I finally decided to give you guys the real deal. Hope you enjoy this one:)

Denial

There she was, after all. With only a Disillusionment Charm in place and a heavy cloak around her to keep her warm she was already walking through the grounds towards the Whomping Willow. When had she turned into this reckless version of herself, she wondered. Then again, she would be lying if she said she didn't like adventures. Even though she thought she'd had enough of them throughout her Hogwarts years it looked like there was always room for another one. Enlarging a small stick she found on the ground, she managed to prod the Whomping Willow's trunk from a safe distance and used the momentary stillness of the tree to duck inside the secret underground passage.

The Shrieking Shack was quiet when she got there but Hermione knew Bella would be waiting for her. She made her way up the creaking stairs pausing only to remove the Disillusionment Charm she had placed on herself. The bedroom looked as shabby as ever. On the bed there was a hunched figure, facing the wall, seemingly unmoving. But Hermione could hear it – the faint sobbing and heavy breathing. Bellatrix was crying.

"Bella, what's wrong?" she was quick to move forward, find out what had happened, but the older witch cut her off.

"Don't." Her voice was cold and froze the younger woman to the bone. "I was honestly hoping you wouldn't come. After what I saw… how did you even have the will to come?"

The brunette was getting more confused with each sentence.

"What do you mean?"

"How could you help me this much? After what I did."

Bellatrix hadn't looked at her once throughout her speech, but she did turn around now. Her eyes were clearly red, Hermione could see it even in the dim light; and there were tear stains on her cheeks.

"I considered leaving," Bella admitted, "but you don't deserve that. Yet I cannot comprehend how you can look at me and not see the deranged monster that left you that horrible scar."

Hermione inhaled sharply. So, that was what everything was about. The truth was she hadn't thought about the incident at Malfoy Manor for a long time. Even the nightmares had subsided. The memories were still painful but seeing Bella's sorrowful eyes pained her more than she thought it could. She took a few steadying breaths and spoke.

"Bella, what happened before the Imperius Curse was broken is not your fault. And while it did scare me a lot at first, now I don't really mind what you did then." Hermione smiled to show the other woman she was being honest. "You will have to mend some bridges and work hard to prove yourself to others but with time people are going to accept you."

The former Death Eater looked on the verge of tears again.

"Merlin, you're-" Hermione saw she was struggling and walked over, pulling her into a hug.

"You don't have to say anything."

For a few seconds Bella didn't react, then she pushed Hermione away.

"I do. I should thank you. And since words just don't seem enough…"

She reached out hesitantly and placed her hand on Hermione's forearm. The younger woman couldn't resist tensing, but Bella seemed genuine.

"May I see it? I might be able to help."

Hermione nodded slowly. Unsure why exactly she was doing this she rolled up her sleeve exposing her left forearm. Bella gasped upon seeing the awful slur that she herself had carved in the young woman's arm. She reached out, caressing the red skin gently. Hermione didn't say anything, however this time she didn't feel the need to flinch. The older woman took out her wand and looked at Hermione.

"I'm going to try to heal it now" she said. Hermione nodded once again. Bella showed her a reassuring smile and pointed the wand to her forearm. She closed her eyes and didn't say any words, but Hermione could see plainly that she was concentrating. Her face scrunched up, Bella seemed to be trying not to cry. Sure enough, after Hermione felt a small burn and Bellatrix put her wand away, a tear slipped through her closed eyelids. She seemed unable to open her eyes and check if she had been successful. Hermione's heart broke a little at the sight.

"Hey, what's wrong?" she asked. "It's over now, you were brilliant. You can open your eyes and see."

Hermione herself could barely wait until the other witch had taken a good look at her arm before she began gushing over it. The skin was red and a little angry, but it was smooth once again and that was something Hermione had never thought she would see again. Bella reached out to caress it again and this time the brunette gladly moved closer to let her do so.

"It's over you say?"

"Yes!" Hermione nodded with a wide smile on her face. "You don't know how much this meant to me."

"And you forgive me? Just like that?"

"Yes, Bella, just like that. You know, when you're pardoned, we should reeducate you. You should stop thinking forgiveness and other good things are out of reach for you" Hermione chastised her, still smiling.

"That I don't deserve them more like" the older woman mumbled.

"But you do!" Hermione burst out scandalized. "That and so much more."

It was when Bella turned her head slightly upwards to look at her that Hermione realized her personal space was nearly inexistent. She couldn't really wonder when Bella had gotten so close when these dark eyes were looking at her like that; these same dark eyes had seemed empty and unforgiving in the past; they were now alight with something. Hermione was too slow to realize she was staring at her reflection and the brushing of soft lips over her own took her completely by surprise. She gasped and Bella jumped back as if burned.

"That was inappropriate. I apologize" the older woman said, head bowed down. Hermione could swear there was a blush that her wild curls did a rather good job at hiding, but this was no time for teasing. Had this woman – this utterly gorgeous woman, Hermione had to add – just kissed her. Her? Impossible. And she had apologized for it. Unacceptable. She had to say something to-oh Merlin, she had to say something.

"Bella?" Hermione wasn't sure how to approach the witch who was still staring at the floor. "Bella, come on, look at me, sorry for going quiet on you, I just needed to compose myself. I mean, well" the brunette grinned. Bella, however, was still looking down.

"I jeopardized it" she whispered faintly. "A real friendship unless I've somehow misunderstood you, and I managed to jeopardize it in less than three seconds."

Hermione stared at her in disbelief.

"Jeopardized it? Bella, no, look at me." She waited until near black eyes met her own. "You've jeopardized nothing. I mean, I love the fact you saw us as friends, and you took me by surprise with that kiss but…"

"But?" Bella prompted her.

"That doesn't mean I didn't like it. If I hadn't, you would've found out for sure."

The other witch stared at her for a while and the brunette smiled to show she was honest.

"Well, if I'd known you'd like it, I would have gone for ten seconds."

"There's always time to try that out" Hermione shot back though she couldn't contain the slight blush that dusted her cheeks, unlike Bella who was composed as ever.

"Teasing you is fun, Granger. But we shouldn't try out something that's doomed to end."

And just like that Hermione's happy bubble burst.

"Why would it be doomed to end?"

"Simply because it is."

"That's not-"

"Uh-uh" Bella put a finger over her lips, effectively shutting her up. "I finally have a friend. I won't risk that."

Hermione wanted to explain she wouldn't ruin their friendship by reaching out for more, but then remembered where Bellatrix stood: no family, no friends, thought dead until very recently, manipulated for more than half of her life. The list seemed to go on and on. The brunette nodded and when Bellatrix removed the finger from her lips said, "Just a piece of advice for next time – go for the ten seconds." Bella threw back her head and laughed, and just like that the atmosphere between them was light once again.

Neither witch knew how much the other wished they hadn't cut their previous conversation that short.