I kind of managed to get back on track with writing this soo... enjoy:)
I don't own Harry Potter, regardless of how much I wish I did:(
Gestures
Hermione couldn't help but worry she had gone too far in her attempt to help Bella. After their conversation with her, Andromeda and Narcissa seemed to have left the house. The brunette doubted they had any urgent business and hoped against hope they hadn't gone after their eldest sister. She had woken up in Ginny's room after a night of sharing all about her date with Bella and about her impromptu conversation with her sisters. Creeping up to her room while the redhead was still sleeping, Hermione was relieved to find a note waiting for her on the windowsill. It had, however, been short and devoid of any signs as to what Bella had been feeling when she wrote it.
Meet me at the corner of the street at noon
B.
Hermione had sneaked out of the house while everyone was asleep, claiming in the note she left that she wanted to get some fresh air. This was a lie Harry, Ron and Ginny were bound to see through, but she trusted Ginny to keep the boys from saying something that would give her away in front of the others. There was some truth in what she had said: she really did need some fresh air to clear her head and prepare a good apology. She'd had a great time with Bella the day before and she wasn't going to give up on what had felt like the beginning of a new-did she dare?-relationship. She took a walk around some Muggle parts of London so she could enjoy seeing the non-magical decorations on the houses and watch families taking a stroll so the kids could test out the new bikes or toys Santa Claus had brought them. As noon came closer Hermione walked back to Grimmauld Place and positioned herself at the far corner of the street feeling anxiety creep up on her once more. She hoped Bella wasn't angry. Or if she was, that she was going to give her a chance to talk. If not, Hermione would just have to find Andy and speak to her. She would know what would get her sister to talk, surely-
"I can hear the wheels turning, pet" a silky voice whispered in her ear as strong arms encircled her waist from behind. She would have jumped in fear had it not been for Bella's soft kiss on her neck.
"Bella!" Hermione all but gasped, turning in the witch's arms to find a gentle smile lighting up her face.
"Thoughtful looks lovely on you but that little blush here – way better."
Hermione tried to fight off the heat spreading from her cheeks down to her neck.
"I actually wanted to tell you something. Nothing bad, of course" she hurried to reassure the older witch when she saw her smile falter. "It's just – I felt really bad about telling Andy and Narcissa about you and I'm sorry if-"
Bella's finger rested on her lips which effectively cut off Hermione's rant.
"There is nothing to apologize for. They would have gotten it out of you anyway, Cissy's awfully good at Legilimancy."
"You're not angry?" Hermione breathed out against Bella's finger.
"No," the older witch pulled her hand away, "and don't you worry your pretty little head about me and my sisters. We… spoke yesterday."
The brunette didn't fail to notice the pause in Bella's words but for now she was content with knowing that the three sisters had reconciled.
"Now, enough talking about those two" Bella scrunched up her nose for a moment. "I was hoping I could take you out today."
Her tone of voice turned nervous – yet another thing Hermione had never associated with Bellatrix before.
"Of course you can" she smiled brightly, receiving the same smile, if a little more reserved, in return. Hermione thought the moment was perfect for taking a risk. She leaned slightly towards Bella, giving her time to back away. When she didn't, the younger woman took a deep breath and covered her girlfriend's lips with her own. Her girlfriend. She barely had time to register how cool that thought was before Bella responded to her kiss and all thoughts flew out of her mind. Merlin, could this woman kiss! They only parted when the need for air was too insistent to ignore. Hermione rested her head against Bella's and smiled slightly, still overwhelmed.
"Well, well, well. Looks like you Gryffindors indeed are the daring kind" Bella laughed softly. "Remind me to show you what us Slytherins can do some time, but now I wanted to take you somewhere."
"Oh yes" Hermione remembered she had agreed to a date. "Where to?"
"Isn't the surprise what makes it interesting?" Bella pulled away and offered her a hand. The brunette took it without hesitation.
"Lead the way then."
She saw the older witch flashing her a smile before feeling the all-too-familiar sensation of side-along Apparition. When she could see properly again, she was standing at the black gates of a large manor of the same colour.
"Welcome to Black Hall, I suppose" Bella said. "Though I'm sure my sweet parents tried their best to make any person of so-called impure blood feel unwelcome here. If you feel bad, tell me" she added grimly, looking sideways at Hermione. The younger woman took a quick look around; everything screamed 'Rich!'. There was a six-feet-high wall all around the grounds and the path that led to the gate shone like marble. There were tiny patches of grass and some ivy here and there and that was the only indication the manor hadn't been used for a long time.
"Is this…"
"My parents' house."
"The place you grew up in."
Hermione's tone didn't indicate it was a question. Bella looked at her for a moment and nodded slowly.
"Is this where you've been staying?"
"Yes. No one would have thought to look for me here. Well, almost. Anyway I wanted to show you. I don't know why, but…"
Hermione glanced at the other witch and her heart broke at the sight of her so unsure.
"I'm touched you want me to be here. Can we go inside?"
The older woman seemed surprised at that, but her expression quickly morphed into a bright smile. She waved her wand to open the gate and took Hermione's hand to pull her in, intertwining their fingers. The brunette's heart skipped a beat as she entered the grounds of Black Hall.