Several long tables were lined up on the other side of the hall and were laden with tons of delicious-looking little appetizers of various kinds. Apparently the aim was to avoid that the invited guests either spilled their own food during an overly lavish dinner or were too full to be able to dance afterwards.
Judging by the crowds at the tables, they not only looked delicious, but actually tasted that way. Bellatrix didn't let that stop her and quickly handed Hermione two large plates while she squeezed here and there between the people at the buffet and unloaded so many appetizers on the two plates that it would probably have been enough for an entire football team.
Despite her boisterous behavior, which reminded Hermione of a small child in a candy store, the plates in Hermione's hands filled according to a system. On one side there were savory snacks, with fish, meat, sausage, cheese and vegetables, on the other there were sweet ones with chocolate, caramel, nuts, cream and fruit.
Hermione had to laugh as Bellatrix looked contentedly at the two bulging plates. "Someone's hungry."
The look Bellatrix gave her was so lustful that it shot straight to her core. With one quick hand she snatched an olive from one of the appetizers and threw it into her mouth, looking meaningfully at Hermione: "You'll quickly learn, little witch, that I'm pretty insatiable. " Oh. My. God.
Without waiting for an answer, she took the two plates from Hermione's hands as the younger witch tried not to drool at the sight of the muscles bulging in Bella's arms due to the weight of the two plates.
"Be a dear and bring four more of the small plates with you, then we can all just help ourselves from the two big ones," she asked the younger woman, turned around and marched back to their table. Hermione did as she was told and followed her, hoping that along the way her brain would receive enough blood supply to at least function somewhat.
When Narcissa saw her coming, she immediately stood up, ran straight past Bellatrix and came straight towards Hermione. Panic rose in the younger witch and she stopped abruptly. Her whole body was tense and she held the four plates in her hand in front of her like a protective shield.
She couldn't interpret the look in Narcissa's blue eyes at all and didn't know how angry the blonde was with her. This is nothing that can't be resolved with a sincere apology and a thorough and honest conversation, Bella's words from before echoed in her mind.
She gathered her courage and hoped to forestall Narcissa's outburst when she stopped in front of her and opened her mouth at the same time she did: "I'm so sorr-"
They both paused, their eyes met and they both let out a breath of relief at the same time as they had just spoken. Narcissa's eyes softened as she reached for Hermione's hand, which was still gripping the plates tightly.
"I'm so sorry, darling, I shouldn't have spoken to Draco so openly about you."
"No, I am sorry Narcissa, my reaction was way over the top. Of course you can talk with Draco about-"
A whirlwind of black curls that appeared between them interrupted them: "Ooookay, if you'll allow me to shorten this a little? You two are incredibly sorry and everything. That means you can now quickly make up again, forgive each other or whatever…"
Bellatrix placed a hand on each woman's back and gently pushed them towards the table, where she had already placed the two plates with the appetizers. "...and then my suggestion would be that you tell each other anything else that is on your mind in this regard while you are changing in the room or while dancing, so that you are completely alone and we don't have to wait any longer to eat. I mean, just take a look at our kitten, McGonagall is already starving."
The headmistress raised a disapproving eyebrow at the last sentence, but the corners of her mouth twitched in amusement. Narcissa and Hermione exchanged a quick look and nodded, smiling, in a silent agreement to continue their conversation later when they were alone.
Bellatrix clapped her hands joyfully, took the plates from Hermione and spread them on the table, only to immediately load her own plate full. The other three women just shook their heads with a smile as the black-haired witch greedily shoved one bite after another into her mouth and chewed with relish.
"God, this is good," she sighed after swallowing.
"What?" she asked provocatively when she felt the other women's eyes on her. "Don't look at me like that. My job is much more strenuous than yours. You sit at your desks all day, reading letters, books and essays, while I hunt down evil witches and wizards every day so that you can sit safely at your desks, mind you."
"How selfless of you, Bella," Narcissa commented sarcastically, rolling her eyes with a smile, but didn't say anything else. She was too busy shooting Hermione loving glances over the side of her plate as they ate, and the younger witch couldn't help but smile back at her.
She was immensely relieved that the conflict, which had felt so insurmountable just a moment ago, had so easily resolved itself. Even though their actual conversation about it was still pending, she had a feeling that they would find a solution.
She cared far too much about both Draco and Narcissa to be without either of them in her life. Woah, wait a minute, Granger, where did that suddenly come from? You care about her? Is it that bad already?
She tried to ignore her inner voice and reached for the Lillet Wild Berry in front of her, which she still hadn't drunk from. She paused before the glass reached her mouth, feeling the blonde's ganze next to on her, and looked at her, grinning, "Oh, I forgot. Have I eaten enough now that I can finally try it?"
Narcissa obviously had to suppress the impulse to roll her eyes again, but smiled and replied: "As long as you don't drink too quickly or too much at once and remember to drink water every now and then, you're allowed to."
"Yes, Mommy," Hermione countered and finally took a sip of the pink drink, which tasted wonderfully cold and fruity, while she actually barely noticed the alcohol in it. The blonde witch obviously didn't just have excellent taste when it came to fashion.
A cackling laugh across from her made her look up from her drink and she watched in confusion as Bellatrix writhed in her chair with laughter. Hermione looked at Narcissa in confusion, hoping to figure out what was so funny all of a sudden, and was surprised to see that a slight blush had crept onto Narcissa's high cheekbones as she killed her sister with her eyes. She looked at Minerva, who was avoiding Hermione's gaze and suddenly seemed to find the crumbs on her plate extremely interesting.
"What's wrong, what's so funny?" This only seemed to amuse Bellatrix even more, as she laughed even louder and wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes.
Hermione didn't know whether to laugh along or be annoyed when she didn't get an answer. "Seriously, Bella, what's so funny?"
Narcissa gave her a quick, surprised look when she heard her sister's nickname come out of Hermione's mouth, but immediately looked away when Hermione caught her eye. What the hell was going on here?
Bellatrix had now recovered somewhat, but was still giggling to herself and leaning back in her chair, almost exhausted from all the laughing.
"Bella!" Hermione repeated impatiently. This time Narcissa's head only twitched slightly at the nickname, but she still didn't look at Hermione. Minerva continued to inspect the crumbs on her plate.
"Please say it again, little witch," Bella giggled, resting her head on her hand and fixing her sister with a wide grin.
Hermione didn't understand: "Say what again?"
Bella kept her gaze on Narcissa, whose cheeks seemed to darken even further under her sister's gaze, "What you just said to my dear little sister."
"What do you mean, I just -" Hermione stopped herself mid-sentence when realization finally dawned on her and she stared in shock at the blonde woman next to her, who was trying to hide her flushed face behind her hands.
"I hate you, Bella," she muttered between her fingers in front of her face.
"Oh no, you don't…Mommy."
Narcissa tore her hands away from her face, glared at her sister and snarled, "Bella!"
"Oh yes, forgive me, of course it only has the right effect when our little witch says it to you. Although I would be very happy if you saved that for your individual dates. I'm open to a lot of things, but watching my own sister role-play isn't necessarily one of them. However, I would be interested to know how you call our little witch then? Baby? Princess? My little girl?"
Bellatrix seemed to know exactly which buttons to push on her younger sister to break her otherwise flawless composure. With every pet name she listed, the uncontrolled magic around Narcissa pulsed stronger.
Hermione anticipated the moment when the blonde would no longer be able to endure her sister's mockery just seconds before it actually happened and jumped up in a flash, almost at the same time as Narcissa, who had stood up so abruptly that her chair tipped back and banged loudly on the floor. Some guests turned their heads to see what the noise was about.
Narcissa's entire body trembled with rage as she seemed to dagger her grinning sister with her gaze. Before either sister could say anything else, Hermione stepped between the two, so close to Narcissa that she hoped to block Bellatrix from her view and that Narcissa couldn't ignore her as she said, "I think you owe me the first dance, Miss Black."
Without breaking eye contact with the still angry blue eyes in front of her, she linked her hands with Narcissa's and pulled her away from the table. She could feel Narcissa's magic around their clasped hands, crackling like little electric shocks between them.
Only when they were at what she hoped was a safe distance did she dare break eye contact with Narcissa to look for the door that would lead to the hidden bathroom. She didn't have to search long. As Ginny had announced in her letter, there was an inconspicuous door at the edge of the dance floor, very close to the DJ booth, hidden behind one of the large pillars.
She pulled Narcissa, still holding her by one hand, to the door and gripped the doorknob. She could feel the door accepting her magical signature and unlocking itself. She opened it and stepped through, Narcissa in tow.
As soon as the door closed automatically behind them, Hermione turned to Narcissa and pulled her into her arms. She could feel how tense the older woman in her arms still was, but breathed a sigh of relief when Narcissa returned the hug.
Hermione closed her eyes, inhaled the other woman's intoxicating scent and concentrated on breathing in and out deeply and slowly. In. And out. In. And out. She kept the rhythm, even as she was relieved to see that Narcissa's breathing had automatically matched hers.
She rubbed her spine soothingly with one hand while still holding her tightly with the other. Hermione couldn't help but smile with satisfaction as Narcissa gradually calmed down and the tension left her body like a balloon that had slowly been deflated.
Knowing that they could no longer avoid a clarifying conversation, Hermione slowly tried to pull away from Narcissa, but the older woman only held her tighter and seemed unwilling to let her go.
"Just a moment longer?" she heard Narcissa's vulnerable voice on her shoulder.
Smiling, she gave in and hugged Narcissa tightly with both arms: "Sure."
She simply stood still and waited patiently until Narcissa released the hug on her own.
"Thank you." Ice blue eyes, which were usually so cold and piercing, now looked warm and grateful into Hermione's light brown ones.
"There's nothing you have to thank me for."
"I beg to differ."
Hermione laughed, "Does that mean you're going to thank me every time I hug you?"
"I didn't thank you for the hug."
"I know."
They sat facing each other on the white cushiones bench that stood at the side of the room, which was decorated quite modernly in a mix of white marble and warm wood. Their hands automatically found each other again and intertwined naturally. They sat so close together that their knees touched.
From the way Narcissa sat up straight and hunched her shoulders, Hermione realized that the tension was threatening to return to the older woman and tried to forestall it: "I think we're even now."
Narcissa looked at her confused, "What do you mean?"
"Well, we both now know things about the other that we didn't necessarily wanted the other one to know, at least not at this early stage. You know about my inferiority complex - "
"Which is completely unfounded."
Hermione ignored the comment: "You know I think you're...quite nice -"
"Mmmh," the corners of the blonde's mouth twitched. "Quite nice, is it?"
"Yes..." Hermione's voice suddenly sounded much too high in her own ears.
"I believe the words you used earlier were beautiful, intelligent, successful, confident, attractive and intimidating?" Narcissa had leaned closer to her with each word. Hermione's heart fluttered excitedly.
"You forgot a lot older than me."
Narcissa's corners of her mouth curled disapprovingly, as if she had something unsavory in her mouth: "No, I didn't, I deliberately ignored it."
"But it makes you so hot." Hermione blushed as she realized what she had just said without even thinking about it.
The blonde smiled mischievously and there was a sparkle in her ice blue eyes. "Oh? Is that so?" Her voice had become deeper.
Hermione just swallowed and nodded.
"Well maybe then I can live with it." She was still way too close. Nevertheless, Hermione tried to pick up the original thread of the conversation.
"Besides, you know I shaved my whole body for you -"
Narcissa's voice was a purr as she ran her free hand up Hermione's arm, "And do you know how hot that makes you?"
A whimper escaped Hermione's lips at these words and goosebumps spread all over her body at the sensual touch on her arm. Focus, Granger!
"And I know now that you like it when I call you -"
The hand that had just been caressing her arm quickly covered her mouth, preventing her from saying another word.
"No! Please don't say it! Not here. Not now." Narcissa's voice was urgent, almost panicked. Still covering the younger woman's mouth, Hermione could only nod, hoping it was believable enough to reassure Narcissa. The blonde breathed out in relief and lowered her hand. "Good."
Hermione could see the wheels turning in Narcissa's head as she said, "Strictly speaking, we're not exactly even."
"Why not?"
"I know a lot more about you than you know about me, which brings us to our...discussion earlier, which we should definitely talk about. Hermione, I'm really sorry for talking to Draco about you."
"I know." She sighed. "It won't be possible to completely avoid talking about me in the future, after all, you both know me and... you're both an important part of my life."
"Am I?"
"What?"
"An important part of your life?"
"If you want to be? I mean...God, it's probably way too early to even talk about this...But..."
She stood up unsteadily and began pacing around the small but spacious bathroom as she searched for the right words, her eyes fixed on the floor as if she were talking to herself.
"I definitely care about you. I'm attracted to you...very much so...not just physically...Merlin...I don't know how these three weeks will go, I can't predict the future, but...if this thing between us..." she crossed her arms the chest, "...if it becomes something serious, I would like you not to talk about every detail of our...um... relationship with your son, who happens to be also one of my best friends. That would be strange. I know I can't tell you what you can and can not talk about with your son, and I certainly don't want you to be less open with each other because of me. I know you are very close. Maybe I should talk to Draco about this too, he is also part of this."
She stopped in the middle of the room and looked at Narcissa, as if she had just remembered that she was still there, and turned bright red. "Assuming, of course, that you feel the same way and want things between us to become…um…serious," she added hastily.
Narcissa looked at her intently, rose elegantly and slowly approached her. Hermione's heartbeat quickened as Narcissa stopped right in front of her, cupped her face with both hands and pressed her lips to hers so softly, lightly and briefly that Hermione didn't even have time to close her eyes, let alone kiss her back.
It had been so light as a feather, like a fleeting breeze on her lips, that for a moment she wondered if she had imagined the touch. Narcissa looked her deep and serious in the eyes as she breathed, "I would love that. Don't worry about Draco, I'll talk to him, he'll understand. Like I do. I don't want you to have to worry about this, darling, whether we're together after these three weeks or not. All right?"
"I don't know." She wrapped her arms around Narcissa's small waist. "Can you please repeat the beginning again?"
Narcissa frowned. "I would love that?"
"No, before that." She risked a smile, but her heart was pounding excitedly in her chest as she waited to see how the older woman would react.
"Oh, that." The smile on Narcissa's lips was beautiful. She was beautiful. "Yes I can do that."
She leaned forward, but before their lips touched, Hermione asked hopefully, "And maybe a little...slower?" And…longer? I couldn't quite keep up with it."
Narcissa's eyes shone as brightly as crystal-clear sea water reflecting the sun's rays.
"Oh, my poor little girl."
Hermione gasped loudly at the pet name, which triggered something deep in her abdomen that she hadn't even known was there, as soft lips touched hers and her eyes instinctively closed. The kiss was still gentle, even careful. They slowly pressed their lips together.
Narcissa's thumbs gently stroked her cheeks and Hermione let out a small whimper as her lips parted of their own accord. Narcissa took the opportunity to take Hermione's bottom lip between hers and suck lightly. Hermione let out a deep moan and clawed at Narcissa's bare back. The sigh that came from Narcissa's mouth was so beautiful, so hot, so lustful that Hermione immediately wanted to hear it again.
She greedily pressed her body against the older woman's and pushed her tongue against the wet lips in front of her to allow her entry, but the lips suddenly moved out of her reach. She tried to follow them, but the hands that had just gently stroked her cheeks stopped her.
"Darling?"
"Mmmh?" Hermione blinked her eyes open, regaining her senses the moment she saw how dark Narcissa's eyes were with lust.
The blonde visibly struggled to keep her composure as she said, "If we keep this up, I doubt we'll be leaving this room today. And we should really get you ready for the dance."
"Oh, shit, the dance, yes, right." She hesitantly separated herself from Narcissa, who had raised her eyebrows in surprise at the swear word. "I completely forgot about that."
Narcissa grinned, "Well, how could that have happened?"
"Well, there was this beautiful witch…"
"Oh really?"
"Yes. With sinfully long legs, the most beautiful blue eyes I've ever seen, and wearing a dress that should be forbidden."
"Forbidden, you say?"
"Yes."
"Shall I take it off?"
"What?! No! Do you want to kill me? I'm glad I didn't have a heart attack the first time I saw you in that dress in the entrance hall, but I was definitely close."
"I know. I've seen it."
Hermione gave her a dark look: "Glad you find that so funny. Anyway, we should really have a serious conversation about your choice of clothing if you want me to survive these three weeks and everything that comes after."
"Then I'm curious to hear what you say about my choice of clothing for you." Narcissa's eyes suddenly lit up with excitement. "Do you want to see it?"
Hermione had to smile. The older woman's enthusiasm was contagious. "Of course."
"Then take a seat and take off your shoes," Narcissa ordered, scurrying to a cupboard in the corner of the bathroom where Hermione's dancing shoes for the night were obviously stored.
She had just sat back down on the bench and taken off her shoes when Narcissa knelt in front of her. In her hand she held shiny silver peep-toes, the color of which varied between gold and bronze depending on how the light fell on them. Suddenly she was nervous.
All evening she hadn't thought about the fact that she had to dance three times this evening in a hall full of strangers, and she didn't even know what she would wear or what dance styles she would dance. She bit her bottom lip nervously as Narcissa reached for her bare foot and helped her into the first shoe. "How does this whole thing work again?"
Narcissa had already reached for the second shoe. "You put on the shoes, your dress will automatically transform into the one I chose for you, and as soon as the song I chose for us starts playing, the magic in the shoes will work and guide your body. "
"Like I'm a puppet? As if I had the Imperius Curse on me?" Hermione didn't like the idea of no longer having control over her body.
Narcissa looked up at her and placed a reassuring hand on her knee. "No, darling. You are not being controlled by external powers. It's more that your body knows intuitively and automatically how to move. You will know intuitively and automatically. Imagine you learned to ride the bike as a child, but for whatever reason forgot it as an adult, and still got back on the bike. Intuitively, you would do it right without anyone controlling you. Well, there is a bit of external control because I will be leading, but I think that shouldn't be a problem for you, right?"
"No," Hermione replied as she breathed out a sigh of relief. Narcissa's explanation seemed reasonable to her.
"Do you want to see your dress now?" Narcissa held out her hand, which she instinctively took and let her help her up. She hadn't even noticed that the spell had already worked and was about to look down when Narcissa grabbed her chin and lifted her head back up: "Ah ah, close your eyes. You're not allowed to look until I tell you to."
She obediently closed her eyes, let Narcissa lead her around the room with both hands and, when she reached a certain point, turn her hips in a certain direction. She heard Narcissa exhale excitedly behind her, "Now you can open your eyes."
Hermione's mouth dropped open as she looked down at her reflection in the mirror in front of her. Her dress was still white, but much more revealing and extravagant than the one she had originally worn to the ball. It was still held together at the nape of the neck, but the neckline was significantly lower.
A floral pattern ran across her entire upper body, giving way at her hips to an almost transparent chiffon fabric that fell to her ankles and had a slit as long as Narcissa's dress.
Overall, it seemed to be the white, more innocent version of Narcissa's dress. A clear sign of togetherness without being completely the same. She smiled as she realized how much thought Narcissa must have put into choosing both of their dresses.
Narcissa wrapped her arms around her from behind and kissed her neck tenderly. "You look beautiful, my darling. Do you like it?"
"It's beautiful, Narcissa."
"Only because you're wearing it, darling."
She planted feather-light kisses on Hermione's shoulder and the younger witch couldn't help but sink against Narcissa's warm body, tilting her head to the side with her eyes closed to offer the woman behinder her more skin.
The silent invitation did not go unanswered as the grip around her waist suddenly tightened and the older woman pressed herself against her from behind. Hermione shivered all over as Narcissa licked her tongue from her shoulder, over her neck to her earlobe. Her knees went weak and she would definitely have fallen if the blonde hadn't still held her tightly.
She sucked in a startled breath and opened her eyes when she felt teeth nibbling on her earlobe. She met Narcissa's gaze in the mirror, who seemed to have been watching her every reaction closely, fixing her with a fire in her eyes that Hermione had never seen in her blue eyes before.
She had to suppress the impulse to reach for Narcissa's hand and shove it between her legs, where a piercing throbbing screamed for attention. She thought of her own words that she had said to the blonde earlier: Are you going to tell him how wet I was? Holy shit, she was so wet. She could feel the warm liquid in her panties when she moved her pelvis only in the slightest.
Narcissa's red fingernails clawed into her dress as she made an almost animalistic sound and let go of her from one moment to the next. She disappeared from Hermione's sight as she retreated to the center of the room as if it were a safe place.
"Could you…" she was panting heavily and gasping for breath, "…could you please get away from the mirror?"
Hermione, who was also trying to get her breathing back under control, frowned in confusion, but complied with her request without question. As she walked toward Narcissa, she could feel her leg almost sticking out through the dress's high slit with every step.
Hoping to ease the tension in the room and broach an innocuous topic, she asked, "Does the slit have to be this high? I don't know if it's a little too much skin for me to show."
She looked uncertainly at Narcissa, who had regained her composure enviably quickly now that they were no longer standing together in front of the mirror. "Believe me, darling, you need the freedom of movement for our dance."
"Which is…?"
Smiling lasciviously, Narcissa put both hands on her hips and pushed one of her long legs forward through the slit in her dress. The look she gave the younger witch could only be described as lustful: "The two of us, my darling, will do the dance of fire and passion. We'll do the tango."
Hermione gulped and laughed sarcastically, "So we basically pick up on the dance floor, where we left off in here?"
Narcissa just grinned, took her by the hand and pulled her through the door behind her and straight onto the dance floor.
Notes:
Oh, I really enjoy writing Bellatrix now, even though I initially was really terrified of it. One of her sentences in this chapter still makes me crying with laughter. Can you guess which one?
What are your thoughts on Hermione and Narcissa?
Hermione's dress for the dance with Narcissa: .ar/en/collections/stage/products/vestido-tango-escenario-sh1395-bis