Disclaimer: is not, was not, and never will be mine! All credit to the incredible JK Rowling! I do own the plot and some characters though!

Chapter 17: Social Surprises

Hermione's breath hitched as she regarded the ball room which spread out in front of her; Mrs Potter had done a spectacular job. Off to one side was a row or tables with a pale gold table cloth which lined the side of one wall, serving refreshments and finger foods. The rest of the room was left open for dancing, which was made obvious by the ballroom shiny wooden floor and delicate crystal chandeliers hanging from the ceilings. There were gorgeous ice sculptures dotted around the room, catching the light and throwing little rainbows on the walls. Though she wasn't sure how, there appeared to be a light breeze in the room, though it was not a chilling one. The walls were a rich red and decorated with Christmas wreaths and festive wall coverings.

Her eyes came to rest in a certain dark haired boy waiting for her at the bottom of the staircase. Her loss of control earlier had made her realise something; she didn't want moments like earlier to be a mistake between her and Sirius, she wanted them to be natural. She wanted him, she was ready for it. Vowing to talk to him at midnight, she made her way down the stairs and walked over to the girls in time to hear James murmur to Lily, "You... You look stunning Lils. Like seriously, wow!" to which, to Hermione's surprise, Lily replied with a light blush and a giggle. That small act, though adding to her good mood, made Hermione seriously contemplate the effect she was having in this time. She was already changing the future in a more direct way than her simple presence, as she knew that Harry's parents had not got together until their seventh year. Hell, lily couldn't stand James until seventh year!

"She doesn't look as breathtaking as you love, don't worry" Hermione felt an involuntary shiver creep up her spine as she recognised his voice. "You've got to stop running from me Mione, I can't keep waiting forever..." Hermione spun around in shock, but Sirius had already gone and all she could see was his retreating figure. Regret surged through her, knowing that she had hurt and maybe even angered him, but she would talk to him later; for now, she was going to mingle and enjoy the party.

Wondering alone through the party, Hermione smiled to herself as she saw many different displays of love around her. The first couple she came across were Mr and Mrs Potter, and though they were older than most they acted like teenagers in love, going by the way they were moulded together and swayed to the music.

Gazing into her eyes, I wondered again what I had done to deserve someone as amazing as the woman in front of me. From the beginning, our first day at Hogwarts, we had clicked. Best friends sorted into Gryffindor, prefect duties together, and eventually a love shared as more than just best friends. Next came Head Boy and Head Girl, which dealt us a fair amount of stress. Yet, graduation, one proposal, different jobs, marriage and a pregnancy later, here we were. Looking into her eyes, I smiled again. My Dorea.

Not wanting to intrude, Hermione moved on and her eyes landed on a couple that made her frown. She had grown particularly close to Sofia Patil over the course of the school term, and like the other girls, did not approve of her attachment to Benjamin Fenwick. He had caused her so much pain and the girls had taken to sending jinxes in his direction if they saw him in the corridors. Hermione however, saw what the other girls were too blind to see; the way the uncharacteristic sadness evaporated out of Sof's eyes whenever she was with him. Though she didn't approve of it, Hermione couldn't deny that he made her happier than anyone else could.

Walking down the stairs into the ballroom, I desperately searched the crowd for him, praying he would come and make everything better. Disappointment, and yes, pain, settled in when I realised she couldn't see that mop of dark hair I would recognise anywhere. Walking down the remainder of the stairs with less vigour, I felt my shoulders stooped as I got to the bottom and headed straight to the drinks table; this was going to be a long night. Just as I snuck myself a firewiskey and apple juice cocktail, I felt a hand on my shoulder. "You didn't think I'd let you down did you plum? Not this time". Whipping around, I find myself staring into a familiar pool of blue, with that mischievous twinkle I just can't resist. Blinking a few times, I manage to focus a bit more on the whole package rather than just his eyes. As ususal, Benjy looks unfairly good. His hair is still worn a little long, just how I liked it and at the moment it is paired with some stubble. Dark black dress robes, with a blue waistcoat that matches his eyes perfectly. The tie he's wearing is the one I sent to him; my heart soars. Smiling up at him, I see his lips quirk up at the sides cheekily before he bends down and captures my lips in a lingering, sweet kiss. "I missed you Sof".

Deciding to speak to Sofia later since she wasn't exactly paying attention to her surroundings, Hermione moved on. She stopped and felt as triumphant grin spread across her face as she saw Lily dancing with James. Two years early, not bad Granger! Hermione watched them for a while, searching for traces of any remaining resentment the redhead may have.

Before I could chicken out, I approached her. I hadn't exactly recovered from my breathing problem that I had had when she descended in all her beauty, but at least it was slightly less obvious now, allowing me to talk to her. Hopefully. "You – You look stunning Lils! Like seriously, wow". To my complete shock, she giggled in reply. Hermione really was a genius, she had worked so hard these past few days to get me to be able to talk to her normally, and it was clearly working. Encouraged, I pushed on towards my goal: "Do you want to dance? I mean – you don't have to, but I'd love it if we could" I rush to get the words out, so they end up being a bit jumbled, but judging by the amusement and happiness in Lily's eyes, I'm assuming she understood. Then, and yes, I am being completely serious like joking aside (which I do NOT say very often) she grinned at me. Without any trace of annoyance or resentment or anything particularly negative for that matter! She SMILED. At me. And then she nods. I just stare at her, completely gobsmacked, until somewhere in my Lily world brain, it clicks. She said yes, I'm supposed to dance with her now. I am going to dance with Lily Evans. I lead her out on the dance floor, and gently place my hand on her hip, and can't help smiling when she places one hand on my shoulder, and I hold the other one. "Finally warmed up to me Evans?"

Hermione smirked when she saw Lily smack James in the chest, but she knew they'd made a breakthrough, which was more than she had expected at this point, after all the stories she'd heard from Sirius and Remus. Not paying particular attention to where she was going, she crashed into someone and watched in horror as her mulled wine spilled onto a beautiful ivory coloured dress.

"Watch where you're going you useless dolt! Merlin my dress!" Hermione froze. That voice. She was not at all prepared for this confrontation, not yet. In fact, she wasn't sure she ever would be... turning slowly; she looked into flashing violet and dark brown eyes, and felt a shiver of fear pass over her. There was none of the insanity or hatred in these eyes and the hair was tamer making her look stunningly beautiful; but she was the same person, completely recognisable and though it was obvious Azkaban had a negative effect on her looks, she didn't look much different... just much younger.

"I – I – I'm so sorry... Let me, erm... I'll get someone to clean it up?" Hermione was shaking like a leaf by the time she had finished. Bellatrix Lestrange... no, Bellatrix Black at this point she was guessing, since there was no wedding ring on her finger. She quickly spoke to one of the Potter's house elves to distract herself from the fact that the woman she still had nightmares about was standing right in front of her, and she had angered her by spilling wine on her dress.

"Alright, alright girl, calm down. Alright I'm not that scary. Well maybe I am, being a Black girl... Who are you? I don't think I know you..." she stared up at Bellatrix, and didn't see any trace of the woman she had known back in her time. No madness, no cruelty. Just arrogance and curiosity. Before she could answer, she felt an arm snake around her waist, as Sirius pulled her to his side.

"Cousin Bella, nice of you to represent the family. I assume none of the others, such as my dear mother have come?" Sirius smiled at the older woman in front of him, only half genuinely. If he was honest, next to his cousin Andy, little cousin Merak and his own brother, Bellatrix was the only member of his family he liked. She had a wicked sense of humour and a love for breaking the rules, just like him. Unfortunately, she believed all the blood purity bullshit their family was fed. It was the only thing which kept him from having more contact with her, like he did with her older sister Andromeda, or Andy as he called her. "Oh this is Hermione, she's new at Hogwarts".

Bellatrix smiled in amusement at her favourite cousin. It really was a shame he was the blood traitor of the family, like her older sister. The mudblood on his arm was evidence of this. Oh yes, she had heard all about this girl from Lucius and his gang of new recruits. She herself was impartial; she was a believer in blood purity and hated muggles, but she did not particularly feel like getting her hands dirty to help out. "Sirius, reconsidering yet? Merak misses you, you know. No one else will babysit him with me; he causes too much trouble to them all". Her little brother was the only member of her family she truly cared about. Sure, she liked Sirius and her younger sister Narcissa, but she didn't care about them much. But Merak was different, he was sweet and innocent, but a trouble maker. He was on his way to becoming a miniature Bellatrix, as his only influences were Bellatrix and Sirius.

"I miss the kid; you should bring him to Hogsmead one weekend! How's that wedding of yours coming along?" Sirius smirked cruelly at Bellatrix's annoyed expression.

"Fuck you Sirius; you know what I think of Rodolphus. Mother and father are still pushing it with the Lestranges, as is your charming mother. I won't have my marriage decided for me, Merlin I don't even want to get married!" Bellatrix took a deep breath to calm herself down. If she didn't have the pureblood pride and similar beliefs to that of her family, she would have left them behind long ago. Rodolphus Lestrange was the single most disgustingly vile human being she had ever layed eyes on. Oh she hated him so much. And she was going to be forced to marry him, regardless of her words, she knew it would happen.

Hermione listened to the conversation passing back and forth between the two in utter shock. Sirius had never once mentioned that him and Bellatrix used to get along. Merlin, she had KILLED him! Telling Sirius she needed a breather, she backed out of the room until she was near the door, where she turned and ran, unaware of where she was going. She couldn't believe it, she was unable to wrap her head around it. Bellatrix seemed perfectly sane, nice even! So what had caused her to turn into the cold hearted murderer she knew?

"This is your last chance Charlus, before things get ugly. Your family are greatly respected in society and our master values and acknowledges that. Your family would be safe and you would have so much power! Just join us and we can help you" Hermione froze, and backtracked to a door under the stairs which she had just passed.

"Listen Avery, you too Greyback. I'm never going to join your cause, and neither will my wife or my sons in the future. We do not agree with it. Now please, this is a party, so kindly leave so we can maintain the festive spirit. Believe me, I do not want things to get ugly, but I will not torture poor innocents" the finality in Mr Potter's voice made Hermione smile briefly, but her mind was racing. It was only 1975! If she remembered correctly, from what she had gathered in her future or past, the war had not properly started until 1977... had Voldermort started recruiting much earlier than that? Or had her presence really messed up the timeline so much that things were already changing without her input? If this was the case, was there anything she could be sure of?

"There you are! Mione it's almost midnight" Sirius smiled down into her chocolate eyes as the countdown began. Everything around him was lost as he stared into her eyes as things faded and time itself appeared to halt, with the exception of the ticking which signalled the countdown. The final tick was a tinkling of bells, and Sirius gently leaned his head down and pressed his lips against Hermione's just trying his best to convey his feelings for her in one kiss. After a few seconds, he felt her pull away and fought his disappointment down and smiled at her. However, her next words brought the biggest smile to his face, ever.

"Sirius, yes. I'm ready" She leaned up and kissed him again, revelling in the fact that she could do that now; and she wasn't going to fight it.

A/N

I am SO sorry for the delay! Sixth form sucks... but just five days until my christmas break and four weeks is a long time so... LOTS OF CHAPTERS HOPEFULLY!

So there we have the introduction of my favourite character. Ever. And yes, I mean Bellatrix... You guys might think I'm crazy, like she killed Sirius and Dobby, and turtured Nev's parents, I know. But she is fucking AWESOMELY INSANE! So yeah, judge away but I love her.

Review PLEASE! I LOVE YOU ALL!

Sorry for the shitty updates again!

Love Rads x x x