Chapter 21 is finally here. GOD this took forever. Stupid school... well anyway, here it is!
It was early March and spring was in the air. Nearly all the snow had melted and though the air remained brisk and a bit chilly, the sun's hot rays were shining bright over the land, creating a nice change from the usual gloomy weather one would expect to find in that area.
Bellatrix lay stretched out across a lawn chair in her front yard. She wore a half-sleeve, lace-up, black dress, which had bunched up at the end revealing her dark green knee-high socks. It was unusually warm for early March, and on this day, Bellatrix didn't have a care in the world.
Everything was in place. She and Narcissa had made up, Voldemort was no longer suspicious of her doings, and Hermione was back at school. Finally, she had a day to herself where she could simply relax.
The witch reached her arms up and folded them behind her head, closing her eyes and feeling at peace with her serene surroundings.
Just then there was a popping sound.
"Hey, Bella!"
"AAHK!" Bellatrix cried out in surprise. She toppled over, arms flailing and nearly taking the whole chair with her.
"HAHAHA!" Hermione doubled over laughing.
Bellatrix scrambled to her feet and sat down on the end of the chair, looking very embarrassed. She pushed her large sunglasses down to the end of her nose so that she was looking at Hermione from over the top of the rims.
Hermione's laughter faded rather quickly at the sight of Bellatrix's face.
After just a few moments of silence though, Bellatrix began to laugh, causing Hermione to do the same. The two of them sat there laughing for a good couple of minutes before either of them moved.
Hermione pushed Bellatrix's shoes out of the way with her foot and sat down beside her on the lawn chair, hugging her briefly and kissing her on the cheek.
"What are you doing here?" Bellatrix asked, still laughing a bit. "It's Thursday, don't you have lessons?"
"They've been cancelled," Hermione said matter-of-factly. "There's been some sort of accident. I've asked around but no one knows any details. They won't tell us anything. Anyway, classes are cancelled until this coming Monday."
Bellatrix gave Hermione a momentary skeptical look.
Hermione laughed and rolled her eyes. "Don't worry," she smiled. "No one will even know I'm gone."
"Oh all right," Bellatrix returned.
"What was that?!" Bellatrix lifted her feet off the ground so quickly she nearly fell over again.
"You certainly are jumpy today!" Hermione laughed, picking up the small black cat from under Bellatrix's feet. "It's just, Nox."
Bellatrix brought her hand to her chest as she caught her breath. She reached over and pet Nox on the top of his head. "Why'd you bring him?" she asked. "Scared me half to death…"
Hermione picked up the fragile kitten and rubbed noses with it. "I was wondering if I could possibly leave him here for the day? I didn't want to leave him behind with all that's been going on."
Bellatrix granted her permission, thoroughly examining her fingernails as she did so.
The younger witch thanked the older and jumped up from the chair, her hair bouncing as she made her way over to the door.
"Good boy, Nox," She gave the cat a gentle push through the door before returning to her seat.
"So," Bellatrix began, still admiring her nails. "What have you got planned for the day then?"
Hermione ran her fingers through her hair and laid back, folding her arms behind her head and looking up at the sky. She sighed happily. "I was thinking about going to the Library. Mum's been writing me about a wonderful new book she's picked up. I simply have to read it."
She sat up again and crossed her legs, folding her hands politely over her knees. "And you?"
The older witch thought for a long moment, suspending her shoeless foot above the ground and watching her toes wiggle inside her sock.
"I guess I… don't really have anything planned," she said finally. Though she appeared to be thinking still, so Hermione waited to speak.
"Could I come with you?" the witch asked suddenly.
Hermione was undoubtedly surprised by this request. "I… um… I," she hesitated. "I don't think that's a very good idea…"
Bellatrix looked curiously amused. "And why is that?" she asked smugly.
"Well, you see…" Hermione's eyes darted back and forth between her knees and the flattened grass beneath her. "It's a… muggle… library…" Her voice trailed off.
Bellatrix's left eye twitched slightly and her lips parted as if she were about to speak, but she closed them abruptly, realizing she had nothing to say.
Hermione looked desperately at Bellatrix, hoping her response wouldn't be too brutal.
There was a long silence that seemed to Hermione to last a century, but finally, Bellatrix spoke.
"Let's go then," she said, standing unexpectedly.
"You're sure?" Hermione asked, startled and a bit confused.
"Yes! I've never been to a muggle town before."
Hermione was shocked at the apparent excitement in Bellatrix's voice. The Gryffindor stood now, still looking confused.
"Very well, then," she exclaimed after a moment. "Let's go."
In a matter of seconds they found themselves standing on the pavement of a street all too familiar to Hermione. They were just two blocks from her parent's house, and before them stood the grand public library; it's brick walls and inviting front steps a comforting familiarity to the seventeen year old. Thankfully they had apparated behind a shady tree so that no one had witnessed their arrival.
"This is where you live?" Bellatrix asked, looking around with great curiosity.
"Mhm," Hermione began, staring up at the building before them. "I grew up here. I live just a few blocks that way and I used to- Bella!" Hermione shouted at Bellatrix who was already half way down the street, her eyes fixed upon an unchained bicycle as if it were an alien species of some sort.
The younger witch hurried over and grabbed Bellatrix's wrist. "Come on, Bella, we're going into the library."
"What is this?" the raven-haired witch asked, completely ignoring Hermione's efforts to pull her away.
"It's a bicycle there's really nothing special about it now come on!" she said quickly, pulling as hard as she could on Bellatrix's arm and somehow not managing to make any progress.
"What does it do?" she asked, cautiously touching the spokes with a bony.
"Seriously, Bella we don't have time for this."
"But I want to know what it does!" Bellatrix whined.
"You ride it ok? Like a broom, but with wheels." Hermione was becoming increasingly impatient.
"Why does it need wheels?"
"Because it can't fly, Bella." She sighed, frustratedly.
"Oh. Right," Bellatrix said suddenly, abandoning the bike so quickly that Hermione nearly fell over –as her efforts to move her had been eradicated. She quickly recovered though, linking arms with the older witch to keep her from straying.
"I don't want you wandering off like that!" Hermione spoke in a loud whisper, leaning in towards Bellatrix as she spoke.
"Alright, Alright," Bellatrix replied reluctantly.
The two of them entered the library, Hermione first and Bellatrix trailing behind, taking in the new sights and surroundings with eager eyes.
"Stay with me, ok?" Hermione pulled Bellatrix protectively to her side. "And just-" She paused for a moment. "Don't touch anything."
Bellatrix did not respond, for she was taken by the strange sights of this new world. Everything was so different… the building materials, the clothing, the décor. In her opinion it was all very strange.
She trailed closely behind Hermione as she led the way through the twists and turns of shelves lined with books from floor to ceiling. Bellatrix reached out every so often to pick up a book in the times when Hermione had stopped to scan a shelf, but the younger witch was quick to slap her hand away. She clearly didn't want any trouble.
"Here it is!" Hermione said suddenly, approaching a separate shelf marked 'New Arrivals'. "The Time Traveler's Wife," she said aloud, flipping through the first few pages and scanning the back cover. "Looks interesting."
Hermione led Bellatrix to the tall desk at the front of the library and asked for her to stay behind her.
"Can I help you?" asked an old woman in a maroon turtleneck sweater. Her glasses slipped down to the tip of her crooked nose as she leered scornfully at Bellatrix, clearly disapproving of her presence.
Hermione laughed nervously and leaned left so that she blocked the woman's view. "Yes!" she answered a bit louder than she had intended. A few people turned their heads and she cleared her throat before speaking again, her voice much quieter this time. "I'd like to take this out," she whispered.
The old woman held out a shriveled hand and waited without looking up from the monitor screen in front of her. Hermione glanced nervously at Bellatrix who was eyeing the computer. She could feel the older witch inching closer and closer as she tried to get a better look at the contraption.
Hermione quickly pushed Bellatrix behind her when the woman finally looked up after scanning the book. "It's due back in one week," she said in a dull monotone.
Hermione smiled weakly and took back the book, taking it under her arm. She hurried Bellatrix away from the counter and back into the sea of books.
"I just need to look for one more thing and then we're going, ok?" she spoke quietly to Bellatrix.
"What was that thing?" Bellatrix asked with wide eyes. "The shiny thing."
Hermione rolled her eyes. "The computer?"
"What's a computer?"
"You use it to surf the internet."
"What's an internet?"
Hermione groaned. "You're hopeless," she muttered. "Come on." She took Bellatrix by the wrist once again and pulled her away, but Bellatrix was still full of questions.
"What odd clothing these muggles wear…" Bellatrix said under her breath, her eyes darting from person to person.
Hermione pulled a silver, hardcover book from a high shelf and turned it to read the back. "Hey, Bella, look at— Bella?" Hermione looked left and right for Bellatrix but she had disappeared.
She peaked around the bookshelf into the sitting section of the library, where she could see the older witch standing behind an unsuspecting man in dark colored hat. He looked about seventy and wore thick glasses. He was hunched over a book and appeared to be very involved in it.
Hermione saw Bellatrix slip her wand down her sleeve.
"BELLA!" she whispered angrily. "What are you doing!?"
The older witch glanced at Hermione with a devilish grin on her face. She lifted her wand and sniggered to herself, backing away just in time for a small spark to light up on top of the man's hat. Seconds later, the whole thing burst into flames.
Hermione could hear Bellatrix cackling in the distance.
"Sir!" Someone yelled. "My god, sir you're on fire!"
"Huh?" The man looked up from the book.
"You're on fire!" cried the stranger.
Clearly confused, he sniffed around a bit and looked. Suddenly feeling the heat of the fire, he began yelling. "AHHH!" he shouted, flailing his arms as the woman smacked him repeatedly with her jersey in an attempt to put out the flames.
All the color drained from Hermione's face as she watched in shock. Just then, she saw a flash of black dash between the isles. She saw it again, but closer this time.
Somehow, all of the screaming and commotion was blocked out and the room fell silent to Hermione as she concentrated on getting a hold of Bellatrix.
All of a sudden, Bellatrix had appeared out of nowhere and was pulling her to the very back of the library. She had the most evil look of amusement Hermione had ever seen.
The second they reached a deserted area Bellatrix began laughing hysterically. "DID YOU SEE HIS FACE!?" she cried through tears of laughter.
Hermione, however, was not impressed. "You could have exposed us!" She exclaimed in a loud whisper.
"What were you thinking!?"
Bellatrix scoffed. "Oh, come on!" she said with an amused grin. "Don't you ever like to have fun?"
Hermione crossed her arms and turned away from the older witch. The sounds of shouting and chaos still echoed in the background. "I happen to find a quiet reading to be all the fun I need." She looked offended.
There was a pause.
"You have to admit that was pretty funny," spoke Bellatrix.
Hermione ignored her.
The dark witch raised her eyebrows and a grin spread across her face.
"Come on," she encouraged.
Just then, Hermione's mouth twitched and Bellatrix's grin doubled in size. A small giggle escaped Hermione's lips; then, a laugh. Before they knew it both of them were laughing.
"You're right," Hermione cried. "It was really funny."
"I know," Bellatrix laughed.
She took hold of Hermione's hand. "I wouldn't get us caught," she said. Hermione took Bellatrix's other hand so that they were facing each other.
Hermione raised her eyebrows and smiled, clearly not believing her at all.
Bellatrix laughed again. "Yeah you're right I totally would get us caught."
"You're mad," Hermione laughed. She leaned in and kissed the other witch on the lips.
She instantly found, though, that she could not pull away; Bellatrix was holding her in place.
"Mmm!" Hermione struggled to break free of the older witch's grasp, but quickly became lost. Their tongues met and they seemed to melt into each other, both of them completely forgetting where they were.
Bellatrix pushed Hermione back against the bookcase and tangled her fingers in the younger witch's hair as Hermione's hands caressed her body. It wasn't until both of Bellatrix's hands had made it under her bra that she remembered where she was.
Her eyes shot open and she pushed Bellatrix away so hard that she stumbled back and into the opposite shelf, creating an avalanche of books.
"Sorry!" Hermione whispered loudly, looking wildly from left to right.
They heard heavy footsteps rushing towards them and Hermione started to panic.
"Let's get out of here!" cried Bellatrix.
The two of them ran as fast as they could through the crowd of people still stomping on the smoking hat and out the front doors, crashing into people left and right as they flew down the street.
Hermione crawled over to where Bellatrix had sat down and took a seat next to her. The younger witch let her head fall onto Bellatrix's shoulder.
"That was crazy," Hermione panted, laughing through her heavy breathing.
Bellatrix nodded in agreement.
"I don't think I've ever had a more interesting day outside of Hogwarts," said Hermione.
Just then, Bellatrix put her hand on top of Hermione's and a devilish grin spread across her face once again. "It doesn't have to be over you know," she said in a low tone, looking straight into Hermione's eyes.
The younger witch looked suspicious. "What do you mean?" she asked.
Bellatrix suddenly pinned Hermione down on the ground and straddled her waist. "I mean…" she breathed, "It doesn't have to be over…"
Hermione raised an eyebrow. "Oh really? Bring it on."
Tada! Sorry to have to end it there but I had to ;). Plus, all the more reason for me to get the next chapter out on time. Love you guys 3