I'm so sorry for taking such a long time to update, anyone who's been to university should understand! Thank you everyone for reading. -Cerrone.


Hermione found herself walking across Hogwarts' grounds at a time she would usually be in the library reading, or perhaps in the common room by the fire. Though now here she was drifting quietly over the dewy grass, the icy drops of water lifting off the thin blades and twigs and collecting at the hem of her jeans. She could feel the cold air seep through her shoes like liquid into a sponge. In front of her eyes Hermione could see her breath floating, the mist falling from her lips as easily as language came to her. Behind her now the sun was falling quickly, the pink skies of dusk were replaced that evening with clouds and a sullen grey sky, which faded into a deep violet as the light evaporated like steam. Were there no clouds at that time Hermione would surely be bathed in a golden light, the grass and leaves all around her would be too, the breath from her lips would be gilded like the words of a lover as she walked down toward the Forbidden Forest, but not tonight - no, tonight was grey, dark and colourless. And even the grey was being suffocated by darkness as she got ever closer to the multitudinous trees, the multitudinous seas.

As Hermione got closer to the forest the flora around her was more an more unkempt, stray roots and sticks clutched at her feet as she tried to move over them. The sun had dissolved long ago and left only it's after image, swirling in her eyes. The smell of the night surrounded her now, the smell of dampness and leaves, of stale air and moss. Hermione was so used to the earthen smell of Hogwarts' corridors and classrooms that now the scent of the evening seemed it's strongest, as if she were smelling it for the first time. Hermione questioned why she was walking into the Forbidden Forest, freely and without purpose. It was as if the breeze had lifted her from the castle and was urging her toward the wall of trees. How far would she go in? Would she become lost? A smile came to her lips as she thought of Bellatrix, as she thought of the kiss they had shared. Her smile quickly became a smirk as she remembered how the woman ran from her, ran from the feeling which no doubt made itself known between her legs. It was a victory for Hermione, and a loss for Bellatrix. The dark witch was a proud creature and Hermione had damaged her pride, she had made Bellatrix seem almost vulnerable as her hands trembled at the girl's kiss - oh yes, Madam Lestrange would be licking her wounds somewhere. At this thought Hermione bit her lip intently.

It was as if she had an invisible tether drawing her into the woods, Hermione couldn't stop herself. In a moment of comparison she likened it to reading a book she couldn't put down, desperate to see what happened next. Around her the trees began to grow thicker, light from the dusk could scarcely squeak though the trees and she found herself in darkness. Beneath her feet the damp ground reflected what little luminescence there was and looked, she thought, like celestial glitter surrounded by a curtain of blackness. Stumbling over the serpentine roots growing from every patch of earth Hermione though perhaps that she might be bewitched, though, someone who allows their subject to realise they're bewitched wouldn't be very good with spells - no, Bellatrix was much better than that. Perhaps she was dreaming, here, as she uncouthly floated over the uneven ground, she hardly remembered leaving the castle, where was she before she began walking aimlessly through the forest? Nothing seemed right. Why, why, why? The words rolled around in her head, but sure enough she continued on walking, between the trees and over the tethers of root. In no particular direction.

The trees were thicker now, she felt so small among their dizzying heights, their mottled trunks and their ancient leaves. So out of place she was amongst the wild trees, with her feet on the soggy and rotten ground. The blackness was impenetrable, before her eyes colours began to shift as they desperately wanted to see something else. Something colourful or maybe even light itself - instead of this deep black surrounding her. Ahead of her she saw the night shift, but only for a moment. She stopped in her tracks and strained her ears to hear anything, but she heard everything. Suddenly the whole forest seemed to be alive with sound, every swaying leaf and every tiny insect sounded like power tools and relentless hammering at a construction site in London. Just a moment ago she had been plunged in silence, but now as she tried to listen for a sound of footsteps, perhaps, she heard everything. Even the blood in her own ears sounded immensely and unreasonably loud, the hissing of it rushing around in her head smothered all other noise. Hermione gave up on listening and instead advanced slowly in the direction of the shifting night, was it a figure? Or was it just a tree moving? Perhaps it was nothing at all.

"Lumos." The word fell from her lips as a whisper, but at once it seemed to make the entire forest silent.

As she waved the clean orb of light around in front of her Hermione realised that all the light around her seemed to have vanished, as if it were sucked into her wand. Her eyes struggled to see much of anything past the ball of light and she decided that it would have been better if she didn't cast Lumos at all. Slipping the wand back into her pocket Hermione squeezed her eyes shut, in an effort to regain her night vision. Peering between the trees, or the black columns she thought were trees, Hermione could see nothing.

Cautiously, her lips began to form, which was by now, a most familiar name, "Bellatrix?"

Silence laved over her as she listened for a reply, she knew the dark witch had to be out here somewhere, no one else could make her walk into the Forbidden Forest without knowing why. Chilled breath raked in over her lips as she breathed steadily in wait of a reply. She heard the insects and trees again, the swirling of blood inside her head and then she heard, in the distance, the sound of rustling, the sounds of movement. It was then that the danger of the situation dawned on her, there were all sorts of awful creatures in this forest, which she was wandering through calling the name of a convicted Death Eater.

Slowly she moved in the direction of the noise, taking care not to make any sounds herself. Steadily her chest rose and fell with each breath. Adrenaline coursed through her heart, making it beat loudly in her chest. Silence. Rustling. Breathe in. And out. She felt like an animal stalking it's prey. She felt how Bellatrix must feel. She felt cold.

Again her lips formed the woman's name, "Bellatrix?" she called into the darkness.

Patiently she listened for another sound. Paralysed, standing still, she heard nothing. Just as she breathed in Hermione heard a murmur. The murmur of leaves, of twigs - the murmur of movement. The rustling was further away now, deeper into the woods. Hermione didn't fear how deep Bellatrix would take her, she'd relinquished control long ago. She felt the cold night air stick to her forehead, looking up through the web of trees she saw the moon. She'd watched it crawl across the sky many times, while waiting for the older witch to show. The other students would return soon. And what would she tell them? How could she face Ron and Harry again, while her mind was with Bellatrix. Bellatrix, Bellatrix… Hermione's thoughts lifted from her friends and returned to the darkened wood. Slowly she began walking in the direction of the rustling, it was much quieter than the first time, the sound could just have easily been made by a small creature, a spider perhaps. If the noise did come from Bellatrix she was moving away, and quickly. Desperate for a sign of the older witch, to catch her scent, to hear her move. Anything. Bellatrix made her wild, like an animal.

On the wind she heard a sound which no one else could make, she heard it echo off the trees and fall upon her ears. Bellatrix's maniacal laugh came out of the night and sent her running in the direction it came from, desperate to have Bellatrix again. Beneath her, her legs pounded the damp earth relentlessly as the cold night air scraped over her flesh like knives, the wind tugging at her hair and clothes as the frigid night pervaded her body, wrapping itself her now exposed waist like a length of rope. Deeper and deeper into the Forest she ran, sprinting after Bellatrix Lestrange. She could picture the woman laughing as she flowed through the trees as smoke, tormenting her. Who knows how close Hermione had come to her in the darkness. Darting through the trees and bounding over stray roots and fallen trees became almost automatic to her as she ran after the woman, her laugh growing louder and closer. Her chest heaved with fatigue but blinded with want by the Death Eater she ran on through the early moonlight.

Hermione heard, ahead of her, the sound of running mixed with the cackling, Bellatrix was close. Though, still out of sight. Here, she heard something she hadn't expected to as she ran after the woman through the Forbidden Forest after dark - her own laughter. She wasn't sure if she was nervous or excited but Hermione started laughing almost hysterically as she chased Bellatrix - it was like the games she'd played as a kid, only a little different. The breath in her lungs started to burn as she tried to laugh and sprint at the same time, she felt her limbs becoming slack but continued to run throwing her feet forward to gain more speed, at this point she didn't care about anything or anyone but Bellatrix. The air was like gravel as it flowed in and out of her chest and was expelled in jubilant cries.

Engulfed she was then, as Bellatrix's ashen trail enveloped her. She could feel the lithe particles hitting the parts of her skin which were bare and still she laughed. The woman's smoky cloud was surrounding her as she sprinted in desperation to keep up with the dark witch, she knew that if she stopped Bellatrix would disappear. It was like a test for her to pass. Hermione felt the ashen particles entangle with her hair and fill her mouth - she tried to breath in as much of the woman as she could. For every cell in her body to be fueled off a piece of the woman. Blindly Hermione reached out, feeling the mist wrap around her fingers like glue, as if the blackness suddenly had some body to it. Letting go of herself completely Hermione grasped at the vapour until she had a hold of something, her arms quickly followed as she wrapped her limbs around the surprisingly warm mass and dragged it to the ground. Beneath her the ground was harder than she thought it would be and small groans escaped her lips as her body tumbled across the dirt. In her arms Bellatrix still laughed. Wet leaves stuck to her back and she could feel the cold earth penetrating her heaving chest.

When the entangled bodies came to a stop on the forest floor Hermione found herself perched on top of the dark witch. Her heart still pounding between her desperately empty lungs. Looking into the woman's eyes Hermione wasn't sure if she saw anger or passion, their wild depths had always thrown her. As Bellatrix squirmed beneath her, she felt the woman's legs shift and her own weight slipped down onto the witch's pelvis. She could feel an immense heat present there, radiating through her flesh until it collided gently with her bones. Hermione was amazed that this serpentine woman could produce such heat during the cold night. Looking down at her hands she found them entwined with strands of Bellatrix's hair and her palms and fingertips sank into the damp soil. Paroxysmally her breath came in and out, partly because she was tired from running and partly because she was straddling Bellatrix Lestrange. She'd always found that word a little vulgar, but now she thought it was anything but. The dark witch's hands were placed firmly on the ground, her long claws digging into the soil, dirt and dead leaves clinging to her fingers as she tried desperately not to touch the young witch sitting across her pelvis.

Hermione dragged her eyes over the woman beneath her until their eyes locked, her breathlessness continued as they simply looked at each other. It had been a long time since she had looked into someone's eyes uninterrupted and for so long, she felt the cold of the night drift away from her and a swirling, gilded feeling grace her core. In that moment it was as if they were both suspended in a pool of blackness as Bellatrix's cloak spread out on the earth around them.

Suddenly, Hermione found her lips pressed against Bellatrix's, taking lead for herself she decided to kiss the older witch before she could evaporate into nothing. Her body pressed more firmly into the slight give of the woman's body as a small sound of surprise escaped the Death Eater's lips. This was not a delicate kiss - as Hermione's lips began to lave slowly over the older woman's - no, it was a kiss of possession. She wanted to consume this sadist, this witch. To draw their beings infinitely close together, and explicitly bind them so that no matter how many times Bellatrix apparated away she could never leave, always to return. On her lips she could taste the sourness of fatigue and the salty hint of skin as Bellatrix began to kiss her back. Their lips crushed together, veiled by satiny flesh, while the woman between her legs began to writhe in pure frustration. Hermione suddenly felt the woman's arms shift and found the slender clawed fingers buried in her own hair. Grains of dirt began to fall into her hair as the ground-covered fingers imparted their outer coating of debris. Hermione wanted everything that was Bellatrix, and she wanted it all at once. This woman made her crazy.

She began to feel dizzy, her hands felt awkward and light and as she opened her eyes she saw that Bellatrix was apparating and taking her too, into the cloud of black smoke. Instinctively she latched onto the woman and prepared to disappear in this most agreeable of positions.