Again, I am sorry for taking so long, but everything around me is quite overwhelming, so bear with me. Not long now..
Hope everyone's staying safe
Enjoy:)
Black Hall
The atmosphere changed instantly and even with Bella's hand in her own, Hermione felt like a stranger here. She paid little attention to that, however, mostly because it was so much more enjoyable to watch Bella nearly skip along the path towards the front door. Once inside, Hermione couldn't suppress a shiver. She felt cold even though a fire was crackling in the fireplace in the large room Bella showed her.
"That's the living room. Make yourself at home while I get us something to eat" Bella said dropping an unexpected kiss on her cheek and sauntering away down the long corridor. After recovering from the surprise Hermione took a look around the room. It was big. Quite big. There were two armchairs in front of the fireplace and a small coffee table and sofa in one corner of the room. Large cabinets stood along one wall containing different kinds of instruments and possessions. The walls were adorned with paintings and portraits. She wasn't sure if the painted people's silence was a good sign; the way they were looking at her was unnerving. She decided to stare back and was just inspecting a woman whose cheekbones were shaped the same way Bella's were when a soft hoot startled her. She turned around to see a small golden-brown owl perched on the armrest of one of the armchairs.
"And when did you fly in?" the brunette smiled and approached it slowly, not wishing to startle the animal. It looked at her with its dark, beady eyes and hooted again. Hermione reached out to stroke it, wondering why Bella never used that owl. It was certainly stealthy and could spare the older witch the necessity to go to Hogwarts every time she sent her a letter.
"I see you've already met Apollo."
Hermione looked at Bella standing in the door frame, levitating a tray of food.
"Is that his name?"
"For now. It seemed fitting and he responded to it straight away. You can change it if you want though."
Bella directed the tray to the coffee table and came closer.
"A belated Christmas present" she smiled. "Merry Christmas, Hermione."
"This is for me?"
"See anyone else here?" the older woman smiled and wrapped her arms around Hermione's waist.
"Thank you" Hermione smiled back and leaned in for a quick kiss. Bella seemed to have other plans as she lightly bit on Hermione's lower lip, causing the young woman to let out a surprised gasp. This gave Bella the opportunity to slip her tongue inside Hermione's mouth. The kiss turned passionate really quickly and the brunette put her hands on her girlfriend's shoulders for support. My girlfriend. That seemed to be the only thought Hermione's mind could comprehend right now. Startled by the sudden movement or perhaps simply a smart bird, Apollo hooted loudly and took off putting an end to the lovers' kiss. Hermione found herself staring at Bella while gasping for breath and didn't fail to notice the dirty look the older woman threw at the owl.
"I'm not opposed to some more of that" the brunette quipped. Bella raised an eyebrow and smirked.
"Maybe later. Now, I'll bring some drinks. Wine?"
"This early?"
"It's lunchtime!" Bella looked scandalized.
"I drink at dinner."
"You sophisticated people, I swear" Bella grumbled as she walked out of the room. Hermione shook her head and looked at Apollo who was back to where she had first seen him stand. She'd never had an owl since her parents were Muggles and didn't really understand this means for communication. She reached out to pet his shiny feathers, but Apollo hopped out of the way at the last moment and flew to the table. Trying again, Hermione was yet again unsuccessful, but this time Apollo flew up to land on top of a cabinet. She looked at him and could swear he was smirking at her. Well, it was only expected he'd pick something up after living with Bella for some time. She smirked back at the owl and slowly pulled out her wand, but Apollo quickly flew out of the room. Ah well. Hermione was tempted to follow him, but it didn't feel right to move around the house without Bella. Apollo, however, had other ideas. He flew back and floated at the doorway and stared at her again, as if goading her. She decided that a bit of curiosity couldn't hurt and made her way out of the room. Apollo flew in front of her and turned inside a room on the left opposite a large staircase. She expected to see a formal dining room or even a ballroom. What she saw instead was a total wreck.
The door was blown off its hinges and lay on the floor a few meters into the room. Apollo was casually nibbling on a few treats thrown on it. There was a large wooden table that was missing a leg and was charred in places. A dozen chairs lay scattered across the floor, some of them broken. There were shards of glass near the large window and after looking up Hermione noticed a hole in the glass. She walked inside minding the upturned liquor cabinet that partially blocked the doorway. The table looked even worse up close; there was a dark red stain that seemed too much like dried blood. What the hell happened here, Hermione thought, shivering as she looked at a lopsided portrait on the wall. A man was looking down at her, but he didn't seem like he wanted to talk about what he'd seen transpire there.
"Hermione?" the shriek came from the hallway and the brunette started. "Hermione!"