"Why did I agree to this again?" Hermione Granger pulled her scarf tighter around herself as thick snowflakes fell from the sky. The walk to the arena seemed further than she could recall. She didn't think they had parked that far away.
"It's a beautiful night for a walk," her blonde friend spun around in the falling snow. "Plus Ginny is your best friend and you love her."
"No," she shook her head. Clearly Luna wasn't bothered by the sudden drop in temperature. Hermione swore it was just autumn the other day. Truthfully, it was already mid December and she had studied away much of the year. "You are going because you are Ginny's girlfriend and a supportive one at that. I'm going because the two of you ganged up on me and caught me in a moment of weakness."
"She did make a good point," Luna shrugged, still spinning slowly, trying to catch snowflakes on her tongue.
"Oh and what was that?"
"Just that you haven't been to a single one of her games this season."
Hermione sighed knowing there was no way out of that one because it was true. She had been studying for her bar exam. It had taken her six years to finally get through all of her law classes at Oxford including her post graduate degree, work-based learning and finally her Bar Professional Training Course but as of a few days ago, she had taken her exam and was anxiously awaiting the results. If she passed, she could pursue the career she had been dreaming of for as long as she could remember. She wanted to go into Criminal Litigation ever since she was a little girl watching crime shows with her Grandma and Pap. Legal studies always interested her without any good reason. So, she hadn't been the greatest friend for at least the last year but now that her exams were done and she secured a job for now she was here to make up for her lack of attendance, "okay. I get it. But I'm here now."
"Ginny doesn't blame you. We all know how important those exams were to you."
"True," Hermione still felt bad. She had been friends with Ginny and Luna since undergrad. They had all shared an apartment off campus. Even when Luna and Ginny started dating it wasn't weird because Hermione spent most of her time at the library or at work. After her post graduate in law, Hermione moved out to focus on her studying and the work experience she needed prior to her exams. Thankfully, her friends never gave up on her even when she would ghost them for months then reappear as if no time had passed. She appreciated them for that. "I mean I do love watching women in short shorts beat the hell out of each other."
"That's the spirit," Luna looped her arm in Hermione's almost pulling her towards the arena.
"You do know I know nothing about Roller Derby right? To me, it's just a bunch of hot women skating around beating the hell out of each other while I eat nachos and cheese."
"The snacks are really good," Luna stopped at the willcall booth to grab the tickets Ginny put aside for her and Hermione. "I can teach you the rules if you'd like."
"Hmm," she thought about it only for a moment. "No thanks. I like to make up my own narrative in my head as I'm watching."
"Fair enough," Luna shrugged. "Snacks now or do you want to get to our seats."
"Snacks. Always get the snacks first." They had ordered a ridiculously large amount of snacks for just the two of them but Hermione was rather hungry and knew none of it would go to waste. Plus, Ginny always stopped over for a few bites between rounds. "So who are they playing today?"
"A newer team to the league. I've never heard of them before but apparently they are really good and Ginny was a little nervous. They call themselves The Death Eaters. Here," she pulled out her phone and pulled up the team website.
"The skull and snake are rather foreboding, aren't they?"
"Quite," Luna agreed, she scrolled to the team page and handed it to Hermione. "Looks like it's a family affair."
Hermione scrolled down the page looking at the pictures of the team members and stopped at the dark curly haired woman who was scowling at the camera. Clearly she did not authorize her photo being used but Hermione was stuck on it. Her name was listed as Bella and that's the only bit of information on her. She was gorgeous and even though she was here for her friend, she would be looking for this Bella on the track. "They look a little intimidating," she handed Luna back her phone.
"I'm sure the Lions will win," she had always been overly optimistic for as long as Hermione could remember. She attributed that to her affinity for crystals and their healing powers. Most of that stuff was lost on Hermione but she did have a sack full of rocks that Luna insisted she keep near her bed.
"Based on name alone, I don't think the Lions stand a chance against a team called The Death Eaters."
"Fair enough," Luna smiled, "but we have Ginny." She pointed to her girlfriend who came out from the locker room with her team.
Hermione waved to her friend before scanning the girls for the other team. They hadn't come out yet which only slightly disappointed the brunette. "So," she took a sip from her Diet Coke, "how long is this again?"
"There are two thirty minute halves with 15 jams per session. So about an hour but more with time outs and if anyone gets injured," Luna started in on her fries.
"Right," she was in for a long night. She reached into her coat pocket and pulled out the book she had brought with her. At least if she was going to be forced to watch sports, she would at least have good company besides Luna. "5 players in at a time right?" The blonde nodded, "see I paid attention during the last few games I attended."
"What book did you bring?"
"Oh," she tucked it underneath her food tray, "it's nothing. Probably won't even get bored. Not at all." All sentences ceased to exist when the other team came out of the locker rooms. "Woah."
"They look kind of mean," Luna whispered. The Death Eaters were led into the arena by a girl with shoulder length pink hair. "That's their jammer. Tonks… I think she called herself that on their website. Ginny said she's met her before at some event."
"I think the Lions are about to have their asses handed to them," she watched as the girls in green and black started doing their pregame stretching. Sitting on the Lions side really did give her a nice shot of all the women bending over in their tiny shorts. Maybe Hermione was too gay to attend an event like this, "so Ginny will be trying to score against this Tonks? With the star thing that she can pass to the other person right?"
"Yes, if Ginny or Tonks can't get through the three blockers, they can pass the star to their pivot. It's really not that complicated."
Hermione rolled her eyes. Sports were a foreign language to her. Everything about it was complicated. At least watching Ginny here was more exciting than her football games in university. Those were dreadfully boring and hardly anybody scored. Hermione got a lot of school work accomplished during those games. She turned her eyes away from the skaters and back to her book. Her copy of The Secret Garden had seen better days but she hadn't read it in awhile and it had been begging her from the shelf to choose her so she did. She shifted her snacks to the empty seat on the bench next to her and opened her book. She had read for a few minutes before the announcer signaled that the game was about to begin. When Hermione looked up she saw the curly haired woman staring at her with an amused look on her face as she tied her hair back and put her helmet on. The woman was covered in tattoos which were not highlighted on her player profile. Hermione thought it was a shame because all she wanted to do was go down there and take a closer look. She felt her cheeks start to heat up when she realized she had not so subtly been staring at this random lady. Hermione wasn't sure but she thought the woman winked at her before skating ahead to join her teammates in the pack of players on the track.
If there had been a test at the end of the match testing the audiences' general knowledge of what happened during the game, Hermione would have failed. It wasn't her intention to spend the whole match watching the curly haired woman beating up other skaters but she was entranced. It was like when the Sirens led sailors to their death but with tattoos and legs instead of songs. The only thing she was able to recall was that Ginny's team lost. "I didn't know you enjoyed Roller Derby so much," Luna had brought her back to the present.
Hermione cleared her throat, willing her eyes away from the goddess, "it was a very intense match."
Ginny took her helmet off before coming over towards the benches. The girls met her down at the bottom, Luna immediately pulling her into a hug. Hermione look away during their moment but she heard Luna tell her, "you played so good tonight."
"I did," Ginny wasn't shy about her abilities, "that other girl was just better at least tonight. I'll get her next time. Did you enjoy the game Mione?"
"Sad for you that you lost but the game was very interesting."
"So you didn't need to bring out your emergency book?" Ginny smirked at her friend.
"Well I got it out but only read a few chapters before the game began. It was too intense of a game."
Luna leaned in and whispered something to Ginny that caused the redhead to laugh. There was no way her friend had noticed her drooling over that woman all night. She had definitely been discrete but when she saw Ginny wink at her she suddenly felt her cheeks burn. "Saw something you liked you out there, did you?"
"It was probably me," the pink haired girl approached the trio. "I just wanted to say good game. You are quite a jammer." She held her hand out for Ginny to shake. "I'm Tonks. I think we've met before but it's been a wild couple of months."
"Ginny," she shook her hand. "Your team is crazy good. I'm not anxious to play you again." Luna cleared her throat, "oh yes. This is my girlfriend, Luna and my best friend, Hermione."
Tonks said hello to the girls before turning back to her team that had been calling for her, "I came over to invite you and your team to an after party. Mainly for us to brag about our win but also because we are trying to get to know everybody in the community." She saw Ginny look back at the other two, "you two are more than welcome to come. It's at our house." She handed her a slip of paper with the address on it. Hermione couldn't help but feel the girl's eyes on her the entire time she was talking to Ginny. "It's going to be fun." She didn't wait for their response before turning and walking away.
Hermione watched the girl get swept up by two of her teammates before they left for the locker rooms. "Did that seem strange to you?"
"Not really," Ginny handed the paper to Hermione. "There are usually after parties hosted by whoever wins. Kind of glad we didn't win now. I don't think I make enough to pay for the amount of booze they could probably drink."
Hermione held her phone out, "well they do live in a literal mansion"
"Holy fuck," Ginny grabbed the phone and started snooping at the pictures of the house. "Old money or new money?"
Luna peered over Ginny's shoulder at the pictures, "only one way to find out."
"Good thing I have my dancing shoes in my locker," she laughed.
"I should probably just head home." Hermione thought about her prospects. She could go to this house…no mansion party with the possibility of meeting drunk sweaty sports people or she could go home, drink a few glasses of wine and take a nice long bubble bath. "It's been a long couple of weeks. I don't know if a party is good for me."
Ginny dropped her head onto Luna's shoulder and snored loudly. Her girlfriend laughed, "I think she's trying to tell you that you are boring, Hermione."
"That's exactly why I'm saying. What could possibly be more interesting on a Friday night than hanging out with your friends and a bunch of hot potentially available women at a mansion?"
"A glass of wine, a good book and my bed," Hermione crossed her arms over her chest.
"Oh come on grandma, come out with us."
Hermione really wanted to say no so she could continue on with her plans but then she caught eyes with that curly haired woman again. The intensity in her stare was intriguing enough for Hermione to hear herself say, "sure. I'll drive."
The mansion was as formidable looking with three stories adorned with multiple balconies as the pictures had shown online. There was a long curved driveway that led the cars from the street past the house and back down to the street. Hermione parked her car at the far end of the driveway closest to the exit so that they wouldn't get blocked in when she was ready to leave. "I think there was a valet up there," Ginny pointed to the man that they had driven past.
"Yeah but I don't want to have to wait for someone to fetch my car when I leave plus I don't have any cash for a tip. Just be thankful I brought you here. I could be at home with my book."
Ginny zipped her lips, "thank you for the ride."
Luna looked at the large house as they approached, "how many boxes of twinkle lights do you think they had to hang up to cover the front?"
The house was decorated beautifully for the upcoming holiday. Guessing the number of twinkle lights would be almost as impossible as guessing the number of jelly beans in a jar at the fair. The mansion did look like it had been professionally decorated though so Hermione just hummed before responding, "I'm guessing nobody in the family decorated the house."
"And why is that?" The woman who opened the door must have heard Hermione as they approached. "Don't think a couple of rich people are capable of hanging lights?"
Hermione looked at the woman with an expression of horror on her face knowing she had been caught talking about the family prior to really meeting any of them. Her grandmother would remind her that it is impolite to talk of others before getting to know them.
The woman laughed, "I'm just fucking with you. Come in. Of course we didn't decorate the house. Imaging my wife or any of her sisters climbing a ladder is a ridiculous thought." Hermione noted the tanned skin of the other woman and the darker hair signaling the fact that she wasn't one of the family but she was sure she had seen her playing on the track. "Ginny right?" She held her hand out. "I was one of the blockers beating the shit out of you. I'd say I'm sorry but it's the game."
Ginny laughed, "no apology necessary. I only wish my team would've gotten a few better shots in. Between you and the shorter blocker, we really didn't stand a chance. You were ruthless."
"Nobody hits harder than Bella," the woman laughed, "found that out when I started dating her sister." Hermione was learning a lot. That hopefully meant Bella was still available. "Hi. I'm Aviya. Married into the madness. Down the hall to the right, the second door is the ballroom. That's where most of the people are."
"Ballroom?" Ginny looked back and mouthed to Hermione.
"I know," Aviya laughed, "I was the same way my first time here."
"Which player are you married to?" Luna gave her a curious look when she started laughing, "I didn't know that was a funny question."
"It's not that. Just the thought of my wife skating is hilarious. You'll see her. She's the angry looking blonde one. Team manager but she doesn't play. So funny," she walked the trio down the hall towards the ballroom. When they walked in the room, she started pointing out people. "Bella's over there with my wife. Don't let the angry expressions throw you off, that's just their faces. Dora," she pointed to the girl with the pink hair, "is over there with her mum, Andy. She was the pivot. And over there is Kate. She is also not related but she was our third blocker and is a pain in Bella's ass."
"Are they dating?"
Hermione was glad that Ginny had asked the question she had wanted the answer to and felt a little relieved when Aviya started laughing again. "I've been part of this family for years and I've never seen Bella with a girlfriend. Lady acquaintances yes… relationships, no. Also, Kate is painfully straight."
"Is there a bathroom around that I could use?" Hermione felt nervous all of a sudden when she felt she was being watched from the corner of the room.
"Just down the opposite way we came. Fourth door. You can't miss it."
Ginny and Luna had asked if she wanted them to come with her but the brunette insisted she could find it alone so they set off to find the drinks, stopping to talk to Tonks and her mother who were standing by the bar. Bella saw her chance and excused herself to join them at the bar, "well Red didn't you get enough of a beating on the track?"
"Auntie," Tonks gave her a look, "be nice. Aren't you the one who said we should get to know the other teams?"
Bella pretended to think, swirling her glass of whiskey around, "that doesn't really sound like me."
"Well somebody did," Tonks continued, "this is Ginny and her girlfriend Luna."
"Charmed," Bella wasn't particularly interested in the two of them. "Dora, it looks like your guests haven't gotten drinks yet."
"Oh right," She went behind the bar, "and please Auntie Bella, it's Tonks."
"Nymphadora, I did not go through 19 hours of labor to call my only daughter, Tonks," her mother rolled her eyes.
The three of them at the same time said "don't call me Nymphadora," causing Ginny to laugh noting this probably wasn't the first time those words were uttered. Dora rolled her eyes, "whatever. What can I get you?"
Bella placed her hand under Andy's elbow pulling her a few steps away, "so what did you find out?"
"Red teaches physical education at a highschool and coaches football. I couldn't understand a damn thing the blonde was trying to say. I think she's one of those crystal loving hippie women."
"Weren't there three of them?" She asked, trying to sound aloof even though she had been tracking the other girl since she saw her sitting in the audience reading a book.
"Don't play dumb, Bellatrix. It's not becoming of you. We all know those two are just here as a formality."
Bella rolled her eyes, "I know that and you know that… so what did you find out?"
"The peach just took her tests to become a barrister."
"Is she who we think she is?" Andy nodded, causing an evil grin to spread across Bella's face. "The dominoes are cascading in a line, my dear sister."
"Oh and Dora thinks the peach might fancy you," Andy smirked.
Bella shrugged her shoulders, "well who wouldn't?" The girl was rather nice to look at. Still, they were back in London for a reason. Bella wouldn't mind if she got a little extra something with her time in the city. She noticed that her niece had finally fixed the other two girls some drinks when she looked around, "did your friend go home?"
"Hmm," Ginny didn't seem worried, "she said she had to go to the bathroom. Maybe she got lost."
"I can go look for her," Luna had offered, turning to put her drink on the bar.
"Nonsense," Bell stopped her. "It's a confusing layout. I'll go find your friend. The two of you stay here and enjoy the party. It's the least we can do after crushing your team today."
Bella left the ballroom and walked down the hall towards the bathroom. She wasn't surprised when she saw the door open and lights off. Clearly, the peach had decided to have a little wander around. "She was reading at the game. I wonder," she turned and made her way up the back spiral stairs and entered the top level of the library. She quietly entered the room, slipping in without a sound. She had discarded her heels at the entrance and stepped towards the railing. As she expected, the brunette had found her way to their two story library. She watched as the girl ran her fingers along the spines of her books, stopping to pull one out every so often to glance at it before returning it to its home on the shelf. Bella stood with her forearms resting over the balcony holding her tumbler of whiskey. When Hermione stopped to admire one of their antique vases she cleared her throat, making the woman downstairs jump, "enjoying the party?"
Bella could see the blush from where she was standing. Hermione tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, "I was just going to the bathroom." She pointed over her shoulder towards the door, "but then I turned the wrong way after leaving and I saw this place. I didn't intend to snoop but when I see books, I have to look. I can not stop myself. It's a condition of some sort that sadly I've not been cured of."
"I saw you reading on the bleachers and I thought to myself, hmm what a curious girl," Bella took a long pull from her glass, emptying it and discarding it onto a nearby shelf. "Who reads so intently at a sporting event? I think a tornado could've ripped through the building and you wouldn't have noticed."
Hermione watched with bated breath as the woman started descending the stairs. If she thought the roller derby uniform was sexy it was nothing compared to her outfit now. She had on a pair of black trousers and a matching three button black vest. That was it. No shoes, no shirt, nothing. She willed her eyes to remain locked onto the woman's face as she kept stalking closer to her like a snake slithering its way over to a mouse. "I noticed you," she finally managed to say.
A deliciously evil smirk spread across her face, "did you now?"
"I did," she stood up straighter in a poor attempt at asserting her dominance.
"I'm Bella," she extended her hand and held Hermione's tighter after a small jolt of electricity shot up her arm.
"I know," her cheeks started turning pink. Hermione wasn't sure if it was from the confessions or the physical touch but she felt her whole body warming. "My friend showed me the team website. Your picture and name was listed. No fun facts though."
"Why list the fun facts when it's more exciting to learn them first hand?"
Hermione licked her drying lips desperate to bring any moisture back to the northern part of her body, "umm." She internally berated herself for the lack of the English language during her moment of need.
Bella's deep chuckle did nothing to cure her current state, "fun fact," her eyes seemed to glow with the embers from the fireplace creating an amber effect to wash over her dark brown eyes. "I hand selected every book in this library."
"But there has to be thousands of books in here," Hermione dropped Bella's hand to accentuate her sentence with a wide sweeping gesture of her arms.
"Literature is one of my many passions. I can see that it's the same for you," she noticed the way Hermione was smiling at the books. "I've played many matches before and never once saw someone in the stands reading. You intrigue me and I'm not quite sure why."
"I always have an emergency book. Fun fact," Hermione turned to face the shorter woman who had somehow managed to close the distance between them a little, "I wanted to skip this party. I canceled my plans for this."
"Was it worth it?" Bella pressed closer.
Hermione could smell the earthy shampoo the woman had used after the match, "a bubble bath, a good book and a few glasses of wine. My Friday night routine has never disappointed me." She looked down catching Bella's piercing gaze, "though I am finding this night to be quite enjoyable." She started to feel like prey again when Bella's eyes started to wander down her face to her lips before traveling back upward. "How long have you been skating?"
Bella took that as a sign that the girl maybe needed some space. She needed cooperation eventually so she backed up a few steps, "as long as I can remember? I'm not sure. My sister and I skated all the time when we were younger. It wasn't until my niece got old enough to compete that she wanted to start her own roller derby team."
"How have I never seen your team play against Ginny's before?" She immediately missed the closeness of the other woman but she could breathe a little easier without the earthy scents filling her nose making it hard to think. "I mean it's not like I go to every game but Ginny definitely would've complained about you guys being so good."
Bella laughed, "we travel a lot. We've played in different cities all throughout Europe. We just recently decided to move back to London into the family home and took the opportunity to make our move in the league here."
"I think if I ever had the opportunity to leave London then I wouldn't look back."
"An aspiring world traveler?"
Hermione shrugged, "if I fail my bar exams then who knows. So where did you live last?"
Bella smiled, "Nous avons vécu en France pendant quelques années. Il était plus facile de voyager depuis notre maison centrale là-bas."
Hermione noticed that the smile seemed genuine, not like the smirk she was already used to seeing. "So you have a central home in France? That's really cool."
Bella seemed slightly impressed she understood her, "Vous êtes allé en France?"
"Non, mais j'ai étudié le français comme langue à l'université."
Another smile, "that is very impressive. Languages fascinate me. It's like being able to communicate in a secret code."
"How many languages do you know?"
Bella thought about it for a minute, "six? Seven? I'm not sure. I've lost count."
"So what brought you guys back here?"
"Dora started university in the fall. She wanted to come back home. So here we are." Bella turned back to look at Hermione, "you don't look old enough to have taken the barrister exams."
"If you are asking me how old I am," she saw the smirk return, "I just turned 27 in September. And you?"
"Don't you know it's not polite to ask a woman her age?" She rolled her eyes, "I'll be 39 soon enough."
"I could probably just google all of this information," Hermione almost laughed at the affronted face Bella was giving her. "I am almost a full fledged lawyer. I have my ways."
"You will do nothing of the sort. I can not be googled. Try if you must but I'm a virtual ghost."
"Like your player profile?"
"Exactly right," Bella checked the time on her watch, "did you want to head back to the party? I don't think you've gotten a drink yet."
"I'm driving. It's fine," Hermione wasn't planning on drinking anything.
"Fair enough," Bella started walking back over towards the spiral stairs, "can I at least show you where I keep my favorite books? You can trust me. I don't bite hard, pet."
Hermione's eyes lit up and willingly followed her snake up the stairs, "I would love that." She walked behind Bella until they stopped outside of a set of small double doors. "You keep them in this closet?"
Bella chuckled, "something like that," she opened the closet doors and a small shelf came into sight. "Pull this one," she pointed to a book on the shelf.
Hermione did as she was told and the shelf slowly swung open to another smaller library, "you have your very own Narnia?"
"It's one of my favorite books," Bella followed Hermione into the secret room. "When the opportunity presented itself to me, I couldn't pass it up." The room was on the smaller side, filled wall to wall with books. There were a few comfortable looking chairs with fairy lights illuminating the area, "go on. Take a look." She invited Hermione into the room as she took a seat in her favorite chair.
Hermione wasn't sure how much time she spent in the makeshift Narnia just talking to the other woman and browsing her books when her phone went off with a message from Ginny asking if she had been taken hostage.
"Is that Red?" When Hermione nodded, "I did tell them I was coming to find you. I guess we got a little distracted."
"I should probably get back to my friends," Hermione looked at the time and it was well past midnight. "I think it's probably time for us to leave. It was truly an enjoyable experience."
"Don't regret standing up your bubble bath and glasses of wine?"
Where did this woman come from was the only thought racing through Hermione's mind, "not tonight, no." She looked over at her companion, "it's not everyday a beautiful woman takes me to their secret lair filled with books."
"Well if it adds to the experience," the smirk came back, "you are the first woman that has been invited into my secret lair. This room is just for me."
"I suppose I'm special then," Hermione didn't know what to make of this woman but she was a little more than intrigued by her.
"I suppose you are," Bella still hadn't gotten up.
"I'm just going to head out then. Thank you for showing me this place," she stopped and bit the inside of her cheek. "Any chance you'd like to do it again sometime?"
"I think that could be arranged, pet." Her words were dripping with something Hermione couldn't put her finger on but the smile she gave her told her that Bella was being sincere.
"Do you want my phone number? Or?" Her sentence trailed off when Bella shook her head, no.
"I'll be in contact."
Hermione found that peculiar but it seemed to fit right in with the way her day had been going so far, "it was lovely to meet you, Bella. I look forward to hearing from you."
Bella stood up, slowly walked over to the brunette and looked her in the eyes before leaning up slightly to kiss her cheek and whisper, "the pleasure has been all mine, Hermione Granger."
Bella reached behind the girl and pushed the button causing the secret door to open back up. Hermione turned to leave and stopped, "how did you know my name? I never told you."
Bella just chuckled and shook her head, "your chatty blonde friend. Off you go, pet, wouldn't want your friends to think I'm keeping you here against your will."
Hermione said goodbye one last time before turning and leaving the secret library. Bella sighed, sinking back down into her seat, "that was a close one."