"No. Absolutely not." This was not going to happen again. Hermione refused to be pulled back into Laura's well rehearsed game of manipulation. She had been here before too many times to count and she was happy now. There was not a single reason why Hermione should even be responding to these text messages. Laura was never going to change. Abusive and manipulative people are doomed to a life of eternally repeating behaviors. When the next text came through, she was determined to disengage but that was always easier said than done.

9:50pm

You'll want to hear what I have to say this time?

Hermione knew she shouldn't even bother to message her back but her curious nature got the best of her once again. "Fuck," she said as she typed.

9:53pm

Oh and what makes you think I have any interest in what you have to say to me?

She gulped when she read the incoming message.

9:55pm

Because it's about your girlfriend, Bella.

Now she would be lying if she said that didn't throw her for a loop. Thinking as far back as she could, Hermione didn't think she ever used Bella's name when talking to Laura. Even when Laura read that letter all of those months ago, that was way before she even knew the older woman's name. No, that was before the ball. She definitely wouldn't have signed her name on that letter Laura had read.

10:05pm

Nothing to say? See now I think you are curious, Hermione. You want to know what I know and you can't for the life of you figure out how I know her name.

10:07pm

Stop Laura. I'm not going to play your psychological games anymore. We aren't together. I don't have to do this again.

10:09pm

Still… How did I know her name?

10:10pm

Either you are going to tell me or you are not. I'm not begging you for the information because why would I believe anything you have to say anyways.

"Crooks," Hermione sighed, "here you talk to Laura. I'm over this." Crooks meowed at her and pawed at her phone knocking it to the ground. Squeaks was sound asleep and made a little noise and jumped when the phone fell but didn't wake up. "Shh," she smiled at her eldest son, "don't wake the baby." Her first instinct was to text Bella and give her a heads up about what was going on but she really didn't want to bother her girlfriend while she was with her sisters.

10:13pm

I'm not bullshitting with you, Hermione. I care about you. I'll tell you everything you want to know. Meet up with me in London tomorrow.

10:14pm

Are you daft? After our last lovely meeting you honestly think I'd voluntarily meet you alone anywhere. God, you must think I'm insane.

10:15pm

Well you did stick around for two years so you do have some psychological issues.

10:16pm

Fuck you, Laura. I'm not going to sit here and take anymore of this abuse from you when we aren't together. I've moved on and I'm happy. Leave me alone!

"She's unfucking believable," Hermione growled, throwing her phone down onto the couch stirring the little kitten. Squeaks looked up at her with big sleepy eyes and meowed, "oh sweet heart. I'm so sorry," she moved the kitten onto her lap and Squeakd climbed her way up to Hermione's shoulder so she could nestle in her hair. "Okay," she patted the kitten's bum, "you go back to bed. Sorry I scared you ma'am." Another ding came through announcing a message from her ex girlfriend. "Leave it alone, Hermione," she told herself but was already grabbing the phone and checking the message.

10:20pm

She came to my house, knocked me unconscious, tied me to a chair and threatened my life with a dagger. Before you go falling in love maybe you should do some investigating to see exactly who it is you are fucking this time. Co-dependent girls like you always fall for the bad ones. Goodnight Hermione. If you change your mind about meeting, you know where to find me.

"No," Hermione shook her head, "there's no way." Laura used to make up stories about other women all the time when they were together to make the brunette feel guilty for no real reason. She couldn't believe that her girlfriend would be capable of what Laura just accused her of. Besides the lunacy of the accusations, when would she even have had time to make the trip to London. "Still," Hermione thought, "what do you know about Bella? Like really know about her." She shook the thoughts from her head and brought the kitten down to hug her, Crooks crawling closer to her warm lap. Bella had been trying to talk to her about something that seemed pretty serious. "Should I investigate?" She looked down waiting for the expert advice from her son. When he didn't respond, she rolled her eyes, "a lot of help you've been." It was getting late and she had to open the shop up early so she needed to get to bed. She was willing herself not to do a deep dive into Bella's background before the older woman had a chance to talk to her but Hermione knew this would be a losing battle unless she went to bed and suddenly got amnesia and forgot about Laura's messages in the morning. "Come on," she held the kitten and patted Crook's bum, "let's go to bed." Hermione and her furry friends made their way into her bedroom. Crooks jumped up on the bed and she deposited Squeaks into the middle of the big bed so she could decide where she wanted to lay.

After using the bathroom, Hermione came back into the room and took her robe off. She chuckled and shook her head when she looked over at the bed and saw Squeaks curled up, asleep on her pillow. She quietly made her way over and tapped Squeaks' bum, "ma'am, that's my spot." The kitten purred a tiny protest as Hermione picked her up and deposited her on the other pillow. She got under the covers and reached over to the bedside table to plug her phone into the charger and placed it down after setting her alarm. She got comfortable and within two minutes, the small kitten had made her way over to fall asleep in her chest. "Well okay," Hermione smiled, "just for tonight." She reached over and grabbed her phone, took a picture and sent it to her girlfriend with the following message, "we miss you." Her first instinct was to text Bella, that alone was sign enough that she needed to hear Bella out and not fixate on what her ex had been trying to tell her. "Goodnight," she whispered to her cats as she turned off the light and fell into a deep sleep.

The next day at the Rose everything started out as normal and mundane as possible. Henry came over and continued reinforcing the shelving wall units in the main rooms after having his morning coffee and gossip session with his friends while Hermione finally put the finishing touches on the January book displays. "It's finally done," she said, placing the last new romance book on display. She was quite proud of herself, this seemingly simple task usually took her days to perfect but with the help of her girlfriend yesterday, she was able to make her display decisions in a more timely manner.

"It looks wonderful as always, sunshine," Henry said as he walked over and placed the drill onto the counter. "Are you okay? You seem to be somewhere else today."

Hermione sighed, "I'm everywhere but here today, Papa."

Henry walked over and took a seat next to the window, patting the chair across from him, "come sit and bend your grandfather's ear. Maybe I can help."

No matter the situation, her grandfather never failed to put a smile on her face. She nodded, picked Squeaks up off of the counter and walked over to the chair, sighing as she melted into the comfortable fabric. "Bella asked me to be her girlfriend on Christmas."

The elder Granger looked at her in confusion, "and you aren't happy about it? I thought you were crazy about her."

"Oh no," Hermione stopped him, "I am both of those actually. I really adore Bella. She seems to care about me so much and I feel such a pull to her, it's unreal."

"I'm not seeing the cause of contention then, sunshine."

Hermione sighed and passed over the kitten that her grandfather was trying to coax onto his lap. "It's just, how much do I really know about her? I know everything about her favorite books and some information about her family but honestly I feel like she's just been this big mystery to me. What if I find something out about her that I don't like? I can't have another failed relationship, papa."

"Where is this coming from?"

"Laura texted me last night," she bit her lip and avoided his gaze when she saw the look of slight anger cross his face.

"You know I never cared for that girl. She was nothing but trouble," he pet Squeaks as she pawed at his arms. "I've been around a long time, sunshine," she turned to look at him. "Do you want my expert opinion?" She nodded but didn't interrupt him. "I think Laura realized how badly she messed up with you. I also think that she's a bully. I think her main goal in life is to cut down everyone around her because it makes her feel better about herself. She needs others to feel weak and helpless so she can feel powerful. Has Bella given you any indication that she's not a genuine person with your best interests in mind?"

"No," Hermione turned back towards the window and saw Dora across the street taking down the salon's Christmas decorations. "Quite the opposite actually. She's always making sure I'm okay and that I'm happy. I just wish she'd be more open with me. I want to know everything about her."

"Have you asked?"

Hermione chuckled and shook her head, "you make everything seem so simple and logical. No, I suppose I haven't actually asked in full. I asked her last name once when we first met and she said she'd tell me later and we just never talked about it again. Though," Hermione thought, "she did say she wanted to talk to me about something important the other morning but," she tried not to make her grandfather feel guilty with the next part of her sentence, "it was Christmas afternoon and I was meant to come home. We never had a chance to finish the conversation. Oh," Hermione's mind was racing now, "and last night, she started the conversation up again and got called away by her sister. She has been trying to talk to me. The timing just hasn't worked out."

"See," Henry smiled at his granddaughter. "Laura is just a bully. Don't let her get into your head." There was a small silence that settled over the pair before he spoke up again, "also don't do your own investigation on Bella. I know you are a curious person, but you need to get all the information straight from the source. Don't settle for second hand details."

"You're right," Hermione smiled, "I was being stupid. I need to speak to Bella about all of this."

Hermione finally checked her phone for the first time since she started working and saw a text response from Bella in regards to the picture she sent of her and Squeaks at bedtime last night.

10:30am

There are my girls. :) I hope you all had a good night. Text me after work. Unfortunately I'm stuck all day with Narcissa. I will hopefully be able to escape her grasp tomorrow. Text me when you can.

"Well," Hermione shrugged, "I guess today is out of the question. Maybe tomorrow," her grandfather looked at her confused. "She's preoccupied with her sister and the next ball, today."

"They host a lot of balls, don't they?"

Hermione laughed, "that's what I said."

Hermione had successfully avoided googling her girlfriend and it was the hardest thing she ever had to do. She considered it a practice in self-restraint.

She was quite proud of herself though. Her curiosity always won but not last night. The brunette just lost herself in a good book and kept telling herself that she would talk to Bella in the morning. It was four days until the ball, she was sure the family was busy but she was desperate to see Bella. Plus, she didn't have anything to wear and was freaking out about it. "I'll just give her a call," she decided towards the end of the day when she hadn't heard from Bella at all since that one text message the previous day.

"Hello?" A voice that wasn't Bella's answered her phone.

"Oh, umm," Hermione was frazzled, "is Bella available?"

"She's a little busy right now," the voice on the other end of the call told her, "is this Hermione?"

"Yes," Hermione was starting to panic a little, "and who am I speaking with?"

"This is her sister, Narcissa. Listen," she sighed, "Bella can't talk right now. She's a little preoccupied. Has been all day. I'm sure she'll be able to give you a call tomorrow or the next day. No need to worry. I'll let her know you called."

"Wait," she hated sounding desperate, "I'm meant to be coming to your next ball and I'm not sure what to wear."

"Oh that," she heard the sister chuckle, "don't worry. I have Dora on her way over with your dress."

"Okay. Thank you," she bit her lip, "but Bella's okay right?"

"Yes," Narcissa tried to sound as reassuring as possible, "Bella will be fine. Don't worry about her. Goodbye Hermione."

Before Hermione had a chance to ask anymore questions, the phone conversation ended and she was even more concerned than when she set out to call her. "What is going on with her?" Now her curiosity was at an all time high but still she refused to Google search. After all, Dora was on her way. "I'll just try to sweet talk something out of her."

The Rose was already closed for the evening when Hermione was sitting in her living room waiting for Dora to drop by. She had assumed that she would just come to the shop door but nearly jumped out of her skin when she heard a knock coming from the back door. The brunette shut her book and made her way over to the door, opened it and asked, "what are you doing up here?"

Dora smirked and shrugged, "I don't know I just wanted to envision what Aunt Bella went through when you made her flee down the fire escape."

Hermione rolled her eyes, "I'm never going to live that down. Am I?"

"No," Dora smirked again, "it's my duty as a devout niece and I take my job very seriously." She entered the house when Hermione moved out of the way, opening the door wider for her. "Seriously though, the fire escape is fucked. You should have someone reinforce the stairs in case of a real emergency." She made her way inside of the house, "it's nice up here. Very cozy. Aunt Bella said it was full of books," she shrugged, "I don't see any."

"Would you like the tour?"

"Thought you'd never ask," she smiled, putting the dress box down on the kitchen table. "You can look at that later. I'm ready for my tour. Wow me, Alice."

Hermione rolled her eyes, "this is obviously the kitchen, nothing exciting I assure you." She walked them through the rest of the rooms. The tour ended in the book room where the big stack of 'Bella' books sat against the windowed wall that faced the front of the shop. "I think this might be the room Bella was speaking about. I think she'd try to move in here if I let her. She's already talked about working here on multiple occasions. If I had the money for another person in the budget I'd hire her straight away."

"I think she'd do it even if she didn't get paid," Dora said in passing as she was glancing at the various piles of books. "She's crazy about you and about this shop. I swear you wouldn't have to offer her a cent and she'd start work tomorrow."

Hermione smiled at the excitement coming out of Bella's niece. There was clear admiration shared between the two. "How is Bella? I haven't heard from her since yesterday."

"She's okay. Helping my other aunt and mum with that stupid ball." She rolled her eyes. "I swear that woman hosts more balls than the bloody royal family."

"That seems to be the general consensus."

"Maybe Aunt Bella will let me have a dance with you so at least my evening won't be a total wash." Dora took the top book off of the Bella pile and started to flip through it, "though she doesn't really like to share."

"The feeling is mutual but I think I might be able to convince her to let me slip away for a dance with you," she walked over and picked a few more books to hand to the other girl, "here take these to Bella for me?"

Dora gave her a big smile, "she'll be so happy."

"So you really aren't going to tell me what's going on with her? Are you sticking to the ball planning?" She saw confusion cross Dora's face. "Because right before you came over, I called Bella, only your other aunt answered the phone. Narcissa said Bella had been preoccupied all day and that she wouldn't be able to talk to me today."

"Aunt Cissy didn't say anything to me," Dora set her facial features. "She just handed me your dress box and asked that I deliver it to you. Honestly, I haven't seen much of her today and I haven't seen Aunt Bella since yesterday. She's been at Cissy's helping her."

"Can I ask you something?"

"I might not answer."

"What's Bella's last name?"

Dora bit the inside of her cheek causing a hollowing effect. She looked to be wrestling with something inside of herself. "Why ask me that? Seems like something you should ask Aunt Bella."

"Well I did," Hermione wasn't lying, "at the last ball and she said we would talk about it later."

"And has she tried to talk to you since?"

"Well," Hermione started to feel guilty for trying to get information out of Bella's niece, "in the recent past she's told me twice that she needs to tell me about herself."

"Then why not wait to talk to her," Dora shrugged, packing the books into the canvas bag that Hermione brought over.

"Because," she let out a small growl of frustration, "here," she opened her phone to the text conversation with Laura, "Laura texted me the other night." Dora read through the conversation but didn't give anything through expression. "And I know she's lying to me just to get back to me or make me want to be with her or whatever but it doesn't make me any less curious."

"Seems to me like Laura has control issues," Dora handed the phone back to her friend. "I wouldn't be too bothered by what your ex said. Just wait and talk to Bella." She finished gathering up the books and left the room. "I should get going."

"Wait," Hermione reached out and grabbed her arm, "you don't know anything about Bella going to see Laura do you?"

"No," Dora lied without a second thought. She wasn't going to tell on her aunt and honestly she felt that Laura deserved whatever Bella did to her. "Laura seems to be a dramatist and I wouldn't put too much effort into it. If Aunt Bella said she wants to talk to you about herself, then just curb your curiosity a little longer." She saw the little nod from the brunette and turned back towards the fire escape exit. "I'm going this way again," she smirked when she saw Hermione roll her eyes. Dora turned back to face the other woman, holding onto the railing with one hand, "she's worth it you know?"

"Pardon?"

"My Aunt Bella," Dora gave a little smile, "she's worth the discovery." She nodded, turned and headed down the steps and into the night.

The pink haired woman made the walk back to the three story house quicker than normal as she felt the need to see her aunt. She went straight to Bella's floor when she was stopped by her mom and Cissy staring at her when she emerged from the stairwell.

"Dora, you know you can't go in there," her mother spoke up.

"I just want to drop these books off with Aunt Bella. Hermione gave them to me to give to her when I dropped off her dress."

"Did she like the dress?"

"Oh," Dora was surprised by the question, "I actually did stay to see her open it. How is she?"

"She'll be okay," Cissy said, coming over to hug her niece. "She just needs her rest."

"Can't I go in? Just for a moment, I promise."

"No," Andy said quickly, "I'm sorry Dora but you know it's not wise for anyone to disturb her except for Cissy when she gets like this."

"I just need to tell her something about Hermione."

"What is it dear?" The blond sister spoke up.

Dora's eyes shifted between the two women, "she was asking questions."

"She was trying to ask me questions earlier when she called Bella."

"What could Ms. Granger be questioning?"

"Well," Dora scratched behind her ear, "I guess her ex girlfriend was texting her some stuff about Aunt Bella and it made Hermione curious."

"Why would her ex girlfriend have anything to say about Bella?" Andy questioned. When Dora shared a look with her aunt, Andy asked again, "Nymphadora you tell me right now what Ms. Granger's ex had to say about Bella."

"Well," Dora swallowed, "she said Aunt Bella threatened her at knife point."

Andy's eyes widened dramatically, "why would she think that?"

Cissy spoke up, "because she kind of did," and quickly added before Andy could go crazy, "but the situation has been handled and Bella's medication has been adjusted accordingly."

"Don't you think this should've been something I was informed of? She threatened someone at knifepoint? How did she even get there?"

"I drove her."

"Nymphadora Tonks! What have I told you about engaging in your Aunt's psychosis?"

"Andromeda! Enough!" Cissy spoke up louder than normal. "Dora did nothing I wouldn't have done if Bella had asked me. She had her reasons obviously. Do I agree with her tactics no but she was just. That girl beat Hermione very badly. Surely you know how it is to experience years of verbal and physical abuse. It was a trigger and Bella didn't handle it well but the girl was fine." She heard Andy scoff, "no. I'm tired of you treating her like she is a patient in an institution. Bella doesn't deserve that kind of treatment from her own family. You are holding onto a grudge from 20 years ago about an incident that didn't even involve you. Let. It. Go. Andromeda. Bella needs her sisters not another fucking doctor. If the doctors didn't think she could be in society then she wouldn't be here. She's doing her best and she's thriving. Yes, some days are harder than most but even you have to acknowledge the positive effect Hermione has had on our sister."

"She's right," Dora tried reasoning with her mother, "I don't know if she's in love with Hermione or whatever but the positive effect they've had on each other is wonderful. Aunt Bella deserves a chance at love and happiness. She deserves her happily ever after."

"So, this girl…"

"Hermione," Cissy corrected her sister.

"Hermione and Bella are an item?" Both Dora and Cissy nodded. "And do you think Hermione will accept Bella when she has heard everything?"

"I truly do," Dora reassured her.

"I still don't think you should go in there tonight," Andy told her daughter.

"She's right, Dora." Cissy said softly. "You know she always sleeps when she's taken her medication after a brief psychotic breakdown. She'll sleep until tomorrow afternoon. Then she'll wake up good as new."

"Should we give her a heads up that Laura tried to tell Hermione about everything?"

"I suppose," Andy added, "that we should leave that up to her girlfriend and hope they are forthcoming with each other."

"I'll just leave these outside of her door then," Dora pointed to the books, "let me write her a quick note."

Dora drafted a note for Bella and put the bag outside of her aunt's door and left the third floor.

"Fuck me," Bella moaned when she finally started to stir the next afternoon. "How long was I out this time?" She groaned when she sat up, taking in her surroundings. She was still in her skirt and blouse but at least someone was nice enough to remove her corset and boots. "It was that fucking ball." She rolled her eyes. Honestly Bella wasn't sure what the trigger was this time but she had a feeling it was the stress from the ball and the change in her medication. Her body was still getting used to the new drugs as well as her updated dosing and sometimes that causes her mind to wander. "Oh no," she looked frantically for her phone, "I never got to message Hermione. Fuck." She searched the normal places in her bedroom and figured her sister must have taken it. "Damn it," she quickly made it to the door and opened it. When she looked down she saw the canvas bag with a note. She made quick work of opening the note and was slightly disappointed when it wasn't Hermione's handwriting. She read:

Aunt Bella,

I went round to Hermione's to take her the gown for the ball. She wanted me to give you these books. Apparently she talked to Cissy and was asking about you. I think you may have already been asleep by them. She wanted to know your last name.

Mom and Aunt Cissy didn't want me to tell you but Laura messaged Hermione the other night. You should probably tell Hermione everything. Soon. Don't worry, Hermione hasn't jumped to any conclusions. I think she really likes you.

If you need to decompress before you go see Hemrione, come talk to me.

Love,

Dora.

"God damn it," Bella crumbled the note up and grabbed the bag of books. "Fucking Laura. Looks like I need to go teach her another lesson." Bella was pacing back and forth in her room. "Go kill Laura or talk to Hermione," the pacing was steady. Bella felt herself slipping and took a deep breath. "No, I need to think and calm myself or else Andy will medicate me into another day's worth of sleep. I know," she walked over to the intercom and took a chance, "Dora? Are you home?"

"I'm here Auntie. Want me to come up?"

"Please," she picked up the canvas bag and sat on her bed. She brought the bag up to her nose and inhaled. It smelled like Hermione's house and instantly calmed her. There was a knock at the door, "come in."

Dora entered looking a little concerned, "you okay?" Bella shrugged and held up the crumpled letter. "Hermione didn't know what to think of the texts Laura sent her. But I wanted to tell you Laura said you visited her. I don't think Hermione believed her ex. She asked me and I lied. I panicked. I wanted you to have the opportunity to explain everything and I would rather Hermione be mad at me than at you." She reached out and put her arm around her aunt. "Nobody deserves their happy ending more than you do, auntie."

"Should we visit Laura again?"

"That's probably not the best idea but I'll be ready if that's what you decide."

Bella nodded, "I guess I have to tell her everything."

"I suppose you should be honest and open."

"It's hard," Bella sighed. "What if I tell her all of it and the love just isn't strong enough to pull her back to me?"

"You," Dora looked at her Aunt, "you love her?"

Bella smiled, "I do and it's terrifying."

"Well," Dora chuckled, "I guess you just have to have hope that Hermione loves you too. I mean how could she not? You are quite the catch."

"Hope is a scary thing to have, Dora." She saw her niece nod. "All right. I'm going to shower and change and then go tell my girlfriend that I'm a woman with intermittent explosive disorder who killed her own parents during a brief psychosis episode which still happens to this day even after spending 12 years locked up in a mental institution. Wow, that's a real selling point."

"That's the spirit, Auntie."

Hermione sat downstairs in the shop by the window. Business was slow so she was enjoying the quiet moment, just reading and watching Squeaks chase a glitter ball around the floor. She hadn't tried to contact Bella since Dora had left for the evening. She wanted the information to come straight from the source just like her grandfather had suggested. Googling was always a bad idea. Thankfully Laura hadn't tried to contact her again. "There was no way what she claimed was true," Hermione reasoned with herself. "Bella wouldn't do something like that." Laura always did make up outlandish stories to try to make Hermione feel bad so it wouldn't be a surprise to find out it's all fake. "Maybe I should text Bella," she wrestled with herself. Cissy told her that Bella would contact her when she was available. "But still," Hermione said to Squeaks, "it's nice to get messages that way you know someone was thinking about you." She was just getting ready to get up when she saw her girlfriend walking across the street to her shop. She looked beautiful, if not a little tired. She was wearing a pair of dark wash jeans, a button up blouse and an overcoat. Her hair was messy and down but looked freshly washed. It was not her normal look but she did look stunning. Hermione got up and met her at the door, "hi," she offered a small greeting to her girlfriend and stepped aside so Bella could enter.

"Hi," Bella said, pulling her girlfriend into a hug. Being in Hermione's arms, smelling her shampoo, feeling loved, it all had an immediate calming effect on the older warm. "I've missed you," she whispered quietly when she turned her head to smell Hermione's neck.

"I've missed you too," Hermione hugged her tighter because she felt at that moment that Bella needed it. "You look beautiful today," she pulled back to get a look at her girlfriend. Yes, her eyes looked very tired but they were sparkling.

"No," Bella blushed, "but thank you."

"Are you okay?" Hermione asked with a tone of concern.

"No," Bella let a small sad smile crest her face. "But I will be. Hermione, we need to talk."