Guess who's back in action! Thank y'all for being patient with me! I love my dear readers so VERY much!
I don't own Harry Potter. Don't wish I did because I would've turned it around so that a lot of things would be different, so I'm content just writing fanfics for it.
"Miss. Granger, it seems you will be having that partner you've been asking for." Hermione's lips tilted into a smile at this news. She glanced up at her boss, Mr. Winslow, to thank him, but the gratitude died on her tongue when she saw who was standing beside him. Despite the blonde hair and tanned skin, there was no mistaking who was standing next to Winslow. "You." The woman's eyes were nervously fixated on her, gouging her reaction and apparently not liking it.
"This is your new partner, Melissa Rosenberg." Windslow went on, not sensing the sudden tension in the room. "I expect some work to get done a bit quicker, Ms. Granger."
Hermione didn't reply, she simply stood and glared at the woman. Likewise, the woman glared back. Winslow looked between the two and shrugged, leaving them alone to work out whatever past problem had been caused. Hermione could feel a growl building in her throat as 'Melissa' dared to take a step forward. The blonde quickly recoiled and stayed by the door, fidgeting anxiously.
"What do you want, Bellatrix?" Hermione spat the name like venom and this sparked the older woman's defiance.
"There's no reason to be rude, Granger-." Bellatrix had barely gotten her name out before Hermione had cast a silencing charm around their room and begun snarling at her like an animal.
"What?" she hissed. "Not going to call me mudblood anymore now that the term has died out due to the discrimination laws?" Bellatrix shifted. "Not going to curse me and torture me like the last time we met? What's holding you back? You've escaped Azkaban twice, I'm sure a third time would break the record."
"Look, I know that I wasn't particularly nice to you when we-."
"Nice?" Hermione roared. "NICE? You TORTURED me because of my heritage! You CARVED the name into my arm! You taunted and teased me, trying to make me crack like you had done with the Longbottoms and when I didn't crack like an egg, you tried harder! You weren't anywhere near NICE. You were downright EVIL!"
Bellatrix cringed slightly and anger boiled in her eyes. "You were prey back then!" she exclaimed. "How was I ever to know that you would even LIVE?"
"And that's supposed to make it BETTER?" Hermione exploded. "The fact that I might not have lived to be haunted day and night by what you did to me made it BETTER for you?"
Bellatrix averted her eyes and mumbled, "Yes, actually, it did. I'd rather you be dead." She realized the mistake of her words too late. Hermione was a whirlwind of brown as she strode across the room and pinned Bellatrix to the wall, wand pointing at her throat.
Bellatrix snickered. "Never knew you could be forceful Granger. I might have kept you around longer."
Hermione snarled again and a slight spark erupted from her wand. Bellatrix raised an eyebrow goadingly and it was all Hermione could do not to just stab her in the neck with the stick and be done with it. Warring with herself for a moment, Hermione finally let Bellatrix down and backed away to her desk, glaring flames at the other woman the entire time. Bellatrix tested her shoulders and neck before looking into the steaming brown eyes opposite her own intense black.
"Look Granger, I know I was evil to you, but I was blind back then. I was blind and more than a little mental. I've done some meditating and thought long and hard about what I've done. I want to forget everything just as much as you do, but I can't, just like you can't. So, can we..." Bellatrix took a deep breath. "Can we please start over?"
Hermione snorted derisively and said, "Just keep your distance, I'll keep mine and we'll live with this giant rift between us. I'm actually happier that way."
Bellatrix sighed and accepted this. Her fate could have been worse; she knew Hermione had been contemplating stabbing her and she was glad she wasn't bleeding out at the throat right now. Taking a seat at a desk she transfigured from a chair, Bellatrix began going over the notes that Hermione vanished to her. The two women worked diligently through the day, barely uttering a word to each other and communicating mainly in glares and huffs. Once the day was over, Hermione stacked her papers and filed them into her messenger bag. Bellatrix watched thoughtfully and it didn't escape Hermione's notice.
"Please stop staring before I hex your eyes." the brunette said crisply. Bellatrix began laughing softly and Hermione glared at her.
"What?"
"You said please even though you hate me. Your manners have no limit, do they, Granger?"
Hermione rolled her eyes and just strode out of the office with a huff and grumble. Bellatrix simply smirked and gathered her own papers together before leaving for the flat she'd rented.
One apparition later, Bellatrix unlocked the door to her flat and walked in, tossing her bag onto the couch and sighing. Putting some tea on the stove and waiting for the kettle to squeal, Bellatrix changed into more comfortable clothing. Going to the kitchen table, she laid out numerous papers and looked them over. They were lists of all the major people she had wronged with all their important information: phone numbers, addresses, jobs and such of the like.
The newly blonde-haired woman focused on those who were crossed from the list. She had most definitely apologized to them, however, none of the people on the list took kindly to knowing she was only a few feet away and they hadn't killed her. Arthur and Molly Weasley were very adamant about trying to kill her, not forgiving the loss of their son and what she had tried to do to their daughter. Oddly enough, Fleur Delacour-Weasley was the most forgiving of the wrongs Bellatrix had committed against her family, but she would never dare tell her husband these things. Shaking her head, Bellatrix switched her attention to the people that weren't crossed off. There were Harry Potter, Neville Longbottom and Luna Lovegood. And at the top of that list was none other than Hermione Granger-Weasley.
Bellatrix's lip curled at the martially attached name and shook her head again. "She married the moron in the group. She had the Golden Boy at her fingertips and she chose the moron."
A loud squeal alerted Bellatrix to the fact that the tea was ready and the witch stood to pour herself a cup. Leaving the papers scattered all over the table, Bellatrix moved to the living room and turned on the television to a blank screen. Saying the magic words, she switched it to wizardry television and sat back, watching the news. A report on her still being missing came on and Bellatrix laughed softly. "They won't atch me until I'm ready to be caught. And that won't happen until Granger knows how much I'm sorry for what I did to her."
Changing the channel, Bellatrix leaned into the cushions and breathed another of many sighs. "Trying to make up for past mistakes is going to be hard, but Hermione Granger is the one person I really want to apologize to. All others can screw themselves into the ground for all I care, but she has to know."
So? Tell me what you think of it. I know this is a bit ooc for Bellatrix, but... I don't know, just but. I wanted to see if I could show a different side of her, but things are going to be very fun. :) Reviews are appreciated and needed if there are to be more chapters.