"Bella, come out!" Hermione shouted from the living room. "You've been in there for awhile and honestly, you are only meant to be getting dressed. What's taking so long?"
"These muggle clothes aren't for me." Bellatrix huffed out from behind her parent's bedroom door.
Hermione had convinced Bellatrix that she should go and pick something of her mother's to wear in the muggle world today because the corset wouldn't cut it. It took her a whole 30 minutes to shove Bella into the room and the older witch slammed the door like a child while complaining loudly. Hermione could only shake her head and laugh.
"It can't be that bad. I'm sure you look fine. Just come out." Hermione urged the other witch.
"You aren't seeing it from my side, love." Bellatrix called out before cracking the door open.
Hermione took that as a sign to walk into her parent's room. She found Bella looking over herself in the full length mirror in the corner of the room. Bella had settled on a pair of black trousers, a chunky knit dark purple turtleneck sweater and a long black overcoat. Her hair was worn down with wild curls framing her face. Bella looked up and met eyes with Hermione through the mirror. "Well? Is it as bad and I'm picturing it?"
Hermione swallowed and smiled. "Bella you look gorgeous. Seriously, if I haven't told you before, you should wear trousers more often." She said as she not so subtly grazed the older witch's body. Bellatrix smirked and turned to face the brunette.
"So, this look is working for me?" Bellatrix smiled while reaching up to brush a strand of hair from Hermione's face.
"You could make a burlap sack work for you, Bella." Hermione flirted back. Bellatrix trailed her eyes up and down the younger witch. She was clad in a pair of black skinny jeans, a white scoop neck t-shirt and a red flannel. She wore a pair of white vans and completed the look with a black beanie hat. Bellatrix smiled in approval.
Bella closed the distance between the women and reached out to pull Hermione down into a kiss. Hermione moaned feeling the soft lips press against hers. Bellatrix smirked into the kiss at this sound. Hermione brought one hand to rest on the back of the other woman's neck deepening the kiss. Bellatrix swiped her tongue across Hermione's lower lip and was granted access. They explored the new sensations with soft strokes of their tongues. Their mouths were soft and languid as they both explored the new depths. After what seemed to be an eternity of slow exploration, the need for air was overwhelming. Bellatrix pulled back biting Hermione's lower lip, pulling it and sucking before letting go. Hermione whined in protest as Bellatrix placed a small kiss on her lips and rested her forehead against the other woman's.
When Hermione opened her eyes, she saw Bella's eyes have darkened with lust and she knew her eyes would mirror the want and need. Bellatrix all but growled when she saw the need her the younger witch's eyes.
Hermione was the first to speak, "that was…"
"Something we should do more of, frequently and as often as possible?" Bellatrix finished with a smirk.
"Well yes but I was going to say breathtaking." Hermione smiled.
"I supposed it was that too," Bellatrix said placing a line of open mouthed kisses along Hermione's jawline. She felt Hermione shiver at the motion and she let out a slight chuckle at Hermione's reaction.
"Bella, that feels amazing."
"But…" Bellatrix said leaning back in to suck a particularly sensitive spot on Hermione's neck near her pulse point.
"But… if you keep this up, we won't be leaving the house today." Hermione managed to say while Bellatrix's kisses were unrelenting on her neck.
Bellatrix pulled back and looked into Hermione's eye. "I'm failing to see the problem here, love."
"I have things to show you and we need to go to the bank to get money for our trip, and honestly with you sucking on my neck like that I'm having a hard time exactly remembering why we should leave."
Bellatrix laughed and pulled away after placing a chaste kiss on Hermione's cheek. "Well, we best be off then." Hermione nodded and grabbed her hand to lead her out of the house.
"Luckily, we can apparate near to all of our destinations today." Hermione said as she reached into the closet and pulled out a black peacoat to wear over her clothing. Bellatrix exited the house first and Hermione called after her. "And by all means, please keep my mom's trousers. Your ass looks amazing in them."
"Cheeky." Bellatrix replied smiling at the woman and taking her arm as they left in a side by side apparation.
—-
Hermione took Bellatrix to many different muggle locations throughout the day. Their first stop was the library where Hermione was working prior to coming back to Hogwarts.
"It's very quiet." Bellatrix said when Hermione stepped behind the reference desk to retrieve her last pay check. Hermione frowned at Bella's reaction to the library. "That's not a bad thing. I do enjoy the quiet." Bellatrix quickly added with a smile.
"Come I want to show you my favorite section." Hermione said as she lead Bellatrix to the secluded sections upstairs. It had a selection of older reference books, a few computers, a couple of couches and a fireplace. "I spent a lot of time up here the past two years."
"Seems like the perfect place to snog a few witches," Bellatrix said with a wink.
"It's not a bad place for that." Hermione said with a smirk leaving Bellatrix with a few questions that went unanswered for the moment.
"This couch right here," Hermione said pulling Bellatrix down to sit on the couch, "is where I did the majority of the research on my parents." Hermione sighed. "Of course now I know all that time was for not as all I needed was a smart older witch to show me the correct path." She then rested her head on Bellatrix's shoulder and the sat watching the fire for awhile.
Next in the great tour of Muggle London was a stop at a local bank so Hermione could cash her paycheck and take some money out of savings for her and Bella. Bellatrix reached out and grabbed a few of the bills.
"What a strange currency. It's merely paper. It's not gold coins. How are you do know what value this has?" Bellatrix asked with a perplexed look on her face.
Hermione showed her a few bills individually. "See here?" She said pointing to the corner of the bills. "These bills are each mark with a numerical value. This one for example is worth 5 pounds. There are also coins but we don't have any yet. I'll show you when we get change."
Bellatrix was looking at Hermione like she had three heads. "Honestly, everyone should just switch to galleons and knuts. It's so much easier to understand." Hermione laughed in response and kissed Bella on her cheek.
"Oh Bella. Come on. We have more to see." Hermione grabbed onto Bella's shoulders and apparated them to the next location. "Tesco. One shop stop for all your muggle needs. Mr. Weasley almost passed out when I brought him here." Hermione said with a laugh.
"Oh Merlin. If it was appealing to a Weasley, this is going to be hell. Well let's get this over with." Bellatrix said not letting go of Hermione's hand while she lead her into the big oversized super center.
Hermione took Bellatrix all over the store showing her a variety of Muggle things from electronics to housewares to groceries. She could tell that the amount of people seemed to be overwhelming the older witch so she made a point to grab the groceries they would need as well as bathroom products so they could leave.
After exiting the store Bella spoke, "that was an experience. I have never seen so many angry people in one place since a few rather spirited Black family gatherings back in the day."
"I'm sorry if that was overwhelming for you. I didn't expect it to be so crowded after Boxing Day." Hermione said placing a hand on Bella's shoulder squeezing it.
"No, not overwhelming. Just loud." Bellatrix gave her a reassuring smile. "If Weasley can survive in there, so could I."
"Oh, he didn't just survive. I think he stayed in that store for a good three hours before he finally came out. I never answered so many questions in my life. I'm just glad Harry was there so I could push Mr. Weasley off on him at some point." Hermione said laughing at the memory.
"Okay. Let's see. Library… bank… store from hell," Bella said ticking off her fingers. "Where to next, pet?"
"Last stop, a muggle pub not far from home. Let's go get something to eat."
"Now, you are speaking my language. Fish and chips." Bella let out a small moan at the thought. Hermione's mouth went dry upon hearing Bellatrix make that sound. Hermione felt a coiling in her lower stomach.
"Merlin this woman will kill me one day." Hermione thought and saw Bellatrix wink at her. "Bella get out of my head!"
"Sorry pet. Couldn't help it this time. You just look so cute when you are in a lust filled haze. I can't help it if I'm that unbelievably attractive." She said joking.
Hermione shook her head and let out a loud laugh. "Very humble, Bella. Let's go." She said putting her arms around the other witch's waist and apparating them to the back ally of the pub. "Oh shoot. I didn't mean to apparate next to the dump. Talk about romance."
Bellatrix just laughed and pulled her along away from the dump. "I've had worse, I'm sure."
The pub wasn't too crowded. Bella lead the two of them to a corner booth in the back of the pub. She noted a few women sitting at the bar. When Bella passed by the women holding Hermione's hand, she nodded at them in recognition. "So have you been here before? Any recommendations?" Bella said pulling the menus out to hand one to Hermione.
"The fish and chips here are to die for." Hermione moaned at the memory. "Definitely would recommend them."
"Okay. Now I see how moaning earlier was unfair. No moaning outside of the bedroom from now on." Bellatrix said staring at the other woman who was shining a bright smile at her.
"I'm not quite sure what you are talking about." Hermione tried to play coy. "I was simply giving you my recommendation."
"Oh I have a recommendation that we head to the bathroom over there and I can give you a taste of something that will bring all sorts of little noises out of your mouth." Bellatrix smirked at the other woman.
A blush crept up Hermione's cheeks and she knew that any response she could possibly stutter out wouldn't have any effect on the lady. Bellatrix was looking at Hermione like she wanted to absolutely devour her. At that moment, the waitress came over and took their order of two fish and chips and two cokes.
"So last I heard, you were dating the Weasley boy. What happened to that?" Bellatrix asking offering some reprieve from her previous comment.
"Ugh. Ron. We never really dated. I kissed him at the battle and he assumed that meant we were going to start dating. He's been hounding me ever since to get together with him. I told him it was a mistake in the heat of battle. His mom was pretty upset when I explained how I felt in the middle of a family get together. Ron can be a complete arse but I still want to be his friend."
"Hmm…" was Bella's only response.
"He even tried to convince me on Christmas that we belong together. I don't know how many more ways I can tell him that I'm not attracted to him that way."
"Why don't you just tell him about all the witches you snogged in the library the past two years. That might get him to shut up." Bellatrix said to Hermione boasting her biggest shit eating grin.
"Oh stop. It was only a few girls and it never went any further than kissing." Hermione responded with a slight blush.
"Wait. Are you telling me…."
"Yes. The book loving, know it all is a 20 year old virgin who just so happens to be a lesbian being hounded by an ex-best friend who happens to be a man. My life is one big fuck up." Hermione said slapping her hand to her forehead.
Bella reached out and grabbed her free hand. "I don't think you are a fuck up. I think you are quite spectacular. If anyone here at this table is a fuck up, it's me darling."
The waitress brought over their drinks and food and Bellatrix reluctantly let go of Hermione's hand.
"So what is this drink? Look bubbly. Is it a potion of some sort?" Bellatrix asked looking at it with confusion.
"Just try it. You'll love it." Hermione said and Bellatrix took a tentative sip.
"Merlin. Hermione. This drink is bloody delicious. We need to go back to the store and buy more of this."
"Relax Bella. I already have some at the house. Just remember. The sugar can be bad for your teeth." Bellatrix frowned and took another big sip of her coke. "Sorry. Dentists as parents… remember. It's been engrained in my brain for life." Hermione laughed loudly and Bellatrix continued to drink her beverage happily.
The two continued to eat their dinner in near comfortable silence. The food was delicious and they were both starving.
"So what of your love life Bella? You were married. I didn't know you were so inclined to fancy witches as well." Hermione said taking a bite of her fish off of her fork.
Bellatrix swallowed her chip and took a drink clearly thinking of the proper response to Hermione's question. "Well as you know my marriage to Lestrange was a sham. It was arranged by my parents before I was even old enough to consent to a husband. I had quite a few witches interested in me back in my days at Hogwarts. I can say that my marriage was loveless and we never shared a bed. He was free to do whatever he wanted with whomever he wanted and I was granted the same freedom. I have only shared my bed with a few witches in my lifetime because I feel like sleeping with someone shouldn't be rushed into. The few women I have fallen into bed with meant a great deal to me during certain times in my life." Bellatrix glanced over toward Hermione to see her looking at her with rapt attention. "I haven't been with any one prior to going to Azkaban. It's been a long road of recovery and I haven't met anyone who piqued my interest in a few decades."
"How do you know when the right woman comes around?" Hermione asked almost whispering the question.
"She will be someone that I can't stop thinking about. Someone who fancies me for my past, present and future. She will introduce me to a world I never wanted to be a part of before." Bellatrix said smiling at the younger witch and reaching out for her hand. "She will also introduce me to the most delicious beverage in the history of the known world." Bellatrix winked and took another drink of her coke. "I like you Hermione. I like you a lot and I don't want anything to mess up any sliver of a chance that I might have with you. I'm prepared to wait for everything because I know you will be worth it. You are helping me want to be a better person and I thank you for that."
"Bella, I…" Hermione started to reply when a woman wearing a tight cocktail dress walked over to the table. She had long blonde hair and fake boobs. Hermione eyed her with suspicion.
The woman didn't pass Hermione a second glance. Her eyes were zoned in on Bellatrix. The woman looked like pure sex and she appeared to be glancing at Bellatrix with hunger in her eyes.
"Can we help you?" Hermione asked trying to sound as polite as possible. Bellatrix let a small smile cross her lips at Hermione's response to the woman.
"Hi. I'm Eva." The woman said looking at Bellatrix and holding her hand out. Bellatrix took the woman's hand and shook it politely. "I haven't seen you around here before. That's a shame. A beautiful woman like you… I'd remember."
"No, I'm from out of town. Just having dinner here with my…" Bellatrix was cut off by the woman.
"Well I'd love to get to know you better. Would you like to have a drink with me? Maybe come back to my place?" Bellatrix looked over at Hermione and if looks could Avada Kedavra this lady would be dead.
"Excuse me but she's here with me." Hermione bit the words out through clenched teeth.
"Oh really? Her?" Eva turned back to Bellatrix.
Before Bellatrix could respond, Hermione spoke up. "Yes. She is here with me and she will be leaving with me."
"Well why don't we ask her," The blonde woman said reaching down to place a kiss on Bella's cheek. Hermione saw red. She wasn't sure what came over her but she stood up, grabbed the lady and ripped her away from Bella before landing a hard crack to the woman's face. It had been years since she punch someone but damn if it didn't feel good.
Hermione walked past the startled lady, bent down, grabbed Bellatrix by the shoulders and placed a lip bruising kiss soundly on Bellatrix. Bellatrix moaned into the kiss and pulled Hermione down in to the booth with her and wrapped her arms around the younger witch while getting lost in the kiss.
The blonde woman picked up what was left of her dignity and left the pub. Coming up for air, Bellatrix panted out "that might have been the sexiest thing that I have ever witnessed. Nobody has ever punched someone in the face for me before."
"You're mine and that woman needed to know." Hermione said placing an opened mouth kiss onto Bella's jaw before backing away and looking into her eyes.
"And people say I'm possessive." Bella said with a smirk. "We should go back to you house before we make full well of that bathroom from earlier."