Author's Note: First and foremost, I would like to thank everyone who had read and reviewed/ alerted/ favourited this story. I know this chapter is going to have a slight cliffhanger in it (hope it isn't seen as being as evil as the last one!) I have a few ideas for the next few chapters... but I am not sure how I will go about setting it all up on paper. Until then, I hope you enjoy this chapter!

'I guess the books were right... dream magic does span to the other person's mind, not just your own. Otherwise, she would have killed me when I Apparated into that clearing.' Hermione thinks to herself as she follows the former Death-Eater to her hideout, deep within the forest.

The brunette had seemed so confident in herself as she read up on the topic before the Battle of Hogwarts and as she had spoken to Professor McGonagall before she had Dissapparated from the castle grounds. But, there was always a tiny amount of trepidation that had followed, like an over eager house-elf, and it had begun to cause her to worry if she had done the right things after all. In the end her worries have seemed for naught, she was know following the one person who she felt would be her only security in a world that she had always known was out to get her.

"Almost there!" Bellatrix calls out, the sound drawing the younger woman out of her thoughts. They had been walking for over fifteen minutes and Hermione was starting to feel the cold chill of panic settle into her veins. "I may have been a bitch to you before... but, I don't believe that I am the one you have to worry about now." The raven-haired witch says, her voice suddenly a lot closer than before. The younger witch looks up and notices Bellatrix standing only a foot away from her, a large cavern gaping out of the ground behind her. Before Hermione could even speak, the older woman nodded her head and gave an answer to the question that was trying to escape the brunette's mouth. "You really need to work on your Occulmecy a bit more, Granger. I can read you like an open book. Yes you are right... Dream magic does span to the other person's mind, but I would like to know why you of all people would try what the Order deems a very, very dark art. It seems a bit out of character for you."

"You're right... it is out of character for the me that everyone believes they know me but, you did not delve that deep into my mind so therefore you don't know all that had happened to me. Is this your hideout?" Hermione asks as she looks at the cave behind the other witch.

"Yes, it is. I know it doesn't seem like much but at least it has kept the Aurors from finding me... come on. Let's go in... I still haven't forgot that you said you have food in your bag."

Following Bellatrix into the mouth of a cave was the last thing that Hermione thought she would have ever done. If you had told her last year around this time that she would willingly follow the Lieutenant of the most nefarious wizard who had ever lived anywhere, Hermione would have Stupified you with absolutely no remorse. But here she was trailing only a metre behind the woman known to the wizarding world as the Dark Lord's guard dog.

The raven-haired witch finally stops when they were fifty metres in the cavern, Hermione shivers as she feels the chilled air of the damp, dark cave. Sensing the younger witch's discomfort, Bellatrix began casting a few spells around the chamber to ward off the cold, dank air. The aura of the cave became drastically better, allowing the younger witch to quickly crawl out of her melancholy and start to bring out some of the food she had brought with her.

"When you said you had food in your satchel, I never thought you had brought the whole bloody kitchen!" Bellatrix exclaimed as she saw the spread of delicacies that Hermione had displayed in front of the two.

"Yeah... before I left the castle, I popped down to the kitchens and asked the elves if they would give me some food. I think they mainly did it so I would leave them alone. I am sure you heard about the campaign I had for house-elf rights?"

The raven-haired witch laughs. "Oh... I did hear of it. Draco thought it was the funniest thing ever! The only person who somewhat understood the reason you did it was Cissy. She always had a bit of a soft spot for the house-elves in the Manor; but she knew it was what they wanted to do, not what we had forced them to do. Do you think, with all the powers they possess, that they would subjugate themselves to a life of servitude if they didn't want it?"

Hermione smiles as the red heat of embarrassment rises to her cheeks. "I know that now. I was young back then and thought that it was the right thing to do. Besides it kept me away from those two gits as well as kept my mind off other things."

The older witch notices the change in Hermione's emotions at the mentioning of the other two-thirds of the Golden Trio, but decides to wait and ask about it after both have had their fill of the bounty that lay before them. Sure she was curious as to why, but she had not had a proper meal in several days; so she decided to save any and all questions for later.

Neither witch really knew how hungry they had actually been. But after eating an hour in silence, both women knew the time had come to for question and answer time. Bellatrix looks up from the remains of their dinner and stares at the younger witch. At one point she would have killed the insufferable know-it-all and had no qualms about it, but now every time she looked at her she felt her heart quicken with a desire that she had not felt in a long time. Sure, she had been married to Rod ever since she had finished her seventh year at Hogwarts; but, she loathed the man and never even wanted the union. It was her parents idea, as well as his. They thought it would quell the phase that both of the two had for the same gender, plus it would unify to very powerful and dark families. Neither her nor Rudolphus had the desire to consummate the unity, so they had both went off on their wedding night in search of fulfilling their needs. But, every one of the women she had taken to her bed never fully satisfied her. Always leaving her feeling somewhat empty and longing for more. It really wasn't until she had met the young witch in front of her that her life had begun to change, but she would have still done her job no matter what, less she risk the wrath of the Dark-Lord.

The raven-haired witch smiles inwardly to herself, 'I think I have found the perfect question to ask her that can help me get a handle on the situation that I have found myself in.'

"I have a question, mud... I mean Granger. Why are you here? I saw your memories and can understand why you had to get away from those people, but why come to me? You were what they called the Golden Girl. Why travel here to find me? Unless it was ploy for the Ministry to catch me." Bellatrix stares at Hermione as she speaks, hoping that any facial expression or gesture would give the younger woman away.

Hermione sighs, knowing that those sets of questions were bound to come out of the former Death-Eater's mouth. She just didn't think they would all had came out at once. "Okay... you are entitled to an answer for all of the questions you have asked. And I will answer them all. But I believe you will understand more if I tell you my story, starting from my first year at Hogwarts until now... but if you do not trust what I say to be accurate, then I will show you my memories."

The older witch shakes her head. "No, I trust you. I don't know why, but I trust you." Bellatrix smiles. "Go on... tell me your story."

It was nearly dawn by the time Hermione had finished telling Bellatrix everything that needed to be said. The constant shit she had to deal with from that pretentious bastard of a Headmaster all the way to the her escape from St. Mungo's. She had left out the parts about the dream magic and all the reality-blurring dreams she had that had the beautiful Death-Eateras her lover.

The younger witch was shocked that during the whole time the older woman sat there and simply listened. No jeers, no snorts of discontent. She just sat there, quietly. If Hermione didn't know any better she would have thought that the stories that were told about the older witch's insanity were fiction. But she knew better than to ever think that, she had seen the woman in battle and knew the woman was mental. Hermione couldn't take Bellatrix's silence any longer, so she decided to make the woman talk. "So, what do you think? You have been awfully quiet this whole time. Do you believe any of what I said or do you believe the lies they had perpetrated to make the others seem as if they were the ones who did all the work?"

"I think... I think. I know this is going to sound really strange coming from me... of all people. I think I feel sorry for you. All that time and not a single person to listen to what you had to say. Taking all the credit for themselves and not realising that you were there only asset in a group of the most self-serving, unintelligent people ever. It's funny to think that you and I are a lot alike. I was considered the outcast of my family. Sure, I received all Owls while at Hogwarts... even made Head Girl. But, I always fell short of my parents expectations. Andromeda was the soft-spoken one who had the grace and poise that mother adored... that was until she shacked up with that muggle-born, Ted Tonks, and they disowned her. Cissy on the other hand... was the beauty of the three of us. Or so our father liked to say. She had the grace and poise just like Andy, but it was her charm and beauty that made our parents believe she could do not do any wrong. And she didn't for the most part... the only thing that father didn't approve of was how she would never obey him and mum when it came to shunning me. After everything they had told her that I was... after she watched them beat me, she still remained loyal to me."

"Then why are you here, instead of hiding out at her mansion?" Hermione asks as she feels remorse for the older witch in front of her.

"Because the Ministry has set their goons out around her house and she and Draco are basically prisoners in their own home! After I left the battle at Hogwarts all the other Death-Eaters were carted off to Azkaban. Since Cissy and Draco were never actually raised their wands they were left to themselves; but since I was not found amongst the living or the dead, they thought I would go and hide out at the Manor. I couldn't do that to them... they can't be subjugated to the torment of Azkaban... it would kill them and I can't do that to the only sister that has ever stood up for me." Bellatrix keeps the tears from spilling forth as she spoke. Even though she had told the brunette her innermost secret, she would not allow her to see her cry. "Besides, there is nothing I can do. The Dark-Lord lost and I was his second. Any attempts to try and reach her would be monitored. They would find out where I was and they would kill me. There would be no Azkaban for me, that would be too lenient. As well as the dementor's kiss. They would want me to die for what I have done. Hell, they probably would kill you too for what you have done. By now the Ministry has probably heard of your escape, plus the death of that doctor. They aren't as kind as they used to be. The Aurors were probably given instruction to kill you on sight, probably were told you had gone mental over the deaths of your little friends."

"Then we hide out here and do nothing except wait for our end?" Hermione asks as she stares at Bellatrix. "The Bellatrix I have heard of would never do such a thing like that!"

"Well, with all due respect dear... the Hermione Granger I had heard of would have never done what you have done as well. That includes the little dream magic you have used. I still haven't forgot about that, dear. I didn't mention it before but... you weren't the only one that was capable of seeing the dreams you had." The raven-haired witch smirks. "I saw them all. I didn't understand it at first but now I do. If only you had not been muggle-born, the Dark-Lord would have granted all your wishes and would have made that old sod pay for what he did to you. If I had known, I would have made him pay."

"If I wasn't a muggle-born, that is." The younger witch says sarcastically.

"No... if I had found out what he was about. If there had been some sort of leak in of information. I would have killed him." Bellatrix says matter-of-factly.

"Why?"

The older witch takes a deep breath, "Because before the dreams, when I first saw you in the Department of Mysteries, I had felt something for you. I didn't know what it was until recently, but I had always been attracted to you." Hermione tries to interrupt but Bellatrix raises her hand to keep her silent. "I know I tortured you at Cissy's and I regret it with all my heart. I thought what I felt was just a phase, I had never seen some one so determined, so defiant as you. You had intrigued me, still do actually. I know no matter what I say, I can not undo the damage I have done to you... but, I hope that you can forgive me." The former Death-Eater shakes her head quickly, as if trying to erase her confession, and quickly changes the subject. "Now, you are right. What I was saying before about sitting about not doing a bloody thing about our situation is not me. We have to find a way to protect ourselves... keep those bastards as far away from us as possible. Hiding here only prolongs the inevitable by so much. The more we stay, the closer they can get to us. You said yourself that Minerva knows that we are now both in Wales. We need to put our heads together and come up with a plan... something big. Something that they won't see coming. Something that will save our lives and keep us from having to hide. And I think I may know what we can do."