The use of French in this chapter is about as much as I know from the language so I'm sorry if it's incorrect. Otherwise I hope to keep the spelling mistakes to a minimum. Also, Harry Potter doesn't belong to me (however much I wish it did). Enjoy:)

Sparks

There was something different about Hermione today. Bellatrix was watching her from the corner of the sweetshop, trying to understand what was different about the Gryffindor. The woman decided a direct approach was the best way to solve this problem, so she made her way towards the brunette. Not that Hermione would recognize her. Bellatrix's Glamour Charms made her look blonde, green-eyed and so much younger she didn't even dare think about it.

"Bonjour, ma cherie" she whispered in the brunette's ear and enjoyed herself immensely when Hermione nearly dropped the jar of Cockroach Cluster she was holding. "Comment ca va?"

"Bien" Hermione surprised Bellatrix by answering. "Et toi?"

"Moi aussi."

"Promenons-nous?"

Bellatrix only had time to nod before the girl grabbed her hand and pulled her out of the shop.

"Are you out of your mind?" Hermione hissed when they were out of sight and earshot of the people in Honeydukes. "I was going to scream bloody murder back there!"

"Were you going to do that in French too?" Bellatrix winked. For her enormous satisfaction Hermione blushed and turned away. "I don't recall you telling me you speak French."

"People have secrets" Hermione muttered, then turned to face her once again. "But anyway, I'm fluent."

"Impressive. Name something you can't do."

"Control myself when I get the urge to murder someone."

"And people want to give me a trial" Bellatrix gasped. Inside, she was roaring with glee. She hadn't had this much fun from a conversation in a while. She watched as Hermione's eyes widened. There it was the thing that was different today. The dark witch couldn't wait to hear it. Hermione began walking down a side street as she shared the news.

"Yes, the trial! I spoke to Kingsley today, he wants to see you personally."

Whatever Bellatrix had been expecting it had not been this. She was hoping that today Hermione would tell her about Narcissa, maybe even point her in the right direction to meet with her sister. But a meeting with Kingsley suggested a trial soon which in turn meant the wizarding populace of Britain would know she was alive. God, what a day this was turning out to be.

"Bellatrix. Bellatrix, are you alright?"

She realized she had been spacing out when Hermione snapped a few times with her fingers in front of her.

"Whoops didn't mean to zone out on you" the older woman said.

"It's alright, I know you must be nervous" Hermione smiled at her kindly. Damn those chocolate eyes, Bellatrix cursed.

"Nervous? No. Overwhelmed? Kind of."

"Oh, right, I'm sure it must be terrible with the memories coming back and everything. How are you fairing?"

There she was again, asking, prodding, pushing, caring for her. Nobody cared for Bellatrix Lestrange. She didn't know what Hermione's game was, but it was really good. And she must not allow it to work.

"Ah, you know, the same as usual. But enough about me, tell me about my sisters. If Kingsley wants to see me this whole situation might become public knowledge soon. I might have to seek Narcissa out sooner than expected."

Hermione looked on the verge of saying something else entirely, but she seemed to change her mind in the last second.

"Well, I don't know much apart from the fact that her and Draco were heavily fined for their participation in the war." Bellatrix managed not to flinch at the idea of her baby sister taking part in a war.

"But I'm sure you already know that one way or another" Hermione continued. "So, here's some more secret stuff. Narcissa has been occupying herself as a Healer in St. Mungo's. She's reconciled with Andromeda as far as I know – Harry told us Andy asked him to watch Teddy once while the two of them had an emergency in their ward."

Andromeda's mention was the next knife in her heart.

"Andy?" she managed to force out, desperate to keep Hermione talking so she could compose herself.

"Yeah, that's what we call Mrs. Tonks."

The brunette clapped a hand over her mouth, but Bellatrix waved a hand and sighed.

"Thank you for telling me all that. There's just one more thing and I'll let you return to the castle. Have I come up in any conversation you've had with my sisters? Do they-do they mention me?" Imbecile, she berated herself remembering her mother's words. How could she have stumbled over her words!

"Well, they might have. I don't really speak to Mrs. Malfoy often, but And-Andromeda has mentioned how close you were when you were young."

Bellatrix could picture it very clearly despite not knowing exactly how her sister had grown to look like. There was Andromeda busying herself with making the chamomile tea she loved and murmuring how the three of them had been so close before… everything. The image was so clear in front of her that she turned around covering her face with her hands. Trying to think of anything else, her mind conjured up a picture of Hermione instead. Bellatrix could laugh out loud at the absurdity of the situation. She always managed to look ridiculous in front of the young woman.

Suddenly, she felt arms slip around her waist and Hermione's chin dropped down on her shoulder. The younger woman wasn't much taller than her, but she had a few extra inches in height which made Bellatrix sink into the embrace. She knew it was not a good idea, terrible even, but it was so nice just to have someone that Bellatrix managed to tune out all the warnings her inner voice was giving her. She even ignored that tiny flutter in her chest that her usually calm and rhythmic heart seemed to be doing. Hermione gave her a moment to recompose and then began to say something. There it is, Bellatrix thought, the 'that's strange' moment that seemed to occur every time she tried to find comfort in people.

"Do you always wear corsets?" Hermione blurted out, making her stiffen for a moment.

"Yes?"

"It's awful, I can feel it through all these clothes. How do you wear these blasted things?"

There was a moment of silence then Bellatrix threw back her head and laughed. Of all the things Hermione could have said. This girl was precious. Truly. Bellatrix couldn't remember ever having that revelation about someone. Even with some of her memories still missing she doubted she would remember such a moment. So, she would treasure this one. With that decision in mind, she untangled herself from the younger woman who had been holding her through her sudden fit of joy.

"Come on," she said stretching out her hand, "I've decided I don't want you to go to the castle just yet."

"Whatever the big bad Dark witch wants" the brunette giggled. Bellatrix zoned out for just a moment then, looking at Hermione's rosy cheeks and shining eyes. She was really lucky. She couldn't quite grasp what that thought meant.