My Beta Readers are amazing! Thanatos Angelos Girl and beloved-raven are hard working people.

Chapter 14 The Promise

I'm sorry,

but I'm just thinking of the

right words to say.

(I promise)
I know they don't sound the way

I planned them to be. (I promise)
But if you'll wait around a while,

I'll make you fall for me,
I promise, I promise you I will.

X-Anberlin

Hermione thought she would never hear from Harry and Ron until she received a letter. Hermione had been outside just walking around the Black estate when a huge white eagle appeared. It landed at her feet it's fierce black eyes fixed on her. She had never seen a bird so large and up close before. Its talons alone looked like they could rip her face clean off. Not only were they big, but it looked like it was wearing armor that was perfectly sharpened for the raptor. The other talon held a letter, which indicated that it received and took messages. It was rare to see that another type of bird was used especially one that she could not label.

"Methnios," Bella coaxed. She had use transfiguration to change her wand into a thick glove. The bird flapped to Bella its dangerous talons digging into the glove but Bella showed no indication that its grip was hurting her. "He's been in the family for generations."

"He's beautiful what kind of bird is he?" Hermione asked. The bird gave her a sudden glare as if the answer was so obvious. It screeched and flapped its giant wings clearly showing that he mimicked his master's temper. Bella smirked and made kissing noises to calm the bird. Hermione was amazed at how close Bella's face was to the eagle's long sharp beak. The young witch was tempted to touch it but felt like the bird didn't like her. It caught her eye and screeched at her as if threatening her.

"Now, now Methnios that is no way to treat a friend. He is a combination of a Harpy and an eagle. He falls under a magical creature because of his intelligence and long life span."

"Why does he have armor?"

"During the Dark Ages owls were killed for the letters that contain family secrets and important documents. It was my great-great-grandfather's idea to not only have Methnios deliver mail but also have a shield that would reflect any spell. Since he was raised by Blacks I'm afraid he's going to be a little difficult to befriend because he can detect anyone less than a pureblood a mile away. And his talons also have the metal shield in case other types of birds try to attack him. When I was a kid I would come out here and talk to him for hours and he didn't mind. He wasn't afraid of me and there was no way I could hurt him if anything did happen with you know my outbursts. Apart from my sisters he was the closest thing I had to a friend in both home and Hogwarts."

Methnios stood tall and prideful and offered the letter to Bella. She looked at whom it was written to and looked at Hermione.

"It's for you," Bella said.

Hermione's eyebrows creased together as she took the letter. She instantly recognized Ron's sloppy handwriting and wondered why her heart was beating faster. She opened it half prepared to get a Howler but saw it was just a normal written letter. Bella attended to her bird giving it a slice of raw meat as a reward. Methnios was clever enough to use his talon to slice the treat into smaller pieces so he could swallow more easily.

"They are inviting me for a gathering," Hermione explained. She tried to sound calm but her eyes were shining brightly.

"You should go my pet," Bella said. She was genuinely happy that Hermione's idiot friends had finally come around and decided to get their head out of their arses and still be her friend. Bella was half tempted to use Occulmency to read exactly what the letter said but decided against it because she trusted Hermione.

"Come with me."

The older witch raised her eyebrow to question Hermione's request. Maybe Hermione had spent so much time with her the young Gryffindor was also starting to lose a little bit of her marbles.

"I really shouldn't."

"Then I won't go," Hermione said crossing her arms. "If they reject you then they reject me."

Bella was touched at her partner's decision but knew how much Hermione had sacrificed for her already. She caught Hermione's brown eyes silently pleading for her to go. The older witch was surprised at how hard it was to say no to those beautiful brown eyes.

"When is it?" Methnios looked just as surprised and screeched at his master, which only got him an insult and a swat.

xoxoxoxo

"Bella I almost thought this was another one of your jokes," Andy said.

"No I'm going to accompany Hermione to dinner with her friends."

"Why?"

"It was her request."

"And you couldn't say no?" Bella looked down like a whipped puppy making Andy believe that maybe she was overreacting. This was one of the few selfless things that Bella had done and Andy should be encouraging her not lecturing. Bella was raised like a proper woman and knew about manners, it was her lack of civility that caused the problem for her company. For starters Andy gave her hypothetical situations in which Bella would response how she would act. Every bad response got her a slap from a wooden spoon. After awhile Andy was starting to think that they needed to resort to tying Bella's arms seeing how red and swollen her usual pale hands were.

"Bella I know when you get frustrated or nervous you result to anger but you cannot do that for Hermione's sake," Andy pleaded. Bella just groaned and laid her head on the table; this dinner was going to be a disaster.

xoxoxoxoxo

"What are you going to wear at the dinner my pet?" Bella asked. Hermione looked perplexed and couldn't come up with a quick enough answer for Bella.

"Well you see-"

"Stop I've heard enough." Bella fished out an outfit out of her closet and presented it to Hermione. It was a dress in Bella's signature black color but wasn't too revealing. It was a sleeveless number that reminded her of the dress she wore at the Ball at Hogwarts. The fabric was very soft and light. It was beyond beautiful but Hermione looked shyly away. It would show off Hermione's curves very well in Bella's opinion. She tried not to judge her companion's fashion but she was a bit prudish for such a young and beautiful person.

"I couldn't wear that."

"Why not?" Bella asked.

"Because it was made for a body like yours not mine."

Hermione looked at herself in the mirror showing a face of dislike. She imagined wearing the dress but felt like it would look ridiculous on such an underdeveloped body, unlike Bella's. Arms slowly wrapped around her brining her closer to her partner. She inhaled in Bella's scent loving it. She felt Bella's hot breath on her neck, which gave her goose bumps all over her body.

"Look here my pet, you have a luscious body that needs to be explored in more ways than one but one of the first ways to do it is to show it off."

Hermione blushed wildly at the compliment and thought about when their kissing became intense how Hermione would back away. She was still not comfortable with her body or herself to take such an intimate step and share herself with another. She felt soft lips touch her neck and her knees felt weak.

How did Bella control her body so easily? Bella's hands were careful not to cross the boundaries that Hermione had set and yet they still managed to make her body come alive.

"Just wear it for me and you'll see it won't be too bad," Bella whispered in Hermione's ear. It seemed like a fair trade.

"Bella what happened to your hands?"

"Nothing must be a rash or something."

R&R?