So i really wanted to make this both serious and humorous as was the idea of the first little chapter. Yet its really come out more mild angst and fluff which i'm not exactly upset about.
Let me know your opinions.
And yes there will be mistakes.
Hermione and Bellatrix were still sitting at the wall on the floor both witches observing the chaos around them. Bellatrix had a gleeful little smirk on her face as she watched on but was also occasionally rubbing her arm against her knee. Hermione noticed every time she did it and scowled a little darker.
Harry, Molly and Arthur were arguing with Bill and Percy about what should be happening. Ron was scowling darkly at the pair alongside George. Ginny had disappeared to god knows where and the other women were sitting back looking at everyone, concerned.
The floo activated a few minutes later and Minerva McGonogal stepped through followed by Ginny. Clearly the youngest Weasley had gone to Hogwarts. Minerva glared at Bellatrix so darkly that the eldest Black sister actually shifted and crawled into Hermione's lap startling the younger woman. Hermione frowned at Bellatrix but looked back up again when Molly hissed at Minerva to tell them how to fix this.
Hermione really tried to listen to them all but became distracted when Bellatrix grabbed her left wrist and placed the arm in her lap. Confused, Hermione turned her attention to Bellatrix as the witch pulled the sleeve of Hermione's shirt back and up her arm revealing the now bleeding slur on Hermione's arm. Bellatrix frowned in complete confusion and looked so different and… cute, that this may have startled Hermione more than Ron's sudden outburst.
"Don't touch her!" Ron barked furiously at the woman.
"I'll touch her if I please." Bellatrix scowled darkly at Ron and huffed at him.
"The bloody hell you will you psycho cunt! Get off of her!" Ron stood and walked closer towering over them.
"Ron stop." Hermione sighed.
"No! She needs to go back to Azkaban where she belongs to rot for the rest of her life. She killed our friends!" Ron says furiously.
"Do you think I don't realise that?! But what can any of us do! I'm not going to Azkaban I'd sooner you kill me. I fought too hard for my freedom, for all of our freedom to allow you lot to stand here arguing over what do with Bellatrix when we all know full well she will not remove this ring. Like it or not she owns me." Hermione had started out angrily but ended up fading off with a frown as this new realisation hit her.
"Don't worry, pet. I'll look after you. Starting with this. Why hasn't it healed?" Bellatrix actually frowned at the now open and bleeding slur again.
"Ah, we believe it was the dagger you used." Fleur had moved over to them when Ron had stood up, she spoke before Hermione could.
"The dagger would make it hard to heal not impossible. The Cruciatus shouldn't have ripped it back open either. Not when it was directed at me." Bellatrix was still sitting on Hermione's lap. Ron was still fuming but the Hufflepuff girl had pulled him away.
"It's been like this since. I had it healed at Shell Cottage not long after Hermione got there but a week later it opened up on its own again." Fleur was leaning over ever curiously.
"Hermione… is this true?" Hermione looked from the two witches closest, or on top of her, to the family surrounding her as Minerva spoke.
"Yeah. It will heal up and then suddenly it's open and bleeding again." Hermione half shrugged she'd gotten rather used to it.
"And it hurts all the time, how do you ignore that?" Bellatrix seemed entirely contemplative.
"Why the hell are you asking her? You gave that to her!" Harry scowled darkly at Bellatrix.
"I'm all for torture in the moment, where I can see it, but not this. I never intended for this to happen." Bellatrix managed to seem entirely condescending even as she was sat on Hermione's lap still.
"Perhaps, Lestrange, You should get off of the girl."
"Black." Minerva looked shocked at being corrected by both Hermione and Bellatrix.
"Maybe we should all get some rest… it's getting late." Fleur suggests finally when Bellatrix refused to move and stared at Minerva instead.
"Where is that thing sleeping? The chicken coup?" George scowls at Bellatrix.
"Definitely not in this house." Molly wasn't happy either.
"She will have too. Hermione can't be more than a couple of rooms away from her at any given time or things will be uncomfortable." Fleur frowned deeply.
"She's not staying under my roof." Molly scowled darkly.
"Welp! Looks like you're coming with me, pet." Bellatrix hopped up rather cheerily and holds a hand out to Hermione.
Now Hermione might not normally have taken the woman's hand and let her pull her up. But a woman she respected an incredible amount and looked at as family had effectively just kicked her out because of Bellatrix. It's because of this she did take the hand and let the witch pull her along.
Not that Hermione really blamed them. She was still struggling with all this stuff with Bellatrix. The woman had tortured her and carved up her arm, Hermione absolutely understood loathing the woman. But Bella had also never pretended to like someone or consider them family and then kick them out the moment things became unfavourable.
"You can't leave." Ginny spoke up finally.
"I can't leave, I can't stay. The list of things I can do is getting infinitely smaller by the moment." Hermione rubbed a hand down her face refusing to acknowledge that Bellatrix was still holding her hand.
"Where would you even go?" Fleur frowned watching the two witches.
"Oh I've a little cottage not too terribly far away where she can rest her weary head and I can work on fixing her arm," Bellatrix almost sing songed and then seemed to pull the young woman out.
"Hermione you can't seriously be going with her?" Ron was frowning this was obviously not how he anticipated any of this going.
"I'm really tired. Come on Bella." Hermione tugged the older witch by the hand who smirked rather smug at the group watching them and then followed the witch yet again. This time out of the house.
The silence they left behind was deafening. Hermione didn't even know what she was thinking at this point. She was hurt and confused and she had been through far too much recently to want to risk death by being away from Bellatrix or simply letting the Weasleys kill her. She was getting a headache and Bellatrix could feel it too.
Once outside of anti-apparation wards Hermione turned and looked at Bellatrix expectantly for a moment before the older witch grinned brightly and drew her wand. It was in that moment that Hermione noticed this was the first time the woman had drawn the wand all night. Not even when she first appeared did Hermione see the wand that was conveniently tucked into Bellatrix's skirt folds.