Hermione stormed off to her office and apparated straight form there to Black Manor. With a plop she was standing in the kitchen of the huge house. Andromeda Black was a bit startled at first but then she took in Hermione's appearance. Her hair was messier than usually and he face was red.
„You, Andromeda Black! I am so mad right now you wont even believe it! Your messed up sister is driving me crazy with all her talk of blood purity and what filth I am. You wont believe it, she needs my help and disrespects me in such a childish way and ugh. Why do I even let her get to me and why didn't you tell me she was alive?"
„Calm down Hermione, you know I couldn't tell you and now tel me what happened exactly. You said she needed your help? And was mean to you?" „I don't care about her taunting me but the way she did it. The audacity! She was in my hospital, in front of my co workers. She talks about manners but herself she is so conceited and arrogant. God how I loathe her."
„Okay Hermione I understand she wasn't very nice to you, that is just her but in the last few years she really has gotten better and even talks to me. She must have been on pain to have been that mean to you. Under what circumstances did she become your patient? Is it serious? She is my sister for heavens sake!" Andromeda said.
„Oh, I am so sorry Andy, I know she is your sister but she is so infuriating! Bellatrix is in need of a soul healer, the Dementors must finally have cracked her. Oh, no. You might have been right and she was only this awful because of the main she was in. She did apologize to me and her face was all contorted. I thought it was just her malicious face and her being herself but you might be right. I swore to myself that if I could help someone I would. Oh Andy I need to go, the pain she must have been in! They probably waited till the last minute for her to see me. The other prisoners cry like babies just minutes after their soul is attacked, but hers has split! I am such an idiot! I will come back later but I have some healing to do first!" Andromeda smiled at her, she hated hear that her sister was in such pain but Hermione would get her fixed up in no time. „That is my Hermione, I will await your news."
In a second she was gone.
She appeared again in Bellatrix hospital room. The witch was rolling around with tears streaming down her face, she was not screaming though Hermione noticed. She flicked her wand in a difficult pattern and there was visible relief on Bellatrix face. „I am sorry for leaving earlier but you are absolutely infuriating! Can you get up?" Bellatrix shook her head.
„Everything burns and feels wobbly…" Hermione went up to her and picked the thin woman up, she couldn't be over 5"2' and weigh more than 100 pounds. Then she apparated them away. With a plop they were standing in Hermione's bedroom.
„It is not usual for me to take my patients to my house and even less to my bed, but since I am friends with your sister I will make an exception. To heal your soul you need to lay down please." Bellatrix did as told, she really wasn't in the mood for making a fuzz, everything hurt so much.
„That's perfect, I am sorry for what I said by the way. I am not sorry for what I said because I am convinced that that is the truth but for when and how I said it. I was always wondering whether I would meet you again at some point and I was hoping it would be under better circumstances than Azkaban but I didn't expect this."
With an intricate wand movement she made Bellatrix completely clean, the nurses didn't do anything with her, too scared probably. Then she put the tip of her wand over Bellatrix head and went slowly down all the way to her heart. The older witch's eyes widened when she started to murmur old runes and Hermione's eyes began to glow a shade of purple.
After half an hour Hermione was finished and Bellatrix felt better than she had in a very long time. „We are all done here, I don't expect that you want to go right back to Azkaban though, where the Dementors will destroy all my hard work in a matter of seconds. You are lucky though, after your should has been cracked the ministry is not allowed to send Dementors to you. They might be allowed to make your life hell but you must realize that even in Azkaban no one dies. If they send Dementors after you you would."
Bellatrix was surprised. „Is that why they wouldn't send me to you until the very last minute?"
„I guess so, they wouldn't want the fun of torturing Madame Lestrange to end I suppose. They are assholes and I have more than once tried to start a movement to get the Dementors out of Azkaban but the majority of the wizarding world is against me. And I think all the pureblood witches and wizards, just so you know."
„Thank you Miss Granger. I know that I have been a first class bitch to you today and I really need to apologize for torturing you. I am sorry. I am not going to make excuses, it was my fault and mine alone. I am also happy that you decided to take me to your home, I really hate hospitals and the people in there don't seem to like me very much either."
„I accept the apology but I cannot tell you how long the forgiveness is going to have to wait. I still don't know why I took you here, as I said it is not my norm. I am sure Andromeda is gonna want to see you though. How about we make some dinner and then watch a movie. Tomorrow we can ask Andy to come over but I think right now that would be too much." Hermione said.
„I didn't expect to be forgiven anytime soon, I understand why I am in Azkaban. And I would be fine with that, I haven't really eaten a real meal in a long time time though so maybe something light? I do not know what a movie is…"
Hermione started to laugh at that, of course Bellatrix wouldn't know what a movie was. As a proud pureblood she had probably never been in the muggle world for longer than ten minutes. The food issue was worrying her, Bellatrix looked like a skeleton. Hermione was wondering if she could keep Bellatrix under surveillance with Kingsley's approval. The prison didn't seem like the right place for the other woman anymore and she was standing in her bedroom making polite conversation with a mudblood. If that was not visible change than she didn't know.
„What are you pondering over, Granger?" Bellatrix regarded Hermione curiously. The young witch hadn't started talking for five minutes and looked lost in thoughts.
„Nothing. How about some chicken soup? I will show you what a movie is afterwards?"
„Sounds good to me. One question though?" Bellatrix asked.
„Sure." Hermione was excited to hear about that.
„Can I see Cissy as well?" The older witch wanted to know.
Hermione was confused. „Who is that?"
„My sister Narcissa? Narcissa Malfoy? Draco's mom?…"
„Okay, okay.I know who you mean now. I don't know…I am kind of scared of her. She did raise Draco after all and he is really mean. Also, every time that we have met she looks me up and then down, cringes her nose and turns around with the words ‚filthy little mudblood' on her ruby lips."Hermione had never thought about that, she didn't think that those two were close but after having been with Narcissa under Voldemort she began to understand.
„She is quite icy I suppose. Ruby lips? Out of everything you notice that?" Hermione blushed furiously.
She might have looked at the ice queens lips for a little too long, but really? Could anyone blame her? Madame Malfoy was as beautiful as she was scary and that was a lot.
„Well, apparently I did. Anyway, it is fine as long as Andromeda stays with you." Hermione was embarrassed by her reaction, now Bellatrix knew for sure about her crush.
„They hate each others guts though. I don't think that would be a good idea…" Bellatrix was trying to think very hard about a solution, she didn't want to impose anymore than she had. She knew that Hermione didn't have to let her see her sisters, she could have taken her back to Azkaban right away, with Dementors or not Azkaban would be awful. She hadn't felt warmth in all her time there and food was disgusting. Mostly it was rotten and always cold. Bellatrix didn't want to go back there if it was preventable, she did understand why she was there but no one would want to be, also, she had changed and didn't completely deserve to be there anymore. She paid for her crimes for a long time now and with the change in her person she really wanted to be given another chance to redeem herself.
„I see where this is heading, I am gonna meet a Malfoy again." Bellatrix got up and hugged Hermione. She hadn't done that in a long time and didn't quite understand where the impulse to hug the mudblood came from but here she was and she felt warm and safe.
Hermione was worried first but when the tiny, fragile woman put her skinny arms around her waist she leant in and savored the feeling. For Hermione hugs were a normal occurrence but she couldn't get over feeling that she should be scared. She wasn't though, what Bellatrix had said to her had an impact on her view of her. She wasn't the woman who tortured her anymore.
After a few minutes they pulled back. „Thank you, also for not pulling away. Hugs were on short supply in the last…thirty years or so, I really appreciate it. But to the point, I love Cissy and I haven't seen her for such a long time, I missed her most. Therefore thank you for allowing me to see her."Hermione smiled at that, she knew that Bellatrix's life hadn't been easy in the last years and if a hug would help her she wouldn't say no.
„No problem, as long as I am not discriminated against in my own home I will be fine. Now, lets go get some food."
Together they walked out of the room.