Bellatrix was not herself in the days after the debacle at the Ministry, though her Lord had been pleased with the outcome, she herself had been furious with her own inability to get Hermione out of there safely. Fucking meddling Dumbledore showing up out of nowhere and ruining what was turning out to be a good mission and possibly an even greater night. She had been looking forward to finishing what they had started in the aisle of prophecies, angry that what could have been their first kiss was torn away so abruptly. Now Hermione was back in the clutches of the Order and Albus Dumbledore, and Bellatrix wouldn't put it passed him to have harmed her in some way, now that they had met and the prophecy was in motion.

She had assumed that Hermione, Potter and the others would be taken back to Hogwarts, and therefore be inaccessible to her, as it was the end of term, but after owling Draco he replied that although Potter and his friends had returned for the last day of term, Hermione was suspiciously absent. Bellatrix went, disguised of course, to the platform and awaited the train's arrival, but didn't see Hermione get off, which was later confirmed by Draco. She had even apparated to Hermione's muggle home the day after the incident, but Hermione was nowhere to be found.

Bellatrix checked the journal incessantly, each time opening it with the hope that she would see the neat, small penmanship of her witch, to no avail. She was driving Narcissa absolutely bonkers with her pacing around the manor in between meetings and research sessions for the Dark Lord. Her temper was legendary and between her anger at Dumbledore and her worry for Hermione, Bellatrix was on her last thread of control. She dove into her work in an attempt to distract herself, she was tasked with solving the mystery of the connection between Harry Potter and the Dark Lord. The prophecy had been quite telling, but she needed to find the exact magic linking the two in order to confirm their suspicions

When she managed to find enough information to make a report to the Dark Lord she did so, and though she was thorough with her findings, Voldemort knew her well enough to know that she hadn't been concentrating fully, and likely wouldn't be able to until she had resolved whatever was bothering her. He had his suspicions about the connection between himself and Potter, but was deliberately keeping them from Bellatrix. To be sure, he needed her to corroborate his findings independently. After all they were talking about a bit of his soul – he had to be absolutely certain. Voldemort had no intentions of being on the receiving end of Bella's temper when it was unleashed and didn't wish that fate on even the most incompetent of his Death Eaters, so he sent her off with strict instructions.

"Bella, go find your witch before you lose control of yourself and accidently burn the Manor down. I'd hate for your sister to have to kill you for ruining her décor. Don't come back until you've sorted yourself out. I don't care what you do – talk to her, shag her, kidnap her and bring her back with you if you need. It is imperative that you remain diligent and ensure that the remainder of your prophecy comes to pass."

Upon dismissal Bellatrix waited no time and immediately apparated away to the small muggle neighborhood which contained Hermione's childhood muggle home. She knew better than to try and apparate directly into the house, no doubt if Hermione was there, Dumbledore would have placed some sort of protections around the house to keep her out. She instead apparated to a garden shed a few houses down and cast a disillusionment charm upon herself, shuddering slightly at the feel of it, before walking down the sidewalk towards Hermione's home. If she wasn't at home, things would be infinitely more difficult as Bellatrix would then have to try and infiltrate Number 12, Grimmauld Place which was protected by the Fidelius, and even she couldn't find an easy way around that one.

She could feel some powerful wards around the house, though nothing that she wouldn't be able to break through with a little time and creativity. She sighed in relief, as no one would have bothered to ward the home were Hermione elsewhere. When she can come by earlier in the week, there were no wards to be found, not even a trace of magic in the air.

What was interesting to Bellatrix was that the wards didn't contain traces of Dumbledore's magical signature, nor Hermione's. She deduced that he must have sent someone, likely an Order member, to watch over Hermione for the summer and keep Bella away from her little witch. This would make things slightly tricky, though she was banking on having Hermione's cooperation. Though it amused her that the Dark Lord would give her carte blanche to do what she wished with Hermione, Bella knew that kidnapping would not be the ideal way to start this relationship.

The Gryffindor girl had been following Bellatrix willingly at the Ministry and she could feel that she had gained her trust, so no doubt she would want to see Bella, and would be irritated at the Headmaster's manipulations. She wasn't sure whether she would be able to convince Hermione to return to the Manor with her, not just yet anyway. Though she trusted Bella the same could not be said for the Dark Lord or the other Death Eaters or their families, save for possibly Draco Malfoy, who had apparently assisted her in numerous occasions during term. No, Bella would have to meet with her here a few times first, woo her a bit, and clue her into all the details about the other side of the war that she was as of yet ignorant of.

She began the rather tedious work of altering the wards. She wouldn't take them down completely, as that would arise suspicion and alert the Order to her presence. She simply needed to create a way through them that she could access at will. The wards were keyed against any magical being or creature, stopping them from entering the perimeter physically or via apparation. They would also stop any errant curses or spells aimed at the house or its occupants. Bellatrix assumed that they had established a secure floo connection inside for communication's sake, as owls would be unable to pass through the wards, though that wouldn't be of any help to her unfortunately.

Bellatrix considered using her animagus form, a raven, to simply fly through the wards but was suspicious that she wouldn't be able to fool them. Though as a raven, she was much smaller, and wouldn't have to create such a large hole in the wards. With that in mind, she set to work, creating a small break in the barrier next to a rosebush as to be unnoticeable. It would be just large enough for her to get through in her bird form, and once she was inside she would be able to transform back whenever she wished, as there was nothing stopping her from using magic once inside the bubble. Whoever created the wards was talented, that was for certain, but they weren't a match from the training Bella had received both from the Dark Lord and as an Unspeakable.

Bellatrix tucked her wand into a pocket and felt the familiar sensation of transforming into her animagus form. She hopped through the little pocket and then decided to stay in this form, to spy a bit before making her presence known to Hermione. She spread her wings and flew a circuit around the home, peering through the windows trying to catch a glimpse of Hermione. She found Hermione through one of the second story windows. Hermione was sitting with Andromeda's daughter on a lounge, watching some sort of moving muggle picture box. They were eating something that Bellatrix didn't recognize, and occasionally her niece would fling bits of the strange white yellow substance at Hermione, laughing when the younger witch scowled and brushed the bits out of her voluminous hair. She seemed totally safe and uninjured, which Bellatrix was glad about, though she was a bit put out that Hermione wouldn't have sent her a message after the Ministry. Before letting her thoughts get away from her, she stopped the train of thought and told herself that she would wait and get Hermione's explanation before jumping to any conclusions. There was likely more to the story.

It was a few hours of tedious waiting before the two witches were finished with the muggle box and headed their separate ways to bed. Bella was thankful that she was so well versed in wandless magic, as she was able to charm the window to open slightly and fly through. She hid herself in the shadows of the corner, and cast a silencing spell around the room, in case Hermione was startled by her presence and cried out. Bella didn't want to risk alerting her niece. Tonight was just about her and Hermione.

When Hermione entered the room she immediately knew something was off, she sensed another presence in the room. Half of her knew she should leave and go fetch Tonks, but the presence didn't feel threatening, though that sounded rather stupid in her mind. She gasped in shock when the form of Bellatrix Black emerged from the shadows by her closet. "Bellatrix!" The older witches name escaped Hermione's lips unintentionally. Bella quirked an eyebrow before stepping closer. Hermione seemed more wary of her than the other night, which was quite strange. "I thought I told you to call me Bella. Why haven't you answered my messages? I was worried you'd been hurt by that statue."

Hermione was confused, Bellatrix was speaking as if they had met before. The pieces started to click into place, her missing memories, waking up her instead of at Hogwarts, her unexplainable injuries and headache. "That asshole obliviated me!" Hermione's eyes lit up in fury, her mind was her most precious gift and she didn't take kindly to anyone interfering with it. Bellatrix's mouth gaped, she certainly hadn't expected that, though she supposed that in hindsight it made sense. Dumbledore was attempting to keep Hermione so she could be useful to him for a bit longer before he inevitably lost her to the other side.

She could see Hermione beginning the panic, and reached a hand out to grasp her shoulder. It was hard not to just embrace the girl, but she had to remember that any progress they had made at the ministry was null and void until Hermione could remember it. "It's alright. Obliviating is complicated magic, but usually it doesn't completely destroy the memories, just blocks them from being accessed. I can try and restore your memories, if you trust me? I'm a legillimens, I've done it before."

Hermione blinked slowly up at Bellatrix, her mind trying to process everything that was happening while trying simultaneously to tamp the desire to oogle the statuesque witch in front of her. Despite her better judgement she nodded, and didn't flinch when the older witch raised her wand.

Having Bellatrix inside her head was a strange experience to be sure. It didn't feel invasive or hurt, but felt oddly intimate in a way that should have been uncomfortable but somehow wasn't. Bella quickly found what she was looking for – for such an accomplished Legillimens Dumbledore had done a terribly sloppy job. Either that or Hermione's occulemency had protected her more than Bella would have expected. She removed the block on the memories and then pulled out of Hermione's head, waiting patiently and watching her face as that night played through her mind.

Hermione was overcome with emotion and surprised the both of them when she launched at Bellatrix, arms encircling the older witch's neck and lips meeting passionately. It took Bella only a second to react and respond, kissing Hermione back and tangling her fingers in the curls she was already beginning to love. Their lips slid together easily, responding to each other with a chemistry rather unusual for a first kiss. When Bella let her tongue slide out across Hermione's lower lip her mouth opened immediately, and both witches stifled a moan as their tongues tangled deliciously together for the first time.

Bella quickly took control of the kiss, plunging her tongue deep in Hermione's mouth trying to touch and taste every last bit. Hermione allowed this, tilting her head back and relishing in the feeling. It just felt so good, so incredibly right. Bella's temper that had been manifesting for days now was being channeled into pure passion, and Bella had to check herself before she got too carried away. She tried to pull away, but when she tried to do so Hermione retaliated by harshly sucking Bella's lower lip between her teeth and biting down, hard. Her control now thoroughly decimated, Bella aggressively spun them around backed Hermione into the wall, eagerly pressing their bodies together as she snogged Hermione hotly.

The door, which was partially ajar, opened and Tonks stepped into the room, originally going to ask if Hermione had a spare toothbrush, before she was absolutely gobsmacked by the sight in front of her.

"What the bloody fuck is going on here?"