AN: It's been six, almost seven years since I wrote this story, and had no intention whatsoever of continuing it. I never knew how it could have continued anyway; I didn't care to come up with a way that these two had begun to meet in the first place, nor did I know where the story could go afterwards when there was no plot to begin with. But today I reread it, and had an idea for a sequel, and slapped it together before I could lose the thought for another six years. Fortunately, I already had a completely unused smut scene already written from years ago, even older than Domina, I think I had planned to use it in ItDotN before I even began writing that? Either way, it's new content for you, and less work for me!
- Ophelia
"You told him what?" Bellatrix's voice was dangerously low, but her eyes were wide as she stared across the kitchen at me from her cross-legged position on the counter. I did not respond right away, instead busying myself with the electric kettle, then with pulling a pair of mugs from the cabinet. "What have you done?" she cried, abandoning her hissed whisper for an outburst of anger that poorly masked fear.
"I told Kingsley that you had saved my life. I asked to be allowed to save yours." My tone was light, but I refused to look back at those dark eyes I could feel glaring daggers into me. It had taken a great deal more persuading than that, convincing the new Minister to allow me to take Voldemort's most powerful follower into my custody, rather than to have her thrown back to the Dementors. He had not been entirely sold on the concept of a house arrest, but weariness won out, and he was ready to accept any solution that took the Death Eater off the streets without a struggle. She had gone with me calmly enough, when I took her hand and promised to take her someplace safe, but once alone again the façade was quick to drop.
"Why would you do such a thing?" Back to whispering. I frowned, surely she should have been grateful? She knew even better than I what terrible fate had lain before her. But when I turned to face her at last, I was taken aback to see her eyes wide and shining, a more vulnerable expression than I had ever expected to see on my warrior's face.
"Bella…" I was stopped by her head shaking violently, black curls whipping across her face.
"You had no right to do that. The Dark Lord is dead, and my place is by his side." The dark witch raised her chin in pride, in challenge. But her place was by my side, how could she have forgotten so quickly? How many times had we sworn ourselves to each other, given ourselves to each other?
"I – I would have thought you'd want to stay here, with me." She snorted, though her amusement was short lived.
"Why would I want to live in some Muggle dump?" she sneered, gesturing around at my parents' kitchen, my childhood home being the first place I could think of to bring her. I clenched my fists, but said nothing. The room was perfectly tidy, thank you very much, but perhaps it would be better to allow her to vent her frustrations in words rather than wands. When I did not rise to her bait, she continued. "You lied to him, and I must say I'm surprised that even he was fool enough to believe you. But you're no fool, are you? Not my girl, surely not." A warm flush of pride filled me for a moment, but I forced it back down. Bellatrix was never one to dispense compliments, and with how this conversation had been going, I did not doubt she was only building me up so that I'd fall further when she tore me back down.
She did not disappoint. My Bella never disappointed. "Why, I was even beginning to grow fond of you, little Mudblood, and – "
"Don't call me that," I snapped. She stared at me, too surprised to be angry. I had never dared to interrupt her before, and especially never dared to ask her to refrain from using her usual slur to refer to me. It had been part of the game, I had always told myself, as though that could take away the sting of knowing she meant it every time.
She watched me for a long time, her head tilted to the side, considering. Her gaze was unusually piercing, and despite having been entirely unclothed before her many times, I felt terribly exposed. Finally, grudgingly, she spoke again.
"Very well… Hermione."
I gave a curt nod, and was spared from answering by the kettle going off. Bellatrix remained silent as I prepared two mugs of tea, but accepted the one I handed to her readily enough. There was no word or gesture of thanks, but she blew on the hot drink and took a sip, then jumped down to the floor with a soft thump. I watched as she made her way through the kitchen and into the hallway, and followed several steps behind as she found the family room and sank onto the first surface she found, an overstuffed sofa. She would have looked entirely at ease, if not for the way her long fingers clenched her mug in a white-knuckled grip.
I took a seat on an old rocking chair, my mother's favorite. I didn't think the older witch would appreciate me watching her so closely, but where else could I have looked, in this room where every wall and shelf was covered in family photos from which I had been erased? Bellatrix reclined on the couch and closed her eyes, and the silence between them was broken only by the sounds of tea being sipped. I looked down at the mug in my hands, as though the amber liquid within could tell me what words would break the awful discomfort between myself and the woman I thought I knew so well. The atmosphere had never been so tense between us, even the first night that we spent together, when I was consumed by as much fear as I was lust. It hadn't felt real, that encounter, nor the next one, nor the one after that. But slowly, so slowly, Bellatrix Black had become my reality, her touch and her smile the only things anchoring me to a world that seemed to be falling apart. "I thought we had… something nice? Something to look forward to."
She didn't bother to open her eyes. "It was only a game."
"It was a nice game, then."
Despite herself, a smile curved her lips. "It was, wasn't it?" she said softly. Long minutes passed, until I began to wonder if she had fallen asleep. I moved to pick up her mug and bring it to the sink when I felt her hand on my wrist, the light touch holding me in place more effectively than any shackles. "I don't suppose you'd like to play again? That must be what you wanted, when you lied to Shacklebolt." Her eyes flicked open, and her dark gaze pierced into me. My heart fluttered, but something was wrong. Her voice didn't sound excited, nor was her expression one of lust. My eyebrows knit together.
"That's not what you want, though." She gave a rueful laugh.
"Have I ever cared what you wanted? Do I get a choice now?"
"Of course you do! What do you take me for?" I asked, alarmed, but she shook her head.
"I've seen this before, you know. You either want sex or revenge. Perhaps both at the same time, or perhaps both are the same thing. At least the others were polite enough to say so outright." She laughed again. "And they had to fight me for it, and nobody ever outduels me." I tried not to let the disturbing picture of her words form in my head, and floundered for something to say to chase them away.
"I just… enjoy your company, is that such a bad thing?"
"You've never had my company," she reminded me. "It was a good fuck all right, but it wasn't important." My heart clenched, though a part of me, the Logical Hermione part, whispered that I should already have known this.
I pushed down the logical voice. "I've loved you," I told her, unwilling to mask the hurt in my tone. Bellatrix laughed.
"We've been over this before, Hermione. Do you need me to explain it to you again, or can your little heart not take it?"
My little heart, as it turned out, couldn't take it, and I changed the subject. "Don't you trust me, at least?"
"Of course not. And surely you know better than to trust me." Her eyes drifted shut again, ready to end the conversation. But I wasn't ready to give up so soon.
"If you wanted to kill me, you would have done so already."
She shrugged, and pulled out her wand. Eyes still closed, she pointed it at me, and I felt my heart stop for a beat. I forced myself to hold still, and to not respond in kind. How could I claim to love someone if I can't trust them not to murder me? A minute passed, then two, each second dragging by longer and longer. Finally, finally, Bellatrix opened her eyes.
Her wand still pointed at me, but she saw that I had not moved, nor drawn my own wand in defense. She sighed and lowered her arm. "You're a fool," she muttered.
"Your fool, then."
She slowly sat up, bringing her knees to her chest and wrapping her arms around them, then rested her head on her knees, looking thoughtful. "I do know you, Mu – Hermione. You believe you've done something good here, don't you?" I nodded, and she sighed. She continued, her tone flat. "You haven't. There's no place for me in this world, and you've taken away my chance to die with dignity. Don't you see that?"
"But… I don't want you to die," I told her, bewildered. "I don't want to lose you."
"I don't care what you want!" she shouted, suddenly furious. "My life does not belong to you, it belongs to the Dark Lord! If he's d-dead, then I should be as well!"
Her eyes were no longer sleepy but blazed with passion, so much more like the Bella I knew. But there was a question I had always wanted to know, but never dared ask. "Why did you never sell me out to him, then? You knew, every time we met, that Harry was nearby. You knew that I knew exactly where he was and what wards protected him. Wards that you always saw through in an instant."
Her fury died down too quickly. "It was not my place to kill the boy," she said, almost automatically.
"Why not summon the Dark Lord to do it then?"
The older witch stiffened. "I could have done," she said haughtily. "Whenever I called, you always came back, I knew I'd always have the opportunity. And the war was going well, the Order was failing, the Dark Lord was not so desperate that he needed –" I cut her off with a laugh, and she glared at me.
"Did you practice that little speech?" Color rose in her cheeks, indicating that she had, and I sighed. "I had one ready to go too, in case Harry caught us," I admitted. "Something about turning the enemy, as if you'd ever fight for us." Bellatrix's blush began to subside, though her scowl did not.
"Will you really make me say it? You know damn well why I kept going back, and why I told no one. It was the same reason you did."
"And that's the same reason I lied to Kingsley," I said gently. "I would never hurt you, Bella." Her scowl softened into a frown, but did not disappear entirely. A moment stretched out into a minute as we watched each other.
"What would you have me do now, then?" she asked, her voice barely above a whisper. She looked defeated, her eyes shadowed and her face drawn. It was hard, seeing my fiery witch in such a state. "What do you want from me?"
Just you. "Nothing."
"Don't you lie to me," she warned, brown eyes flashing dangerously, though she did not reach for her wand. I forced myself to turn away from her, and carried the mugs back into the kitchen. I reached the sink and turned on the tap, but a pale hand reached from behind me to shut the water off again. I felt a thin body press up behind me, and despite how familiar the feeling was, I could not stop a shiver from racing up my spine.
"I think I see the problem," she whispered in my ear. "You think you have some power now, but you have no idea how to use it. My dear girl, don't you know who you belong to? A good girl does as she's told."
I spun around to face my witch, to look into her eyes and see the amusement shining there, where only emptiness had been only minutes before. "I thought you weren't in the mood," I muttered, and try to push past her. But Bellatrix did not move, instead her hands came down to grip the counter on either side of me.
"I wasn't. But that was before I decided you needed me to teach you a lesson." Without further ado, she pressed her lips to mine, thin but warm and soft. Her hands reached up to caress my sides as the kiss grew deeper, but surprisingly gentle. Her tongue swiped along my lower lip, and I opened my mouth automatically. I could feel those lips against mine curl into a smile as Bella pushed her tongue past them, wet and familiar. One hand moved up to stroke my face while my arms wrapped themselves around the witch, her tongue dancing and twirling around mine. A sigh escaped us both, and my heart ached at the feeling of completion once more.
I couldn't help but wonder at her unusually tender touches and gentle kiss. Her hand sneaked up my shirt and under my bra, swiping a thumb across a stiffened nipple. It was an action Bella had done countless times before, but somehow it felt unwelcome, and I wrenched my mouth away. She stared at me in disbelief, a thin thread of saliva still connecting us. "Something wrong, pet?" she asked, her surprise colored with… concern?
"I wanted to keep playing our game, but you didn't, so then I didn't, and now you do. Why are you doing this?" Bellatrix scowled at the interruption, but squirmed in discomfort at my persistent stare. My arms tightened around her, refusing to let her back out without an explanation. Finally, she huffed irritably.
"We did have fun together, didn't we? And it's only a matter of time before the Ministry screws its head back on and remembers it was supposed to kill me. I don't want to talk about the war and I don't want to talk about your fucking feelings, I just want to get back to what we were good at. Can we just have that?"
Oh, I wanted it, I wanted her. My body had been pleading for hers from the moment I took her hand in Hogwarts, promising to take her away somewhere safe and quiet and private. But something had shifted in the long silences that sprawled between us this morning, something about this new development in our arrangement unable to sustain the easy comfort we had been able to find in each other. I needed to know that Bella was serious, that I meant something to her, however little.
"I would like that very much, Bella," I said slowly. She smiled (and oh how beautiful her smiles were), and began to lean towards me again, but I put a finger on her lips. The smile vanished again, and my heart cried out at the loss. "I love you. I belong to you, all of me. Do you love me? Do you belong to me?"
She scoffed. "It doesn't work that way." My heart seemed to shatter, though I should have seen it coming. How often had she rejected me before?
"Then we don't work this way." I made to duck out from below her arm, but she stopped me. Her eyes flashed.
"Is that your price then? My love for your body? That's a bad deal, Hermione, surely you know that. I certainly never asked it of you, you were the one who tried to turn this arrangement into something it wasn't."
She had me there. "I just… want to know that it means something to you," I said, the words sounding weak even in my ears. I didn't want to back down so easily, but I didn't want to fight either. Not just yet, when all I wanted to do was celebrate the defeat of Voldemort with the beautiful woman I had managed to save from Azkaban. How often does a witch in real life get to defeat the terrible demon and save the princess?
Bellatrix considered me carefully for a moment, then sighed. "I enjoy our time together. I even looked forward to the days I would see you again. That is something I can say about very few other people." It seemed to take a great deal of effort to admit even that much, and I slowly leaned in to press a kiss to her cheek. Her eyes closed for a moment, and when they opened again, they were softer than I had ever seen them.
"Can we get back to our game now?" she asked quietly.
I nodded, then smiled as a thought came to me. "Can I be in charge, this time? I want to see you do as I say." Bella laughed, but to my surprise, she did not protest, only responding by resuming our kiss.
Our dance began again, almost as if it had never stopped. Bella's arms tightened possessively around me, her tongue moved in my mouth with more passion. A burn appeared between my legs as I groaned again and again, and she grew more violent with each one. With a hard yank, we stumbled backwards through the kitchen and back to the family room, where Bella threw me down onto the sofa and climbed on top of me. She finally released my mouth, hungrily kissing, licking and biting my face and neck while I gasped for air.
Finally she pulled back, breathing heavily, and sat up. Her hair was a terrible mess, an unruly mane of black curls. The witch's head tilted to the side, considering me with those hooded dark eyes. I followed her gaze as it dragged over me, shamelessly taking in every inch of the body she already knew so well. "Take off your clothes," she commanded. I reached up automatically to obey, but stopped myself.
"I thought I was going to give the orders?" My Bella, my star, let out a laugh, the cackle I had gotten so used to, and leaned in until our noses nearly touched. I wanted to kiss her again, and she knew it, and I bit my lip to prevent myself from doing so.
"I thought so too. Are you going to do something about it?" Tired of waiting, she ripped apart my shirt, stilling my protests with a hasty "I'll fix it later." She climbed back off of me and threw me an expectant look.
I sighed, but removed the torn remains of my shirt and cast them to the floor. The dark witch watched, licking her lips, as I unbuttoned my jeans and peeled them off too. I reached up to unhook my bra as well, then stop. "Oh dear, I seem to be having trouble with this one." I began to pull down my underpants, but stop again. "Huh, these won't budge either."
Bella hissed angrily and I laughed. "I'll take them off if you do yours first," I offered, and she pouted like a child. Nevertheless, tore her robes over her head, throwing them carelessly over a shoulder. She reached behind her back to loosen the laces of her corset before unclasping the busk and letting the garment fall to the ground. I settled back to watch, smiling at the familiar sight. Bella slid her dress down, and I felt my eyes widen as creamy white breasts were revealed, followed by a thin but strong body, pale as milk and shining in the sunlight filtering through the sheer curtains. The burning between my legs grew stronger as she stepped out of the dress wearing only her undergarments, black lace no less. It had been too long since I'd seen her body, and somehow I was struck mute every time.
It was my turn again, and I quickly shed the rest of my clothing. Bella finished undressing as well before climbing on top of me again, this time with nothing between our bodies. Her lips captured mine again, and I shoved my tongue into her mouth before she could do the same. Her hands seemed to be everywhere at once; gliding across my stomach, stroking down my thighs, and pinching roughly at my breasts. I could hardly keep up, my hands restricted to exploring only her back and legs. Finally, Bella's exploring hand brushed over my aching, hot core, and she stopped devouring my mouth to grin.
"Oh my, is this all for me? You shouldn't have." Bella pressed harder against me, and my hips bucked against her hand. I could feel myself blushing as she smirked at me, then slid a finger inside. I gave a cry as the burn flared again, and she removed the finger to hold it up to her face. It was covered in liquid that shone in the light. Bella gave a delighted laugh, then pressed her finger to my lips. "You're so wet. Taste yourself." I gave it a lick, then she shoved the dripping digit into her own mouth and sucked on it happily, eyes drifting shut with a guttural groan.
"Mhmm, would you deny me this?" I gasped as she slid down and pressed her face to my core, her tongue taking a long swipe at my folds. She giggled as my hips moved up again, grinding against her face. My witch settled down between my thighs and clamped her mouth firmly on me and dear Merlin that feels so good…
I could barely think. Bella's tongue was as chaotic and passionate down here as it was in my mouth. She licked me rapidly and thoroughly, then closed her lips around my clit. I cried out in pleasure as she started to suck on it, massaging with both her lips and tongue. One of my hands moved to her head, winding into her wild hair and pushing her even closer to me. The other hand moved to massage my own aching breasts, but Bella reached up and swatted it aside.
She lifted her head to speak, and I whimpered at the loss of contact. "I don't think so, girl," she panted. "You trying to put me out of a job? All you need to do is sit there and moan and scream my name nice and pretty for me, okay?" I nodded and dropped my hand obediently, and the dark witch smiled before returning to my clit. On my chest, her hand pinched and stroked the stiff peaks it found, and I could not stop myself from gasping.
I was utterly incoherent, words escaping from me without my permission. "Oh, oh fuck that feels good. Oh, yes, so… so… good. Oh, Bella, my Bella..." She pressed her tongue inside me, thrusting it in and out. My hips ground still harder up against her mouth as my hand in her hair pushed her down further. The last shreds of coherency in my mind wondered how the witch could even breathe, but her muffled moans still reached my ears. I clamped her to me in both directions, but couldn't loosen up even if I wanted to.
Bella's long fingers continued stroking and squeezing my breasts as she licked enthusiastically deep inside me, and far sooner than I would have liked I felt the start of my release. I screamed her name and arched my back as I climaxed, and Bella's head whipped back to gasp for air, before ducking back down for another taste. Wave after hot wave of pleasure paralyzed me, and I could feel Bella happily exploring my body, coaxing the orgasm out longer and longer. Finally, she sat up and watched me struggle to regain my breath, licking her lips.
"So tell me, who's in charge here? Me or you?" Bella beamed at me, knowing there's only one answer, but I didn't give her the satisfaction of agreeing. I kissed her instead, as deeply as my lungs would allow me to, and I could taste myself so strongly that the unique flavor of her mouth was completely washed away.
I looked at the witch, my dear Bella, her eyes bright beneath those heavy lids. She was heart achingly beautiful, and she was all mine. I smiled. "I am, of course." Her lips curled into a mischievous grin.
"Of course," she repeated, but I pretended not to notice her mocking tone. I settled instead for stretching out on the sofa, and tugging lazily at her until she curled up next to me. She sighed contentedly, and I kissed her on the top of the head. I wanted to tell her again that I loved her, but decided against it. After such a thorough fucking, why rock the boat? Instead, I relished the feeling of Bella's body pressed against mine, sleep quickly taking her as she wrapped her arms around me.
It could not last forever, this impossible reality, just Bella and me and nothing else. No responsibilities, no interruptions, and no consequences. It shouldn't have even lasted this long, eventually the Ministry will come back together and hand down a sentence to separate the two of us forever. But Bella's head was on my shoulder, her disaster of a hairstyle spiraling in every direction over her face and across my bare skin. Her breathing was slow and even, and sleep loosened her tight embrace into the gentle drape of an arm over my torso. I looked at her and smiled.
For now, it was enough.