Here's chapter 7 guys. Sorry about the wait - school:/
Tea and biscuits
Hermione opened her eyes and was once more scared into shutting them tight. The last thing she remembered was setting the table for lunch. What was she doing here again? And what excuse was she going to offer Harry and Ron when she got back? She had made up something for yesterday but today again? They were bound to tell there was something suspicious going on. She hadn't told them about the ring; the ring itself she had stuffed in the depths of her beaded bag, not to be found out until she was sure of its magic. She felt it was back on her finger though, and this terrified her. Opening her eyes again Hermione saw Bellatrix was nowhere to be seen this time. There was, however, a tray of biscuits and tea on a small coffee table in front of the armchair. Hermione stared at it. Why on Earth would Bellatrix drag her back here and give her tea and biscuits? The brunette hadn't spoken a word to anyone about the Death Eater, yet she was finding it hard to believe that Bellatrix would thank her for it, let alone like that. Deal with each problem as it comes, Hermione, she told herself and lifted the cup of tea. She sniffed it. The scent was calming and inviting. Chamomile, the young woman decided, but didn't take a sip. There could easily be poison inside and the chamomile's scent would be just as strong.
"You can drink that; I haven't poisoned it" a voice spoke from the doorway. Hermione's head snapped up. Bellatrix was standing there, dressed in all black, her signature corset accentuating the changes in her body. She was carrying a stack of what seemed to be schoolbooks. Hermione gaped at her.
"How did you know I thought it was poisoned?" she managed to snap a second later.
"I didn't. Now I do though" Bellatrix grinned at her and the brunette was astounded at how childish that action looked.
"I don't suppose you dragged me over here for tea and biscuits though" she retaliated, and Bellatrix's grin faded. Hermione hadn't forgotten her last threat: 'Get out of here before I give you another scar to match the one on your arm!'
"Sorry for last time" the older witch said and the honesty in her voice made Hermione set her cup of tea down a bit harder than intended. "Is it that mind-blowing to hear me apologize?" Bellatrix raised an eyebrow.
"Let's say I'm not used to you speaking to me like that" Hermione tried to tread carefully.
"Like what?" the other woman seemed confused.
"Like you speak to another human being."
Bellatrix's head dropped, her mass of curls hiding her face from view.
"Sorry about that too, I guess, I-" she stopped herself at the last second, "never mind. You're here and I swear I just wanted to talk."
Hermione fought hard not to look so surprised again. Bellatrix seemed truly hurt every time her past deeds and behavior were brought up.
"Er-I don't mean to be rude, but an invitation would have worked better." Hermione hoped the other witch would get the joke and not start sending her letters.
"Where's the fun in that?" Bellatrix grinned. She then strode inside the room and dropped the schoolbooks on the sofa, flopping down next to them. "You haven't drunk your tea."
"I might as well try it" Hermione relented, taking a small sip. It was just the right temperature and oh so sweet. "Okay, this is amazing" she sighed, drinking a little more.
"Figured it'd help you calm down when you saw where you were" Bellatrix shrugged.
"Chamomile is calming, yes. What are these?" Hermione nodded her head towards the stack of books next to Bellatrix.
"Old schoolbooks. We rarely visited in the summer, but when we did, schoolwork was the one thing we absolutely always brought with us."
"You and your sisters?" the brunette tried to keep her tone light. Bellatrix nodded.
"It's obvious whose they are – I never forgot mine and Andromeda is not the kind of person to doodle in class. Narcissa, however." Bellatrix opened the top book and turned a few pages. On each and every one of them was a small ink picture – flowers, animals, views, random shapes, letters in elegant cursive – and some of them were even charmed to move.
"Narcissa did those?" Hermione asked in astonishment.
"Oh yes. She was always bored in Charms. Taught herself everything and spent every class doing these. Or talking to a classmate who didn't feel like doing the work either."
Hermione looked sideways at Bellatrix and noticed she was looking at the Charms book with fondness in her eyes.
"You look happy" she commented.
"These were happy times. I'm glad I got to remember them" Bellatrix sighed.
"Do you have any idea why you don't remember the rest?" Hermione finally asked the question she had been dying to ask. What was the reason this Bellatrix was so different from the one everyone knew?
"I need to ask you a question first" the other woman's face had turned serious. "Why didn't you tell anyone about me?"
"I don't really know. If anything, I knew you wouldn't start killing people. You would have done something by now."
Hermione's decision to play the honesty card seemed to hit a jackpot. Bellatrix leaned back against the sofa.
"I'm not one to sit around and wait." The brunette eyed the older woman as she stood up and picked up her sister's old schoolbooks. "I'll just drop these off and I'll be back."
The young woman sipped her tea while waiting for Bellatrix to come back and thought about how bizarre the past two days had been. Not once in a million years had she thought she'd be conversing with Bellatrix Lestrange over tea and biscuits. Her initial fear had also faded; Hermione suspected it had something to do with the fact that last night was the first night since the Battle of Hogwarts that Bellatrix didn't appear in her nightmares. If dreaming about camping in a small tent counted as a nightmare. It seemed that this unexpected encounter had begun to bring her a sense of closure. The young woman decided to stop thinking about this when Bellatrix entered the room again. The other witch may not intend to kill her anymore, but Hermione knew she was proficient in both Occlumency and Legilimency; she'd rather keep her thoughts to herself.
"Now, you wanted to ask me something" Bellatrix returned to her seat with a cup of tea in hand.
"Yes, well before that," Hermione eyed the ring on her finger and its blood red gemstone, "how did you get that back on my finger?"
"You still haven't figured out how it works?" Bellatrix raised an eyebrow in surprise.
"The last time we spoke was only yesterday" Hermione reminded her.
"Ah yes. Well. It has your blood inside the stone, as I'm sure you've realized" Bellatrix explained. "Until it's removed, every time I activate mine you will be summoned here. And vice versa"
"Every time?"
"Yes. The heads of the House have these for emergencies. This is the meeting point." Bellatrix spoke as if all this was nothing more than boring details to her. Hermione's bookworm side was intrigued, however.
"And even if I'm not wearing the ring – as long as my blood is inside-"
"You'll be 'dragged over here', as you phrased it" the dark witch smirked. "Honestly, I thought you'd remove it."
"I tried!" Hermione protested. "I tried to find a hole, to break it, I tried a Bombarda on it, but nothing worked."
Bellatrix stared at her in silence for a few seconds. Hermione was just beginning to feel uncomfortable when the other woman burst out laughing.
"I'm sorry, just-" Bellatrix stood up and walked towards the armchair, shaking her head and trying to stop laughing. "Trying Bombarda…" She stopped in front of Hermione and reached for her left hand. Hermione flinched and moved her hand away, pulling out her wand. The other witch stopped laughing, noticing the young woman's heavy breathing. She took a step back.
"Whoa there. I didn't mean to scare you. I just wanted to show you how to break your connection to the ring."
The Death Eater had her arms raised and was looking at her with no malice in her eyes. Hermione relaxed slightly but kept her wand at the ready.
"You can give it to me if you don't want me touching you" Bellatrix offered. The young woman contemplated her for just a little while longer. She seemed honest. Slowly, Hermione pushed her wand back up her sleeve and took off the ring, passing it to Bellatrix quickly. The other witch tentatively pulled out her wand, mindful of any sudden movements. Hermione watched silently as she performed a wordless Siphoning Charm and the blood drained from the gemstone, leaving it empty and black once more.
The silence in the room was pushing her to say something. Anything to get past this embarrassing moment from a few minutes ago.
"So, back to my original question" Hermione tried to keep her tone as matter-of-fact as she could. "Why are you only now regaining memories you're supposed to have from the past twenty years?"
"Almost twenty" Bellatrix flashed her a quick grin before her face turned serious as she sat down again.