A/N: Thank you all so much for your reviews, favorites and follows after last chapter! I am so tickled by how many of you enjoying the Gryffindor girls :) They are a lot of fun for me! Also, I few of you mentioned it, so I just wanted to address it here - Rodolphus is not going to be the good little pureblood that thinks muggleborns are just fantastic outcast of Slytherin. It is going to be more complicated than that. It will develop, so I hope you will be patient with me and see where it is going. I am so so thrilled to share this chapter and I can't wait to hear what you think about it, so I will stop blathering on. You can follow me on tumblr (nauticalparamour) where I post sneak peeks, story updates and answer questions.
Huge thank you to Kristeristerin for beta reading this chapter! Please let me know what you thought of chapter five and be on the lookout for chapter six!
October 1967
Hermione struggled to balance the numerous books in her arms while she was making her way through the aisles of books to her new favorite desk in the library. It was located up on the mezzanine level and had a wonderful view of the Black Lake, and apparently, Rodolphus hadn't been able to find it. However, it was a little more perilous to make the trek up the stairs when she couldn't see past the books she was carrying.
Sometimes she wondered if she should really care that much about her marks here in the past, especially considering that they weren't ever going to count for anything. Eventually, she would go back to her future and it wasn't as if she could take her History of Magic essay mark with her on account of it not even being accurate any longer. But, being able to dive head first was one of the only things keeping her sane. And, she doubted that there would ever be a time Hermione Granger could blow off her marks.
Plus, it seemed that Arthur was as allergic to the library as Ron was, so that was a bonus.
"It looks like you are having trouble with those," a sickeningly sweet voice startled her out of her thoughts. "Here, let me help you."
Before Hermione could protest, the top half of her books were levitated off, lightening her load considerably and revealing Bellatrix Black to her view. Hermione immediately felt her face pale, and she wondered what reason the Slytherin witch had to help her. She highly doubted that it was out of the goodness of her heart. Still, Hermione gritted her teeth and thanked her.
"I'll help you to your desk," she said, falling in step with Hermione up the stairs to the middle level. "Why don't you just use magic to banish them to your spot? It would be much easier than lugging them around."
Hermione swallowed, wondering if she was really about to have a pleasant conversation with Bellatrix, who had last been chasing teenagers around the Ministry of Magic, making no secret that she was trying to kill them. "Well, some of the books are quite fragile and they don't react well with that sort of magic," Hermione explained, biting at her lower lip. "And, if I'm honest, using magic isn't always the first thing that comes to my mind."
It was no secret around Hogwarts that she was a muggleborn, and she saw no reason to lie about it to Bellatrix either.
Bellatrix rewarded her with a shark-like grin, the wheels obviously turning in her mind. "Oh, of course, how silly of me," she said, leading Hermione in the direction of her desk. "But then, you obviously care a lot more about books than I do."
When they got to the desk, Bellatrix set the books down, but made no move to leave. Instead, she leaned her back against the desk, looking Hermione up and down. "So, you're the witch that has so captivated Rodolphus's attention. Hermione right?" she asked, sounding innocent, even though it was clear she knew who Hermione was already.
Hermione immediately flushed from the implication. "Oh, I don't know that I've done anything to capture his attention, as you say," she babbled, needing to make clear how little she'd had to do with Rodolphus Lestrange. "We bumped into each other in Diagon Alley before school, but I can't even count on one hand the number of times that we talked."
"Still, I can understand the appeal. A new, mysterious witch who shows up at school. Plus, you must know that you are pretty," Bellatrix said with a smile on her face, her dark eyes glittering mischievously.
"I'm not -" Hermione started to say, wondering just how she was going to talk her way out of this situation. The last thing she wanted was for a witch like Bellatrix to think that Hermione had some sort of designs on the wizard that she was betrothed to. "I'm not interested in Rodolphus, I swear."
Bellatrix laughed, before pushing her long, wavy black hair over her shoulder. "Oh, I am not worried about you stealing him away from me," she explained. "You must have heard the rumors about him and me being betrothed, but I promise you that it's just a little misunderstanding between me and my parents. My daddy would never make me marry him if I didn't want to, and well, I don't. I'll get that all cleared up by Yule time."
It was odd for Hermione to see Bellatrix as some kind of spoiled daughter, but she supposed that it made sense. Bellatrix certainly seemed like the kind of person to always get what she wanted. But, at the same time, Hermione had the knowledge of the future, and she knew that Bellatrix and Rodolphus did end up together. It stood to reason that Bellatrix's parents would be standing up to her this time.
"Oh?" was all that Hermione could manage to respond to her, her eyebrows furrowed together in disbelief.
"So, I just wanted to clear that up between us witches," Bellatrix forged on, her smile showing off a dimple in one cheek. "I would just hate to think that I was standing in the way of something happening between you and Rodolphus. He's not my type, but he is a decent wizard."
Hermione could not get a handle on what Bellatrix was trying to do here. "Is he?"
"And, if anything, I think that the two of you are just perfect for one another," the Slytherin girl continued. There was something false about her statement, but Hermione couldn't quite figure out what it was.
"We are?" Hermione asked, wondering if Bellatrix actually thought they had anything in common with one another or if she was just willing it to be so.
"Yes," Bellatrix said firmly, nostrils flaring a bit. "Well, Hermione that was a great chat. I wager we could even be friends, maybe. But, I better let you get back to your History of Magic essay. See you around," she said, so sweetly that it almost didn't sound like a threat. Almost.
Hermione sat at the desk in stunned silence, wondering what sort of parallel universe she had ended up in that Bellatrix Black had just suggested that someday they might be friends and that she was perfect for Rodolphus Lestrange. Everything that she knew about the pair of Death Eaters was completely turned on its head. Wanting to push the odd interaction out of her mind, Hermione opened the first book off the pile and began to read.
It was not even five minutes later that someone was slipping into the chair across from her. "Hermione," Rodolphus's deep voice startled her from the words on the page. He sounded far too pleased with himself. "Bellatrix mentioned that you were looking for me? Finally ready to stop running away from me?" he teased, leaning back into his chair smugly.
Hermione snorted in a very unladylike fashion, snapping the book shut. Eager to turn the tables on the self-satisfied Slytherin, she decided to test him about Bellatrix. "Oh, your future wife was just telling me about how captivating you seem to find me," she teased right back. "Not exactly the best way to start out a relationship, Rodolphus." It was the first time that she had spoken his name aloud, she realized, hating the easy way that it rolled off of her tongue.
"Jealous, Granger?" he asked, raising one perfect eyebrow in amusement. "And why shouldn't I find you captivating? Almost no one knows anything about you. It's as if you appeared out of thin air."
She realized that he didn't deny the betrothal that he had with Bellatrix Black, but at the same time he didn't deny that he was...captivated by her? It was a little bit intoxicating to think that this wizard was interested in her. "Maybe I want to keep it that way," Hermione countered, shrugging her shoulders.
"So you admit to avoiding me, then?" he asked, blue eyes roving over her face, looking for a hint of emotion to pick up on.
"I'm just... I don't see why you'd want to talk to me in the first place," Hermione said weakly, knowing that she couldn't tell him the real reason why she didn't want to talk to him. How could she casually mention that he would become a horrible murderer who spent over a decade in Azkaban in the future?
She watched as his tongue darted out to wet his lip. "Is it because of Weasley?" he asked, unsure of himself. "Because if you are worried about breaking up relationships, he and Molly Prewett are practically married already. And personally, I think she's way scarier than Bellatrix."
"No!" Hermione answered, wondering why everyone seemed to think that she returned Arthur's interest. Of course, she wasn't blind to his crush, but she'd done everything she could to discourage it thus far. And she didn't need to be told twice about Molly's feelings towards her. The redheaded witch had taken to giving her horribly backhanded compliments whenever they were forced to interact. "Arthur is too much like a brother to me," she explained.
"Well, he certainly doesn't see it that way," Rodolphus countered. "Listen, it's obvious to me that you don't think that you are interesting enough to get to know, but why can't you let me make that determination for yourself. I'm not asking you to go steady with me or anything, just...get to know each other better. Is that so bad?"
Hermione bit at her lower lip, wondering what it was about her that drew Rodolphus to her like a magnet. But, at the same time, she could admit that there was far more about him than what meets the eye, and she was a little bit curious about him. And, she couldn't deny that he was sinfully attractive. "Fine," she conceded, if only just for the moment. "What do you want to know about me?"
He gave her that lopsided grin. "Dangerous question, Hermione," he said, making her heart skip a beat. "Some of the things I want to know are certainly not appropriate to discuss in the library of all places. But Hogsmeade, maybe?"
She blinked slowly when she realized that Rodolphus was asking her on a date to Hogsmeade. The whole time she'd been at school, no one had ever asked her to go to Hogsmeade and she felt her stomach fluttering with nerves and excitement. She almost wanted to accept. "I don't know if that would be a good idea for someone who's basically engaged," she said, her eyes fluttering shut, reminding herself that he was going to marry Bellatrix eventually.
"That's not...it isn't like that," he said, clearly annoyed that she brought Bellatrix back up again.
"Yeah, yeah, Bellatrix told me that she was going to sort things out with her daddy," Hermione said, rolling her eyes, her shoulders dropping. "Somehow, I don't think that Cygnus Black is going to change his mind about this one."
Rodolphus looked surprised, and Hermione realized that she might have revealed too much. "You certainly know a lot about Bellatrix and her family," he said, slowly.
Thinking on her feet, Hermione waved him off. "Yeah, well, a betrothal has been a hot topic of conversation at the Gryffindor table. I find it a bit archaic and odd," she said with a smile. "And the rest of the sixth year girls are feeling sorry for you, having to put up with her."
"Bellatrix is certainly a handful," he agreed, speaking like he knew from experience. That was odd, Hermione thought. It had sounded like Rodolphus and Bellatrix never had much interaction and that the betrothal was a bit of a shock.
Standing from the table, Hermione knew that she needed to hurry if she was going to make it all the way back to Gryffindor tower before curfew started. "Well, great chat, Rodolphus," she said with a half-smile, surprised by how pleasant it had really been.
He stood also. "We should definitely do it again some time," he answered, making it abundantly clear that he wasn't going to stop pursuing her.