Disclaimer: I own nothing.
Author's note: I am expecting some up roar from this chapter...Hermione is Muggle born...so to me it makes sense that she has everyday Muggle items in her home, and that she doesnt use magic for everything that she does. Narcissa is in Muggle clothes in this chapter. And I do not own the song either. Please continue to read a review.
Song: Unbroken-Demi Lovato...I do not own it. But it is a good song, I thought it sort of fit with what Hermione is really feeling on the inside about Bellatrix.
Wide Awake: Chapter 8
Hermione sat on her bed staring at the wall. She couldn't shake the thought of Bellatrix from her mind this time. Today had been a major break through and she was stunned to see that the older witch had actually opened up to her about Voldemort. Though Hermione already knew that he wasn't a Pure Blood, Bellatrix had been in the dark for quite a while, or maybe she wasn't, but refused to believe that it was actually true. In any case the information that she had given Hermione was a break through.
Hermione sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose; her head was starting to pound again. She was angry with herself for allowing her mind to drift to erotic thoughts about her new charge. She had felt them long ago when she was being tortured, but she never wanted to admit that she had those kinds of thoughts about Bellatrix. And finally admitting to Harry that she way gay was…well it was enough for one day. She changed out of her work clothes into sweat pants and a tank top, brushing her teeth before climbing into bed.
The next morning Hermione awoke with a start. Her body was drenched in sweat and the area between her legs was burning. She burst into tears.
"Not another one!" She yelled to her empty room.
Another wet dream about Bellatrix. She was sure that it was going to be the death of her. It was ridiculous; surely she wasn't this attracted to the older witch. It had to be something boarding on Stockholm syndrome. She had almost hugged Bellatrix during their last secession, and was almost willing to fuck her senseless on her desk. Deciding that today should be a magic free day, and since it was her day off, she got out of bed and jumped into the shower, then after a quick breakfast of a banana and a glass of water she changed into work out pants and a tank top.
"I will go for a run. Hopefully that will help with this frustration!" She thought as she laced up her running shoes and picked up her ipod.
She threw on a hoodie, put her long hair up in a pony tail, then set her ipod on her workout playlist and took off down the street.
Bellatrix rolled over in her bed; she hadn't slept well that night. Her groin was burning and her wrist and hand were aching.
She wasn't able to orgasm last night.
Bellatrix sighed in frustration. She had half a mind to make Narcissa take polyjuice potion and be done with it, but thought that by making her sister into the object of her nightly fuck off sessions was boarding on insane. Plus she knew that Narcissa would never go along with it. She groaned and got out of bed. She figured she would just have a cup of tea before going for a long walk in the snow.
"You look like hell." Narcissa said as Bellatrix walked into the kitchen.
"Good morning to you too Cissy." Bellatrix snapped pouring herself a cup of tea.
Narcissa's eyes narrowed, she studied her sister, intent on figuring out what had gotten into her this past week.
"I'm not going to tell you what is going on with me, SO DROP IT!" Bellatrix shouted.
Narcissa was taken aback, she knew that her sister was powerful, but she had no idea that Bellatrix could perform wandless Legilimency.
"I'm sorry Bella." Narcissa said quietly.
"Save it Narcissa, I don't want to hear it." Bellatrix said finishing her tea and leaving the room.
Narcissa sat there seething, she couldn't believe Bellatrix! Narcissa was determined to get to the bottom of this once and for all; she went upstairs and dressed in muggle clothes. She put her long blonde hair in a low ponytail, put on her boots and grabbed her pea coat. If she was lucky Hermione would be home and she would be able to get to the bottom of this. She stood outside the magical barrier surrounding her estate and thought:
Hermione Granger.
Hermione continued to run. The music pulsing through her as her feet hit the cold pavement, the air was freezing, cutting her lungs like shards of broken glass, but she didn't slow down. She kept going, pushing herself. The run wasn't working so far. Nothing she was doing was driving Bellatrix from her mind. Not even taking one of Fred and George's day dream potions was working. After two hours, she returned home.
Narcissa had knocked, but here was no answer. Narcissa was about to give up when she heard running foot steps and a very beautiful voice coming near to her.
"I'm gonna love you like I've never been broken, I'm gonna say it like it's never been spoken .Tonight, tonight I'm letting go. I'm gonna give it like it's never been taken, I'm gonna fall like I don't need saving. Tonight, tonight, I'm letting go"
Hermione continued to sing and run, Narcissa's eyebrows rose in surprise, she hadn't expected the young woman to be a beautiful singer. And the song she was singing…Narcissa found it ironic to the circumstances. As Hermione reached her flat she stopped and stared open mouthed at the woman on her door step. Not only was she Narcissa Malfoy, but she was also in Muggle clothing, Hermione looked around and saw no new cars in the street and figured that Narcissa had Apparated directly onto her doorstep.
"Mrs. Malfoy, what an unexpected surprise." Hermione said as she walked up to her front step, taking out her ear phones.
"The same to you." Narcissa replied giving Hermione a weak smile.
"Why don't we go inside and get out of this cold." Hermione suggested.
Narcissa nodded and stepped aside so Hermione could unlock her front door.
"Would you like some tea? Or coffee?" Hermione asked as they walking into the entrance hall way.
"Tea thank you." Narcissa said as Hermione took her coat and put it on a hook by the front door.
Narcissa stood awkwardly in the entry way, surveying the tiny flat imperiously. It was clean and neat; there were very few Wizarding things apart from the wizard photographs that were on the walls.
"Well at least the girl isn't a slob." Narcissa thought to herself as she continued to look around the small apartment.
"Please make your self comfortable." Hermione said from the kitchen.
Narcissa moved from her position in the entry way and into the small living room, she sat down on the sofa and continued to look around. Then something caught her eye. The photograph was bright and pushed towards the front of all the other pictures. She stood walked over to the mantle piece and held the photograph in her hands.
She saw her sister looking back at her.
Andromeda had looked the same as she had the day she left the family. Except her hair was darker and her eyes showed her age. In her arms was a small boy with bright turquoise hair, and another woman who Narcissa recognized as Nymphadora.
"Tonks sent that to me a couple of days ago. Teddy is getting so big." Hermione said walking into the living room holding a tray with two cups of tea.
Narcissa placed the picture back on the mantle and sat back down on the sofa. Hermione handed her a cup of tea and sat in the chair opposite the sofa.
"I haven't seen him yet." Narcissa said breaking the silence.
Hermione sipped her tea, unsure of what to say. Andromeda hadn't made an effort to reach out to her sisters. Tonks had explained that her mother wasn't too keen on making amends with Bellatrix, but Narcissa was a different story. A story Tonks didn't know about, and Hermione was afraid to ask anything more on the subject.
"Tonks mentioned something like that. But I didn't get into it. It isn't any of my business." Hermione said.
"Well now that you are treating Bella, I am sure that it will come up at some point, which is why I am here." Narcissa said dropping all pretence, catching the younger witch off guard.
Hermione put down her tea and looked at Narcissa seriously.
"I can't discuss the nature of my conversations with Bellatrix. Nor can I disclose any of the information she has told me." Hermione said.
"I am not asking you to disclose anything to me." Narcissa said sharply.
Hermione stood her ground; she wasn't intimidated by Narcissa, although a nagging voice in the back of her head told her that she should be.
"Then why are you here?" Hermione asked.
Narcissa put down her tea as well and sighed.
"Bellatrix…she has told you many things I am sure. But what she hasn't told you is…well…she likes you." Narcissa said.
Hermione's eyebrows knitted together in confusion. She was sure that Bellatrix had some sort of feelings for her, but she never thought they would be…well to be honest, feelings that were intimate in nature.
"Judging by the look on your face, you are surprised." Narcissa said giving Hermione a rare genuine smile.
"I figured there might have been something there…but I just thought that maybe it was because…well to be honest, because she marked me." Hermione said after a short silence.
"No, you will find that you are quite mistaken." Narcissa said matter-of-factly.
Hermione let out a slow sigh. She knew eventually she would need to explore these feelings. And doing it on her own wasn't working any. Narcissa did have a point, and Hermione was hoping that she would get to it soon.
"Bella has never been to keen on sharing her feelings with anyone, not even me, but that doesn't mean that she doesn't have any. She just has a different way of expressing them, and well sometimes it isn't the most conventional way to do so." Narcissa said.
Hermione said nothing, so Narcissa went on.
"I know what she did to you was…well it was wrong. She was scared and at the time believed that she had failed her master. Failure is not something that my sister takes very lightly." Narcissa explained.
"If you came here to defend the choices she made Mrs. Malfoy, save it, I don't want to hear them. I am not judging Bellatrix on her past choices, or what she did to me. I put aside my issues with her because I believe that I can help her." Hermione said.
Narcissa looked as though she had heard exactly what she wanted to hear, but Hermione was still unsure of what Narcissa's point was. She was sure that it was important; Narcissa was wearing Muggle clothing for Merlin's sake!
"I think that you already have Ms. Granger." Narcissa said.
"That may be true, but if it is, I can not say so." Hermione said.
Narcissa finished her tea.
"I am not asking you to. I am just here to tell you that my sister has…well she has her mind set on you. She is different, even you cannot deny that." Narcissa said.
"Well yes, she is." Hermione admitted.
"She is very vulnerable, and that makes her scared. Letting in certain feelings isn't easy for her. All I am saying is make sure you can handle whatever she may tell you." Narcissa said.
Hermione looked taken aback and surprised by Narcissa's intuitiveness, the reverence she spoke with when referring to Bellatrix. She figured that they had been close growing up.
"I know my sister back wards and forwards, and I have never seen her this way. Whatever you are doing, keep doing it, but be careful, if she gets too attached…then well I know that your ability to resist her will be too much to handle." Narcissa said after a short pause.
"You think that I have so little self restraint that I can't resist her?" Hermione asked indignantly.
Narcissa laughed softly, but that only angered the young witch.
"I just meant that, if you feel the same way, and you are sure about it, then by all means go for it. But if not, if you do not feel the same way, you need to make that clear before it gets too far. Don't have a fuck session if you aren't sure of what you want." Narcissa said.
"Who said anything about a fuck session?!" Hermione said getting to her feet and glaring at the older witch with confusion and fury in her eyes.
Sure she was fucking herself to thoughts of Bellatrix, but that did not mean that she wanted to literally fuck the woman. Narcissa was way out of line, and the older witch knew it, but chose to stay on the subject. It was bizarre how the older witch knew so much on the situation. She had to have some sort of inside information.
"Besides she is my patient, I can't go fucking my patients." Hermione added.
"True." Narcissa agreed.
"So then what?" Hermione asked.
"Just be careful…" Narcissa said getting to her feet.
"I think I have over stayed my welcome. I will take my leave now." Narcissa added walking into the entry way and putting on her coat.
"Have you…I mean have you been unable to resist her?" Hermione asked.
Narcissa's fingers paused on the last button of her heavy coat and she looked up at Hermione, her ice blue eyes now dull.
"More times than you know." Narcissa replied.
Her voice was numb and Hermione could tell that there was more to these women than met the eye.
"There are many secrets with in the House of Black, Ms. Granger. I expect that you'll find them out soon enough." Narcissa said darkly.
Hermione nodded and opened the door for Narcissa.
"I expect what I have told you will be kept between us?' Narcissa asked.
"Yes, of course." Hermione said.
Narcissa looked out onto the crowed street, she knew she wouldn't be able to apparate safely just yet.
"You take care." Narcissa said as she walked out onto the side walk.
"You as well." Hermione replied.
Narcissa walked out onto the street and walked a little ways before she found a completely deserted ally way. She turned on the spot vanishing with a very soft pop.