Happy Holidays everyone! I'm really enjoying all of your reviews. Continue to enjoy. Remember how I mentioned wanting to complete this by New Years? Well, I've changed my mind. It won't be a long fic but I won't be able to finish it until, maybe the end of next week or so. Its mainly a fluff fic and I want to start this other Bellamione soon as well. So, yeah! Here's a new chapter. Enjoy! Don't forget to leave a review.

Two days has passed since Hermione walked out of that hotel room. Two days for her to mull over the words Bellatrix had told her. The young lawyer was at wits end trying to cope with the flood of emotions those words brought onto her. Sadness, guilt, anger, and a twinge of happiness as well. That same day, after arriving back to her hotel suite, Hermione had spent the rest of her morning dodging calls and knocks on her door from all of her friends. She'd secluded herself as some sort of punishment for what she'd done to Bella. Was she really selfish in thinking this would only affect herself? She couldn't be, right? Bellatrix was an incredibly strong, independent, and fierce woman. She didn't need Hermione. So, there was no way she could have sacrificed as much as she'd implied. Hermione had over thought the entire situation to the point of physically making herself sick. She had threw up later that evening and later that night after ordering room service for dinner. The following day, the young woman told herself that she'd just leave it alone. The situation between them was over with and she shouldn't spend the rest of this week depressed over a few words her old lover told her. Bellatrix was her past, their issues will have to stay in the past as well. One drunken night couldn't be the reason for her falling off her game again. Hermione just wouldn't allow it.

Standing in front of her mirror, Hermione gazed at her reflection, deciding whether or not she looked suitable to join everyone at the hotel's restaurant for brunch. What stared back at her was the appearance of a slightly pale young woman with really bad frizzy hair. Of course, Hermione showered and washed her hair yesterday. She however, neglected to brush out some of the tangles or even blow dry it. She wasn't in the mood really, to exert much energy. So, she decided to throw her curls into a messy bun and apply foundation and a little concealer to hide her paleness and the dark rings forming under her eyes. Sure, she wasn't sleeping well, but no one really needed to know that. Hermione knew that once she left this room her friends would be worried and asking her questions and she didn't want her appearance giving them more reason to worry. Grabbing her jeans jacket and her cell phone, Hermione exited the room only to be greeted by Ginny and Draco.

The two best friends had been terribly worried for their friend. Many scenarios ran through their heads for the past two days wondering what could have drove the girl into seclusion. Ginny wondered if something had happened at the club after they left by herself, this then made Draco extra worried and guilty. He berated himself for not bringing her back to the hotel with him and Ginny when Hermione had offered to tag along. The boy didn't know what he'd do if something traumatic actually occured to their friend. He would never forgive himself. Ginny wasn't far from the same mindset, honestly. Their worried glances made Hermione feel a little guilty. Yeah, she wanted to be alone for the past couple days but she should of at least told them that. They were her friends, they deserved a heads up, if only to make sure their minds didn't jump to rash conclusions. Smiling weakly, Hermione hugged her two friends and apologized for closing them out. "Guys, I'm sorry for ignoring you both for the past few days. I promise nothing bad happened. I just ran into an old friend of mine and with work keeping me up to date on things, I just needed some time alone."

Hermione hadn't necessarily lied, but she also didn't elaborate on the truth either. She did in fact focus on work while she spent her second day locked away from the world. She'd left her firm partner Luna Lovegood to oversee all of the colleagues case assignments and instructed the girl to email her notes on the status of current court cases. They were also starting to intern law students as well and she needed to select a few very promising candidates for that opportunity.

Ginny nodded her head, seeming to be fine with that answer. Draco wasn't. "Are you sure you're fine, Mione? I know you didn't get back until morning and so w-" Hermione had cut him off with another hug. Chuckling she kissed the boy on the cheek and said "Awww, was Dragon worried for me? How cute." grabbing both of their hands, Hermione looked her friends in the face and said as clearly as possible, hoping they understand, " I promise, I am alright. I ended up spending the night with that friend I ran into at the club. Please don't stress it." Both Draco and Ginny glanced at each other and with a shrug decided to drop the conversation. As they made their way out of the hotel, Draco made a mental note to give Harry and Ron the run down on Hermione's disappearance over the past two days. Ginny was already texting Nymphadora as they entered the car. "Who was that friend you ran into, anyways? Someone we know?" Draco asked. He was only trying to make conversation since it seemed Hermione was drifting off into her head. Something was on her mind and he wanted to know but allowed her to have her space as well.

"Hmm, not really. It was someone I had met during Law school when we were around 20-21" Hermione responded without looking at either friend. She'd taken to staring out of the car window.

"Oh, so was this one of your flings again? Finally, decided to get shagged after 84 years" Hermione laughed at the reference and turned to Ginny and Draco. Both friends were smiling as well, happy that they seemed to have lifted the other girl's spirits. They really did care deeply for her. Pulling up to the restaurant Hermione realised that she didn't know who was joining them. "Wait, exactly who else is joining us for Brunch today aside from Harry and Ron?"

"Well, it's me, you, Draco, Harry, Ron, Andy, Dora, Cissy, and I believe Bellatrix as well." Ginny informed her. Hermione almost tripped over her feet upon exiting the car after hearing that Bellatrix would be joining them. "Oh! I almost forgot, Fleur will also be there." Hermione nodded. Her mind was reeling at the thought of seeing Bellatrix after the other day. She wanted to hide away again. Hermione scolded herself for being so stupid. Of course Bellatrix would show up, it was her nephew's wedding week activities. Thinking back on it, she was foolish to even be surprised at seeing her in the club that night too. But how come no one mentioned her being here in Vegas? Hermione would have taken extra care to not run into the older woman had she known. Approaching the table, Hermione noted that they were the last to arrive. 'Did I really take that long to get ready this morning?' Hermione thought to herself. Despite being grateful for her friends waiting on her so she didn't have to arrive so late alone, Hermione still felt slightly guilty for it. After everyone at the table exchanged pleasantries, the food was served.

Bellatrix had been silent after noticing Hermione. The girl barely looked in her direction all afternoon. All the attempts to engage in conversation with her was short and cordial. It broke Bellatrix's heart. Naturally, she knew that she should be upset with Hermione, furious even, but her heart wouldn't allow her. All Bellatrix could do, as she watched the young woman talk and laugh with everyone around, was think of ways to speak with her without causing a scene. A nudge from her right brought Bellatrix out of her mind. Andromeda had been watching her keenly. The middle sister was very privy to detail and she always noticed the tension between her older sister and Hermione. No, she never spoke openly about it, at first, but then her suspicions only made more sense after the two had parted ways. With Bellatrix's mood change at the time and Cissy telling her how Draco has been worried because of Hermione, all the pieces seemed to have clicked for Andy. She was sure something was there between the two. Now sitting here, witnessing their interaction with each other, she could only think it was due to being apart from each other for so long. Turning to her sister, Andy whispered "Stop watching her like some kicked puppy. It's creepy and also leaves me to question what happened for you to look at her like that." Bellatrix sighed, she had to tell someone. She needed help figuring out how to fix this, even if she wasn't sure what went wrong to begin with.

"Andy, I have to tell you something. But not here. I had promised not to say anything to anyone but I just... I don't know what I'm doing anymore." Andromeda sat back and surveyed the look on her older sister's face. The tone of Bellatrix's voice had set warning bells off in her head. Her big sister needed her and Andy was worried. For as long as she could remember, she'd never heard the woman sound so fragile. Grabbing Bella's hand and abruptly standing, Andromeda looked to the other guests and excused the two sisters. "Sorry for the interruption, Bella and I are going to take a walk through the garden out back for a few. We'll be right back."

Narcissa had saw the two sisters whispering and saw the look on Bella's face. She was worried too. Seeing their baby sister stand up, Andromeda had Bellatrix wait at the door while she went to Narcissa, "Is everything alright, Andy? I saw you and Bella talking. Is she okay? Can I join you guys as well?" Andromeda placed a hand on the blonde's shoulders in an attempt to calm her down. There was no reason to have her stress out. Andy and Bella both knew how easily worried Narcissa can get when it comes to her family. "Cissy, it's alright. Bella just wants to discuss something personal with me. It's nothing bad, but" glancing back at the table, Andy said "I don't think you should come. We promise to fill you in later when all the kids are gone and it's just us. Besides, I know after your night with Fleur that the both of you are still famished." With a smirk and wink, Andromeda chuckled as she ushered her now blushing younger sister back to the table and turned to join Bellatrix in the garden.

"So, what's up with you and Hermione?" Andy asked. The sisters had spent the last few minutes exploring the garden in a comfortable silence until she decided to get to the issue. Bellatrix sighed. Part of her felt like she was betraying Hermione by telling Andy, but Bella couldn't do it anymore. She was stretching herself too thin now and she needed to release some of the stress some how. "I slept with her the other night." Andromeda wasn't surprised but to hear that this occurred recently threw the middle sister of a little. Quirking an eyebrow she looked at Bellatrix, wanting the entire story. "Huh, I had my suspicions but I-, No. When did this start?" Bellatrix was confused. She'd stopped walking when Andy commented. Were they being that obvious before? If Andy had her suspicions, did everyone else have theirs? Andy's snapping brought Bellatrix back to the present. There was no use in stressing over something that was no longer within her control. Something that no longer was.

"The night of the family dinner, when I had first met her. When you all left the library to go home, I had stopped her and gave her my number. At first, we just talked. She expressed her intentions of not wanting anything romantic or sexual with me and I respected it. But, after sometime, I don't know. The lines became blurry at some point and the tension thickened each time we met up. Whether it was during dinner at Cissy's or when her and I would go out for dinner, I'd lost my heart to her Andy-" Bellatrix was breathing hard. Her and Andy had stopped walking altogether and decided to sit on one of the benches near the rose bushes. Andy saw how hard it was for her sister to talk about this. She wrapped her arms around the older sister in a sign of support. Bellatrix continued "She wanted to keep our situation private because she thinks it'll mess up her friendship with Draco, and I respected that makes this all the more scarier was that we hadn't even started sleeping with each other yet. Hermione was still on the fence and refused many of my advances. I never pushed or questioned her about them. I had eventually decided to let her make the move herself. Which she did, the night of Cissy's New Years Party. Since that night, we'd gotten even closer. I had never felt so complete in my life. Unfortunately, that didn't last long."

Andy was extremely worried for her sister. She now understood why she was such a wreck those months all those years back. Her Bella was in love. Andy's heart weeped for her. Cradling her sister's face in the palm of her hands, Andy calmly smiled and wiped the few tears that streamed down Bellatrix's face, nodding for her to continue. It would be good for her to get it all off her chest. "It was during the months before her examination for licensing. She was studying a lot and I honestly didn't mind. We'd been spending nearly a year and a half together, she had space in my closet for her things. Her study books were all over my library. For fuck's sakes Andy" Bellatrix let out a harsh breath and grabbed her hair at the scalp. Andy kept silent and waited. "I was already thinking about making us official. I was making plans for how we could introduce our relationship to you guys, and she just- she just drops the bomb on me-us. She just ended us, Andy." Heartbreak. That's what Andromeda felt for her older sister. Who would've guessed that it would take Hermione Granger of all people to break the one and only Bellatrix Black. Wrapping her arm around her sister, Andy pulled Bella into her chest. She ran her fingers through the raven curls hoping to calm the woman down. She wasn't really sure what to say just yet. She knew the story wasn't really over and so she was going to wait until the very end. The gasps from Bellatrix and the shaking of her shoulders told Andy that the older woman was indeed crying. Continuing to run her fingers through her hair, Andy whispered "It's okay, Bella. I know how much it hurts. But don't worry, you will get through this. I'll make sure you do." Sniffling a few times, Bellatrix continued her story. Although muffled a bit by Andy's shoulder, Bella said "She wanted us to go our separate ways. Claimed that it wouldn't be fair to stay together because the sneaking around and lying was adding stress onto her anxiety about the exams coming up. She thought it was best if we just called it quits considering it was never going to last. And I said nothing Andy. I agreed because I wanted her to be happy. I saw how hard she worked to get to where she was. If I was part of the reason why she possibly failed, I wouldn't forgive myself. So, without fighting I said goodbye."

Andy looked down as she felt Bellatrix raise her head. The streaks of dry tears on her cheeks and puffy red eyes made Andy want to cry. Bella was in so much pain. In a small voice Bella asked "Why can I never do things correctly?" Andy couldn't take it. She looked away from those broken eyes and stared up at the sky. She needed to control her emotions. If she was going to help Bella figure this out, she needed a clear mind to look at the situation from all angles. "When I saw her at one of my clubs the other night, I knew I should have stayed away from her. She was with her friends but then they had to leave and so I thought 'There's no harm in having a good night'. Well wrong! We ended up spending the night together talking and having fun. We even ended up fucking in the middle of my friend's restaurant after closing. The morning after, she blamed me for fucking things up for her. I couldn't even get angry with her, even when I pointed out how it was her who wanted all of it to happen." Andy wanted to make a joke about them having sex in public but knew that it wasn't the right moment for it, another time the middle sister told herself. " But now, here we are. That morning after, she wanted us to go back to being acquaintances, and I can't do that Andy. I can't sit in a room with her and pretend that I don't know her as well as I do. See her and not want to hold her, or kiss her, or joke around like we did. It hurts way too much." Sitting up now that she's finally got the heavy stuff off her chest and her tears seem to have stopped running, Bellatrix looked towards the sky, taking in a deep breath as she concluded "And now, I don't want to give up. I don't know how I'm going to do it, but I will fight for her, Andy. Hermione has my heart and no matter how much she tries to hide it, I know she's already given hers to me as well."

"Bella...I- Are you sure about this?"

"Yes. I've never been more sure about anything in my life, Andy."

"Okay, then I'll help you" Bellatrix's face barely had a chance to show how happy she was to hear those words before Andromeda cut her off "But first, you will have to tell Cissy. And before you say something, think deeply about this. Yes, Cissy's son is bestfriends with the woman you're in love with. She is also your sister and would want to not only help you but hear about your relationship from you and no one else. She wanted to come out here too you know. It'll upset her if you don't explain things to her soon. I know for a fact she'll understand." Bellatrix sat there in thought for a couple of minutes, she was slightly exhausted from all of the emotional expressing she did recently and so her ability to think was slow. Finally agreeing that Andromeda was right, she nodded her head in agreement. Standing up, Andromeda pulled her older sister up into a hug. Kissing her on the cheek as she stepped away as Andy said "Okay, now that this issue has been discussed, why don't we head back in. I'm pretty sure everyone is wondering why we were gone for so long." Although her heart still ached for the younger woman, Bellatrix smiled, glad that she had her sister to help her find a way back into her lover's heart.

Smiling at Andromeda as they approached the table, Bella whispered "Thank you, Andy. For listening to me and holding me while I made a mess of your dress" Andromeda gave Bellatrix a faux scandalised look which caused the older of the two to laugh. Narcissa spotted the two sisters as they neared the table. Her gaze locked onto Andy's after noticing Bella's slightly puffy eyes. A perfectly shaped eyebrow shot up in silent question, without missing a beat, Andy mouthed that they would talk later. With a huff, Narcissa turned back to the table. She suddenly wanted this to end. Her curiosity was piqued, so was her concern. Whatever Andy and Bella spoke about made the older one cry. She couldn't recall the last time that happened, she wanted to know why.

Hermione had saw when Bellatrix and Andromeda returned. She'd noticed how puffy Bella's eyes were and the sullen expression on Andy's face. Hermione was worried but couldn't bring herself to ask either women what was wrong. The voice in her head suggested that they had spoken about her, but Hermione stopped listening to that voice since she walked out of Bella's hotel suite. Something else could have possibly been the issue, surely. Having not touched her food much, Hermione stood up excusing herself from the group. Seeing Bellatrix look so broken made her sick. She couldn't stay much longer. "My apologies, but I haven't been feeling well lately, and I-" while staring around the table at the various pairs of eyes on her, Hermione's eyes locked with jet black ones and her voice faltered. "I- I'm just gonna head back to my room and lay down for a bit. I-" Tearing her gaze away from the woman that haunted her dreams, Hermione fought back the stinging feeling of tears in her eyes. Why was she even crying? "I'm sorry guys." Ignoring the calls of her friends, Hermione walked briskly out of the restaurant and hopped into the first car she saw, instructing the driver to take her back to the hotel. As the car pulled away, Hermione let out a shaky breath as her tears fell continuously down her face. Will she be able to bounce back from this? If it was the right decision, why did her heart hurt so much seeing Bellatrix in such a state. What can she possibly do to get rid of this feeling?

Andromeda watched Bellatrix the entire time as Hermione excused herself and made her exit. Placing a hand on her sister's thigh in support, she whispered "Don't worry to deeply about it, Bella. You'll be able to comfort her soon. Just hold on a little longer." Bellatrix took a deep breath and nodded her head. She will stay strong. If she wanted this to work, she'll have to listen to Andy every step of the way and know when to take a step back. At this very moment, running after her pet would only make matters worse. Even if it doesn't stop her thoughts from worrying about the younger woman, Bellatrix found solace in Andy's hand on her thigh. It kept her grounded, something she needed when facing such emotions.

P.S: How do you guys like the title change? Does it work? I had another name in mind but I was busy at the time I thought of it and couldn't write it down and so I forgot. lol but yeah...