Murder Most Horrid
Chapter 46: Bonding time
Two days after the incident in Whyteleafe, Bellatrix was feeling much better. In fact, Hermione had taken some time off work to look after her. Honestly, she could think of worse fates than to be fussed over by her pet.
After taking her first sick leave in fifteen years, Bellatrix had recuperated enough to start work again. She decided, however, that she would work from home today. Jack's home office would suffice perfectly, and with Hermione having left for the Department for another round of meetings, she'd have the office all to herself.
A few minutes ago, a house elf courier had delivered the paperwork and had conveniently placed it on Jack's desk. There had been a price to pay for taking sick leave, and that price was a depressingly large pile of files, forms, reports and minutes to wrestle through.
Being taken off the Creed case was a bit of a blessing in disguise; it had eaten up so much of her time that she was chronically behind on her paperwork. It wasn't the only case Magical Homicides was running, nor the only order of business and she had been playing catch-up every week or so.
Reports would have to be approved before being presented to the Wizengamot, warrants had to be applied for and requests from other sub-department had to be answered. She could trust her staff enough to stay on top of their cases without mothering them, so that was a small mercy at least.
Bellatrix sighed while she watched her depressingly large pile of files, forms, reports and minutes to wrestle through; time to get started.
The moment Bellatrix opened the first file folder to skim the contents, the cheerfully humming Charlotte came in through the door and headed straight to Jack's computer. Bellatrix watched from the corner of her eye when the girl pulled a latch on the chair to make the seat go up and plop down on it. The machine came to life, as indicated by colorful lettering on the screen spelling out the nonsensical phrase 'Windows XP'.
There was a morbid fascination with watching the girl's actions; for the past couple of weeks, Jack had taken Charlotte under his wing and had introduced her to a lot of Muggle devices, including his computer. The computer was the device Charlotte liked the most, that much was obvious. Jack had taught her how to work it and, in his words, Charlotte had taken to it much like a fish to water, moreso than Hermione had ever done.
Bellatrix watched her little fingers fly over this 'keyboard', this weird collection of marked plastic teeth used to give the computer commands, working in tandem with a white lump of plastic called a 'mouse'. Ridiculous – it didn't look like any mouse she'd ever seen.
Though no longer worried about Charlotte falling under the control by the 'Digital' now that Hermione had given her a proper and thorough explanation, it was still just... wrong to see a child from the wizarding world being so involved with Muggle machinery.
Bellatrix picked up her quill to fill out a request form, when suddenly an ungodly noise came from the inside of the contraption, causing the dark witch to start and shoot her quill over the surface of the form. Cursing, she tossed the quill down and looked at Charlotte. The noise stopped and on the screen in front of Charlotte, she could just see the words 'Netscape Navigator' pop into being before a new screen popped up. Charlotte typed in some words and new pictures appeared on the screen.
Often eying her suspiciously, Bellatrix delved back into her work while Charlotte continued playing with the machine. She had just approved the second report when Charlotte made loud music come from the computer.
"Kitten!" Bellatrix protested, making Charlotte look up from whatever she was doing. "Please don't make so much noise. I'm trying to do some work here."
"Oh, sorry, Bella," replied Charlotte. "I'll just put on the headphones."
Bellatrix narrowed her eyes. "Just wait a minute," she said. "Why are you mucking about with that stupid Muggle machine again?! When I was your age, children played outside."
Charlotte was less than impressed. "Yeah, well, when you were my age, you were probably in danger of being eaten by a hungry Tyrannosaurus Rex wandering by the playground."
The dark witch sputtered for a bit. The Charlotte sitting in front of her was a far cry from the scared little girl whom had clutched onto her no less than two days ago, but there was undeniably a sparkle her eyes when she spoke the words. For a moment, Bellatrix was wondering if she should be insulted or impressed. She decided to be both. "Hm," she huffed. "That's an unusual amount of sarcasm. You've been around me too long, kitten."
"Anyway, I can't go outside, because you don't let me go out alone anymore," Charlotte countered. "Ever since auntie Andy was taken..."
The dark witch had to admit Charlotte had her there. "That's still no reason to spend every waking hour behind that stupid machine. I'm sure there are plenty of other things to do."
"It's not a stupid machine," said Charlotte. "It's fun and useful."
Bellatrix shook her head. "It's just.. wrong. It's wrong!"
Charlotte offered her a quizzical expression. "Why?"
'Why? She asks why?! Such a ridiculous question!'
"It just is!" Bellatrix blurted out.
Charlotte blinked. "That's a dumb reason! It's not even a reason at all! Just because you don't understand it, doesn't make it bad!"
The dark witch grumbled. "You're from the wizarding world! You shouldn't be getting involved with things from the Muggle world!"
"Oh?" Charlotte crossed her arms and glowered back at her. "Hermione is from the Muggle world and you're pretty involved with her. I sometimes hear you at nights, you know?"
"T-that's different!" Bellatrix shot back.
"In what way?" Charlotte challenged.
Bellatrix grumbled slightly. "It just is! What are you even doing on that machine anyway?!"
Charlotte perked up and pointed at the screen. "Playing a game! Jack picked up a few for me and they're really fun. Look."
Charlotte pointed to the screen where a sextet of characters were walking across a colorful background. They seemed to be medieval warriors of a sort, brandishing weapons and staves. "See? That's Minsc, he has a hamster," said Charlotte. "And that's Jan, he talks a lot. I also had an elf named Aerie, but I hated her so I left her in a cave full of trolls."
Bellatrix sighed heavily. "Look, I don't have time for this. There's piles of work and..."
"Just... a minute," said Charlotte. "Let me show you why this is so much fun."
Against her better judgment, Bellatrix decided to silently watch Charlotte for a bit. Detachment turned to interest when she watched the screen; the game was a bit like wizard chess, moving characters on a three-dimensional space, but Charlotte did much more. The characters had dialogue with others, bantered among themselves, fought other characters, explored areas. Interest turned into fascination when she saw how Charlotte's 'mouse' bent the characters to her will. Sometimes Charlotte would explain something, but Bellatrix hardly heard; Charlotte had control over a very world! She wondered if those people Charlotte controlled actually existed in some other form of reality.
Sometimes the characters would die, or Charlotte wanted to see another outcome. She would reset the world to a previous state and try again. Such an intriguing concept; undoing mistakes by literally resetting the entire world.
In fact, Charlotte had to reset the world plenty of times when she had come up against a particularly difficult enemy to beat. The girl was getting a mite frustrated at the lack of progress, but was determined to see it through.
"Oh, it's doing that thing again!" Bellatrix pointed.
"Aw!" Charlotte whined. "Anomen is down!"
"Useless git!" Bellatrix shrieked at the screen. "Get up, you coward! GET UP!"
"Oh, no, he did a time-freeze again!" Charlotte groaned and watched in helpless horror as the creature on screen was starting to cast spell after spell.
Bellatrix hadn't even heard the door open, nor had she heard Hermione approach. To her point of view, Hermione had simply appeared in the room. "Belle?" she asked with a sly grin on her face. "What are you doing?"
"Ssssht! Charlotte is trying to defeat Kangaxx!" retorted Bellatrix, as if it would explain everything. Next to her, Charlotte was transfixed to the screen while sounds of frantic combat came from the speakers. "You're home early, pet."
"Early?" Hermione frowned. "It's half past four in the afternoon."
Bellatrix blinked and snapped her head towards the clock for confirmation. Her worst fears were confirmed; she'd been sitting there staring at the screen for hours, having lost track of time.
While sitting there stunned, Hermione strolled over to kiss the top of Bellatrix's head and ran a hand through her dark curls. "I think it's wonderful that you've been spending time with Charlotte."
All Bellatrix could see, however, was the practically untouched pile of work on her desk. Just as she let out a heavy sigh, Charlotte jumped up from her chair. "Yes! Yes! YEESSSS!" she cried out after much frustration; on the screen, Kangaxx lay defeated.
It was then that... something happened. The air crackled with gathered energy and, immediately, all small objects; paperclips, staples, pens and pencils shot from their perch and collided against each other in the middle of the room, hovering there for a few seconds before dropping down to the ground.
Bellatrix and Hermione shared a look while Charlotte trembled, her victory over Kangaxx now forgotten. "I did magic," she whispered. "I DID MAGIC!"
"That you did, dear," Hermione smiled warmly before taking the girl in a hug. "That you did."
"Well, it's about time. You're almost eight years old," Bellatrix replied. Honestly, though it was an occasion to celebrate, Bellatrix still had her unfinished work to consider. Perhaps it should wait till tomorrow; Charlotte would be in the mood to celebrate, after all.
While Hermione was fussing over an insanely happy Charlotte, another house-elf appeared. Without saying a word, the house-elf produced a second depressingly large pile of files, forms, reports and minutes right next to the first depressingly large pile of files, forms, reports and minutes and popped out of existence immediately.
Bellatrix blinked once. Twice. "OH, COME ON!"
Standing in the Granger family living room, after having put aside some furniture, Bellatrix held Charlotte by the shoulders. Charlotte was gripping her curved wand tightly, having practiced the movements of the spell carefully.
In front of her, on a small table, lay a single pencil, the target of Charlotte's spell. There had already been several attempts the past hour, but so far the pencil had barely moved.
"Hold the wand tightly, kitten," said Bellatrix. "Once again, from the wrist. Now, while flicking the wand, repeat after me. 'Wingardium Leviosa'."
"Wingardium Leviosa," Charlotte repeated while making the movement with her wand. Immediately, Bellatrix could see that Charlotte was overexaggerating those movement. It caused the spell to fail; the pencil lay completely still.
"Oooohh," Charlotte stomped her foot in frustration. "I could do magic an hour ago! Why can't I do it now?!"
Bellatrix knelt down beside her and tapped her on the shoulder. "Kitten, try not to think about it too much, just let the movement come naturally. You have to 'want' it to work."
"But I do want it to work!" Charlotte pouted.
"Come now," said Bellatrix. "That's not what I meant. Magic is just as much about force of will as it is about the words and the movements of your wand. The combination of all three have to be in harmony. Try looking at the pencil, do you see it?"
"Yes," Charlotte replied.
"Imagine that that pencil is your enemy. You want nothing more than to get if off your table. You hate it. You hate it with all your might. That pencil, that wicked thing. It is disgusting! You want it off your table, away from you! You hate it!"
Bellatrix watched Charlotte's grip her wand with determination. "Stupid pencil!" she hissed in anger. "I hate you!"
The dark witch nodded in approval. It had been a lesson from her father, in fact. In children, magic was erratic and wild, but strong emotions could make a child focused enough to perform simple spells more accurately. Anger and hate were easiest to achieve and it was the method through which Cygnus Black had, oddly lovingly, instructed his three daughters. It was anger which made the feathers levitate, it was spite which made the brooms obey her commands, it was hate which changed the colors of her dresses.
Though she doubted Hermione would approve, she was certain this method would help Charlotte. The little girl raised the wand with a savage expression on her face, ready to cast the spell.
At the same time, Hermione stepped through the door holding a tray. "Who wants tea?" she asked just as Charlotte cast her spell. The now hated pencil didn't just levitate, but it shot through the air, embedding itself into the door-frame mere inches away from Hermione's face.
"Uh, oops," Charlotte bit her lip.
Hermione said nothing, just turned her eyes towards the pencil and then back at Bellatrix and Charlotte. "A simple 'no' would have sufficed," said Hermione. "Should I come back later?"
"Tea would be lovely," said Bellatrix while shooting a remorseful Charlotte a deathly glare. The dark witch snatched her wand from Charlotte hands, ripped the pencil from the doorframe and used her magic to repair the hole.
The three of them sat down while Hermione poured them all a cup.
"I'm really sorry, Hermione," Charlotte pouted.
Hermione smiled and shrugged. "Don't worry about it. And it's Levi-OH-sa, not Levios-AH. That's a common mistake. Also, make the 'gar' nice and long."
"I guess I have a lot to learn," Charlotte replied.
"I'll be more than happy to help you. We both are," Hermione said.
What was this? "Yeah, right," Bellatrix rolled her eyes.
"Is that why you let her use your wand, Belle?" Hermione winked, before kissing a disgruntled Bellatrix on the cheek. "Why, I'd almost think you care."
There was a mocking quality to Hermione's voice, but the dark witch supposed she had a point. "Charlotte," said Bellatrix. "You are a young witch now and a young witch needs to have wand of her own. Now, I've finished all the work required of me today, so if you finish all your chores around the house before the shops close, I'll take you out to Diagon Alley to get you a wand. So get to it!"
Charlotte gasped. The tea long forgotten, the girl darted out of the living room to perform whatever task assigned to her today.
Hermione watched her go and pulled up her legs to the sofa while cuddling up against her. The dark witch tilted her head sideways to lay it against Hermione's. The two women enjoyed each other's closeness for a moment. "Belle?" Hermione asked softly. "Any new leads on Creed?"
"No," Bellatrix shook her head. "He's vanished again. And I'm not entirely in the loop anymore, remember?"
"It's only a few more days until the next full moon..."
"Tell me something I don't know!" Bellatrix snapped, but immediately caught herself. "Sorry, pet. This is frustrating."
"At least we'll all be safe this time around," said Hermione. "I... I want my parents to go to that Black family vacation house too. If it's really as safe as you say..."
Bellatrix nodded and quite understood. "I'll make the arrangements with Cissy. Lucius is probably going to whine about it, but that's his problem."
A grateful expression and a kiss later, both lovers were interrupted by a cheerful Charlotte running down the stairs. The little girl rushed into the living room and was already wearing her good clothes and a little cloak. "All done! My room is all cleaned up. Can we go now?"
Hermione raised an eyebrow. "You just shoved all the things that were on the floor into the closet, haven't you?"
"Maaayyyybeeee..."
It was nearly closing time for the shops, and thus Diagon Alley was relatively quiet. While Bellatrix kept a steady pace, the girl ran ahead ever so often, looking back at the dark witch with an impatient gleam in her eyes. Bellatrix was not swayed, however; she set the pace and would not be hurried along. Finally, they found themselves standing in Ollivander's wandshop, surrounded by an endless supply of wands, ready for eager users to wield. To one side, there were wands in display cases, to the other were wands in wooden boxes stacked up behind the counter. They were surrounded by the small wood, both freshly cut and old, while there was a distinct feeling of magical energy in the air.
"Just a moment, I wasn't expecting more customers to come in," was called from the back of the shop. "I'll be right out."
Charlotte looked around, gasping at the multitude of wands. "I can't believe I'll be getting my own wand."
"You would have gotten one eventually," Bellatrix shrugged.
"One of the orphanage hand-me-downs? No thanks. I'll be getting a real wand! Yes! Yes! YES!"
The dark witch couldn't help but smile at Charlotte's infectious enthusiasm. Perhaps this would keep Charlotte away from any more annoying Muggle machinery. She could only hope.
A minute later, old Garrick Ollivander stepped out of the back of the store. "Ah, welcome," he said. "How may I help you?"
Before Bellatrix could say a thing, Garrick looked at her intently until a flash of recognition made him gasp. "I remember you. Good lord, you're Constable Black! I almost didn't recognize you without your custodian helmet."
The dark witch laughed uneasily. Of course he'd recognized her; Bellatrix had patrolled Diagon Alley for almost seven years, after all. Still, it was slightly embarrassing to be reminded of the time she was so young and inexperienced. "It's, uhm, detective superintendent Black these days," Bellatrix shrugged.
"Ah, you've moved up the ranks," said Garrick. "I always did think you would go far. And who might you be, little lady?"
"Hi," said Charlotte and extended her hand. "I'm Charlotte."
Garrick smiled and took the offered hand. "Such a polite young lady. Your mother has taught you fine manners," he leaned over the counter. "Did you know what your mother did when she was still a constable, hm? Three young wizards robbed my store. They made off with dozens of hand-crafted wands and the contents of the til. I remember it just like yesterday; your mother gave chase, rushing after them while blowing a whistle to alert the other constables. She took all three of them down with a single spell and all the galleons and the wands were returned mere minutes later. I wonder if you're as brave as your mother is. You do look a lot like her."
Charlotte looked back at Bellatrix, waiting for her to correct mister Ollivander. However, Bellatrix didn't. Though she was absolutely mortified that Ollivander thought she had actually birthed that little rat, she had admit that there was a likeness between them. However, the dark witch figured it would be too much hassle to explain the situation, so simply didn't bother. This little fact wasn't lost on Charlotte, judging from the look in her eyes. This caused the dark witch to immediately regret her decision. Eager for a change of subject, Bellatrix scraped her throat and addressed mister Ollivander.
"Charlotte's magic awakened this very day," said Bellatrix. "We figured we should waste no time to get her own wand."
"Truly?" said Garrick. "How old are you, Charlotte?"
"Almost eight!" Charlotte announced proudly.
Garrick smiled gently. "That's quite early for magic to awaken in a child. Your mother must be so proud of you."
"I... suppose I am," Bellatrix shifted uncomfortably.
"Her father must be too," said Ollivander. "Forgive me for asking, but who did you marry? I remember there being plenty of strapping young lads working in the stores vying for your attention."
Oh, she remembered, alright. During her patrols, she was often approached by storehands, labourers and delivery boys. Being a good-looking young woman was one thing, but being a good-looking young woman in uniform drove the boys absolutely bonkers for her. Having a stern countenance didn't help either. Fortunately for her, it also tended to attract interested females.
"There is no father," Bellatrix returned, but immediately had the urge to kicking herself after saying that as an uncomfortable moment between her and Ollivander passed.
"Oh, I'm... I'm so sorry, I, uhm, didn't mean to... I..." Ollivander stammered apologetically while Charlotte remained unphased, being excited about the prospect of getting a new wand. If only Bellatrix had simply told him the truth; now she only digging herself deeper.
"Let's just change the subject, hm?" Bellatrix tried.
"Indeed," said Ollivander and quickly focused his attention on Charlotte. "Just have a look around, young lady. A wand chooses its master, you see? See if one of the wands on display grabs your attention."
While Charlotte walked off to explore the store, Garrick Ollivander asked if he could see Bellatrix's wand. The dark witch complied and handed it to him. Garrick looked at it fondly. "Walnut, dragon heartstring," said Ollivander. "Custom made especially for you. I remember your father being quite demanding. Nothing but the best for his daughters. A true work of art, if I do say so myself."
Bellatrix nodded. "It served me more than well. I feel my wand is a part of me."
"The heartstring in your wand is longer than usual and goes into handle. It was hellish to get it into the curvature, but I was most pleased with the result. I am happy to hear it has served you well," he chuckled and handed it back. "Oh, it looks like the little lady had found something."
The dark witch turned around and found the girl pressing her nose against the glass of one of the display-cases. "That one looks like yours," said Charlotte.
Bellatrix and Garrick joined her at the display-cases. "You're not picking it because it looks like mine, are you?" asked Bellatrix.
"No, I… it's hard to explain, but I thought I heard it call my name. Does that make sense?"
It did, in fact. When she was little, she herself had her nose pressed against the glass when her father had taken her wand shopping. But when her custom-made wand was ready, she could hear it call out her name the moment they had arrived at the shop to pick it up. It was like... a whisper on the wind. Once home, her sisters had been so jealous of her beautiful new wand.
"It looks like the wand has chosen its new owner," said mister Ollivander. "And a lovely wand it is! Silver birch, dragon heartstring. Unyielding quality wood, just like your mother's wand. Duelling wands are extremely loyal to their master. Would you like to hold it?"
Ollivander opened the display case and handed her the wand. Charlotte gripped it tightly in her little hand and smiled at it. "It feels warm," she said.
"That's a good sign. It might seem a little big now, but you'll grow into it," said Garrick Ollivander.
"I think we've found her a wand," Bellatrix said. Ollivander gently took the wand from Charlotte and took it back to the counter to wrap it up into a wooden holding box. Bellatrix paid for the wand and handed the box to Charlotte, who eagerly and gratefully took it from her hands.
"Oh, I mean no offense, but I'm supposed to give out these booklet on the rules of underage wand use to the parents who buy a wand for children under the age of eleven," Ollivander said while giving her the booklet. "No insult to your long magical heritage, but... Ministry rules, you see."
Bellatrix nodded and took the booklet. "I quite understand."
"It's been a pleasure," said Garrick. "It's been really nice to meet you, Charlotte. I'm sure you'll do your mother proud."
'She is not mine'! Bellatrix wanted to yell out the words in frustration, but then she saw the look on Charlotte's face; the girl was almost insanely happy. She swallowed her words, put her hand on Charlotte's shoulder and led her out of the door with a smile on her face after saying her goodbye to Ollivander.
'Merlin, I'm such a doormat'.
Once outside, Charlotte eagerly hugged the box to her chest while the two of them passed the quickly emptying streets. Restaurants and clubs were still open, and whatever shoppers left tended to flock to those places. "Jack and Emma are out, so today the three of us'll have take-away. So, Chinese, Kebab or Pizza?"
"Pizza!" Charlotte announced cheerfully.
"Pizza it is, then," said Bellatrix as the two of them rounded about the corner. "But I need to pick up some papers from Gringotts first. It's a surprise for Hermione, so you can't say a thing. You can keep a secret, right?"
"I can," Charlotte nodded.
"Good girl."
Bellatrix picked up the papers a few minutes before closing time and, after ordering and taking their pizza's, returned to the Granger residence. After a rather fattening dinner, Hermione taught Charlotte how to do some harmless spells while Bellatrix looked on. After an hour or two of breaking in her new wand by making dancing lights appear or creating gusts of wind, a reluctant Charlotte met her bedtime.
Hermione went upstairs with her and Bellatrix waited after having removed the papers she had picked up at Gringotts from her bag and put them on the coffee table. The dark witch knew that Hermione might be uncomfortable by what she was about to do. Hell, she might even be angry. But it was too late to reverse the decision now, so there was no turning back.
Bellatrix waited for Hermione to come downstairs, but she knew it might take some time. Putting Charlotte to bed, after all, was a complex ritual which included conversation, story-telling, tucking-in and pre-sleep stalling on Charlotte's side. Almost thirty minutes later, Hermione came back downstairs and plopped down on the sofa next to her without noticing the papers on the coffee table.
"Well, Charlotte is certainly happy with her new wand," said Hermione. "I think she'll be quite excited about it for days to come. I've have some more simple spells in mind to teach her, but we'll have to be very careful that she doesn't overdo it or performs magic in front of Muggles. The Ministry is wise to give warnings to parents."
"Oh, she'll do fine," Bellatrix shrugged, eager to steer the subject towards what she had planned. "Pet. I stopped by Gringotts today to pick up same papers."
She could already see the surprise in Hermione's lovely chocolate brown eyes when she reached over to grab the papers. "I've paid off our mortgage like I promised I would. Rosewood no longer belongs to some greedy goblins. It's all ours now. All we have to do is sign it. I want both our names on the ownership papers."
Hermione's expression changed from pleasant to stricken. "Belle, I can't..."
"I know what you're going to say, Hermione," Bellatrix pressed. "And it doesn't matter. You paid mortgage alongside me for three years. You have as much right to own the house as I have."
"You paid much more than I have," Hermione countered. Her voice was small and she refused to meet her eyes. As predicted, she was rather uncomfortable.
Bellatrix let out a frustrated sigh. Why did she have to be this difficult? "Pet, please. For once, just do what you want to do and don't let modesty get in your way."
She wanted it. The dark witch had been a detective long enough to be able to read people. The division was evident in the young witch's expression; her intellect was fighting her desire. Bellatrix had only prod her along.
"Just do it," Bellatrix pressed. "And no more of this pre-nup nonsense. I know how much you want to go home, pet. Just think how good it will feel when you come home to the house you now own."
Hermione's lips curled into a warm smile as she took the paper and the quill. After giving the papers a quick read-through, she put it on the coffee table. To Bellatrix's relief, she signed her name with a flourish. She herself quickly followed, and tomorrow she would have the papers filed with the Ministry. It was done.
"There," said Bellatrix while Hermione leaned into her. "That wasn't so difficult, was it?"
Hermione cuddled up against Bellatrix and lay her head on her shoulder. "I love this house. I always will. I grew up here, after all. But I want to go home. I want to sleep in our own bed. I want to read in my own library. I want to sit in our own garden. I want to cuddle up against you on our own sofa in our own living room."
"Trust me," said Bellatrix. "I quite agree."
Two arms circled her waist while Bellatrix raked her fingers through Hermione's long soft hair for a moment. "Pet?" she smirked. "I know just what will cheer you up."
"And what would that be, hm?" Hermione said, curiosity obviously on her voice.
It seemed her pet had taken the bait. Offering Hermione a brief mysterious grin, Bellatrix took her hand and led her into the kitchen. "Come on, I want to show you something."
"Show me what?"
"It's a surprise," said Bellatrix as she opened the door into the rear garden and stepped outside with Hermione in tow. Evening had already fallen; the rear garden was darkened and the night was warm for early May. "Here it is. Do you see it?"
Bellatrix had to bite her tongue in order to not give herself away. Hermione looked around the rear garden and found nothing out of place. Her expression was one of confusion as she continued to study her surroundings.
"What am I looking for, Belle?" she asked innocently. "Hang on, let me turn the lights on."
Just then, Bellatrix whispered a wandless spell. The broom which Bellatrix had placed near the Granger's toolshed sprang to life and rushed towards her. Before Hermione had any inkling of what was going on, the dark witch had already mounted it. The broom thrust forward, the handle deftly went between Hermione's legs just as Bellatrix wrapped an arm around her waist while holding on to the broom with her free hand. Before her pet could protest, she angled up the broom and shot off into the night sky with tremendous speed.
Hermione let out a shriek when the trees of Hampstead Gardens flashed past. It didn't take long for them to leave the sleepy yet lovely suburb behind. Bellatrix was in her element; she'd loved to fly ever since she'd been a child and it was something she had never grown out of. Hermione, however, was less pleased about her predicament.
The wind whipped through Hermione's long hair and from her posture, the dark witch noted that Hermione had gone rather rigid. "Don't worry, pet," Bellatrix shouted. "I cast the disillusionment charm. The Muggles won't see us."
"Being seen by Muggles is not what I'm worried about right now!" Hermione retorted. "This isn't funny, Belle! Land this thing!"
London zipped past below them as Bellatrix found a higher orbit. Below them, Muggles looked like ants as they went along their merry ways in the street. But then, wicked Bellatrix spotted something rather enticing.
"Too fast!" Hermione shouted. "You're going too fast, Belle. Beeeeeeeeeeelllllle!"
"Oh, look," the dark witch chuckled mercilessly. "There's a whole lot of those Muggle death-machines down there. Why don't we take a closer look, hm?"
Immediately, Hermione voiced her discomfort. "Belle, don't you dare! Don't you dare! Don't you daarrrrrrreeeeeeee!"
But it was too late; Bellatrix steered her broom downwards and dove into the heavy traffic. She flew right between two lanes of a rather busy motorway, dodging cars and motorcycles alike. Between the two lanes. She waited until the last moment to avoid and fly over a lorry, only to dive back into traffic, travelling alongside a motorcycle for half a minute before diving to the other lane into oncoming traffic. Bellatrix found her broom to be far more elegant than those moving steel cages the Muggles had come up with, and outmaneuvered them with gusto. Oh, she was absolutely enjoying herself.
Bellatrix left the road and zip upwards, horizontally up a tall building, only to dive right down into the depths again the moment they reached the roof. Hermione's demeanor changed significantly rather quickly, just as the dark witch had expected. Once her pet had the idea that Bellatrix had everything under control and they weren't doomed to a gooey high-altitude or high-speed death, Hermione started to enjoy herself. Better yet, Hermione completely trusted her to keep her safe. That was a good feeling.
And it was the moment she was waiting for. Bellatrix tried some more daring moves; going under a bridge, slaloming along flagposts or flying over the railroad tracks to narrowly duck out of the way of an oncoming train. Every whoop, every giggle, every cheer was a reward and an encouragement to make their trip even more daring.
She dipped low through Oxford Street, stole a lady's hat right off her head and put it on top of Hermione's. She did a barrel-roll right above Trafalgar square and twisted around Nelson's Column.
Having reached London Central, Bellatrix headed straight to the river, flying low enough over the Thames to touch the water. Tower Bridge loomed ahead, and that was the end of the line for now. At the very last moment, Bellatrix angled her broom upwards and come to a stop just above one of the top horizontal walkways between the two towers. Both she and Hermione dismounted the broom and watched their surroundings.
The night above was clear and full of stars, and in front of them lay the skyline of Central London, bathed in thousands of lights. Below them, people went on their ways through the many streets, while the moon reflected off the surface of the water. The Tower of London to one side, was lit up by street lights. To the other side, the HMS Belfast lay moored. Hermione wrapped an arm around Bellatrix's waist and lay her head on her shoulder.
"Feeling better?" Bellatrix asked.
"Much," Hermione replied softly, taking a moment to adjust her new hat. It was a garish looking black bonnet with a bit of pink lace on the side, but it was oddly suiting.
Being most gratified, Bellatrix closed her eyes for a moment before looking onto the city. "I have to admit," she eventually broke the silence. "Muggle-London does look rather beautiful in the evening."
Hermione smiled at her. "Not nearly as beautiful as you are."
"Ah," Hermione's sudden admission caught the otherwise haughty and prepared dark witch off guard. In fact, she stood there in surprise while she felt blood rush to her cheeks. Judging from the way Hermione was eying her, it had not gone unnoticed.
"What's this? Is that a blush? Goodness gracious me, Bellatrix Black is blushing!"
Desperate to regain the upper hand, the dark witch forced a smirk. "Revenge for all those many times I made you blush, hm?"
"I'd say it was about time," Hermione raised her chin imperiously, once again making herself look irressistably cute.
The dark witch looked away slightly. "Hermione, I..." she started to say. "Without you, I'd still be working myself to death to stave off my own loneliness. I love you. So very much. I want to spend the rest of my life with you."
Merlin, she could kick herself. That came out as more of an admission than the suave and sophisticated declaration she had wanted it to be. Was she losing her touch? The dark witch used to be able to sweep women off their feet with a single flirt, but maybe being in a steady relationship had dulled her romantic wit somewhat. However, the response said it all.
Hermione turned to her and leaned in for a kiss. But not just any kiss. Their lips brushed, but Hermione immediately went on the offensive. Bellatrix felt Hermione gently part her lips with the tip of her tongue to start a gentle probing of her mouth. Hermione grip around her waist grew tighter while the dark witch lay a hand on the back of her head, running her fingers through her soft brown hair.
The tip of Hermione's tongue touched hers, and slowly started to twirl around. Now, they had kissed many times before, but this was different. It was as if Hermione was pouring all her love for her in this single kiss. The end result almost made Bellatrix go weak in the knees, especially when Hermione softly bit her lower lip. Hermione... Hermione was... magnificent. And she was hers. All hers.
Almost relucantly, the two lovers broke the kiss and stood on top of the Tower Bridge, holding each other tightly and pressing their foreheads together.
"Well," Hermione finally spoke. "You do know how to make a girl feel special."
"You are special," Bellatrix replied. "Hell, you made me change my mind about Muggle-borns. Even I didn't think that was possible. Of all the women I've been with, to finally find happiness with a Muggle-born. Can't say I ever expected that."
Hermione smiled at that, only to cock her head sideways. "I was luckier. I won the main prize on my first try."
That made Bellatrix chuckle. She stroked Hermione's cheek and whispered to her. "That's my pet. Always so very efficient and... Oh, bollocks!"
"Hm?"
"I should have waited with proposing to you until today! Ah, this would have been perfect! Instead, you had to settle for something mundane and spontaneous on a filthy wooden bridge above a dirty duck pond. Merlin, I could kick myself."
"Bellatrix Black, deep down, you are just a hopeless romantic, aren't you?" Hermione chuckled. "Believe me, the duck pond was just as perfect. It doesn't matter where you asked me, all that matters is that you did."
The dark witch stroked Hermione hair. "Well, allow me to make it up to you," the dark witch kissed the top of her head. "How does a rough, long and intense bout of deliciously naughty pre-marital sex sound?"
Upon hearing that, Hermione's body started to shake with laughter. She looked up, her chocolate brown eyes meeting her dark ones. "That does sound rather alluring. And, you know, there's only a limited amount of naughty pre-marital sex we can enjoy until this summer, when it turns into naughty post-marital sex. We have quotas to meet."
"Hah," said Bellatrix. If the seductive, serpentine way Hermione's tongue had rolled around hers was any indication, Bellatrix had a full night of pleasure to look forward to.
"So," Hermione offered a sultry. "How quickly can you fly me home? I hope you won't keep me waiti..."
The broom took off into the night sky before a giggling Hermione could finish her sentence.
