Hi Guys, I cannot apologise enough for the excessively long wait for this chapter, things have been incredibly hectic at work and I get about two hours every week to do anything at all. To make it up to you lovely lot though I have made this chapter extra-long and it is has sooooooo much Bellamione. 100% Bellamione, which why we are all here let's be honest.
As always thank you to all of you that continue to follow (and wait for) this story and welcome to anyone who is only just discovering this tale.
waterproof88: Thank you for always being one of the first people to review anything I upload. And thank you for your consistently supportive comments.
BlueBird: I'm glad you're in love with my story. I hope your affections have not faded during my unplanned hiatus.
Lady : I wanted to make the story slightly different from others that are out there but I think I have only succeeded in making it as complicated as possible for myself haha.
DarkSnow3: I am so glad you have found my story. I have a feeling your reviews will give me plenty of ideas for new directions I can take this little tale. I love how you noticed the Marlene Mckinnon and Amelia Bones thing, I hope to add plenty of those geeky little extras in. I hope I do justice to the Bellatrix that you are imagining.
Disclaimer: I own nothing, it is all JK.
"Arhhh, now where was I?" Professor Slughorn asked the class rhetorically. "Oh, yes yes. I was in the middle of discussing the potion we will be brewing today. Its first documented use was in the late 10th century by a wizard named Samuel Plunkett who used it to terrorise a muggle village. There have been various iterations of this potion throughout history but by far the most successful to date is the version developed by Zygmunt Budge in the 1500s. Does anyone know which potion I am referring to or do we need some more clues?" The benign smile on Slughorn's face faltered for a second as two hands in the back of the room shot up at the same time. He chuckled as though this was the funniest sight he had ever seen in his life. "I was hoping that I would get to have a little more fun, I should have known better than to think I could outsmart you Miss Black. But it seems as though you may have some competition for top of the class today. Miss Ross would you like to tell us which potion we will be brewing today?"
Bellatrix threw the bushy haired witch a look that was a mixture of impressed and annoyed, Hermione swallowed the lump that had formed in her throat as a result of the other girl's dangerous look. But quickly the look changed to a smirk and Bellatrix gestured with her head for the other girl to go ahead and answer. Hermione took a deep breath before launching into her hurried response. "The potion you are referring to is Shrinking Solution which allows the drinker to take on a younger form until the antidote is taken. Most predominantly it is used in the mass transportation of livestock as moving them in a younger, smaller state is considered to be more humane."
"Fantastic fantastic." Slughorn beamed. "A perfect answer Miss Ross. Bellatrix, do you have anything you would like to add?"
"Yes Sir." Bellatrix replied trying to mask her surprise at the fact that there might be somebody in the classroom who could challenge her intellect. "Shrinking Solution is typically brewed one of two ways; in the orthodox manner, which would have been used by the likes of Samuel Plunkett and is still the preferred method for many today. Or it is brewed using Budge's method in which the potion is stirred immediately after adding the first ingredient. His theory was that it creates a much more potent result."
"My My ladies. Did you two swallow a textbook this morning?" Slughorn asked in a teasing tone, rubbing his chubby hands together in glee. Both girls rolled their eyes subtly but chuckled lightly to appease the man. "Ten points to each of you for providing an excellent segway into the next part of my lesson." He turned to now address the class as a whole. "As Miss Ross identified, today you will all be attempting to brew Shrinking Solution. And as Miss Black suggested you will have some choices to make, not only in the brewing method but in which type of cauldron you will use and how you will treat your ingredients. Now, one person from your pair come and collect your ingredient list and the other go and choose a cauldron, off you go." The rotund Professor dismissed the class with an extravagant flourish of his arms.
As the rest of the class scuttled off to do as the Potions Master had asked, Bellatrix turned to look at Hermione. "Impressive ErmRoss. It's about time that this school acquired someone else with two brain cells to rub together." She drawled with a perfectly manicured eyebrow raised.
Hermione shook her head at the annoying nickname, young Bellatrix really seemed to like pushing people's buttons and her nerves were currently raw enough to allow it to get to her. "If you took the time to remove your head from your backside you would realise that you have never been the only person in this classroom with talent. You have just always been too conceited to see it." As soon as the words were out of her mouth she regretted them, she didn't know much about the Bellatrix that stood in front of her right now. But she knew she could not be a million miles away from the person she would become and the Death Eater would never allow someone to disrespect her this way.
A deep, throaty laugh erupted from Bellatrix's throat, the sound was rich and melodic and so unlike the cackle that her adult counterpart had become synonymous with. Bellatrix fought to control the rush of joy she felt at finally finding someone who was willing to stand up to her, while Hermione fought to not over analyse the odd fluttering that had begun low in her belly at the sound of the dark haired witch's laugh.
"Which one of my wonderful contemporaries do you suggest I extract my head long enough to observe, hmmm?" Bellatrix asked as she fought to control her mirth but not quite managing to put a stop to her smile. "Maybe your fellow Ravenclaw, Sybil Trelawney who spends so much of her time looking for answers in the sky that she has no idea what day it is? Maybe that pest Skeeter who besmirches the good name of Slytherin by buzzing around and sticking her nose into everyone else's business? Or maaaaaaybe the useless Amos Diggory who has added one ingredient to his potion and it is already eating a hole in the side of his cauldron?"
Hermione looked around the classroom at the other students; she had to admit they were a fairly pitiful lot. Two Gryfindors had somehow managed to set fire to their desk and were frantically trying to put it out with the help of Slughorn. Over the other side of the classroom a Slytherin girl was in the middle of untangling a caterpillar from her hair with very little luck. And as Bellatrix had pointed out the side of Amos Diggory's cauldron was indeed slowly disintegrating, not that he seemed to have noticed. Hermione was not about to admit to how inept those around her actually looked. "Well Amos Diggory is one step ahead of us then isn't he?" She said, crossing her arms over her chest and rolling her eyes looking every inch the know it all. "We have neither a cauldron nor our ingredient list."
"Those things can be easily fixed." Bellatrix smirked smugly as she slipped off her stool and began to make her way to Professor Slughorn's desk. "But there is no cure for lack of skill."Bellatrix sauntered through the classroom, glaring at the other students as she passed them.
"I guess I'll get the cauldron." Hermione muttered quietly to herself.
"Good idea ErmRoss." The black haired witch called over her shoulder. "And don't get a copper one or we'll end up with poison rather than a shrinking solution."
Hermione huffed indignantly as she made her way to the cauldron storeroom. "Of course I won't get a copper cauldron. Who would be stupid enough to choose a copper cauldron when using Shrivelfig blood?" As she finished speaking she smiled apologetically at two Slytherin boys who were fighting, in vain, to stop their potion from crawling over the rim of their own copper cauldron. She carefully selected a heavy based brass cauldron and set about lumbering it back to where Bellatrix was now waiting for her.
"Brass" Bellatrix announced as she took the cauldron from an obviously struggling Hermione and deposited it onto their desk with ease. "An interesting choice."
"It has thermal conductivity so we can remove all outside heat source and still keep the potion warm and it is resistant to corrosion so we will not suffer from anyone else's failed attempts at potion making." Hermione defended herself, assuming that the comment was a jibe being directed her way by the future Death Eater.
Bellatrix smirked that damned smirk again. "It was not a criticism. I was simply trying to point out that most people would have chosen pewter."
"I guess I am not like most people." The bushy haired witch replied, as she attempted to hide her unexplained blush from the other girl. Surely Bellatrix Lestra…Black had not just complemented her? Even if it was in a very strange, round-about way. The dark haired witch was infamous for her sense of superiority; she thought she was better than everyone. She particularly thought she was better than muggle borns, but this Bellatrix had no idea that she was a muggle born at all. As far as the black haired witch was concerned she was Hermione Ross and a member of the Noble and Most Ancient House of Black would surely recognise a pureblood name.
"You certainly are not like most people." Bellatrix whispered softly as she smiled a genuine smile at the pink glow in Hermione's cheeks. Again she was struck by how endearing she found the girl in front of her, somehow she found this fiery and stubborn girl cute and she was not sure she had ever found anything cute before in her life. She was drawn to her in a way that she couldn't explain, she was like a tricky knot that she was compelled to pick loose.
Hermione cleared her throat awkwardly, she was sure she had heard the other girl say something but she hadn't been able to make out exactly what it had been. The more she thought about all of the things that the other girl might have muttered the less sure she became that she actually wanted to know so she decided to change the subject swiftly. "Do you have a preference on which method we use to brew the potion?"
Bellatrix gave Hermione an appraising look; she tilted her head to one side and narrowed her eyes as she weighed up her next move. "You decide." Was all that she uttered.
A gentle crease appeared between Hermione's eyebrows as she thought about the best course of action. Their whole interaction since they had met in the corridor had been like a fencing match, as Bellatrix lunged she parried. And despite the fact that she was looking at the face of someone she had grown to despise the part of her that was always so eager to please desperately wanted to give the right answer. She thought back to the essay she had written on shrinking potions back in her third year for Professor Snape. "We should use Budge's method." She had not allowed herself much time to think about her old potions master but now that her mind had wandered to him she was struck by a distinct pain in her chest. The man had given up his whole life to be a double agent for the Order of the Phoenix and had never got an ounce of credit for it. She thought about his talents in potions and the Half-Blood Prince's copy of Advanced Potion Making that she had studied while it was in Harry's possession. "But I want to make some adaptations of my own."
"No offence ErmRoss but I don't know you from a hippogriff and you expect me to trust your potion making skills based on zero evidence?" Bellatrix asked incredulously with a dry laugh. "I'm the top of this class and I have been since the beginning of my first year. I will not allow that to be jeopardised."
"I received an O in my Potions O.W.L, I will have you know." Hermione fired back defensively. "I am not going to jeopardise anything at all."
"How do I know that whatever second rate school you came from doesn't just hand out O's to anyone with a pretty face." Bellatrix challenged, half trying to push the girl's buttons and half trying to trick the girl into giving her more information about herself.
Hermione felt something inside herself flare up. She wanted to scream in the other girls face, ask her how dare she assume that she had not earned her grade fairly. She had worked twice as hard as everybody else in her year, taking twice the amount of classes and all alongside believing that her best friend was being pursued by a crazed murderer. But instead she took a deep calming breath and thought about her new identity and the story she had to put forward to the world now; a story that did not include surviving a wizarding war. "Beauxbatons is hardly a second rate school. It has produced as many noteworthy witches and wizards as Hogwarts." She spat with venom that was quickly dying away.
The corner of Bellatrix's mouth quirked up slightly; she had got her way, Hermione had divulged information about herself without even realising she'd done it. "I should have known you were a Beauxbatons girl, they are renowned for their arrogance."
"Oh really?" Hermione snapped the acrid toxin of anger rising in the back of her throat as quickly as it had disappeared. "And I had heard it was Slytherin House who were known for their arrogant attitude."
"That is one description for us I suppose. Alongside cunning, determined and… devastatingly brilliant." Bellatrix mocked, she could hardly control her glee, she was enjoying the fact this that this new girl was so willing to bite back, so willing to challenge her. "But our shared arrogance aside, talk is cheap ErmRoss."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Hermione asked, trying to gauge the expression on the black haired witch's face.
Bellatrix out right smiled this time. "If I am going to risk my reputation through your…adaptation did you call them, then I want something in return."
Hermione glared at the other witch, silently challenging her to continue; when no further reply was forthcoming she spoke. "And what could you possibly need from me?"
"Need? Oh no, I don't need anything from you. But I want something." Bellatrix clarified coldly, sounding almost like the Death Eater she would come. "You are close to that crone Mcgonagall and she has a nasty habit of setting Transfiguration essays which take up far too much of my time. If we do this your way and it goes wrong you write my next Transfiguration essay."
"No." Hermione all but shrieked. "I will not be doing any of your homework. It's… it's cheating."
"It would only be cheating if you actually had to do the essay." Bellatrix pushed. "And if you are as good as you say you are that won't happen."
"Still no." Hermione demanded. "I don't want to play your silly game."
"I knew it." Bellatrix said, shaking her head in mock disappointment. "You know that if I allow these adaptations the potion will all go wrong."
"That is not what I said." Hermione scrambled.
"If you are so sure that your method will work, what will be the harm?" Bellatrix continued to goad the bushy haired witch; she could see that her resolve was beginning to fray around the edges.
This girl really was infuriating; from her near constant cocky smirk and arrogant air to the annoying nickname she had given to Hermione and the ability to push all of her buttons with relative ease. There were many things that Hermione could brush off but a jibe at her academic ability was not one of them. "Fine, have it your way ErmBlack, go and fill the cauldron and I'll start preparing the ingredients."
Bellatrix grinned and threw Hermione a mock salute and a wink before she marched off to prepare the cauldron. Hermione rolled her eyes and internally questioned how she was going to get through, potentially, a year with the future Death Eater as her potions partner. Particularly if the girl was determined to test her at every turn. Deciding not to dwell on that thought for too long she set off to collect the first few items they would need for their Shrinking Solution. By the time she returned back to the desk the other girl already had the cauldron ready and simmering.
"So, what's first boss?" Bellatrix asked sarcastically as she reached out and picked up the knife from their desk. "I can do the chopping and dicing, I'm pretty handy with a knife."
Bellatrix's comment hit Hermione like a hard punch to the gut and she almost doubled over from the impact of it. She knew first-hand just how handy this person could be with a knife, she still had the painful scar on her arm to prove it. She looked at the young witch, who was now casually twiddling with the knife; the beautiful features that made up her face began to morph as she looked at her. Her full cheeks seemed to become gaunt, her eyes became sunken, her hair lost its lustre, the loose curls around her face frizzed, her plump lips became a thin line and before Hermione's eyes the girl became the creature that often frequented her nightmares. She couldn't remember what she was supposed to be doing all should could focus on was the confused look in the crazed Death Eaters eyes. Her throat felt like it was constricting as if those claw-like hands were back around her neck; each breath she took elicited a sharp pain through her chest. As the fear and lack of oxygen started to register in her numb brain she saw stars erupt in the peripheries of her vision and a piercing ringing sounded in her ears. She had felt like this many times since the war had ended and hoped her old tactics for pulling herself out of it worked here. She wasn't sure her reputation would recover from fainting on her first day or her pride if it happened in front of this particular witch. She squeezed her eyes shut as she tried to focus on what she knew was reality; she was in the past…no that didn't help at all. She tried again; her name was Hermione Granger, she was from England, she was at Hogwarts, she was in the potions classroom, she was making a Shrinking Solution. With each fact she recalled her heart rate seemed to slow and her breathing calmed somewhat. But she was pulled back to reality rather quickly and with a significant bump when a cool hand was delicately placed across her forehead and another firmly gripped her arm as though to steady her. She snapped her eyes open but, for some reason, she made no move to step away from the other girl. "Wha…what are you doing?" Hermione choked out. Her accusatory words were a stark juxtaposition to her actions as she leant in to the cool, sure and steadying touch; soaking up all of the reassurance that she could.
"You had gone all pale and clammy." Bellatrix defended quietly, looking slightly awkward as she withdrew her hand from the other girl's head. "I thought you might be ill."
"No, I'm fine." Hermione replied unconvincingly. Bellatrix's eyes were alight with something that Hermione had not noticed before, a tenderness that seemed to illuminate the brown of her irises and make them appear deeper and richer. She took a step away from the dark haired witch, breaking contact all together, suddenly desperate to be away from the other girl's aura, her body heat, her scent. The combination of all three seemed to make her head spin almost as much as the near panic attack had. "Thank you." She finished in a small voice, unable to stop herself from offering her gratitude.
"It's fine." Bellatrix tried to shrug off Hermione's thanks as she forced her walls back in place; she had allowed herself a momentary slip from her usual cold self into something more caring and that just wouldn't do. "It was simply a reflex, my youngest sister is… delicate. She allows her emotions to get the better of her at times and takes turns similar to yours; she usually just needs a good anchor."
"Oh." Hermione replied, unable to force her mind to form any other words passed the shock in her mind. Bellatrix had been… kind and spoken to her like a normal person for the first time since their meeting.
Bellatrix took her own step away from the bushy haired witch as though to physically distance herself from their last interaction. "So am I going to get to see the wonders of a Beauxbatons education today or are we going to waste the entire lesson?"
Hermione glanced at Bellatrix and noticed how the degree of warmth that had been in her eyes moments before seemed to have faded. In its place was a mask of aristocratic indifference that she was sure was well practiced. "Could you slice the caterpillars up please?"
"Slice them?" Bellatrix asked sceptically.
"Yes." Hermione answered somewhat nervously. "The metamorphic power is much more potent in their blood."
Bellatrix seemed to accept this with a slight shrug and gentle nod before she set about meticulously cutting the tiny creatures into perfectly even pieces. "All in at once?" she asked as she held up the chopping board and allowed it to hover over the simmering cauldron.
"Um humm" Hermione hummed in confirmation as she began to concentrate on getting the skin off of the Shrivelfig. "Make sure you get as much of the blood… in there as you can." She allowed the end of her sentence to trail off as the dark haired witch began scraping the board with her knife before she was even asked.
"You peel the Shrivelfig?" Bellatrix asked as she peered over Hermione's shoulder. "I have always found the skin to be far too tough to be used in potions making myself."
Hermione turned to look at her potions partner and almost jumped when she realised the girl was so near, a few of Bellatrix's stray black curls tickling her cheek as she moved. "Erm…will you cut this up?" she stuttered as she passed the peeled fruit over clumsily.
"Living up to the name there ErmRoss." Bellatrix mocked with a wink as she moved over to her part of the work station and set about chopping the Shrivelfig into precise cubes.
The bushy haired witch simply rolled her eyes at yet again being the butt of Bellatrix's joke, she moved over to the cauldron to stir the potion and inspect its colour. Her concentration was quickly lost when she looked over to check on her partner's progress; she became mesmerised by the other girl's sure, quick and efficient strokes of the knife. It was obvious by the way that she worked that Bellatrix was diligent and committed to the things that she did, her attitude would lead you on instinct to believe that she was blasé or uncaring. But that could not be further from the truth, Hermione watched as she tutted and huffed when the knife slipped slightly and two of the cubes became more like triangles. She watched how Bellatrix carefully and delicately wiped bits of the fruit and juice from the blade of her knife with a sure finger. And how the girl's tongue seemed determined to slip out of the corner of her mouth when she wasn't paying attention to it.
"How do you want me to…" Bellatrix began as she looked up at Hermione and noticed how the bushy haired girl had been looking at her and how she shook her head in an attempt to snap herself out of some daze. "Were you staring at me?"
"What?" Hermione squeaked before clearing her throat. "No I was not. I was just making sure that you were dealing with the Shrivelfig correctly."
Bellatrix laughed dryly, the sound so unlike the pleasant true laugh from earlier. "You don't have to worry about the quality of my work, believe me."
"I'm starting to realise that." Hermione muttered under her breath.
"So you were watching me?" Bellatrix prodded.
"Well I just told you that I was watching you didn't I?" The bushy haired witch snapped. "And is there anything that you don't hear?"
"I have two sisters; I learned a long time ago that the things that people don't want you to hear are the most important parts of a conversation." Bellatrix replied in a matter of fact manner.
Those words struck Hermione for a second, since Bellatrix's escape from Azkaban she had thought of her as many things. A Death Eater, a lieutenant, a criminal, a murderer, a pure-blood, a supremacist, a lunatic but she had never thought of her as somebody's sister or daughter or friend. She had never thought of her as human. But this Bellatrix seemed human, like her very own person; she was mischievous and cocky and yes…annoying but it all seemed to be in the name of fun. There was no malice to the things that the girl did; she was just testing the boundaries around her. Hermione found herself wondering when all of that changed and the evilness set in, when she stopped pushing boundaries and began pushing people to the brink of insanity with her magic. "We'll need the Shrivelfig juice soon, the potion is pink." She said softly.
"How do you want me to juice it?" Bellatrix asked, finishing her forgotten question from earlier.
Hermione picked up a sealable plastic bag from their work station and handed it to Bellatrix. "Put the pieces in there and shake them."
The look of horror on the black haired witch's face was almost comical. "Shake them….in this?" She asked, gesturing with the plastic bag.
It was Hermione's turn to chuckle and smirk, it did feel rather muggle to use a plastic bag but it worked. "I can do it if you're not up to it."
Bellatrix didn't even answer her; she simply fixed her with sarcastic look before turning and filling the bag with the pieces of Shrivelfig and aggressively shaking them to prove a point.
"I think that should do it." Hermione pointed out as she watched the bag quickly fill with the fruits rich juices. She leant over their cauldron to check that the potion was at the correct shade of red before motioning for Bellatrix to join her. "Add some of the juice until it starts to turn orange, I'll stir."
"If this insane method of yours poisons us I will hex you." Bellatrix said with a stern look as she opened the bag she was holding and began pouring measured amounts of the juice into their cauldron.
"If I was going to poison you I would do a proper job and you would be hexing no one." Hermione countered, not daring to tear her eyes away from the contents of their cauldron for fear that she had pushed their little game too far.
Bellatrix's gentle chuckle put paid to that worry though. "I think that should be enough of the Shrivelfig juice, a few more stirs and that will be orange. Do we need to add any of the flesh?"
"Yeah" Hermione affirmed simply. This Bellatrix was certainly a conundrum; she knew the degree of anger that the other witch was capable of, she knew the horrors she was capable of inflicting on anyone that crossed her. But this Bellatrix was magnetic, her personality seemed to draw you in and push you away all at once, she was warm and cold all at the same time. She was enigmatic and captivating and absorbing in the way that she seemed to appraise and test the world around her. Hermione somehow found her own fascination with this girl was almost as terrifying as the thought of the Death Eater she would become.
Bellatrix watched as Hermione seemed to shrink into herself, getting lost in her own mind somewhere. The girl reached for a wooden spoon on their work station and passed it over to her without exchanging any words. But she needed no further prompt as she set about carefully extracting the pieces of fruit from the bag and transferring them to the cauldron. "What colour are we looking for?" She asked after three spoons full of Shrivelfig had made it into their brew which had begun to pale to a dull orange.
"Yellow." Hermione answered, her second one word answer in a row drew a sideways glance from the other girl. But she couldn't concentrate on that right now; she was too busy trying not to concentrate on the electric chill that ran up her arm every time the other witch's body inadvertently brushed hers. How could this girl be having such an effect on her? Was it fear that made her skin prickle and all of her senses heighten? Or was it the mere energy of the girl herself?
"Are you ok?" Bellatrix asked cautiously, that hint of caring slipping into her voice again despite her best efforts to keep it at bay. Hermione's cheeks were taking on a distinctly pink shade and the girl looked flushed and distracted. "Are you getting too warm? Maybe you should take your cardigan off. Or at least roll your sleeves up."
Just the mention of exposing her arms made her scar tingle, her mind slipped to the derogatory slur scrawled across her skin in childish writing. She could almost see the glint from the dagger that had engraved it flash in the corner of her eye. She could still smell the perfume the Death Eater had been wearing on the night she had pinned her to the drawing room floor; that smell seemed to invade her senses now. "I will not be removing my cardigan and I do not need you to fuss over me." Hermione snapped as she subconsciously tugged the sleeves of the knit wear down further.
Bellatrix rounded on the other girl with a murderous look in her eyes; she put her hands on her hips and set her jaw. "I do many things ErmRoss." She began through gritted teeth. "But I can assure you that fuss is not one of them. If you take one of your turns again, rest assured I will not be attempting to catch you this time."
Hermione met Bellatrix's dark glare for a second but the look was too intense to hold and she found her eyes frantically searching the rest of the girl's face. That is when she noticed the slight pink colouring at Bellatrix's cheeks; it stood out in stark contrast to her otherwise porcelain skin. It didn't look like a flush of anger, she looked too composed otherwise. Was this the colour of embarrassment? "I'm sorry." Hermione muttered. "I didn't mean to… offend you."
"Offend me." Bellatrix snorted, fixing her lips into a self-assured smirk. "You will have to try a lot harder than that to offend me."
"Still I'm sorry." Hermione said in a small voice as she looked at Bellatrix through the corner of her eye, she watched how the other girl's stiff posture loosened slightly at her words.
"Forget it now." Bellatrix replied with a dismissive wave of her hand. "What do we need to do next with this potion of yours?"
"Ours." Hermione corrected before she could stop herself. "Erm… the potion needs to simmer until it turns purple. While we're waiting we can prepare the next ingredients."
The corner of Bellatrix's mouth pulled up slightly despite the fact that she was still trying to look put out by the other girl. "There you go again ErmRoss."
Hermione rolled her eyes before quickly turning away to hide the look, not wanting to disrespect the fact that Bellatrix seemed to be extending the olive branch. "I'm going to get the rest of the ingredients." She almost whispered before taking a deep breath and heading to the ingredients store and collecting the last three items they needed. Once she was back at their work station and had deposited the items she was carrying she spoke again, this time in a more assured voice. "The rat spleens can go in as they are as soon as the potion is purple."
"Which one would you rather prepare?" Bellatrix asked as she held up the pinch of daisy roots in one hand and a writhing leech in the other.
Hermione scrunched her face up in disgust at the slimy black creature in front of her. "Since you seem to have such an affinity to those awful little things why don't you take care of them?"
Bellatrix hummed contemplatively as a smirk broke out on her face. "I've never known somebody take such a dislike to daisy root. But if you insist you can get to work on the leeches."
Hermione's eyes widened in horror for a second before she realised that Bellatrix was trying very hard to fight back a laugh. "Oh just give me the daisy root and start juicing the leeches will you."
At this Bellatrix did actually laugh, the same tuneful sound as earlier emanating from her again. "I will, I will. You don't need to fuss about it ErmRoss."
Hermione ran a hand through her quickly frizzing hair, she was feeling equal parts frustrated at Bellatrix's sporadic moods and relieved that the girl seemed to be more forgiving than her ruthless future self. Again she found herself questioning when the girl in front of her began her transformation into the heartless monster that plagued the wizarding world. As she began mincing the daisy root with the knife Bellatrix had been using earlier she couldn't stop herself from wondering if there was anything she could do to put a stop to her metamorphosis. She thought about all of the lives that could be saved if Bellatrix remained as the forgiving, almost caring person she seemed to be right now. She thought about how weakened Voldemort's cause would be without Bellatrix's extreme fanaticism. And she thought about all of the things that a mind like Bellatrix's might be able to achieve if it was directed in the right way and not towards death and destruction. It was this thought that stopped her in her tracks, it was not her job to change the future; to take Bellatrix out of the running, and it was certainly not her job to decide what was right for somebody else. As much as it pained her to think about it, Bellatrix had only ever done the things that she did because she believed it was right. She truly believed that muggles were inferior to her and that muggle-borns did not deserve to be educated in the ways of magic, she was as disgusted by this as many people were by her actions. And my God, when the hell had she started to become sympathetic to Bellatrix Lestrange and the way that she thought?
Thankfully Hermione didn't have much chance to dwell on this as she was pulled out of her musings by Bellatrix's sure voice. "The potion is purple and I've added the rat spleens, I put them in whole like you mentioned before."
"Perfect." Hermione acknowledged with a small smile. "Now stir is carefully, it can be a little volatile at this stage."
"I'm good with volatile." Bellatrix mocked, as she picked up the long spoon used to stir the potion. She carefully slid it into the cauldron, being careful to disturb the surface of the liquid as little as possible and began making graceful figure of eights through the substance.
Hermione approached the cauldron too, taking care to stand a good distance away from the other girl this time; she couldn't risk getting distracted at this point in the brewing process. "Keep stirring while I add the final ingredients." She instructed as she sprinkled some of the minced daisy root onto the top of the potion. She watched how the bits of fibrous material were combined into the liquid and it began to turn a sludgy brown. She scattered another pinch of daisy root into the potion, estimating it to be enough to transform it to the desired shade of green before turning away to prepare the leech juice Bellatrix had prepared.
"You weren't exaggerating when you said you were good at this were you?" The black haired witch uttered quietly, refusing to look away from the potion.
Hermione smiled nervously, not really believing that she had heard what she had actually heard. "Shouldn't you be sounding upset? At this rate you will be doing your own Transfiguration essay."
"There's still time for it to all go wrong." Bellatrix replied with a wink, finally looked up at the other girl to catch her eye.
"You're not planning to sabotage the potion are you?" Hermione asked, only half joking.
Bellatrix gave a snort of laughter. "Not a chance, there is still twenty points we can squeeze out of old Slughorn if we play our cards right."
It was Hermione's turn to laugh this time; she shook her head good naturedly as she began carefully adding drops of leech juice into their potion. "I'm sure you have many methods which allow you to milk our good Professor out of all of the points that you want."
"ErmRoss what are you insinuating?" Bellatrix gasped, looking at the bushy haired witch with a look of horror.
"N..nothing. Oh my God, nothing." Hermione stuttered, realising too late the double entendre she had inadvertently made.
Bellatrix abandoned her rhythmic stirring of the potion to stand in front of Hermione. "I'm kidding." She said gently as she laid her hand on the other girl's shoulder. "Slughorn is a collector of exceptional people. He tries to recruit them into this club that he runs, it's all very elite. He has been trying to enlist me since I began in my first year. But so far I have eluded his grasp."
"So he tries to bribe you with house points." Hermione finished the tale for Bellatrix, remembering all too well the methods Slughorn had employed to drag Harry into his Slug Club.
"Exactly." Bellatrix confirmed with a nonchalant shrug. "And until he realises that all of the house points in the world would not get me to put on a fancy dress and play nice with my peers I will continue to take them with a sweet smile."
As if he had been summoned by the mere mention of his name, Slughorn approached their work station with a benign grin. "Well, Well ladies. I hope you two are getting along."
"Of course Professor." Bellatrix replied with a smile. "I was just telling Miss Ross here what a wonderful Potions Master you are."
Slughorn covered his mouth for a second, portraying a pantomime version of someone looking coy. "Oh I don't know about all of that Miss Black."
"Professor, don't be modest." Bellatrix continued, sending a surreptitious wink Hermione's way.
Hermione narrowed her eyes at Bellatrix's game, but decided to play along all the same. "Yes Professor, you're reputation really does precede you."
"Girls, you both really are too kind." Slughorn grinned again, rubbing his chubby hands together. "Now, my fingers are itching to give away some more house points so let us take a look at your Shrinking Solution."
As the Potions Master turned to peruse their cauldron Bellatrix reached out and grabbed Hermione's hand briefly squeezing it before letting go. When the bushy haired witch caught her eye, looking at her in confusion she mouthed I told you.
Slughorn humming pensively drew both of the girl's attention. "Is there a problem sir?" Hermione asked cautiously.
"No, not a problem per se." Slughorn said in a distant voice. "The potion is almost there; it's just that something needs a slight tweak."
"A tweak?" Hermione asked, her voice cracking slightly as she spoke. She could feel Bellatrix's heavy gaze on her, despite the fact that she refused to turn and meet it.
"Yeeeees" The Professor drew out the word as he wracked his brain. "Of course, of course." He finally shouted as he produced his wand from within his robes and waved it with a flourish at the cauldron. The flames underneath leapt higher up its side and almost instantly the potion began making an odd groaning noise. Both girls subconsciously moved closer to the cauldron and peered inside, they watched in wonder how the contents seemed to glow as it moved from its emerald hue to an almost fluorescent green. Once it had reached the colour that Slughorn was happy with he waved his wand again and extinguished the flames all together. "I would hasten to guess that this is an almost perfect brew ladies."
"I can take very little of the credit sir." Bellatrix said with a slight smile directed at Hermione. "Miss Ross took the reins on this one, I simply followed instructions."
"Now she is the one being modest Sir." Hermione interjected.
"Yes, Yes Miss Black." Slughorn agreed. "Even with the best of instructions a fish can never learn to fly. There has to be some skill there to begin with."
"Thank you Sir." Bellatrix replied, sounding almost genuinely grateful.
"Well, shall we see about testing this little concoction of yours?" Slughorn asked rhetorically as he reached into his pocket and withdrew an empty potions vial. Before either girl had replied he had spooned some of the liquid into the delicate glass wear, popped a cork into the top and begun wandering back towards his desk.
Bellatrix frowned at Hermione, before inclining her head in a silent gesture for them both to follow the rotund little man. They walked silently, side by side to join the Professor and watched as he held up their vial to the light before nodding and extracting a frog from a glass tank behind him.
"Ladies and Gentlemen." Professor Slughorn called out dramatically. "I would like you all to leave your potions where they are and gather around me. We have a potion to test." A general din erupted as students began muttering and stools were scraped across the stone floor as the class moved. Once the whole group was gathered around his desk Slughorn began speaking again. "Miss Black and Miss Ross appear to have brewed the perfect Shrinking Solution. See how it seems to glow as it catches the light and it lets off a delicate mist as it moves. This is what we are looking for in a correctly brewed draught, but there is only one way to be sure of its true triumph and that is to test it."
Ever the show man, Slughorn uncorked the vial of green liquid with his teeth and poured a generous amount into the now wriggling frog's mouth. As soon as the substance touched the animal's tongue it instantly stilled, it made a feeble attempt to croak but only a slight groan escaped its throat. Bellatrix looked over at Hermione with a questioning look, obviously unsure if this was what was supposed to happen. The bushy haired witch inclined her head, drawing the other girl's attention back to the animal which was now an obvious black colour opposed to its previous green. Before their eyes the little creature's limbs began retracting into itself, its body elongating and stretching out to create a tail; its form now more obviously that of a tadpole than a frog.
"Excellent, Excellent." The Potions Master cheered. "We have success! Twenty points to both Slytherin and Ravenclaw. Not only are you the only pair to finish your potion but you have also created a practically perfect brew. I see Outstanding N.E. in your future ladies."
"Thank you Professor." Hermione beamed, feeling slightly giddy at her success. It had been such a long time since she had felt the rush of excelling at anything academic and she had almost forgotten how addictive the sensation was.
"Oh you are quite welcome my wonderful girl." Slughorn grinned across his desk at the bushy haired witch before turning his attention back to the rest of the class. "Now, next lesson we will be brewing the Elixir to Induce Euphoria. Before then I expect you and your potions partner to conduct research on the potion's history, its uses and the best brewing method. Any pair who reneges on this duty will be woefully unprepared when next lesson comes around. Dismissed."
With this abrupt ending the class began to move, muttering as they packed their things away but all too happy to bid a hasty retreat from the classroom and have an extra break between potions and their next lesson. Hermione joined the flow of people moving towards the back of the room before diverting off to her own workstation.
"Well done ErmRoss." Bellatrix's voice sounded close to Hermione's ear as she bent down to collect her belongings from under the desk, she almost dropped her notebook in shock. She stood up quickly and turned to see the dark haired witch observing her with a raised eyebrow and a smirk.
"You almost scared me half to death." Hermione snapped pressing her hand to her racing heart. "Didn't anyone ever teach that it's rude to sneak up on people like that?"
Bellatrix didn't answer, she simply chuckled. "I guess you are stuck with me and my appalling manners for a little while as we now have another potion to brew together. Do you have any tricks up your sleeve for this one?"
"I do actually." Hermione smirked. "But I don't intend to always do all of the work."
"Of course not." Bellatrix replied, throwing the other girl a look of mock offence. "I fully intend to be the Robin to your Batman."
Hermione laughed outright despite herself at the image that analogy brought up. "How do you know about Batman and Robin?"
"I don't live under a rock." Bellatrix threw back, shaking her head. "Anyway, we have some research to do before Friday. Should we meet in the Library on Wednesday, around 6.30?"
"That works for me." Hermione agreed as the two girls headed for the door together.
They stepped outside the classroom and looked in separate directions along the corridor, Bellatrix towards the Slytherin common room and Hermione towards the stairs to the upper floors of the castle. The dark haired witch paused and looked back at the other girl awkwardly for a second; a slight smile broke out on her face as she took in the look of uncertainty on Hermione's face. Again that word, cute, flittered into her mind and she couldn't convince her feet to carry her away from the girl, she squeezed her eyes shut and took a deep breath. "Well, see you around ErmRoss." She managed to force out before she spun on her heel and marched away, using all of her will power to stop her from looking back, just once, at the girl still stood in the corridor.
Thank you so much for reading. Please review and let me know what you thought. Anything you would like to see just let me know and I will try to incorporate things that I can. Feel free to PM me any time.