CARPE NOCTEM / THE ARGUMENT / CH. 13
„Right, but I still cannot understand why you would agree to that," Astoria furrowed her brows, clearly confused. „I mean, are you ashamed?" She was glaring at Hermione from the dusty floor, completely ignorant of her mauve dress slowly getting thick with grime.
It'd been a while since they left the ball and found a refuge in a room guarded by an old, half-damaged staircase, a supposed getaway to the Muggle club. The space was rather small, consisting of nothing but a rectangular mirror hanging on the scrappy wallpaper.
Hermione wouldn't normally participate in such an escapade but found it necessary to get Astoria away from everyone until she was aware of all the reasons why—at least the main ones. She was halfway through her monologue when the mutual understanding went swirling in a completely wrong direction.
„Of course, I'm not ashamed!" She stuck out her chin, frustrated the girl wasn't getting her point. „I was just trying to protect Draco's family from the—" What, exactly? The humiliation? The shame of introducing a mudblood into the royal society?
'You're a hypocrite, Hermione, do you know that?'
„—Oh, nevermind, it's complicated!" she finished evasively, having no clue herself about the rest of her sentence. She glanced over at Draco, searching for some support, but to her surprise, the blond boy didn't really feel like helping.
„What is so complicated?" he asked bitterly. „Honestly, I don't get it either; me, mother, even my father—we've all agreed to take you here under your own name because we respect you enough to come forward. The only one with any objections was aunt Bella." His eyes were clear and determined, shifting between Hermione and her clenched fists. "Let me ask you then, who exactly did you want to protect? Her? I can assure you she is more than capable of taking care of herself on her own."
„Oh, please!" Hermione let out a forced laugh, purposefully ignoring the last statement. „Do you really think your parents took me here because they would respect me?! Snap out of it! They did it because of you—because," she was gesturing crazily, trying to make her point, "they love you so much they were willing to face all the humiliation so that their spoiled little kid could be all shiny and happy."
As soon as those words left her mouth, she regretted every single one of them. Senseless panic stemming from not understanding her own train of thoughts was taking her emotions by storm, making her overreact and say things she didn't even mean. At least not like that.
„Wow," Draco whistled, clearly taken aback by her sudden outburst, „you know what? I cannot keep up anymore… at first, you are offended because I can't admit I befriended a half-blood and when I do, and proudly so, you freak out and hide behind gold tinsel. What is it with you?! That Granger I know would never do anything like that—she'd consider it degrading."
Hermione's jaw was tensing from anger. The anger that Draco, giving her a piece of his mind, was absolutely right. He'd come a long way and seeing how he ignored her chilly remarks about him being infantile showed quite the opposite, but she wasn't about to admit it that easily.
„What makes you think I don't?" Hermione ignored Astoria's hand tugging at her wrist. „I'm just trying to be a little bit more understanding. Do you have any idea how disastrous this could have ended up? Your parents would get so dragged for this. They would lose the status, lose everything they've spent their whole lives building! Think about that for a second." She shook Astoria's hand, leering into Draco's face.
„Losing and building what?!" He raised his voice. „The fake friends, the artificial respect earned for their name and not for their actions? What's that good for? You've told me once none of this matter. The real life is about something else. Love and— and being true to oneself! So let me ask you, did you forget all about that?"
Hermione opened her mouth in surprise, not at all prepared for such an eye-opening lecture. Draco was absolutely right making her drop those valid arguments she still had up her sleeve.
Like a drowning man clutching at his straw, she shook her head, striking one last time. „You still don't get it, do you? It's not about you or me. It's something bigger! I'm still against the supremacy, but this is a huge step and if I remember correctly, you too didn't come forward just like that." Hermione snapped her fingers. „You can't force people into doing things you want and then say they are fine with it! It doesn't work like that!"
„Okay, that's enough!" Astoria finally decided to cut in, standing from the floor. „I think your friend is right. Look, Draco." She turned to him, using her voice with a lot of care. „You know what we're like—the whole society of purebloods—we are not the tolerant type. The gossips that would spread? They could have fatal consequences."
„That's quite a big word, don't you think?" He raised his eyebrows, not really interested in anything she had to say.
„Not at all. I'm not really consecrated, but I don't think your father or your mother have any friends outside the circles." Astoria shrugged. „Just think about it—he'd go through hell at work for this, might even lose his position, and you could forget about attending events like this ever again."
„Oh my, that would really be an atrocious tragedy!" Draco widened his eyes, covering his mouth with his left hand. „I think I'll die if I won't dance a melting waltz ever again!" He rolled his eyes, snorting.
„You're not funny," Hermione noted, sending him a nasty look. Finally, his nature was back, making her feel comforted she was such an arse to him before.
„And Hermione," Astoria faced the girl. „I'm sure it wasn't easy to agree to do something like that, but I have to second Draco's opinion. You really shouldn't go against yourself like that. There's nothing wrong with being a half-blood and if—"
„Which side are you taking again? You've just negated your entire statement, so what should I take out of it?" Hermione snapped at the girl, folding her arms. Who does she think she is? She's not even involved enough to be able to review the whole situation objectively.
"There's no need to lecture me. I told you I did it only because I didn't want to ruin his family's name." She nodded towards Draco, who was sporting a matching scowl. „That's all! I can assure you I'm in no way ashamed and I'm perfectly aware there's nothing wrong with being a half-blood, so thank you, but you better back off!" Hermione finished but gasped, taken aback by a sudden hug she had just got dragged into. „What...?"
Astoria grabbed her elbows and pulled her close enough to wrap her into her arms, resting her chin against her shoulder.
„What are you doing?" The brunette choked out, trying to release her body from this ridiculous situation.
„Just let it out, I'm here for you!" Astoria said soothingly, gently patting her back and making Hermione's eyebrows shoot so high they almost disappeared in her loosened hair floating around her forehead. She tightened the hug, pressing herself even more against Hermione and radiating so much heat it got through the thick skin and eased the brunette's anger away.
Draco, who was watching this whole scene with the same surprised look, couldn't help but burst out laughing the minute he caught Hermione's eyes.
„See? That's the attitude!" Hermione more felt than heard Astoria's voice, as the rosy cheeks wrinkled under the weight of the smile against her ear. She took a deep breath, inhaling the fresh scent of jasmine when the girl finally decided to let go of her unresponsive form.
„What the hell was that?" Draco asked, still laughing, his eyes shifting from the smiling Astoria to the frowning Hermione.
„A comforting hug," the blonde explained, shrugging as she widened her smile. „I thought she'd use one, it helps with those unbearable gallu demons mumbling inside her stomach."
„What did you say your name was again?" Draco inquired, pretending to hunt in his memory. „Luna Lovegood?" he snorted, ready to exchange looks with Hermione who, however ludicrous she found the situation, wasn't really in a mood to support his jokes.
Draco's smile froze and melted into an innocent expression—and that was all it took to relax Hermione's tensing jaw as well. She didn't even understand why she had gotten mad in the first place. She should have been proud of Draco and the things he had said and not be flipping out like a mad woman. These emotional unbalances were getting out of hands.
„Friends again?" Astoria put on a wide smile, shifting her eyes between Draco and Hermione, who only sighed, snorting. „Aww, how lovely!" The girl clapped her hands, making Draco turn his back to her, surreptitiously tapping his temple only for Hermione to see.
She suppressed a chuckle, biting her lips. The girl really was an astral twin of Loony Lovegood.
„Now, when we have this sorted out, what about our adventure?" Astoria asked with expectation.
„Eh," Hermione cleared her throat, trying to buy some time by brushing non-existent dust off of her dress. She really had no need to creep into some club full of only Merlin knew what people. She'd never gone out partying—it just wasn't among the things she'd consider entertaining—and the girls she knew had never asked her out with them anyway, so there wasn't even an opportunity to change her mind, but still, who would want that?
„I don't think it's a good idea," she started carefully. „Look, we're not supposed to go anywhere. If we disappear, your parents will freak out and I can't even imagine the consequences if they find us having fun with jolly old muggles down there."
„Oh, I'm sure they'll just think we've only gone out or something." Astoria's eyes went into the puppy mode. „We won't be there for long—just want to see how different it is from the balls I'm used to attending."
„Oh, very different, believe me! It's not at all formal—there is heavy drinking and smoking involved and..." 'And many other things you don't want to see', Hermione thought to herself. "... and it's just not safe—and hey, what about our dresses! We'll attract their attention immediately, and that's right the opposite we'd aim for!"
„We'll just take a look." Draco took Astoria's side, inching closer. "And then we're gone! Now when you described it, it seems like a hell of a blast—I cannot miss seeing that!"
Hermione let out a frustrated sigh. „The robes, Draco!" She pointed at her white floating dress, aggravated.
„That can be easily arranged!" Astoria joined in. „Look." She took a few steps until she stopped directly in front of the old patina mirror. Hermione was watching her with caution, already knowing what she was about to do.
The blonde girl outstretched her right arm, pausing just a few inches from the dusty surface. „I'm left-handed so if anything happens, I can still do stuff." She giggled and then slowly put her hand right through the surface. The glass rippled like water disrupted by a rock falling through. Small circles started to form, dancing around the wrist of Astoria's arm.
„I told you my father wouldn't lie about this!" She bit her lips and squeaked excitedly. „See you in a bit!" She said before jumping with full force into the mirror, leaving only the wild circles floating across the surface.
„Merlin..." Draco whispered, peering into the looking glass, trying to find any signs of the girl. „Do you think she's dead? I didn't want to stop her, you know, just in case. She was annoying anyw... OUCH!" He rubbed his arm, the place Hermione had just punched.
„A-Astoria?" The brunette called hesitantly, leaning in.
„Boo!" Astoria's face suddenly appeared in the middle of the mirror, scaring the hell out of both of them. „Ah, you should have seen yourselves!" The girl cracked up laughing. „Come on, I've found the box!" She retreated, leaving the glass rippling once again.
Hermione exchanged looks with Draco.
„Pity..." He sighed as he closed his eyes, inching towards the mirror.
„Draco, no! We really should get back!" Hermione tried to stop him, seizing his arm. „This is going to end badly!"
„Nuh-uh. You owe me for calling me a spoiled brat, remember?" Draco shook his head, pausing.
„But that's not fair!"
„Granger, don't be a spoilsport, and live a little!" He rolled his eyes. „We'll be back before you say 'Draco is the hottest man alive'."
„I cannot imagine the situation that would force me to say anything like that," Hermione pointed sardonically.
Draco only smiled, moonwalking into the mirror. „Well then, prepare for a bloody lifetime of a party!" He winked before disappearing as well.
'Why am I always the only responsible person in the room? Why?' Hermione thought desperately, hypnotising the fading circles left by Draco's form.
'Thinking before doing! Even though when I think about that, it's never gotten me anywhere, so...'
A sudden scenario formed inside her head. Narcissa and Lucius, catching their only son armwrestling a huge motorcycle driver. She snorted against her own will. More and more hilarious pictures started to appear in the imaginative part of her brain.
It's gonna be just a second.
She approached the mirror with a beating heart and put her hand through the surface. A funny sound escaped her mouth as the mirror closed over her wrist, making her feel like having her hand stuck inside the cold raspberry jello her neighbour, Mrs Quincey, used to serve when babysitting her on occasion.
Hermione squeaked, feeling a palm grasp her own and pull her through. She shuddered when the unpleasant feeling washed over her whole body.
Stepping into a dark, stone corridor, almost identical to the one leading into the Hogwarts dungeons, Hermione had to blink a few times to adjust to the small amount of light coming from a poor number of torches hanging from the walls. She averted her gaze, feeling a gentle tugging somewhere below her waist. It was Astoria's slender hand, pulling her by the dress towards Draco and an irregular wooden box glued to the stones.
„Nice." The boy smirked upon seeing her. „Ready to break some rules?"
Hermione ignored him, folding her arms.
„My dad told me they used to go here all the time!" Astoria chimed, putting her hand inside the box through the single hole positioned on top of the wood. „Once he..."
„Wait, your father told you about this place? I thought you found it on the internet," Hermione frowned.
„Well, technically. He told me about it, but I searched it up to learn about the muggle perspective on the place," Astoria explained, digging deeper. "Did you know they had a laser show going on?" She paused her mining activity, opening her mouth as if someone had just told her a huge secret. „All without magic!" She shook her head, giggling, continuing to browse through the insides of the box.
Draco drew closer to Hermione, whispering. „What's a laser show?"
„Oh, those are the colourful lights you should be extremely cautious about! No matter what, you cannot let it hit you or else..." She gave him a significant look, dragging her index finger across her throat. He gulped, quickly averting his wide eyes to Astoria. Hermione smirked to herself, feeling her mood scoop a little higher.
"Finally!" The blonde witch called out, pulling a butterscotch-coloured skirt out of the box. „For you, I think," she said dead serious, handing it to Draco who, even though looking hesitant, took the items out of Astoria's hands. Hermione was tempted to let him wear it, however, the kindness hiding inside her heart was just too strong.
„No, that's for you." She handed the skirt back to the girl, who meanwhile found another gem.
„What's this?" She asked, observing a nude leotard Hermione snatched from her hands before the girl would set her mind on wearing it. Goodness, one would think purebloods would have some sense of fashion in them.
"May I?" Hermione approached the box, swapping with Astoria who looked rather disappointed to leave her job. The brunette went searching through the box, pulling out the worst pieces of clothing she had ever seen. After a few unsuccessful tries, she was finally able to put together three decent-looking outfits.
„You know, we don't have to get changed completely," Astoria informed them as she tried to detect the front of the dark blouse Hermione had chosen for her to match the yellow skirt. „We're just supposed to put them over our dresses. It's going to adjust—we won't be even able to tell we are wearing something under this muggle garment."
"Here." Hermione helped the girl to turn the blouse over and went back to her own white shirt and navy jeans.
„Damn, I don't even see myself entirely, but I still can tell I'll be the best-looking man in the house, my friends," Draco stated, curling his lips downwards, observing his leather trousers and making both girls laugh.
The trio quickly put their clothes on, Astoria and Draco stealing a glance here and there, making sure they were doing the right thing. After their robes completely disappeared under the layers of shirts and pants, they looked at each other, nervous smiles playing on everyone's lips.
„Dear old Merlin, my heart is beating so fast I can't even stay still!" Astoria beamed with excitement, shifting on her feet, infecting those two as well.
Hermione rubbed her hands together, feeling the butterflies tickling her ribs. „Ready?"
Astoria gritted her teeth, smiling so hard it was impossible not to reciprocate. She took Hermione's hand, intertwining their fingers, and pulled her forward deeper into the corridor. She turned around to snatch Draco's hand as well and dragged a very reluctant smile out of him.
They were scurrying in silence, hand in hand, their hearts beating like crazy. It wasn't every day that underaged wizards went partying with muggles.
Barely two minutes of their walk had passed when they ran into the dead end, spotting a simple, seedy door in front of them. Looking at one another, they wordlessly decided it was Astoria who would have the privilege to open it.
"Three, two, one..." She took a deep breath, her big shiny eyes meeting Draco's. "Let's go," she whispered, pulling at the handle.
A sudden sound of old cheerful music hit their ears, filling their stomachs with even more butterflies—there were noise, laughter, and screams of joy.
Astoria squeaked, setting a foot in as the first one. Hermione and Draco looked at each other. They followed the girl, inhaling the scent of vanilla powder wafting from the artificial mist dragging across the floor. Walking further in, they appeared right next to a bar full of youngsters and a few older-looking people dancing hilariously in groups on the dance floor.
„What is this?!" An amused chuckle escaped Draco's lips, which suddenly turned into a gasp as he quickly kneeled down upon spotting a blue flash coming from the lights attached to the ceiling.
Hermione laughed, pulling him up. „I was just joking! It's harmless," she shouted through the music and in between her own laughs „it's just for fun!"
Draco opened his mouth, trying to appear offended, but couldn't help himself and laughed as well. „You're the worst!"
„Well, maybe I am the worst, but you're certainly not the 'best-looking guy in the house', as you put it!"
„You know what that means? We're staying the whole bloody night!" Draco raised his eyebrows, smirking, not even a little bit offended.
„Okay, what do we do now?!" Astoria turned her gleaming face towards Hermione, expecting her to lead the way.
„Well, we saw what's the club like, so we may go back," she suggested hesitantly.
„You're joking, right?" Draco opened his mouth agape. „This is the best day of my life, we're not going anywhere!"
„Blimey! Look at this young fellow!" Someone patted Draco's back, making him widen his eyes into the size of plates. They all focused behind the boy, seeing a young man with his arm placed over Draco's shoulder.
Maybe I wasn't that wrong about that arm-wrestling thing, Hermione thought, a little unnerved.
„Drinks on me, Mads," the man shouted over at the barmaid. He brought his face closer to Draco's, smiling with nothing but pure friendliness radiating from his pretty, even though drunk eyes. „Lucky man... lucky man." He laughed, unhooking his arm, walking back to the bar. „Give those kids a little taste of Malibu!" he ordered, looking over at them. „Come along, friends!"
The trio looked at each other, not knowing what to do. „I don't know about this," Hermione hesitated.
„Hermione, look me in the eyes and tell me. When you're old, sitting in your chair, telling stories to your teenage grandchildren—what will you tell them?!"
Hermione tilted her head, confused.
„Exactly! You need to make some memories, girl! Come on, don't be so cautious!"
„I am not," Hermione shouted, glad to have the music to back up her screaming. A memory of Bellatrix appeared inside her mind.
Don't be so timid all the time.
Timid? She would show her who's timid!
„All right, the hell with the rules," Hermione announced, walking towards the bar as the first one.
„That's it! There you go, young lady!" The man welcomed her with outstretched arms and a smile plastered on his face. He pointed at a shot of a transparent colour.
„My friend!" He smiled even wider when Draco joined in. „And your pretty lass, there, this is on me! Have a good night, guys!" He smiled at them warmly but suddenly frowned. „Oh, I almost forgot I was heading to the restroom." He danced away, singing to the tune of the music.
„Bloody hell," Draco announced, snorting, „I've just talked to a muggle! This is brilliant!" he laughed. „To us?" He pulled the shot up, raising an eyebrow.
„We are underaged!" Hermione shook her head, forgetting all about her decision to have fun.
„So what?!" It was the barmaid, Mads. „I'm not going to tell anyone!" She shouted, dancing behind her counter. Draco smiled, earning a wink from her.
„I've already said that, but this is the best bloody day ever! Come on, Granger, do not disappoint me!"
„It's just one drink and we're leaving!" The girl warned, taking the tiny glass into her hand.
„To us," Astoria shouted.
"And muggles!" Draco joined in, making Hermione close her eyes and chuckle under her breath.
„To us and muggles," she repeated, clinking her glass against Astoria's and Draco's. She brought the liquid to her lips, feeling a strong scent of coconut. As soon as the liquor touched her tongue, she could taste the white rum she had only had a drop of when added to the cakes Mrs Quincey loved to bake. She swallowed, feeling a pleasant burning sensation as the drink travelled down her throat.
„Oh my, this is so good," Astoria shouted, expressing both Hermione's and Draco's sentiments out loud.
„I think we should dance," she suggested, not even waiting for an answer, „I like this song!" She grabbed their hands, dragging them to the dance floor, giving them a zero chance to protest.
Hermione recognised the tune immediately. 'Come on Eileen' was her grandfather's favourite song. They used to do silly dances together in the living room, making her grandma laugh so hard she broke the chair once.
Had it been any other song, Hermione would hardly agree to dance like this in a crowd full of total strangers, but the memory mixing with a warming feeling inside her stomach made her act otherwise.
She smiled at Astoria, gladly taking her hand, swirling around. Draco's palm got also trapped when she made him do the same pirouette, cheering at the elegant demonstration. Looking quite surprised, he chuckled, seizing Astoria's hand. They soon joined the omnipresent noise of shouting, almost crying from laughter. They were having so much fun people even made a circle, having them dancing in the middle and applauding and cheering at them.
Astoria almost fell as the swirls became too much, but Draco caught her right in time and they hugged randomly, laughing on each other's shoulder.
Hermione was smiling widely, glad to see them getting along.
All too soon, the song was over.
„Look, I know we're having fun, but we really should get going," she noted apologetically, earning puppy eyes from both of them. „We cannot allow ourselves to stay here for so long. Remember? Your aunt is supposed to look after me. I don't want to know what she'd do if I..."
„Oh, Bellatrix? She is so charming!" Astoria smiled dreamily, earning a risen eyebrow from Hermione.
'Maybe to you.'
„Yeah, so charming," she parroted, trying to hold onto the sweetness still lingering on her tongue to bite the bitterness away. „Please, guys," Hermione tilted her head, using the same puppy eyes at them.
„Look how cute she is!" Astoria pinched the brunette's cheeks and pursed her lips, making Hermione's stomach even warmer.
„Hey, lovely!" She heard a man's voice behind her back. „Care to share your number with a lonely lad?"
„I'm sorry, we're leaving," Hermione replied, trying to avoid his eyes and move towards the door leading back into the corridor.
„Why so soon? You've just arrived!" She heard him follow them. „Hey, I'm talking to you!"
„Is there a problem? The lady said she's leaving, you back off!" Draco turned around, not able to keep his mouth shut anymore.
„What?" The young man laughed. „Is the blonde John Travolta here your boyfriend? That's why you're so cold, sweetie? Let him go, I'm sure I'd make a better—"
What exactly would be better Hermione never learnt, because the rest of his sentence faded in a chaos of noises. She turned around just in time to see Draco punch the guy and immediately turn his back to him, grabbing both Hermione's and Astoria's hands and dragging them to the door they had entered through.
He quickly pulled the handle, letting them run in first, and then joined, slamming the door with an unusual force.
„What was that?!" Hermione asked as they all collapsed on the floor, breathing hard.
„I punched the guy," the boy explained as if she hadn't seen it herself.
„But why?! There was no need for such an action!" she scolded him, still shocked.
„Hermione!" Astoria suddenly raised her voice. „This guy right here," she patted Draco's bicep, „he saved your arse! Literally: the man was about to grab your butt and this brave young man did what a true gentleman—well, wouldn't—but it was cool regardless!"
Hermione was gazing at the pair with widened eyes.
„Don't look at him like that, just say thank you!" Astoria nudged her, a smile creeping up her lips.
„Thank you," Draco let out, making Hermione snort.
„Not you," the brunette shook her head, now smiling herself. „Thank you, Draco! There..." She bowed to giggling Astoria.
„Come on now, we need to get back!" she reached out her hands, pulling both of them to their feet. They made their way back to the mirror, taking off their clothes, the girls trying to fix each other's hair.
„Right," Hermione exhaled, quite satisfied with her recreation of a french braid on Astoria's head.
„Thank y...oh no, Hermione, your dress!" The blonde put a palm over her mouth. The young witch followed Astoria's gaze, spotting torn fabric across the entire length of her right leg.
„Bloody hell," she cursed, running her hand through the fragile fabric, „not this again! Nevermind, you two, run along, I'll join you after I fix the dress. Just cover up for me and say I needed to be alone for a moment."
„Can I help you somehow?" Astoria asked with concern.
„No, but it's very sweet of you! Now go on! I'll be there before you say 'Hermione was the best-looking guy in the house'," she winked at Draco, who chuckled.
„Right. We'll be at the tables."
They squeezed themselves through the glass, leaving Hermione alone, gazing after them. This side of the glass was completely transparent, allowing her to see anything that was happening inside the tiny room.
„What on Earth am I going to do with this," she said out loud, burying her face into her palms. She was no Bellatrix to swirl her wand and fix the dress which was completely beyond repair.
She took out her wand, thinking that if Ministry didn't care about the Protego charm, they wouldn't be alarmed about a simple mending spell. She tried Reparo, Lignum, The Sewing Spell, but none of that seemed to work.
Desperate, Hermione came to realise she didn't have any other choice but go and try to find Draco's mom to help her out. Her heart sank like a stone when she imagined the horror written all over Narcissa's face, but it was already too late to cry.
Taking a deep breath, she stood up, reaching out to touch the mirror.
Her hand paused, lingering.
She took a few quick steps away from the glass, tripped over her dress, and fell backwards. The door to the room swung open, revealing Bartemius Crouch Junior offering a breathtakingly beautiful woman to walk in before him.
Hermione's palm closed over her mouth, hoping they hadn't heard the noise she had caused upon her falling. She was pressed against the floor, breathing so shallow her heart was the loudest in the room.
If only she could roll over. Her spine was hurting like hell, forcing her to cry, but she suppressed even the tiniest of the sobs, watching the pair from her spot with her eyes full of tears.
Hermione had no clue why on Earth from all the places they ended up right here, but prayed for dear life it wasn't because of the Muggle club.
Dear Merlin, Bellatrix in a Muggle club.
She slowly lifted her arm, trying to wipe her tears off. The pain was slowly easing away, letting her breathe normally. She moved her leg carefully, silently rolled to the side of the cold walls, and pressed her back to the stone.
Fine. No one heard me.
She rubbed her back but stopped upon hearing Barty's laughter. She froze—up until now there wasn't a single sound coming from the other side of the mirror.
„...I mean it, Bellatrix," he let out, „what's stopping you?"
The girl closed her eyes, not really desiring to be a witness of a private conversation. She wanted to move away but her sweaty palm slipped, cutting her skin open. A warm stream of blood made its way to the surface, running down the soft skin. Hermione pressed her lips to the wound, trying to block the bleeding.
„Stopping me? Don't be ridiculous," Bellatrix replied, laughing arrogantly.
'No, no! I shouldn't be listening to any of this!' Hermione thought, covering her ears with her palms to only hear a faint ghost of Bellatrix's voice.
'That's it, I'll wait like this until they're gone.'
Unfortunately, there was an uninvited movement under Hermione's dress that made her jump to her feet, hitting the wooden box with her arm. „OUCH!"
Blimey!
Hermione's head snapped towards the mirror, but neither Bellatrix nor Barty seemed to have noticed anything unusual happening. Her gaze fell back to the ground, spotting a tiny mouse standing on its hind feet, holding a piece of a flax seed.
„You scared me," she whispered when she realised the noise wasn't coming out of the mirror. Coming closer to the rodent, she kneeled down, not even caring about the dress anymore. It was already all dirty from her fall anyway.
„I'm trapped, how about you," she asked, tilting her head to see the little creature better. Snorting, she shot a fleeting look towards the mirror, freezing on the spot.
The young man was prowling closer to Bellatrix, his mouth moving. Hermione couldn't make out any words, but the way he carried himself suggested this wasn't a simple friends' meeting.
Her eyes shifted to Bellatrix's amused smile and she suddenly felt her stomach catch on fire. It hurt and twisted, making her put a palm over it to ease the senseless pain away.
Private—not private, she'd forgotten all about her inner battle, hurrying towards the glassy surface.
„I don't care, you know that very well," Barty said softly, reaching out, resting his hand on Bellatrix's forearm, "damn, the things I'd do to you!" He inched even closer, his hand creeping around her waist to tug her in, pressing against her front, leaving just a tiny space between their faces.
Hermione gritted her teeth, her ears ringing, shutting all the outside sounds out.
'How dare he! I mean she!'
This was unacceptable! It wasn't even an hour since both talked to Rodolphus Lestrange and now they were all over each other like this! Poor man!
Surely, you're feeling like this because of that fellow you don't even know?
'Of course, I am!'
Then why the jealous feeling?
Hermione shook her head, trying to stop the annoying voice inside her mind from talking nonsense. It was simply the injustice, not jealousy! Why would she be jealous—she didn't even like this man or had any desire to have a secret relationship behind her husband's back.
You don't have a husband, Hermione.
„Just shut up," she hissed out loud, clenching her fists.
She was watching the pair without even wanting to but found herself so drawn to the situation she couldn't just look away.
Her breath hitched, the stomach jerked even more as her eyes followed Crouch, who was leaning forward and trying to kiss the woman in front of him.
Hermione let out a sigh of relief upon seeing Bellatrix pull away just in time, leaving his face frustrated and hungry. He tried one more time, but she leant back, travelling her hand over his, reaching behind, seizing his wrist. She pressed the right place, twisted the limb, and made the man fall to his knees, bringing a soothing feeling into Hermione's hurting stomach.
He hissed from the pain as she stopped behind him, leaning forward, twisting the hand even more. „Well, and these are the things I'd do to you, love." She smirked, leaning even closer, drawing more hisses from him. She smiled, brushing her cheek against his before releasing his hand.
Barty stood up immediately, turned around, and stepped back to the witch, pushing her against the wall.
The calmness washing over Hermione's stomach was gone again, replaced by the same, maybe even stronger ache as before.
Boom!
The man jumped backwards, waving his hands as if burned.
„Little boys, they never learn," Bellatrix chuckled, pursing her lips into a kiss before turning on her heel.
„You can't just leave, Bella!"
„Oh really," she called, walking away with such elegance Hermione couldn't stare anywhere else.
The girl waited, seeing the man leaning against the wall where Bellatrix stood just mere seconds ago, punching it, causing a few pieces of plaster fall on his head. The smart guy, however, quickly composed himself, realising that punching everything around him wouldn't bring the enchantress back. He ran a hand through his hair and stormed off after the witch.
Hermione let a few moments pass before she climbed out of the mirror, inhaling the alluring perfume that was still lingering in the air, making her head spin. She forced her feet towards the exit, lost in her mess of a mind, when the door opened, making her face a very surprised Bellatrix.
„What are you doing here," she hissed, quickly stepping forward, forcing the young witch to move back into the room.
„I..." Hermione's heart jumped into her throat, making it difficult to talk.
„Not a good time for your stuttering. What did you see?" Bellatrix raised her eyebrows, smirking when getting no answer out of Hermione. „Nevermind." She tilted her head. „I'll find a way to make you talk."
Sweethearts, I'm back, bringing you another chapter, which I hope you enjoyed reading as much as I did writing it! (I'll check for mistakes later, no time for that now, I'm hurrying away, just wanted to leave this to you :)
Huge thank you to everyone who took the time to review, follow, or fave this story! I love, I love you, I love you!
Can't even wait to hear your thoughts on the update!
with all my love, AP