Masquerade Act Three: The Veneer of Thalia and Melpomene
The Twenty Ninth Dance: A Mile Back for Every Inch Gained
The difficulty lies not so much in developing new ideas as in escaping from old ones. John Maynard Keynes
"Hermione!" Ginny waved the brunette over to the table she was seated at along with Harry and Ron. The friends were meeting up for a brunch.
"How is everyone?" Hermione asked as way of greeting as she walked over to the table and sat down.
"Good. Just missing you. We barely see you anymore," Harry complained good naturedly.
"I'm just busy with the reform program. If I'm not drafting up new laws for the legal systems then-"
"-you're spending abhorrent amounts of time with her," Ron grunted out, his face the only one that didn't seem too pleased with her appearance at the table. Lately he had been acting unbearably. Hermione chalked this up largely to the fact that they still hadn't been able to reconcile their differences over Hermione working to reform Bellatrix, but it didn't mean he needed to be so salty about everything she did or said nowadays.
Hermione frowned at his less than polite tone but Ginny cleared her throat, hoping to move on. "I'm glad you're able to do good. Soon Kingsley's gonna want you working for the ministry. He's planning on making you minister one day, so you better watch out."
"I know," Hermione sighed, a sigh that carried no real stress in it for she felt that future was still far ahead for her and thus she didn't have yet to worry about it. "But right now I want to focus my energies on other things."
"Like letting wanted criminals walk the streets," Ron added bitterly and Ginny shot him a scalding look this time, wordlessly urging him to shut up, at the same time it conveyed confusion as to why he was putting in so many of these snide comments.
Ron noticed her look and did not back down from it. "What?" he asked irritably.
"You know what," Ginny muttered to him under her breath while Hermione tried to ignore his comment and focused on ordering something on the menu.
"And how is the reform going?" Harry asked cautiously, fearing another rebuke from Ron but the man didn't have anything to say for this, yet. Right now he was focusing on eating his meal which had just arrived. Harry and Ginny had their food already and Hermione was the only one waiting on hers.
"It's going...as well as it can with her. Understandably she's difficult to manage mainly because of her pureblood upbringing. But so far she hasn't tried to kill any muggles and despite openly deriding muggle literature and customs she is learning about them and even likes to debate the foundations of certain muggle theories and traditions. It's very reassuring to see that progress albeit slowly, is being made, and it gives me hope the other prisoners in Azkaban can be reformed much the same way." Hermione took a sip of her complimentary glass of water and tried to ignore the derisive snort Ron sent at her words.
"Do you think she'll be ready for parole in a year's time? Wasn't that a touch too optimistic of an assessment?" Harry asked, spearing a fry onto his fork. A waiter than came over with Hermione's food and she took in a deep whiff of the delicious food. She was starved. She had been working all morning in her room on drafting new prison arrangements and hadn't had the time to prepare herself a meal.
"It's only been a month of this. I'm sure that if she's made so much progress in such a short span of time than she can do even more in even more time," Hermione pointed out, a touch proud at her results.
"And if it's all an act?" Ron couldn't help from blurting out. "What if she's just bidding her time and fooling us all and then going to go and attack us?"
"And why would she?" Hermione couldn't hold back the hint of anger in her voice. "For what cause would she be fighting for?"
Ron shrugged almost violently. "Does she need one? She's a raving lunatic."
"She's not." Hermione felt her temper flare. After spending so much time with the older woman, she could see she wasn't nearly anywhere as insane as wizards made her out to be. "And if you would just pull your head out of your arse then you would see."
Ron flushed at those words. "My head is not in my arse!"
"She's just like any of us-"
"Yea, if we killed people-"
"Why, just in fact a while back," and then Hermione went on to tell the story of how on their first outing the dark witch had ran into a gardening hoe. This brought laughter rumbling out of Harry and Ginny's chests.
"That is absurd!" Ginny had wiped at the tears in her eyes with the corner of her napkin.
"I wish I had been there to see that," Harry added. It was absolutely hilarious to image the former terrifying death eater doing something so trivial like that! Ron of course had remained glum during the tale, not that Hermione cared. He could be so obtuse at times!
"So, she's just like any of us," Hermione reiterated pointedly, glaring at Ron and for the rest of the meal he and Hermione avoided looking at each other. Harry and Ginny tried to make the most of the awkward situation but they figured the two's anger at each other would blow over eventually.
Once lunch was done they parted ways, Hermione and Ginny walked together down the street, while the boys went back to the ministry.
"I still can't believe she hasn't...hurt you," Ginny admitted after the girls had left the cafe and went some way from the boys.
When Hermione shot her a look at this, Ginny hastily added, "I know...I have to be more accepting, and understanding, and I truly do try, but with the gap in our memories for the duration of when she was helping us, it can be a bit odd. And it must have been even odder to be in her body." Ginny shivered at this.
Hermione let out a groan. "Don't remind me. I damn nearly had a heart attack when I first realized what had transpired. But things worked out in the end. That's all that matters. And she really is on our side. I know I can't convince anyone of this until they see the result themselves...why, this Monday we went to go see a muggle movie, which she actually watched," Hermione said, her cheeks flaring up a bit when she remembered how exactly that venture had ended. It had started up normally enough, with Bellatrix hissing and spitting for pretense rather than actually despising these outings at this point. They had gone to see a popular blockbuster film, a very mainstream one as Hermione wasn't sure where the witch's tastes in movies lay. But halfway during the movie the couple in front of them had begun to make out. Hermione had instantly frozen at the sight, unsure how to proceed. They were very loud and very amorous in their administrations. Should Hermione break them up? Should she get up?
For some reason she couldn't bare to look the other witch in the face even as Bellatrix began to loudly disparage the actions of the couple. "Do muggles always have to be this blatant about their nasty little relationships?"
"Uh, well, you see, movie theaters are considered...more or less, romantic places for couples. To go on dates. And stuff like this is common, but not so much for it to be so blatant..." Hermione struggled to explain even as she felt her face flush in the dark. She was glad it was dark. But even with the dark she felt hyper aware of the other. Of how close their arms were resting on the arm rests. Of what angle the other was positioned at. "And I uh, didn't bring you here for date purposes," Hermione blurted out hastily, suddenly realizing what she had rambled out before. "Friends...and uh, acquaintances can come here too. For fun. It's a typical muggle past time."
"Uh huh," Bellatrix said, sounding as if she had figured something out and Hermione didn't like the sound of it. "But their ruining my movie," she concluded after some consideration in which Hermione could practically feel the kisses the couple were sharing from how loudly they were snogging. "And I don't like that." And then in one swift motion she had upended the soda on their heads.
The aftermath hadn't been pretty after that.
"Uh, earth to Hermione," Ginny said, pulling Hermione from her thoughts. She hadn't even realized she had stopped talking. "Are you alright?" the redhead held concern in her voice, noting the others flushed face.
"It's fine. I was just thinking about things," Hermione hastily corrected.
What sort of things, Ginny wondered but didn't voice out loud.
"But she's even tried muggle food. I take that as a big step forwards." Wednesday had seen Hermione taking the other to a Cheesecake factory. The woman had instantly been taken with the dessert, loving how sweet it was. She had demanded that she be fed these sweets on a daily basis and Hermione had laughed.
"They have so many calories. You'll get fat."
"I highly doubt that. Have you seen my figure?" At this she had run a hand down her side and Hermione had averted her gaze, biting her lips to try to put a hold on the blush that for some reason felt a need to appear.
"That's good, I suppose," Ginny commented uncertainly, drawing Hermione back into the present. "Sorry, I'm not really certain what you count as progress and what's good or bad. But I'm glad if you're glad."
"Thanks," Hermione nodded her head.
"Alright, see you later then. And good luck." Ginny gave Hermione a hug in goodbye and the two separated.
Time to go write more boring laws, Hermione thought to herself. Since it was a Thursday she wouldn't see the other until tomorrow and she couldn't wait. She had another fun trip planned. She wanted to take the older woman to an art museum so she could see her favorite art in person.
Hey.
Heyyyy. Wake up.
Wake up, wake up, wake up!
Bellatrix gave an annoyed growl at the infuriating voice in her head. It wasn't any of the judges, she knew that. It was a voice she had known since childhood, more intimately than even the voices of other witches or wizards. And it had a nasty habit of popping up whenever she least expected it to.
"What do you want?" she grunted out as she turned with annoyance, pushing her sheets to the side. She had just been about to fall asleep.
Let's do something fun.
"I was going to sleep."
That's boring. Let's have fun. Fun! Like smashing that lamp there. Now that's time spent wisely. Instead of sleep, psh-who needs that?
"I happen to need it. Now shut up!" Bellatrix flopped over to her other side. She put a pillow over her head for good measure but she knew it wouldn't do anything to drown the voice out.
But it's just one lamp. It'll just take two seconds to do it. Just two. One to get up and grab it and one to smash it. And then I'll go away.
"You are a liar. You say that every time! But when I do the things you ask me to, you always ask for more!"
That's not true...for this time. I promise. Just smash that lamp! Look at it. It's a piece of junk anyways, not befitting a woman of pureblood status like you anyways!
Taking in a deep breath, she let it out through her nostrils. "Fine. I'll bloody do it!" She knew otherwise the voice would never stop bothering her. Then she got out of bed, grasped the heavy looking and white ceramic lamp and lifted it over her head before she heaved it down with all her might.
The thing was stronger than it looked because only the edge of it chipped.
Come on you gotta do better than that!
So Bellatrix picked it up again. And again. But the lamp infuriatingly refused to break, only bits and pieces coming off of it at a time. If only she had her wand. This would be going by way faster!
"Break you bloody stupid lamp!" she growled out. Her repeated actions were bringing in the attentions of the aurors standing guard in her hall. The two of them exchanged looks before deciding they should go check it out.
"Cease this at once!" the taller of the two demanded as he came in through the door, pointing his wand at her, only to catch her lamp right in his face. It broke his nose and made him fall back. The second auror sidestepped to avoid him. But Bellatrix had something for him too. Her foot. She kicked him right between the legs and he went down, losing his grip on his useless wand. She picked it up and bound up the two of them.
Now, do the others! The childish sounding voice in her head instructed her and licking her lips in increasingly mad fervor she sought out the rest of the aurors in her house.
Hermione was pulled out of her bed at five in the morning by an urgent owl sent from the head auror stationed at the prison house. The bird had pecked at her window until she had woken up and let it in, taking the note it had attached. Peering blearily at it, she was not at all happy at the news. Apparently Bellatrix had been trying to escape. The brunette knew this would happen sooner or later so it came as no shock to her. Still, why couldn't the woman have done it during the day when Hermione wasn't sleeping?
Putting on her clothes with lethargic fingers and brushing a comb over her hair quickly, she apparated over since she was needed. She found a scene of chaos inside, tables and chairs over turned in the dinning room that the woman was being held in, her chair the only one upright because she was currently bound to it, three aurors holding wands up to her face from mere inches away. She had blood dripping down from a gash on her forehead and she looked peeved more than anything else right now.
"I wasn't trying to escape. I was just bored. Can't I have a little fun?"
"Shut it, Lestrange," snapped the fattest of the aurors.
"It's Black now," she snapped back, baring her teeth at him and he flinched back a little. It seemed all but Hermione were scared of this woman.
"Bellatrix, what were you up to this time?" Hermione asked grumpily, still feeling like shit after waking up so early. It was Friday. "Couldn't wait for our next session?" she joked weakly.
"She took to smashing a lamp around and so John and West went to check up on her, for who knows why she was making such an ungodly racket at this hour, when she uses said lamp to smash in John's nose and then takes away West's wand. Then she goes and attacks the rest of us for no bloody reason. But then she stops and gives up because she says she's tired of fighting us. That we bore her." Explained one of the other auror's holding a wand to the dark witch's face.
"Because you all are abysmal at fighting. Whoever let you become aurors has done a disservice to this country," was her snappish reply.
"You guys can leave," Hermione dismissed them tiredly once she saw one of them open their mouth to argue with Bellatrix. "I'll be fine."
They nodded their heads and left the room but stood just outside in case.
Hermione gave as intimidating a stare as she could at Bellatrix even with her eyes feeling like they dried up dust balls due to lack of sleep. Of course it failed to scare the woman. "What were you doing?"
"I already told you I was bored," Bellatrix shrugged.
"I don't think that's it," Hermione said as she pulled up a chair and sat backwards on it, resting her head on the back wondering if she had jinxed herself by speaking too early on Bellatrix's monumental progress. "But then again, it might be." Hermione reconsidered; too tired to be able to think properly right now.
"So what are we going to do today?" Bellatrix asked to switch the topic.
"You are still in trouble for misbehaving. So we're not going anywhere outside today. Instead, we're going to stay home and chat more about muggle inventions."
"Oh goody. Just what I wanted. To chit chat about more muggle rubbish," Bellatrix said sarcastically.
Hermione rolled her eyes at this as she pulled out her wand from her pocket and waved it around, casting a healing spell on the others gash. "I'm going to release you from these bonds. Can I trust you to behave?"
"I'm always on my best behavior," Bellatrix cooed, batting her eyelashes. Hermione ignored this and undid the binding spell. "Go get your books so that I can teach you more muggle stuff."
Bellatrix didn't look happy to be bossed around but she went to go fetch them from her study. She dropped them loudly onto the uprighted table which Hermione had magicked back in it's original position along with the other overturned objects in the room. "And go put on some decent clothes," Hermione added when she finally noted the other was still in her nightgown. It was rather short, only stopping mid thigh and had been ripped due to the scuffle with the aurors, rending a more generous view of cleavage than should be shown, the tops of a black racy bra peeking free. It made Hermione's throat feel dry and tight just to look at the other's state of dress. Or more like lack of it.
Her breasts are so big. So not fair, Hermione lamented internally, casting a minute gaze at her own chest. She'd notice the difference in chest area before but never did it really bother her this much before. Never had she noticed it like this before. Hermione didn't have more time to analyze this sudden interest because Bellatrix was speaking.
"Do my pj's bother Hwermione?" Bellatrix asked in a baby voice, cocking her head to the side as if she could hear the answer better if she did this. She trailed a hand down her side, unintentionally pulling down her front a bit more.
"It is too early in the morning to be debating such things," Hermione hissed, not in the mood for this. Looking at the other was becoming dangerous and she couldn't place a finger on why. It made Hermione feel torn between wanting to look more and with fear at looking more. She wanted Bellatrix back in safer clothing. She needed her to be so. "Go get changed."
Bellatrix considered how Hermione was purposefully avoiding looking at her, instead suddenly interested in rifling through the books, and a sly grin grew on her face. "My my, I think I rather like how my outfit is at this moment. And it is my house, I have the right to wear whatever I please." She leaned forward at this, hands on her hips.
Hermione's eyes flickered up to her stance and even more quickly flickered away, almost as if in panic. Interesting. So the golden girl was a prude. Oh, Bellatrix was going to have some fun with this.
She could hear Hermione growl in the back of her throat and Bellatrix readied herself for the reprimand but was pleasantly surprised when all the other said was "Fine." Hermione didn't want to debate this topic anyone more because she was afraid that if they did, her sudden obsession with looking at Bellatrix's cleavage would be exposed; and that was a most dangerous thing. The girl than made a point to keep her eyes glued mostly to the textbooks as they went over out loud on the text there. But honestly, Bellatrix was paying more interest to the girl right now, trying to come up with ways to bother her some more. She had found out after accidentally brushing her fingers against the younger girl's as they both moved to turn the page at the same time, that the girl had quite amusing reactions. She had quickly receded her hand, flinching as if she had burned it.
Whereas Bellatrix had felt a mysterious tingle in her fingers upon contact much akin to the feel of using magic, Hermione had felt as if a jolt of electricity had gone down her back. And she had no idea why she had felt that way. It bothered her. But what she did eventually catch onto was that the raven haired witch was purposefully making sure that in one way or another she was causing for the two of their hands to touch, or for their shoulders to brush against each other.
It eventually frustrated Hermione, as she was tired of having to jerk back her hands due to the weird tingles that spread because of the touch.
"Would you quit that?" she snapped out when she could take no more.
"And why? What am I doing wrong?" Bellatrix said too innocently.
"You know what." Hermione was getting irritated with the other woman's antics and at her own body's reactions. Why was she acting this way?
"No. Do explain." Bellatrix blinked owlishly, chin propped up in her hand.
Hermione let out an irritated growl. "I'm going to go make breakfast, as because of someone I didn't have a chance to eat any earlier on." They weren't getting anywhere with this reading, since it seemed Bellatrix was more focused on making Hermione uncomfortable than she was with the literature. The brunette got up from the table and busied herself with making some scrambled eggs. She figured she would make some for the other woman too. Merlin knew the other had a hard time cooking as she was always used to someone doing it for her.
Meal prepared, she brought the plates over to the table. Last time Hermione had cooked for the other, it had been in the afterlife, so she was suddenly struck by the strangeness of this situation. It was hard to believe that that had all been just a mere month and a half ago that Hermione had been 'dead' and wandering around in the afterlife with Bellatrix. The confusion, and distress of abiding to that place flooded Hermione's senses and she felt a shiver go down her spine. She desperately wished never to have to undergo that type of duress again.
In the meantime, Bellatrix had changed into her usual outfit of a dark dress with a corset so Hermione was glad that the weird mood the other had been in before seemed to be over. The outfit was safer but it still clung to the other's curves, enhancing them. Hermione frowned internally. So even Bellatrix's normal outfits were having a weird affect on her. Why?
She'd move that to the back of her mind, along with the appearance of the tingles in her skin, for later contemplative purposes.
They ate in silence before Hermione decided to break it. She still needed to find out what had caused the other to act out. Harry had told Hermione that when he had babysat the woman she had taken to taking apart all the objects in their apartment and couldn't sleep. Hermione had a feeling that there was more to this than Bellatrix being bored, but she couldn't quit put her finger on what.
"So, you were bored today?" Hermione already knew the answer to this but asked more for more of a way to start the conversation.
"Yes," Bellatrix answered slowly, arching a brow. "Are you still not going to drop this?"
"You need a hobby. A hobby to keep you from getting bored."
"If you haven't noticed, I can't use magic, or do anything vaguely magical. All I can do is read dusty books. That would make anyone go out of their mind."
"I wasn't going to suggest a hobby related to magic. There are a lot of things you can do without magic."
Bellatrix hummed. "And why do I not like where this is going? Are you going to suggest something muggle to me?"
Hermione shot her a sharp look. "We've both been over this countless times. There is nothing wrong with using muggle objects."
Bellatrix rolled her eyes as she stabbed down on the last piece of egg with a bit too much force. "And further more," Hermione continued, "I think this activity you'll like very much. Now, if you excuse me, I'm going to go and get it." Hermione used her wand to clean up the finished plates of food and then left to go to a muggle store.
Bellatrix huffed, annoyed. Why Hermione insisted that the answer to everything that was wrong with Bellatrix lay in a muggle solution was beginning to wear on her. She was tired of being locked up in this house. It made her jittery, full of unnerving energy and it took a lot to reel it in, otherwise Hermione would notice it and no doubt prescribe some other inane muggle solution to it.
Hermione returned about ten minutes later and in her hand she had a small package. She had a big grin on her face and Bellatrix wondered why. "What's that?" she asked suspiciously.
"It's a PSP," Hermione answered as she took out the object from the box. It was a smooth black tablet with small buttons on it.
"A what?" She had no idea what the acronym's meant.
"It doesn't matter, you probably won't understand what it means even if I explain it," Hermione's casual flippancy at Bellatrix not being able to understand anything irked the other but before she could make a retort the brunette was moving on, talking about which buttons did what and how to turn this device on, how to charge it and how to play the games on it. Bellatrix curled her lips up. "If you think I'm going to use this-"
Hermione sighed heavily. "Then you don't have to. But as an option, whenever you feel bored," Bellatrix narrowed her eyes suspiciously at the amount of emphasis that Hermione put on that word-did she truly know what was going on? "You can use it to distract yourself or something."
"Yes, by smashing it," Bellatrix's lips curled up deviously and Hermione did not look amused by this and gave the older woman a disapproving look before she placed the device on one of the end tables. "Anyways, let's resume our studies of muggle literature once more."
And so they poured over the books, this time Bellatrix genuinely paying attention, until their backs hurt from leaning over so much. "And that concludes some of the greatest literature written by mankind. I can bring you some of the classics if you would like to read them?"
"No-"
"I'll bring them anyways," Hermione interrupted the other's refusal. "It can't hurt to read them." She began to clean up the books, compiling them into a giant pile once more. Bellatrix huffed but didn't say anything more. She knew better than to argue with Hermione. One way or another she would be stuck following the brunette's whims.
"And then Monday, we can discuss something I have questions about. So try to behave, or else we won't be able to leave the house on any more trips," Hermione added and Bellatrix tried not to wince at that. What did the girl want to talk about? Would she be trying to nose her way into Bellatrix's past? Her personal life? If that was the case, Bellatrix was going to fight tooth and nail to keep her privacy on that. She didn't need anyone knowing precious Black family secrets. Without waiting for Bellatrix's answer, which Hermione had a feeling was going to be something sarcastic along the lines of, 'oh no, not the trips, I love them so', Hermione made her way out of the house, leaving Bella alone with her thoughts again.
It wasn't even two minutes before the voice came back. Feeling bored?
Bellatrix heaved out a sigh and tried to occupy herself with the limited supply of books Hermione had bought her. But she had already read the vampire book, not that she would ever admit to that. The book had been thoroughly written, especially in the more amorous parts, making Bella wonder if Hermione had checked the actual content of the book because she felt that Hermione wouldn't have picked the book if she actually knew what was inside. The other muggle books were hard to comprehend, mainly the science and technology ones containing indecipherable phrases and diagrams. Bellatrix couldn't get her head wrapped around the complicated laws and theories held in those books and the stupid inventions that they tried to explain. She did like the art books but she had already read through them multiple times and so she had nothing to do. Except try that stupid muggle device that Hermione had bought her.
Fingers twitching with restless energy and foot tapping the floor, she at last gave in, trying her best to ignore the voice in her head that was urging her to make good use of that energy of hers and give the aurors stationed around her house a little chase.
Snatching the device up and glancing it over warily, she tried to recall what it was Hermione had told her about operating it. It took her a little bit to place all the instructions into practice and she was rewarded with the glow of a blue welcome screen on her face. "Now what?" she mumbled to the device and shook it as if that action would bring her answers.
She fiddled with the device for an hour more, familiarizing herself with it, always on edge as if it would blow up at any moment without warning. It was infernally complicated to use and she would have long given up on using it if it hadn't been for the fact that having her mind occupied was keeping the voice away. The game finally got started and with a tinge of mild annoyance Bellatrix noted the colors were very bright and colorful.
"She got me a kid game?" she grumbled out and almost left the device there, feeling insulted by that but swallowed down her hurt pride, because she was kind of getting curious as the characters on the screen began to move. "Are there little people stuck inside this device?" She drew the screen closer to her face, soft music coming out of it. "And a band? How did the muggles do that?" Now she was slightly awed by the accomplishments of ingenuity of a race that lacked magic.
She began to contemplate other facets of this invention and before she knew it the game had absorbed her attentions, so much so that she didn't notice it was now dark, well past the hours of one in the morning. And neither did she notice the low battery until suddenly the screen went blank.
"No!" she howled out, shaking the device wildly. She had been in the middle of a really good part of the plot! "Wake up! I command you to wake up!" She frantically pressed the buttons Hermione had instructed her to only they didn't work now. What did she do now? Sighing in frustration and rubbing her bloodshot and dried out eyes, she decided she would have to write Hermione about how to charge the device. She recalled vaguely the younger girl mentioning how electronic devices 'died' and needed to be revived. But how did one do that? Did they need potions delivered to it?
But if she wrote to Hermione than she would be admitting to using the device and she didn't want the girl to know that she actually found the PSP or whatever it was called, fun. Could she figure out how to fix it herself? She doubted she would figure that out any time soon, and she really wanted to resume her playing. She had been at such a good point in the story. Gritting her teeth, she debated with herself on whether to swallow her pride or to keep it intact.
When Hermione received an owl at her window at four in the morning on Sunday she jumped out of bed fearing the worst. Last time an owl came at this time it had had something to do with Bellatrix and she worried if it would be about the woman again.
But when she got the note she saw the older woman's hastily scribbled handwriting herself.
Hermione,
I have an inquiry to make about that ridiculous device you had brought over to my house last time. One of the aurors felt threatened by it and I had to explain it to that idiot that the device was fairly harmless. But he still felt the need to inspect it and due to his ministrations the device has 'died'. How do I fix that?
Not that I really care about the device. At all.
Just didn't want something useless lying around the house and annoying me with it's uselessness.
Hermione had to suppress a smile at this. Bellatrix was trying to play it off, but her instances of claiming the device stupid and useless was not tricking Hermione. And neither was the counterfeit situation she had created. "So it seems she finally turned it on and decided to play it," she said to herself as she moved to her desk and took out a quill and parchment to write back with.
She wondered, would Bellatrix be upset at the kid's game that Hermione had bought her? She didn't want to get her a violent one; she felt that wouldn't sit well with what she was trying to do. She was trying to reform Bellatrix away from violence and not engender her to it.
Then she took to writing and trying to explain in simple words to Bellatrix how to charge a PSP.
Monday arrived and with it so did Hermione to the front steps of Bellatrix's prison house. She was carrying several books on magic with her and as she entered through the house she nodded to the two aurors standing guard outside. They nodded back in greeting and she stepped in.
She found the older witch sitting at the kitchen table, hunched over a small black device. Little pings came from it as she collected gold coins, followed by supportive 'oh yea's' and 'good job's'.
"Bellatrix," Hermione called out to get the others attention and Bellatrix startled badly at this, scrambling to quickly hide the device, tossing it onto her lap in the end. "Uh, aren't you early?" she asked, glancing up at the younger girl, and folding her hands on the table top in a show of forced casualness; like she hadn't been up to something that she was ashamed of having others find out she was doing. She looked mildly disoriented as if she had lost track of time.
Hermione tried not to let a smile break through. It was kind of adorable how the other wanted to hide the fact she really liked the PSP but was doing a bad job of doing so. "No, I'm on time. Were you busy and lost track of time?"
Bellatrix rolled her eyes. "Yes, I was busy walking around and raving like a lunatic, not giving the aurors any sleep."
Hermione knew that Bellatrix had been exceptionally quiet this past weekend as the aurors had written in their reports to her that the woman had sat immobile in one room or another, eyes glued to the tiny device in her hands. But she wasn't going to actively seek out to make Bellatrix's point moot. She would let her think she didn't have a clue as to what was going on so that the witch could continue having fun with the PSP.
"Anyways, today we're going to talk about a topic of my choosing," she announced as she sat down at the table and pulled out a stack of books from her magically enhanced book-bag. Bellatrix eyed the titles on the spines of the books warily. They were all related to the dark arts. "Oooo, going to be doing some dark magic. Sorry to disappoint but I'm not working in that field anymore."
An 'oh yea' came from the still on PSP and Bellatrix's hand quickly snaked down to her lap to shut it off. Hermione pretended she didn't notice anything to spare the other's pride. "And if you have forgotten, I can't do magic, or even read magic books."
"It's fine if I bring you the books. And I'm only interested in one spell," Hermione clarified as she opened up the oldest and heaviest tome and began searching for the passage she wanted.
"The soul spell," Bellatrix predicted. "I already told you I wouldn't be spilling the family secrets to you-"
"That's why I brought these books," Hermione tapped the page. "You're going to help me find out information on the spell and how to reverse it. I know there has to be a way to do that. Most spells have reversals to them."
"Not the most ancient and archaic spells," Bellatrix said. "It's a foolish idea to waste our time on this when there's no solution. You're stuck with me for the rest of your life whether you like it or not." At this she gave a smirk.
"I won't knock it until I've tried it."
"It's a waste of time," Bellatrix's smirk faded in the face of Hermione's tenacity.
"It would be much faster if you just told me what you know but since you won't, we're stuck doing this the hard way." Hermione shrugged as if to convey that this research didn't bother her in the least which only served to irritate Bellatrix.
"Just because you like to spend all day with your nose in your books, doesn't mean I want to."
"But you have to. Because I'm your reform program manager and it's part of your schedule." Hermione was no nonsense.
Bellatrix wanted to say no, but she couldn't find a good enough excuse for her refusal. Oh, no, wait, I'm technically insane, I don't need a reason to say no. "I'm not helping you and that's final. I have no intentions on focusing on the soul spell and on how to remove it. It's a lost cause." Then she got up and stormed out of the room.
"Bellatrix!" Hermione cried out in exasperation as she watched the woman stomp upstairs. "You can't just leave! It's part of your reform. By refusing this you're reverting all the progress you made! Bellatrix!" Hermione called up the staircase but she received no response. The other's behavior was beginning to piss her off. This was just like back in the hotel, and even right after the hospital, when the older witch would run away from Hermione whenever she got annoyed with her or when something important happened and she would withhold that information from the brunette. Hermione wasn't going to let this behavior continue.
She stormed up the stairs and tugged on the doorknob to Bellatrix's room.
"Go away," came the cry from inside.
"Bellatrix if you don't open this door, I will be forced to open it myself," Hermione threatened in a low growl.
"I'm not opening it up," was the childish response.
Hermione didn't have anymore patience for waiting outside the door. She knew even if she asked again it would only lead to a back and forth as Bellatrix refused her.
So she cast an alohomora on the doorknob and the door swung open. Bellatrix did not look pleased at this and she scowled harshly as Hermione strode into the room. Hermione scowled back and closed the door behind her so that the two of them could have more privacy despite the aurors stationed not too far away. "Bellatrix," Hermione began in a low voice.
"Hermione," Bellatrix shot back, jutting her chin up.
"You can't run every time we have something important to discuss that happens to deal with both of us."
"Yes, I can," was her stubborn reply.
"Why does the topic of the soul spell bother you so much? Are you scared of attempting to remove it?"
"I'm not scared," she shot back quickly.
"Then what? Does this have to do with me, and how you're worried that once you're not joined with me that people will then be free to hurt you without worry of the repercussions on me?"
The split second pause before it took her to answer spoke more to Bellatrix's thoughts than did her words. "As if," she scoffed. "I'm not afraid of that. I can handle myself well, like I've told you countless times before."
"No, you are scared of what will happen if we remove the soul spell," Hermione nodded her head as it all came together in her head. She hadn't realized this until today, but the thought had always been nagging at the back of her head and now today's circumstances had caused it to come to the forefront. "But you don't have to be. No one has to know when we remove the spell. No one but us two."
She could see she hadn't convinced Bellatrix, the woman only raising her defenses higher as she felt she was under attack. So Hermione had to relent her pursuit of this topic. For now.
It looked like they wouldn't be figuring out the soul spell together anytime soon. "Fine. Let's not talk about the soul spell. Let's do something else. How about we go on a stroll through the garden? It's lovely outside today." She tried to rectify the situation so that the day's activities could still be salvaged.
"I'd like to be left alone," Bellatrix said coldly and turned her back to Hermione.
Hermione got the message loud and clear but she didn't have to like it. "Fine, be like that." Then she stomped off, collected her books, and left back to her apartment where she would do the research herself without having to be annoyed by Bellatrix's infuriating behavior.
By Wednesday Hermione was back with the same books, ready to try yet again to get to the root of Bellatrix's problem with addressing the soul spell. And Bellatrix yet again refused to help.
"What is your issue?" Hermione blurted out in annoyance, slapping her hands down on the table the two of them were seated at. "If you claim to not be scared of the reasons I have accused you off, then what? What is your issue?"
"What bothers me is none of your concern," Bellatrix spat back. Her words made a pang of sadness go through Hermione. What kind of household had the older witch been raised in, in which having someone be concerned over you was bad? Why did the older witch feel the need to wall her issues up like this?
"I'm not trying to hurt you," Hermione said in a gentler voice, hoping to appease the other. Maybe Bellatrix had a fear of being hurt by those close to her? Hermione didn't know, but the more time she spent with the woman the more she saw she was as human as anyone else and not the monster she had often been made out to be. She had her own fears, and her own hobbies, and her own silly little quirks. "I'm trying to help you."
The raven haired witch let out a disbelieving snort. "You may not mean to but sometimes even help can be harmful."
"You need to learn to trust me!" Hermione dropped her gentle tone as irritation filled her again. "I've trusted you, put my respect on the line because I believed in you and that you wouldn't betray us when the time came to fight Voldemort. And trust me, there was a lot of reasons not to lend you credence in that case. Yet I still did. So I don't see why you can't do something like trust me, in a situation of far less grander state!"
Bellatrix's eyes flashed darkly as she leaned a bit forward. "I don't trust anyone dearie. Not even myself," was said in a low voice.
"But you trusted Voldemort," Hermione shot back, not wanting to lose this debate. She was tired of their back and forth. It always felt like there was a back and forth between them. Very rarely did they see eye to eye on issues.
Bellatrix gave a wry grin. "And look where that got me."
"I'm not anything like him. I'm not trying to lead you onto a path of evil. I'm trying to save you! I'm trying to give you a better ending in the afterlife!"
"Why?" Bellatrix's one word question caught Hermione off guard.
"What?"
"I want to know why. Why concern yourself so much with me? Why do you care so much? Anyone else, having found they were bound to me, would want to book it to the farthest possible country. They'd want to be rid of me. But not you. And why is that?" Bellatrix leaned closer and closer at each question, causing Hermione to shrink back further into her chair.
"I don't...I don't know. Can't I just want to help you?" she stammered out, blanking on eloquent speech in the face of a question she was ill prepared to answer.
"There must be a reasoning behind it. So you see, I can't trust your motives, no matter how pure hearted and noble they seem to be because there is an ulterior motive hiding behind them. How can I trust you when you don't even trust me with the real reason as to why you so ardently are trying to help me out when you shouldn't be wasting breath or thought on me, golden girl," Bellatrix sneered at Hermione's appointed sobriquet.
This only infuriated Hermione more, not causing her to give up the talk like Bellatrix thought the other would. "I have given you plenty of reason to trust me. I've never given cause for you to think I have betrayed you, or would do anything to harm you for my own gains. I don't need to spell out every minuscule thought or idea behind my actions because they are all for good. You, on the other hand, haven't ever told me the reasons for your actions, or ever told me about giant issues that concerned us until I found out the truth through my own means or through a reveal by someone else!" Hermione had jumped up from her seat in passion, causing Bellatrix to jerk back in surprise.
"You claim to have never hurt me, to only want the best for me, but you wouldn't let me escape. Instead you hounded me down and dragged me kicking and screaming here so that I would be imprisoned in this house and held accountable to stupid little rules from the ministry that restricted my freedom. If you really cared then you would have let me go, to live my life in the forests and to die peacefully in the woods without having to have my freedom be broken." Bellatrix said this coolly and evenly, getting smoothly up from her seat. "But you are selfish, Hermione."
And with that she strode off, leaving Hermione with wide eyes and a slack jaw. It took Hermione a moment to recover and when she did she shouted out into the air, "I am not selfish! This argument is far from done!"
Then she angrily exited the house. She would get Bellatrix to help her with that spell one way or another.
Thursday morning there was no appointed meeting with the older witch which was a welcome respite for Hermione. This way she could focus more on finalizing the new rules for the prisons she was going to design. Kingsley had given her the okay to construct her own prison for witches and wizards. It would have a reform program meant to help those incarcerated to get back on their feet and onto the right side of the law again. There would be mental assessments and classes on repercussions of law breaking. The facility would be new, nothing like the cold gloomy castle of Azkaban. It would be warmly lit, prisoners provided with food and recreational activities. And most importantly there would be no dementors.
Prisoner conditions would improve greatly.
It was only a matter of time before everything would be ready and construction could begin. She just had to employ some witches familiar with muggle psychology treatments to help out those who were ill.
However, her work was interrupted by her worries of what to do with Bellatrix. Worries that would sneak in when she least expected them to. Progress had been made and now it had stopped for whatever reason and Hermione couldn't get things moving again. She knew she had to resolve the issue or else they would be at a standstill for months to come.
Huffing in annoyance as the woman stayed on her thoughts, demanding Hermione to head over to the prison house and continue the fight they had been having until a resolution was wrought free, she decided to take a mini break to refocus herself. Had she really done Bellatrix a disservice by not letting her get away? Had she taken the others freedom? But no, Bellatrix had wanted to get better. Hermione knew it, even if the other woman hadn't said anything. Or maybe that had been Hermione projecting her own thoughts and wishes upon the other?
Well, shit. If that's the case then I really am selfish. Hermione rubbed her eyes and brewed herself a cup of coffee. Just as she finished, an owl fluttered over to her window. She let it in and took the note it held in it's claws.
Had Bellatrix written to her? Maybe to apologize, or to agree to conducting research on the soul spell? Fat chance of that, Hermione snorted at her own naive optimism.
The note was from Ron, the last person Hermione had expected to get a note from. In it he was asking her to go to dinner with him as a venue for making amends to her for his horrid behavior these past weeks. He claimed to want another chance to start on the right foot with her.
Hermione held the paper in her hands and debated over it. She was happy, happy that Ron wanted to try to fix things between them. But she was also uncertain and uneasy. Would things truly get fixed, or would it be another opportunity for him just to push his opinions on her and denounce Bellatrix once more? She didn't really feel like seeing him if that was the case, but she also didn't want to remain trapped in her room, where her thoughts of Bellatrix wouldn't give her any rest.
"I guess it's to dinner with Ron," she sighed and went to go get dressed nicely.
The two of them met in a nicer restaurant in the downtown area of wizarding London. Ron was already seated at the table and got up to greet Hermione when he saw her, an unsure grin on his face; for he wasn't sure how this meeting would go. They awkwardly exchanged hugs upon sight before they took their respective seats.
"Uh, so, nice evening," Ron started, clearing his throat and fidgeting with the fork on his table as he avoided looking up at Hermione.
"Yes, it is getting warmer outside. So that's good," Hermione responded with, not certain what else to say.
"Yes. Good." Ron nodded his head. Then he lapsed into silence and so did Hermione. This is bad. It's so awkward. We can't even look each other in the eyes. What happened to our friendship? To our relationship? It just seems to have gone up in air.
The silence continued to go on, Ron not sure what to say, and Hermione waiting for him to make the first step in addressing the reason for this dinner. But he didn't say anything and she was getting impatient. "Ron," she said in as even a tone as possible.
He looked up at her at this. "I know this is...awkward, and it might be difficult to talk about, but could we please address it? I can't bear to sit here with this elephant in the room."
"With a what?!" Ron gave an incredulous look around him, hunting down the aforementioned animal and Hermione had to suppress a sigh. She forgot he didn't know muggle expressions.
"There's no elephant," she said as he turned back to face her. "It's just how muggles call an issue that hasn't been resolved yet but is blatant to see."
"Oh, that makes sense," Ron replied. "I guess," he added as he frowned and thought more about it. He was stalling for time, afraid to get to the actual issue.
"Ron, stop that," Hermione reached over the table and touched his forearm gently to draw his thoughts to the present. "That's not what I came here to talk to you about."
"Sorry, it's just...this is hard," Ron rubbed the back of his head as he admitted this. "Fighting with you sucks and I wish things were back to normal."
"Me too, that's why I want us to talk about this and to figure out what we can do to fix it," Hermione said gently. Ron was her good friend. And boyfriend, she added hastily, wondering why recently she always seemed to forget that. Probably because he hadn't been acting very boyfriend like these past couple of weeks.
"Right. So...do we just push everything aside and go on like normal or-"
"I want to talk about it Ron. It's what couples do. Talk through their problems."
Ron nodded his head. "Okay. I'll go first then, since it was my fault. I was the one who started this all. And it wasn't your fault. " He took a deep breath and lowered his gaze minutely to the table before he picked it back up again. "I'd like it if you would spend more time with me."
Hermione opened up her mouth to speak, but Ron held up a hand to silence her. "I know it's hard with our schedules...but I miss you and I want to see you and hang out with you more often."
"I miss you too, Ron," Hermione reached over the table to touch his hands. A passing by waiter saw the two of them talking and decided to come back later with the menus. "And I will try to spend more time with you. To make an effort at least. But there's so much to be done. Kingsley is entrusting me with the future of prisoners and I need to make sure everything is in top order before it can get the green light-"
"Hermione, you'll do fine. There's no need to worry. You always do fine with everything," Ron assured, squeezing their conjoined hands.
"I know but there's so much stress and worry and this thing means a lot to me because it will be my first big project and there's so much expectation for me as the golden girl-"
"Hermione," Ron cut her off gently once more and she stopped her rambling to exchange a smile with him. "You'll do fine," he reiterated. "You need to stop worrying, at least for one night."
"I'll try," she conceded and the two of them separated hands.
"Now, what do you wanna eat?" Ron asked as the waiter came by again.
"I'm not really hungry," she stated, the nerves that she had accumulated worrying over this talk lending her to have little to no interest in food. "So I'll just have something small."
Ron nodded his head and the two of them picked several appetizers to share, a waiter dropping by and taking their orders. As they waited, the silence stretched between them once more. "I should also apologize," Ron said at last, as he clasped his hands together. "It should have been the first thing I said when I saw you, actually." Yes, it should have, but at least he's getting better at noting his faults. "I was a real jerk. I was rude when I shouldn't have been. When I should have been more understanding. It's just that...you spent so much time with her, instead of me your boyfriend, and that hurt deeply. It made me upset. It's almost like you value her more than you do me."
"Ron!" Hermione gasped out, shocked by how deeply he had felt on all this. "I care for you, greatly. Don't ever think I don't. We've been through so much together throughout the years and our bonds are inseparable because of that." Hermione could see Ron's face light up in joy at this, but she knew his smile would crash down on her next words. Yet she knew she had to say this, no matter how painful it would be for him.
"But I also care...about Bellatrix." Hermione said this quietly, almost as if she was ashamed. Ron's mouth fell open and he looked like he wanted to very strongly say something but Hermione cut in quickly before he could go on a tirade. "Don't get me wrong. I know about everything she did. All the bad, terrible and horrible, things she did. But I can't not care. That's not like me. Especially not after all the two of us have been through. It completely changed our relationship. Her life is now attached to mine and vice versa. I can't just let her be alone, no matter how often others tell me to leave her be. To run the other way. To let her die in a rotten ditch."
"Hermione-" Ron's voice seemed heartbroken and Hermione knew how painful it was to hear one's girlfriend admit to caring about a murderer, but she went on. "So I'm going to continue spending time working on reforming her. On making her a better person. Because I care. Because no one else does. She has no one but her sister left in this world-"
"Because she bloody killed half her family!" Ron cried out angrily, drawing the stares of some wizards to the two's table. "Do I need to remind you! Just look at the faces of those she left behind with gaping wounds in their family trees! That should be proof enough. So she doesn't need anyone, she doesn't deserve anyone, certainly not you Hermione."
"She wasn't at fault! Her upbringing made like this; Voldemort did! And I want to help those like her onto a better path. Azkaban did nothing to help those who had wronged in their past. It only made their problems more exacerbated. Made things worse."
"Then have someone else do this! Have someone else take care of her!" Ron continued to shout out. "I don't want you spending time next to her. She's poisoning you! Don't think I don't see how stressed out you've become ever since you started working with her!"
"Ron, I am a grown woman and I can bloody well work with whomever I want. I can make my own career choices and I certainly don't want you feeling like I need to be babied."
"Someone has to tell you something because you've clearly lost your mind!"
Hermione, growing conscious of their unwanted audience, cast a quick muffalato spell around them before she let Ron have a piece of her mind.
"Ron, I have not lost my mind! I don't understand why you're so stubborn about this all! You're being very bull headed. You need to start thinking forwards. It's this cemented style of thinking that made wizards and witches think they were infallible, that made them think Voldemort wouldn't come back. But he did. You wizardkind are all so backwards thinking. Just because I want to do something different, it makes you uncomfortable."
"What makes me uncomfortable is her!" Ron was so enraged he couldn't even say the other's name.
"Why does she bother you so much?!" Hermione threw up her hands. She knew the raven haired witch could be insufferable but she was ten times better than how she had originally been. "It's not like we're dating! I'm dating you, if you forgot. And if we're going to be dating then you need to become used to her, because as much as you hate it, she is a part of me. So if you want me, she's part of the deal because of the soul spell."
At this he seemed to lose some of this temper; the red replaced by blue sadness. "Then maybe we shouldn't date," he mumbled, suddenly looking down at the table top.
"What?" Hermione softly whispered, his words taking all the fight out of her. Her eyes opened wide and her heart rate began to pick up. He couldn't-he wasn't-?
"I said we should break up." Ron's voice was heavy with his decision, the choice weighing down on his heart. "You're consumed with work, with her. I can clearly see what you value more. And it's not me."
"Ron, no-" Hermione began in a horrified tone of voice and tried to reach for his hand across the table but he moved it away and she winced at this action.
"This whole time, when we got together, when you said you loved me, I was so excited. I was in shock, and over joyed all at the same time. Because I thought that I was lucky. That you must have seen something special in me. Because otherwise, how would a girl like you-smart, pretty and super talented- like a goofball like me. But, after all this time, I finally realized what it was you saw in me. Pity. I was someone you pitied and felt bad for. You were always out of my league but you still decided to toy with my feelings."
"Ron," was all Hermione could manage out through a throat choked with emotion. She felt tears on the brink of her eyes. This couldn't be happening. It was so sudden. So unplanned.
The red head stood up. In his eyes was a look of finality. "It's over Hermione. There was never any real reason for us to start in the first place. And now, this joke is over." With that he left.
"Ron!" Hermione jumped up from her seat, but she didn't dare to go after him. He shouldered past the waiter who was just now bringing them their appetizers. He gave Ron a confused look then turned to Hermione.
"Is he-?"
"He's gone," Hermione softly said before she dropped down into her chair, her hands in her hair. "And this is all my fault."
A/N: So they finally broke up, about damn time.