Whoa... Um... On to the next chapter.

Enjoy...

When Hermione first arrived at the university, she felt a little intimidated and overwhelmed. For so long she had been surrounded by only a few people, working in the rehab department she had been head of a team of thirty or so, before that, it had only been her, Harry and Bella. When she walked in to her new position, she had been shocked, there were hundreds of people to each department. To say the university was big would be an understatement, it was like a small city.

That had been four weeks ago, by now she had become comfortable, she had been assigned to work within a team of ten strong. It was the team now surrounding her in the storage centre checking, re-checking and packing the equipment needed for Peru. They were due to leave in just under twelve hours. She couldn't help but be affected by the excitement buzzing in the air, everyone had worked hard for almost a year to secure the grant for this trip, that did not stop them welcoming her with open arms.

The last month had been both exciting and extremely boring, the research and development they were doing here was beyond anything Hermione had ever come across before, and it thrilled her to be part of it, it actually challenged her, physically and mentally and she loved every second spent in the lab or library. The classroom however, bored her to tears. She had figured out, two days in that some students were only sat in those lectures because of who their parents were, or because of the amount of money thrown at the department from a rich uncle or aunt. There were very few that deserved to be in those seats. She has lost count of the amount of assignment she and one of the other assistants had corrected and dissertations they had sent back to students to be re-written, all those years of Snape calling his students dunderheads, she finally understood.

But now she was packing for the field work and she couldn't wait to leave. The only thing she would truly miss was the regular letters from her friends, Harry had been sending her updates from the office, while Neville sent her all the latest gossip aswell as the advances he was making in his work. She had even received a couple of letters from Draco and Narcissa, those hadn't said, much only how they wish her well and promise to contact her if things with Bellatrix changed.

As she climbed into her bed that night her thoughts were on the same thing as they were every night, Bellatrix. She was the only real reason she had agreed to this trip, to find something to wake her up. I will bring you back, she thought as she drifted to sleep.

Nearly six hundred miles from where Hermione lay, a set of dark eyes flickered below closed pale lids.

"Should we send for her?" asked the blonde man standing by his aunts bedside.

"No, there's no point. She hasn't woken up. Lets just wait and see what happens." answered Harry as he watched for any other signs that the woman was about to open her flickering eyes.

"But she said.."

"Look, there's no point in dragging Hermione all the way back just because Bellatrix is having a dream. We don't know what this means yet." the dark-haired man snapped at his companion.

"She could be.."

"This could be nothing, we will take turns staying with her. If she opens her eyes and remembers everything, we'll call for her. Until then, leave her be." he said a little quieter. He knew he was going against his best friends wishes, he knew he was breaking his promise, but she really did need time away. Bellatrix moving her eyes didn't mean a thing, it could just be a reaction to the new medication the doctors were trying.

Until he knew what was going on for certain, he forbid anyone from mentioning this to Hermione. He wasnt about to spoil any progress she had made, she couldn't waste her life waiting for Bellatrix. No one was going to ruin her chances of getting over the woman laid in front of him. Not until it was absolutely necessary.

It had taken Dr. Thompson, Hermione and the eight other members of the research team nearly seven days to make it to the base on the Huascarán mountain in the western Andes in Peru. After setting off from Germany they had taken two small planes, three boat rides and a jeep safari to make to the little village of Musho at the foot of the mountain where they stayed for two days and met with their guide, an old dark-skinned man called Pichu, he was a wizard like his father had been, but out there they called themselves something else and the muggle villagers respected and loved him, he was what other cultures would describe as a witch doctor.

Once all the equipment had been checked and the supplies were ready, it took them four days to climb and apparate in teams of two weighed down with bags, boxes and crates, nearly seven thousand meters up to their camp.

Once the tents were set up and the research facility was secure they took some time to explore the surrounding area, it was beautiful. Mountain tops covered in snow as far as the eye could see it was the most peaceful place Hermione haf ever been, the days were hotter than the brunette was used to, peaking at thirty Celsius at midday, but the when the sun went down it became bone chilling cold, after the first night, she understood why it was nicknamed the mountain of ice.

The only means of communication between them and the ground was a satellite phone that was to be used in emergencies only, other than that, there was the owls that they had brought with them that managed to make it through the treacherous storms and lung squeezing climb to deliver a letter to and from the university or the teams friends and family.

They had been there just over five weeks before Hermione had received any word from home. It was a letter from Neville, thanking her for the plant extracts she had managed to send to him three weeks before, he was about to start experimenting with different combinations of them and the existing potions he had already made. He went on to tell her about the goings on in each sub-department, gossip included. Even though it was good to hear from him and great to know what was happening in her department, he was not the person she wanted to hear from. He had mentioned in the letter that Harry had been busy with work and moving into his new house, he even mentioned that Luna was going to be living with him. There was no news however, on the one person she craved to hear about.

She wrote to Harry on the first night they made camp, but he hadn't replied, neither had Draco or his mother. Though she worried and was anxious at the lack of response she got, she knew that if anything good or bad had happened to Bellatrix, one of them would contact her.

"Her arm definitely moved Potter, don't you think it's time you got hold of Granger?" Draco said as he watched his aunt closely. He had come in to take over from Harry to do the morning shift when she had started to move her arms and legs.

At first he thought he had imagined it, the movements had been so subtle, but now, she was clenching her fists and raising her arms an inch or so off the bed, there was no denying it.

"No, she isn't awake. I told you, when her eyes are open, and if she remembers, I'll call for Hermione." he hissed at the man stood by his side. Why couldn't he just understand, he wanted what was best for his friend, and sitting in this hospital room watching a sleeping woman dream was a waste.

"Potter, she will kill you if she finds out you kept this from her, that you waited so long..."

"I havent kept anything from her, even the doctor said it's probably just a reaction to the potions she's having." he snapped, Draco know Hermione as well as he did, he had no idea what was best for her.

"I doubt that, the dreams maybe, but this? Look at her, you need to get Granger back soon." the blonde said as he walked towards the door, he had made a promise to the brunette that if things changed he'd call, but the man in the room with him made him swear as payment for saving his life he didn't breathe a word to her. Harry may have forbidden him to say anything to Hermione but not to his mother, that's were he was going now, she at least had a right to know her sister might be waking up, even if she wasnt, she was being responsive to something.

"She only has three weeks left, Bellatrix won't have woken by then." he said to himself, he was finding it harder and harder to think of reasons not to contact his friend, the only one he could think of was, this, here, sitting in a hospital room, waiting for the impossible to happen would be a waste of a brilliant witch.

Look at her Harry, it's not impossible, a voice in his head pleaded, it sounded an awful lot like Hermione. That thought made him frown, if she found out Draco was right, she would kill him.

"She wont find out. I will contact her just..." he said to himself. He had made Draco swear so he knew the blonde couldn't say anything, she wouldn't really have much to do with Narcissa so the fact that she owed him no life dept wasnt a problem, he would just have to keep them apart when she got back.

"Not yet." he whispered in to the room.

Three days after she had received the letter from Neville, Hermione was to be found almost at the very peak of the mountain. Her and one of the other assistants had stumbled upon a cave system whilst placing tracing and reading charms over the area. They had been throwing the spells and charms at the snow-covered peaks for hours when they decided to take a break, just as Sarah, the only other woman in the team, had sat down and rested her back against what she thought was iced over rock, she fell through a small opening. The analysis they had done on it since then, showed it was defiantly magical and very, very old.

"Hermione, hey Hermione." one of the men could be heard shouting from twenty feet away, it was a bad day. There had been a storm the night before, and all the snow and ice they had removed over the last forty-eight hours had been replaced.

"John? What is it?" she asked as she met him half way, when he reached her she passed him a water canister, he looked ready to keel over.

"Mark wants you back at camp." he said huffing his reply, from base to where they were, was a tough trek, it took an hour and a half up and forty-five minutes down.

"I can't go, we've just cleared the debris, were about to break through." when they first discovered the caves, the crack was big enough to allow one person at a time through, the problem they had, was fitting the equipment in. In order to get it all in, they needed to break down the six-foot thick wall of ice standing in their way.

"Sorry doctor's orders, I'm your relief." he said giving her an apologetic smile.

"Why does he want me back, he knows what we are doing up here." she said more to herself than anyone. She grabbed her thick coat, threw it around her shoulders and started the trek back.

It took her less time than normal to get to the camp, annoyed as she was about being pulled away from a discovery like that, she had practically ran down the mountain, ready to give the doctor a piece of her mind.

"Ah Hermione there..."

"What the hell Mark, you do know we were about to open up the entrance." she snapped throwing her gloves and hat on the table he was sat at in the dinner tent.

He quirked his eyebrow and smiled. He had come to like the woman stood in front of him, her research was flawless and her opinions were valuable. She had brains, which was more than he could say for a lot of the people on this expedition, not to mention she was beautiful.

"I'm aware of what's happening, but you have been up there for fifteen hours, you need a break. Eat, drink and rest. You can get back up there tomorrow, they wont break through today, it's a stubborn mountain. She won't give us her secrets that easily."

Never the less, I would like to get.."

"This came for you, it was marked urgent. The bloody owl that delivered it damn near took a finger off too." he said hold an envelope up between his middle and for finger.

She could see her name scribbled on the front and recognised Harry's hand writing straight away, her heart began to pound as she took it from him, hands shaking and made to leave.

"Granger, grab some food, then get some rest." the doctor said.

She nodded, picked up a flask of tea and a couple of sandwiches then made her way to her own tent.

Narcissa, Draco and Harry stood outside the hospital room blankly nodding as a doctor explained what had happened. It was the middle of the night and it was Mrs Malfoys turn to stay with her sister, she had napped in the chair when the monitoring charms began to alarm.

As she shot out up, several medical staff burst into the room and started working on the convulsing woman in the bed. Before she could register what was happening, a nurse grabbed her by the arm and pushed her out the door.

As the doctor walked away Draco wrapped an arm around his mother while she wiped the tears from her face.

"Have you sent word to Hermione?" he asked looking over at a shocked and stunned Harry.

He just nodded, he couldn't believe it. He thought they had more time, he didn't think Bellatrix would...

Hermione was definitely going to kill him. There's no way she wouldn't find out about how much he had kept from her and for how long.

"Mother, do you want to go in? The doctor said it would be ok to sit with her for a while." the blonde man said gently as he squeezed the womans shoulder.

"Draco, could you contact Andromeda, I promised to keep her informed." she answered. Narcissa took a deep breath removed herself from her sons arms and pushed through the door. As much as she had tried, she couldn't stop the sob that fell from her lips.

"You better prepare yourself for Hermione's return, she's never going to forgive you." he said to Harry as he walked past.

Harry already knew that, he could only hope she would listen to him. He could explain his reasons and maybe she would understand why he didn't tell her.

He also knew his best friend, there was no chance of that happening. It was just wishful thinking. He rubbed his hands across his fac, sighed and walked out the ward. Draco was right, he needed to get ready.

She walked into her tent and placed the sandwiches and flask on the pop up desk in the corner. Paying no attention to anything but the letter in her hand.

By the way her name was scrawled across the front, she could tell it had been written in a hurry. She turned it over and over in her palm.

What if it was bad news. She couldn't bare it if something terrible had happened. Would Harry really send something like that in a letter, she couldn't tell. She had no idea about the circumstances he was in. He could be extremely busy with, meetings and press conferences.

What if this letter held the words she dreaded, what if the woman she loved was lost to her forever. She stared at the envelope, un-able to open it. She couldn't stand to read that Bellatrix had taken a turn for the worse and was gone.

Tears stung her eyes and her heart-felt as though it was about to shatter into a million pieces.

She couldn't take it, not knowing. Taking a few deep, calming breaths she sat on her camp bed. Preparing herself for the worst news possible, she squared her shoulders and ripped the envelope open.

Pulling out the single piece of paper and reading what it said, her heart pounded so hard it felt as though it would leap from her chest. Tears fell from her brown eyes and settled on the page as she re-read the letter. Her lungs felt as thought they couldn't pull in enough oxygen. There on the paper written in hast by her friend was just two words.

She's wake.

"So why do I remember hearing you speak to me, conversations between Draco and Potter even the doctors and nurse's, but nothing from Granger being here?" Bellatrix asked her sister, her voice groggy and hushed from months of not being used.

"The doctor isn't sure, he said something must have triggered your reactions, waking your mind but not your body." her younger sister explained once she had calmed down enough to form a sentence. She had been so happy when the dark woman woke, that she hadn't let go of her or stopped crying for almost an hour.

"I tried, to open my eyes, to move but.."

"We think it might have been the muscle relaxer, you needed it to help the wound on your stomach to heal, when you were first brought in, you were wound so tight you could have been a time piece. Tensing up all the time, you kept re-opening it." she explained half smiling at her attempt at humour.

"Why now? Why did I wake up?" she asked as she sat up and reached for the glass of water on the bedside table.

"Your body just seemed to have enough of being still, the convulsions you had, was just its way of waking you up." she said as she moved to refill her sisters empty glass.

"And you say she's in Peru." Bellatrix said after a moment's silence, her sister had told her everything, from how the girl worked to try and save her,

to the endless nights she sat by her side and finally where she was and why.

"Trying to find something to help you, Potter has sent for her, she will be back soon enough." Narcissa said, smiling at her sister, she must be in love. She had asked for the girl as soon as she had opened her eyes.

She nodded and threw the blankets off of her body, she had laid in that bed for far to long, it was time to re-join the world and prepare for a home-coming.

"Cissy, get me out of the bloody hospital." she said as she stood on unsteady legs.

"You cant the doctor wants to check.."

"Fuck the doctor, I've things to do and a witch to be ready for. Now help me or go." she said finally steady on her un-used legs. She couldn't care what kind of tests and checks the idiot doctors wanted to do. Apart from being extremely hungry, she felt better than she could ever remember.

The blonde smiled, stood and helped her sister to dress, she pitied the girl when she got back, Bella wouldn't give her a moments rest.

I know it's a bit shorter than the other chapters but I hope you still enjoyed it.

The last A/N I posted seemed to cause a bit of a stir, I just wanted to apologise and say that, yes there was only one possible ending for these girls, for me anyway. I never would have killed Bella off after investing so much time in this fic.

As for the people who would hate me for how I have chosen to end this, I was referring to the eleven or so PM's begging me not to allow Bellatrix a happy ending or to let her corrupt and defile sweet innocent Hermione.

Let me take a second to apologise to a few people that have been the most vocal about Bella's fate.

Lady Bellatrix Black Lestrange,
MissWitty,
XAngeloftheNorthx
If only we were,
And of course... imperfectionisunderrated.
I very nearly PM'd you to explain what was going to happen in the future of this story, instead I decided post the next chapter.
My sincerest apologises to you and everyone, reading it back after checking the review's, I could kick myself.

Hope this has eased a few minds.
Not sure when the next update will be, I'm finally moving out of the apartment I shared with my ex and the internet isn't due to be hooked up until the 9th. Hoping to get one out to you before then.

Anyway, please leave a quick review and let me know what you think.

Thank you xxxx