.
"Mind to clue me in on whatever the bloody hell you are going on about?" Bellatrix questions, crossing her arms in front of her and stares at the brunette.
"It's just odd that my mind didn't go to that nightmare of a place while I was sleeping... I didn't dream at all..."
"That's a good thing though, right?" Bellatrix states as she moves away from the sofa and walks towards Hermione. "Maybe, that means the curse is weakening." The raven-haired beauty places a comforting arm around the younger witch, trying to keep her from worrying so much.
"Or it means she has broke the curse without the aide of my magic." A male's voice hisses from the doorway of the library, causing the two women to jump. "Sorry to startle you two. I just couldn't stay silent any longer." Voldemort walks further into the room, aiming His wand at the now glowing embers in the fireplace causing them to turn back into the roaring fire they had been before. "You surprise me, Miss Granger. I knew your magic was strong, but I never knew how strong it actually was." He eyes the brunette intently.
"My Lord, how could I have broke the curse on my own now, when I have been dealing with it for so long?" Hermione asks, confusion written all over her face.
"You never had a reason to break it before." The Dark-Lord walks around the room until He reaches a high-back chair sitting in the corner of the room. Settling Himself into the chair that was in the shadows, He explains further. "Dumbledore always said that I never knew the most powerful magic of all. He was right... I, myself, never experienced it, but I knew of it. And knew how much it could effect a person. You see... you were able to break the curse because of your feelings for Bellatrix. You, like myself, had never felt true elation when being around someone you cared for. It was always your duty to watch out for others, and you hated it. Last night, I assume that is when you made your choice after going over the pros and cons like I asked of you, was when you came to the realisation of your true feelings for my second-in-command." Voldemort smiles at the witch's embarrassed look. "I bet that if you had fallen asleep last night you would not have been tormented with that other life either. It was that exact moment you realised that you loved Bellatrix, that the spell was broken. I guess that as deranged as that old fool was, he did know the power of love after all; even though, I imagine, he never experienced it himself."
Hermione opens her mouth to speak, but Voldemort raises a hand to stop her. "You are probably wondering why I told you that I knew of the counter-curse that would have lifted what Dumbledore did off you... Well, I do know the exact spell and was going to use it only if you could not come to terms with your emotions before I came back. The mind, Miss Granger, is the most powerful thing in this world. It can either lift you up to the most delectable of places or bring you down to the cesspit of the world. It seems that your mind has been made up and you have chose to stay with us instead of going back to the other realm. As I have said before, it was your love for Bellatrix that caused your decision, but I have a wonder... is there any other factor that led you to your choice?"
Hermione looks about the room for a few moments before she spoke, knowing that if He wanted to, The Dark-Lord, could use Legilimency to find out her other reasonings but He wanted her to tell Him aloud. "There is my feelings for Bellatrix, yes, but also I felt more alive now than what I could possibly feel in the other so-called world. I was always the one that had to do all the work and never receive any of the praise... As you said My Lord, I hated it. I hated everything about what happened in my past and knowing that the other realm housed the same sort of life for me, I knew I could not take it any longer. And also, in the other world, I never knew love or even camaraderie, and it pained me to even think that I could last a second longer dealing with that non-existence."
Voldemort stands back up, content with the younger witch's answer and turns to leave. Stopping at the door, he turns to face the two witches. "I am glad to hear that Hermione... I always knew that you were destined for more than what Dumbledore expected of you. I would often hear of the things that you were put through and knew that even I would never be that cruel to an exceptional muggle-born as you. Now, I have to go. There is much that we all need to do for the coming months. I expect to see both of you tomorrow for the start of the march on France." He turns back to the opened door and Dissapparates in the corridor.