Since some of you seemed to lack the part where the sisters reunited:) Enjoy!
Hope everyone's staying safe
The dining room
"Hermione?" Bella couldn't help but allow the worry to seep into her voice. She doubted the younger woman could have tipped off a jinx or curse in the manor in the few minutes she had been gone. Yet she felt uneasy at the sight of the empty room. "Hermione!"
"In here, Bella, I'm in here." The pureblood sighed in relief as she heard Hermione's voice. She walked back out in the corridor and saw her girlfriend walking towards her.
"Merlin, Hermione, you scared me!"
"Sor-"
She was effectively cut off when Bella pulled her into her arms and hugged her tightly. When she let go, the older woman looked her in the eye and said seriously:
"Not that I mind you taking a look around, dear, but please never, never, wander this house alone. This magic is simply weaved to repel anyone that is not of pure blood. I'd hate you to be cursed by something just because I brought you here without warning."
"Hey, it's okay, I shouldn't have gone away without telling you" Hermione smiled sheepishly. "I was actually kind of playing hide-and-seek with Apollo and ended up here."
"That bird" Bella muttered but her eyes never left Hermione's. "Are you okay?"
"Me? You're asking me if I'm okay when one of the rooms in your house is a total mess?"
"Oh, this" the older woman figured Apollo would show Hermione the wrecked room. She should've dealt with that before having the younger woman over. "You shouldn't worry about it."
"There was blood on the table, Bella."
"Well accidents happen" she grinned. "We need to eat now, before the food gets cold."
This seemed to distract Hermione enough for now. To be sure, Bella slipped her hand in Hermione's and laced their fingers together, leading the brunette to the table. She laid out the cutlery she'd just brought and placed a bowl of Andy's stew in front Hermione. Their lunch was mostly small talk though both women were more invested in what was going on underneath the table. Bella had had her fair share of romances and wasn't new to flirting but Hermione surprised her with her boldness. A Gryffindor indeed, the older woman thought as she cleared the table and stood up.
"A cup of coffee?" she asked politely.
"Hmm, is this the only thing you have for dessert?" Hermione bit her lip almost innocently. Bella could swear the temperature rose at least five degrees in that exact moment.
"Maybe not" she caught the younger woman's hand and pulled her up against her. Hermione looked at her through half-closed eyelids and this took the last of Bella's restraint away. She leaned forward and captured Hermione's lips using her surprise to slip her tongue inside. She began exploring unable to contain herself. The little sounds Hermione made spurred her on and she only pulled back when the need for air threatened to send her into unconsciousness. Someone needed to invent a Charm to prevent that. Bella locked eyes with Hermione instantly when the younger woman grabbed onto her for support. The older woman was pleasantly surprised to see Hermione's pupils had dilated considerably.
"Full already?" she smirked.
"I can handle some more dessert." Hermione's attempt to conceal here breathlessness was futile.
"If you say so."
This time Bella swooped in not to explore but to conquer. While she was busy drawing all sorts of moans and gasps from the younger woman, she managed to move them both in the direction of the sofa. Pushing Hermione down and straddling her, she finally managed to get rid of Hermione's height advantage. Feeling passionate and free for the first time in years, Bella let her hand wander all sorts of places making Hermione writhe underneath her. At some point she decided it would be more interesting to hear the sounds her young girlfriend was making so she broke the kiss and moved her lips towards Hermione's neck. A loud moan indicated she had found a tender spot. She saved that information for later use.
Just as she was beginning to think she'd gotten Hermione all putty a hand squeezed her ass and another grabbed her neck from behind, forcing her to look in Hermione's eyes.
"Two can play this game, Black" the younger woman hissed and pulled her head down so she could kiss her neck. For a moment Bella was too stunned to react and couldn't stop the moan that escaped her lips as Hermione's tongue dipped dangerously low in her cleavage.
"Right you are, darling" she murmured placing her own hands over Hermione's breasts, creating delicious friction. The younger woman didn't slow down, though she shuddered slightly. Bella got the sudden urge to unbutton Hermione's shirt and decided it was time to stop before they'd gotten carried away. "But a game must have its end."
Hermione grumbled against Bella's neck which nearly made her lose her motivation to do the right thing. The older woman pushed Hermione back and held her firmly by the shoulders to make sure she didn't start again. Bella wasn't sure she would be able to stop. The younger woman's pupils were blown, and she still seemed dazed until Bella realized it was probably because she was still straddling her. Standing up, she praised herself for being able to stand upright and looked down at Hermione who was slowly regaining control.
"Sit back down" the brunette pouted adorably.
"I intend to, when I'm sure we can both keep our hands to ourselves."
"Ah, the moment's gone, don't worry" Hermione smiled, and Bella dropped down next to her.
"Normally that would worry me. But now it's a good thing. I don't want us to move too fast. Or do anything you're uncomfortable with."
Hermione smiled at her reassuringly.
"Don't worry about that. I promise I'll tell you should this occur."
Bella returned the smile and draped an arm over Hermione's shoulders. For a while they just sat there in silence, both marveling at the sense everything between them seemed to make.
"So, about that room-"
"Now who's ruining the moment?"
Hermione giggled but pressed on.
"What happened? I know Andy and Narcissa came here."
"Oh, did they mention we were going to have a reunion?"
"No, but that's not the first time I'm tasting Andy's beef stew."
"You're too smart for your own good" Bella laughed but kissed the top of Hermione's head.
"So they found you?"
"Yes. And we talked it out, like adutls."
Hermione eyed her skeptically.
Bella was contemplating drawing herself a bath. She had grown to like soaking in hot water after waking up looking (and smelling) like she hadn't touched soap in decades. And Merlin did she need to relax after such a day. There was still a warm feeling in her stomach every time she thought about her date with Hermione. A date. The concept was exhilarating as it was frightening.
A sudden loud bang interrupted her train of thought. Bella was too late to register the warning the manor was giving her. Someone was already inside. The witch cursed and took a defensive stance, pointing her wand towards the closed door of her bedroom. Unfortunately, the only people who could've managed to get inside the manor without her permission were the ones who knew her too well. Sure enough she soon heard loud footsteps coming up the stairs and the door was blasted open.
The shock of seeing her sister after so many years nearly rendered her speechless.
"Polite people knock" she said surprising herself with a steady voice. "Then again, the two of us have never followed etiquette that strictly, have we?"
A curse flew her way. She easily blocked it, but her eyes widened since Andromeda hadn't moved a muscle.
"Playing hide-and-seek, Cissy?"
Her youngest sister stood beside Andromeda. Something told Bella this wasn't going to be the tearful reunion she had imagined.
"Well since no one seems willing to start, I might as well do it. It's nice to see you two."
"You're breathing a little too deeply for a dead person, sister" Andromeda gritted out. "And the last time I checked you weren't that well-nourished." Bella blocked another curse from Narcissa.
"Perceptive as always, Dromeda. Cissy on the other hand doesn't seem too talkative today."
Narcissa fired a few consecutive curses this time, stepping inside the room. Bella didn't like the prospect of destroying her room.
"Lovely as it is to see you here, sisters, one welcomes guests in a more formal setting."
She flicked her wand and turned into a raven quickly flying out of the opened window. The thought of running away didn't cross Bella's mind. This was her one chance to save her relationship with her sisters, she wasn't going to blow it.
None of the three sisters had ever particularly liked the dining room. This was where the rules of the manor were followed most strictly. Dinners were tedious affairs at best and even worse when important guests came, and the young women were expected to behave accordingly. So none of them paid any mind to the damage once the curses started flying.
"OI! ARE WE TRYING TO KILL EACH OTHER HERE?" Bella yelled as Narcissa sent a Sectumsempra Curse her way. "And with that sleazy git's weak handiwork?"
"I'll pass on killing Dromeda" Narcissa responded coldly, managing to catch Bella off guard and cause a series of small cuts appear on her forearm. "Unlike some people she was actually willing to seek out a way to mend our bridges."
"Well, I-"
"You were content living in the shadows until you were found out apparently" her other sister snapped.
"I was collecting information. I couldn't very well hold a speech how grateful I was to have been left with the dead!"
"Collecting information on what exactly? Don't tell me you already forgot about your deeds in the war."
Bella knew what Andromeda meant and her heart broke at the look that crossed her younger sister's face. This gave her opponents an opening and she was sent flying back, hitting the wall and nearly losing consciousness.
"It seems I wasn't willing to do any of it," she murmured, "then again…"
Raising her head slightly, she met Andromeda's eyes and let her own tell the story. Narcissa didn't seem perturbed by her fall. She fired out another curse, but Andromeda placed a shield between the two.
"What have you done?"
"Well if you two stopped trying to kill me for five minutes, I might just tell you!"
Narcissa sent out one last Curse which collided with Andromeda's Shield and broke it. Bella knew they had sensed something was off. She looked around the destroyed room and shook her head.
"Maybe we'll discuss this in the informal dining room."
Narcissa turned on her heel immediately and walked out of the room, back straight and with a confident posture. Andromeda approached her and stretched out a hand to help her up.
"Thank you, Dromeda" Bella smiled genuinely.
"You better have a very good reason for everything you did. Willingly or not."
Bella nodded and placed a kiss on her forehead.
"Hard as it is for you to believe it, we actually did."