The week had gone by at an achingly slow rate of speed. The ornate wooden box and mask sat on the coffee table all week waiting to be worn. A masquerade ball seemed other worldly and nothing like the bookshop owner had ever been to before. There was a fair amount of panic surrounding what she would wear to the event. Having gone shopping with her recently reinstated red headed best friend, they settled on the perfect Alice inspired ball gown to match the mask. Hermione was nervous about how the entire night would go but she liked the idea of being masked, it gave her a level of comfort in regards to the whole meeting.

The day had finally arrived. After taking a relaxing bath and even treating herself to a bath bomb and a glass of red wine, Hermione exited the tub and stared at her dress hanging in the closet. She shook her head, chuckling as she recalled a near disaster of a dress that her friend wanted her to get.

"Go with this one," Ginny said, holding up a well fitted white dress with a slit down the middle leaving very little to the imagination, "it'll accent your boobs."

The brunette stood with her mouth gaped open. She was in no sense a prude but she was not confident enough in her own skin to wear a dress like that. "I don't think I fancy accenting my boobs." She responded, grabbing the dress from her friend and shoving it back onto the rack. "Plus I have a girlfriend, I don't think I should be drawing attention to my boobs."

Her friend hummed and went back to fingering through the dresses hanging before them. "How did said girlfriend feel about this event? I'm sure you mentioned it to her. Didn't you say something about always spending Bonfire Night together? That had to be a hit to Laura's ego."

Hermione bit her bottom lip thinking about the altercation between her and Laura. Her girlfriend was currently out of the country for work but had planned on returning that day so they could spend the evening together but she had already decided on going to the masquerade ball. "She was less than thrilled." Looking over she saw Ginny smirking, "well Laura was meant to be coming home that day and coming for a visit. It's not like I don't want to spend time with her," Hermione was trying to justify her choice, "it's just how many offers do you get to go to a Masquerade ball? Seriously? How could I pass that up?" She sighed knowing that she disappointed her girlfriend. "I know Bonfire Night is our thing but there will be other Holidays and other Bonfire Nights. It's just one time." Hermione took a dress off the rack and went over to the mirror, holding it up against herself, her eyes glimmering at the sight.

Ginny walked over and nodded her approval of the dress, "yes get that one." She smiled before adding, "and you don't have to justify this to me. I know how important your mystery customer is to you. If Laura cared enough, she'd understand the importance." Hermione shot her friend a look that made her chuckle. "You didn't tell her where you were going. Did you?"

"No." Hermione blushed, "it's already a very sensitive subject between the two of us after I caught her opening my letter that one time. Laura seems to think that I fancy this woman and telling her that the letter writer is also the one who invited me to the ball would not have ended amicably. I would rather just stave off that fight for another day. Plus," she stuck her chin up, "I can't possibly fancy someone I've never met before. I'm just going to fulfill my curiosity and move on. Once I know who this mystery woman is then I can stop thinking about her." She nodded at herself in the mirror, wrapped the dress up in her arms and proceeded to the shoe section.

Thinking back on the situation made Hermione feel guilty. She shouldn't have lied to Laura making up the excuse of spending the night with her grandpa. Of all the reasons she could've come up with, that shouldn't have been it but what's done is done and Hermione couldn't go back and give her another lie. She was waiting for things to smooth themselves over with her girlfriend but decided to text her anyway as an apology of sorts.

7:25pm

Listen, I'm sorry about bailing on you tonight. It was not my intention to hurt you and I fully plan on making up for it however you see fit. Don't be mad at me.

Hermione had put her hair in curlers earlier in the evening before her bath to make sure they had time to set. She went with a simple eyeliner and subtle pink lip, as her mask and dress would speak for themselves, she didn't think makeup was a necessary complement to her outfit. Walking over, she pulled the dress from the closet. Her dress was a two piece consisting of a floor length cream and turquoise skirt and a Victorian style corset in turquoise. The corset was silky yet heavy, decorated with black and white dots along the edges and a bow in the center. The full length skirt was thick with tulle and cream colored in the front draped with turquoise around the back and finished with roses where the corset met the skirt. Hermione finished putting her dress on and spun around in the mirror. She had never worn anything quite so fancy and felt like a princess even if it was just for one evening. She took the curlers out and was happy with the placement, sleek with subtle curls around her face. The only missing piece was the mask which Hermione grabbed along with a small turquoise clutch. "Why is it that I'm always late when it's somewhere I actually want to be?" She was rushing to the door for her dressy black ballerina flats when her phone dinged.

8:28pm

I'm not mad. I'm a little disappointed that I won't be seeing you tonight. Hopefully next weekend? Have fun. Love you.

8:29pm

Definitely. Love you too.

"Shit," Hermione thought racing out the door, "it's already 8:30 and I'm supposed to be in the gardens by 9? Well that's never going to happen." She got into the Uber that was waiting for her and gave the address to Malfoy Manor.

After a short Uber journey, Hermione found the car pulling into a formidable looking Manor. The vast size of the place was enough for panic. How would she ever find this woman? She didn't even know where to begin. The Uber driver cleared his throat, "sorry." She shook her head clear and exited the car after saying thank you. "Well, here goes nothing," she pulled the invitation out of her bag and handed it to the man at the front doors. It was 10 minutes to 9 and Hermione only cared about finding the Red Queen. "Right through here," the man pointed through the door which led towards a foyer where classical music could be heard. "This is the nicest place I've ever been in…" Hermione looked around mouth opened. She wasn't paying attention where she was going and ran into a warm body.

"Oi. Watch where you are going," a woman with pink hair said before shaking her head and heading off in the other direction. Hermione knew that hair. It had to be the same woman who was flipping off that corpse the other day but what was she doing here? "Excuse me." Hermione said, going after the woman who was wearing a mad hatter inspired tux, "can you point me in the direction of the gardens? I'm to be meeting someone there at 9 and I have no idea where I'm going."

The pink haired lady gave her a knowing smile which both calmed and unnerved Hermione at the same time, "sure thing? Love. Out those back doors at the other end of the hallway. There's a hedge maze in the garden. Are you looking for someone in particular?"

"I don't know her name. She's meant to be here as the Red Queen."

This mad hatter chuckled, "ahh. I know all about you, Hermione. Yes, you'll find her in the middle of the hedge maze." She started to walk away but Hermione could hear a faint, "good luck," being tossed over her shoulder.

Hermione shivered unconsciously with the passing of time. She took off down the hallway getting a glimpse inside the ballroom and her mouth dropped. It was a scene out of a fairytale and she was certain that she was out of place here but the wonder that filled her to the very core was enough to push her forward out of the back door, straight into the gardens. A soft "oh", fell from Hermione's lips as she gazed out at the vast hedge maze before her. "Well, this isn't all intimidating," she said to herself but pushed forward taking the first step into the maze. She walked a few paces until she came to the first fork in the maze. "Hmm," she thought as she carefully examined both directions when something caught her eye from the left. Slowly approaching it she saw a piece of parchment tied around the stem of a red rose.

She unfolded the parchment and it read:

Alice,

Along the way you will have roses to point you to find the way in your journey. I anxiously await your arrival.

The Red Queen

Hermione smiled brilliantly, loving the note and how the writer was keeping in character with the theme of the night. Feeling a little more confident, she started walking at a quicker pace, looking for red roses along the way. Butterflies were doing acrobats in the brunette's stomach as she collected more roses making her way closer to her mystery writer. "I have to be close. I've been walking for ages," she said looking at her small bouquet of roses. The next turn led her smack into the middle of the maze. The space was wide open with a large fountain adorned with black angels, benches amongst the hedges, a few topiaries, and a light wood awning. "I thought you weren't coming, Alice," came from the woman under the awning. The Red Queen stood with her back facing the opening of the maze. She was short with dark curly hair piled on top of her head with loose curls showing a fabulous span of neck leading to the lace up back of the deep red corset dress. It was a long silky, deep red evening gown with even dark red roses all over the bottom half of the gown. The corset laced up the back and was slit in the front which was shown when she finally turned around. Hermione gasped at the beauty of the mask she had picked out. The mask was such a deep red color that it appeared black with red sequin accents around the eyes. There was red and black sequin filigree across the front of the mask and large black and deep red feathers coming out of the right side of the mask.

Hermione couldn't see much of the mysterious face but noted the dark red lip. Her stomach butterflies hadn't ceased their acrobatics. She feared they would never leave her again. "I got your note and the roses," she smiled softly at the woman showing her treasures she collected along the way. "The Mad Hatter pointed me this way and I must say, I was rather overwhelmed by the whole idea of tonight." The Red Queen nodded, waiting for her to continue, "you see I have very high expectations for this and I'm not quite sure why. I just knew I had to come. Then when my Uber pulled up to this behemoth of a house, I felt out of place. It's like a fairy tale here and I'm honestly not sure that I ever want to leave." Hermione chuckled softly and shook her head, "I also don't know why I'm saying all of this to you. A woman who I've never officially met before."

"Bellatrix."

Hermione looked at the woman a little confused, "pardon?"

"I'm Bellatrix." She walked over, slowly approaching the brunette. "Please, call me Bella though. Nobody has called me Bellatrix in years." When she stood in front of the slightly taller woman, she held her hand out expectantly. Hermione shook the soft hand presented before her, "it's my pleasure to finally meet you, Hermione."

"Bella," she said slowly, not yet letting go of the other woman's hand. A smirk turned up on the other woman's lips when she realized she was still holding her hand. Hermione shook her head clear, dropped the hand and took a step backwards, taking a much needed breath of air. "This event is amazing. You said it's annual?" Her sentence turned up into a question at the end.

"Yes, my sister, the white queen, has been hosting it for as long as I can remember. I only came to these things by sheer force but when I heard the theme, I couldn't resist extending the invitation to you." Bella looked the woman up and down admiring her dress, "you look lovelier than I imagine possible. The perfect Alice for the event."

Hermione felt her cheeks warm at the compliment, "this is nothing compared to your own dress." She felt herself covering up her midsection with her arms but was stopped by a soft, cold hand reaching out and grabbing her by the wrist.

"Don't," was her clear and firm response, "don't diminish your own beauty. I won't stand for that. May I?" Bella asked, extending her arm for the brunette to take, offering to leave her somewhere. At this point, Hermione was sure they could lead her to her death and she'd go as a willing participant. She nodded and grabbed the shorter woman's arm. "How are you enjoying the books I've been sending over?"

Casual conversation about books was not something Hermione had been expecting during the evening though so to say she was thrown off by the whole evening would be an understatement. "I have enjoyed them quite a lot though if I'm being completely transparent, I've been living for the personal notes in the margins, your brain fascinates me in a way I've never experienced." The night was crisp as a small gust of wind fluttered by them sending the brunette into an involuntary shiver. The shorter woman noticed this and wrapped her arm around her waist.

"How about we get you back inside before you turn into an ice lolly?" Hermione nodded her head in agreement. "We could go to the library before heading into the ball if you'd like. We could talk more privately there and it's just off the ballroom so you'll still be able to hear the excitement of the evening." Bella led her new friend back through the maze and Hermione was shocked at the ease it took her to navigate them back to the beginning. When she gave her a look of wonderment she simply said, "not my first time, love," and chuckled deeply. The sound made her stomach butterflies start tumbling again. "Are you ready?" Bella asked, stopping outside of massive high black oak doors. When Hermione nodded, she turned around to push the doors open, "welcome to the Malfoy Manor library."

To say the bookshop owner was shocked would be an understatement. The volume of books had her stopped in her tracks only making it a few feet beyond the doors. "It's…" she started trying to find the right words, "I don't think there are words strong enough to express how much I love this room." Hermione smiled freely and walked to the center of the two story library spinning around slowly getting an eye full of every inch.

"If you think this is grand, you should see my library at home." There was that chuckle again that came out every time Hermione seemed to have a look of wonderment at something she said. Bella watched as the woman before her slowly brushed her fingers across the spines of various books as she made her way along one of the downstairs walls only stopping when she made it to the stairs, turning to silently ask if she could ascend. "Go on," the red queen smiled at Alice as she followed her up the stairs to the second floor. "This is where the oldest books are kept. My sister didn't want her son to have access to them when he was little so they kept them up here." She followed Hermione over to the furthest book wall which also happened to be closest to the ballroom. The reverberations from the orchestra could be felt coursing through their bodies.

"So is your last name Malfoy?" Hermione asked while browsing the bookshelf.

"No, absolutely not." Bella chuckled, shaking her head and pulling a copy of "A Room of One's Own" off the shelf and handing it to her friend, "that however is a story for another day." Hermione nodded and took the book, flipping it open and noticing the writing in the margin. She looked up and the curly headed woman winked and held her finger up to her lips, a silent secret between the two of them. "How old are you, Hermione?"

The brunette tried to keep the smile off of her face at the less than subtle attempt from the other woman to get to know her. "I just turned 30 in September," smiling as she went to hand the book back to Bella who shook her head, "what about you?"

"Keep that. I was going to send it this month anyway. There are some good notes in that one," was she evading the question about her age? She didn't appear to be too much older than mid 30s at best. "A little older than 30," she smirked at Hermione. This line of questioning from Bella went on for a while where she learned Hermione's favorite food, color, song and so on until it seemed that the older woman was tired of evading the questions.

"You really do value anonymity," Alice let out a soft laugh at her Red Queen.

Bella pushed off of the bookshelf where she had been leaning and took a few steps to close the distance between the two of them. She reached out and took the book and roses and put them on a nearby table. Hermione inhaled and could smell the woody, citrus shampoo the other woman must have used earlier that day. From this close proximity, it was agreed that flat's were a good choice, as she had a good few inches of height on the smaller dark haired woman. Bella took in the parts of her face that she could see, eyes coming to rest on the other woman's lips, panning back up to her eyes, staring deeply. Hermione gulped involuntarily at the intense gaze she was being held under. "I believe you'll come to learn everything you want to know about me and more over time, Alice. Why rush something that has the promise of being such an utterly unique experience?" The older woman reached up slightly and brushed a loose brunette curl behind the other's ear. "One last question for now," the taller woman's eyebrow quirked. "It has two parts," the brunette nodded, waiting for her to continue, "do you like me?" Hermione just slightly nodded her head and the raven before her smiled as she leaned in closer to her ear, "are you seeing anyone?"

Hermione visibly swallowed the lump in her throat. Every inch of her was buzzing with excitement. The smell, sight and touch of Bellatrix was enough to make Hermione forget herself for a moment. "Tell her yes," was the mantra running through her head while she got lost in those deep charcoal eyes. "I, umm," she was struggling to formulate the words because for this moment she wished she didn't have to say yes to this question, "I have a Laura."

"A Laura?" Bella asked in confirmation. When Hermione nodded, the older woman took a step back, putting a little space between the two of them. "Is it serious?"

Hermione sighed as that was the million pound question she had been asking herself since moving away from London. "It's… complicated." Bella's face relaxed slightly and waited for her to continue, "it's been hard since I moved away from London. There's been a strain that's been hard to overcome but currently yes, I have a Laura."

Bella nodded and turned head back towards the steps, "I suppose I'll ask that question again in another month or two." Hermione saw her shoulders moving with a slight laughter. "Shall we?" She asked, pointing to the stairs. "Just because you have a…." She stopped and smirked, "Laura doesn't mean we can't share a dance or two together. After all this is a ball and what kind of hostess would I be if I didn't give you the full experience?" Moving out of the way just an inch or two, Hermione moved past the shorter woman after grabbing her book and flowers from the maze. When they left the library, Bella took the book and roses and handed them to the man in charge of the coats, "here hold these for Hermione, she'll collect them when she's leaving." Bella grabbed Hermione by the elbow and led her into the ballroom, the younger woman's mouth falling open at the lavish display. "My sister," she pointed to an exquisite woman in a White Queen gown, "knows how to throw the fanciest of parties." Looking around the room, Hermione drank in all the sights from the orchestra to the dancing, the guests to the decorations and everything in between. Bella was watching her take everything in, a small smile playing on her lips. "It is quite beautiful." Hermione knew that Bella wasn't talking about the ball when she turned to see the old woman staring at her. "May I have this dance?"

Hermione stepped closer to the short woman and took her hand while her other arm circled around the Red Queen neck. Bella grabbed Hermione around the waist and started immaculately waltzing them around the ballroom. "Of course you know how to waltz," Hermione giggled as she was being swept around the room. "When did you learn this?"

"In a past life," was the only explanation the dark-haired woman gave, never breaking eye contact. "It's not knowing the dance, it's about picking a partner who makes it look easy. You are the fairest choice here." Hermione turned her head in a failed attempt at hiding her blush. "Everyone here has been staring at you since you walked in."

"No, they are definitely looking at you."

"Me?" Bella laughed. "They've seen me a million times. You are the one who is shining brighter than all the stars in the sky tonight, Hermione." The music slowed and Bella brought the girl in closer to her body to change positions with the music. "It's nice to finally be able to have a dance partner at one of these things. By this point in the night, Dora and I had usually gotten too drunk to remember our own names and the White Queen had banished us to the library for the evening."

"Dora?" Hermione asked, looking around the room slightly with only a tinge of jealousy in her voice.

"You've met her." Bella pointed to the pink haired woman. "The mad hatter also known as Dora or Nymphadora, my niece. But don't call her Nymphadora, she will kill you."

Hermione saw a woman dancing in a March Hare inspired gown wearing a rabbit mask dancing with the Mad Hatter. "And who is the March Hare? Is that her girlfriend?"

Bella snorted trying to control her laughter. "No, love. That's her mother, Andy." Hermione made an O with her mouth feeling slightly ridiculous for jumping to that conclusion. "She's probably just keeping an eye on Dora so she doesn't do anything stupid to piss the other queen off."

"Do I get to formally meet them tonight at some point?" Hermione asked with a genuine curiosity.

Bella seemed to think this one over before quietly saying, "no. I think tonight I want to keep you all to myself." She pulled Hermione in a little closer.

The two women danced for what seemed like forever, again Hermione was glad she decided on flats or else her feet would've given out a long time ago. Many of the guests had already left for the night as the hours grew dim, "what time is it?" Hermione asked quietly.

"Why are you going to turn into a maid at the stroke of midnight?" Bella turned to point her towards the large grandfather clock. "It's well past midnight love and you haven't transformed yet.

The clock read 2:30am and Hermione laughed, "wrong story. And no, I was only curious. It's going to be hard to find an Uber at this time around here."

"You can take one of the family cars." Hermione started to refute the idea when Bella cut her off, "I wouldn't feel right letting you leave any other way and as we've discussed, you have a Laura so one of our drivers will take you home."

Hermione nodded and stepped out of the familiar embrace she had been wrapped up in for the past three hours already missing the warm sensation of the other woman. "I guess I should be going." Bella nodded and walked her over to get her book and flowers. She walked her outside and Bella went off to talk to one of the valets. "I had an amazing time, Bella. Thank you for inviting me. It was nothing like I had envisioned but it was truly remarkable. I'll never forget this night."

Bella smiled, reaching out to hold the other woman's hand. "Thank you for coming. It was lovely to finally meet you." A flash of concern crossed Hermione's features, "I hope you know that I want to continue writing and our book exchange. Meeting doesn't change that." A look of relief flooded the brunette's face, "in the theme of transparency, our book and letter exchange is my favorite part of the month."

"I feel the same way. I look forward to your letter every month and picking out books that I think you'd like has quickly become one of my favorite things." She was rambling by this point but she couldn't stop herself, "I have a whole stack of books sitting downstairs in the shop that I want you to read at some point."

"It's settled then. Nothing changes. My month would be amiss without your letters." Bella leaned in and pressed a feather light kiss to Hermione's cheek. When she pulled back she saw the brunette standing with her eyes closed, "this is you." Bella whispered, shaking her from her kiss induced daydream and pointing to the all black suv that pulled up in front of them.

Hermione turned to look at the car, "do you have a phone number so we can talk in between letters?" She asked, trying not to sound too eager.

The red queen shook her head no. "I do not. I'm old fashioned. I've always preferred the art of letter writing. I try to avoid all technology if I can help it." With her hand on the small of Hermione's back she led her to the car and opened the door for her.

Hermione climbed into the back seat and gave the driver her address before turning back to her dance partner, "then how do I get in touch with you?"

Bella smiled warmly at the young woman, "I'll be around, Hermione." She winked at her and closed the door, watching as the car drove away out of sight.