AN: Decided to stick with american sign language, so the sign language picked is not accurate to the location. Thanks to everybody who answered the AN.

Also it looks like this story is going to be a lot longer than I thought and I have no idea where I'm going with this other than HG/BB endgame. For those waiting to hear about what happened at the orphanage it'll be in about 4-5 chapters. Also there will probably a Hogwarts sequel for kiki.

Chapter 10: Easter 2004

As Hermione got the lamb out of the oven, she spotted a dark shape moving back and forth across the lawn. She smiled lightly, Kissara would be happy to see her, Bellatrix had proven to be quite the energetic playmate this past week. They had actually given up on seeing her for Easter, she was supposed to arrive on Friday and stay the weekend but it was now time for Sunday supper.

Hermione turned to Kiki, who was sitting on Andromeda's lap, looking at the new book Aunty Andy had given her. 'Go open the door'

'Why?' The girl didn't want to get off her Aunty Andy's lap, who was thoughtfully playing with the child's hair. Hermione had not told Andromeda or Tonks that she was expecting Bellatrix for Easter, though she believed it wouldn't be a problem.

In the living room, a dishevelled Teddy, who had been wrestling with his mom, jumped up and ran into the hallway. 'Race you'

That got Kissara off Andromeda. The kids barrelled down the short hallway. When Teddy opened the door, Bellatrix was still by the road. Teddy stopped at the sight of a woman which looked like his Nanny and his cousin at the same time, but Kiki kept running straight through the doorway to collide with the nervous woman.

Tonks and her mother had gotten up to look outside. Andy turned to Hermione, "Is that Bella?"

Hermione nodded.

Andromeda tentatively headed to the front door. She saw Bellatrix carrying Kiki, the girl was now holding a black panther stuffy. Bella knelt in front of Teddy as Kissara introduced them, his great-aunt then gave him a wolf stuffy. Andy could see her grandson thank her sister who smiled back at him. Still carrying Kiki, Bellatrix guided Teddy towards the door, but she stopped short of the steps when she spotted Andy.

"Andromeda?" Bellatrix put Kissara down. "I hadn't realized you would be here."

Hermione signed to the children; 'Come help me set the table. Nanny and Bella will be in soon.'

Assuring Tonks, Andromeda stepped outside while everybody else headed to the kitchen. The sisters stood facing each other, examining one another.

Bellatrix saw a strong woman standing in front of her, one happy in her life despite her losses, though she appeared cautious.

Andromeda saw a shy woman standing in front of her, a far cry from the madwoman seen over the years. She was uncertain about this new face, it was a completely new persona for Bellatrix, not the one she had when they were children-the protective older sister, or the madwoman of the First War. The woman in front of her was a mix of those two with something else.

All the same, Andromeda was happy to see her. About six months after Voldemort's return, Andromeda sometimes felt like she was being watched, the truth hadn't come out until Dumbledore died, as it turned out Bellatrix had been keeping an eye on her. After Dumbledore died, Andy became the intermediate between The Order and their spy. Although Bellatrix never spoke to her during the exchanges of information, she would just hand over a letter, not even making eye contact. After the war, Bellatrix had completely separated herself from both her sisters, yet Andromeda did notice that Bella had, even then, kept an eye on both her and Cissy as well as Draco and Dora in the first couple of years after the war. Then she vanished, the letter from Nymphadora stating that Bellatrix was Kissara's birth mother was the first time she or Cissy had heard about her in four years.

Bellatrix wasn't sure how long they watched each other, it must have been quite a bit of time since she spotted Granger checking on them at the window. She wanted to speak to Andy but she was scared of the voices lashing out. Out of nervousness over who else was going to be at the Grangers for Easter it took her 3 days to calm them. Right now they were well hidden, she couldn't make out what they were whispering… Who knew how long it would take for them to break free. During other meetings with Andromeda, they screamed at her, telling her to kill the blood traitor.

After Granger checked on them again, Bellatrix decided to throw caution to the wind. "Fuck it."

Bellatrix threw herself at her sister, wrapping her in a tight hug.

Andromeda was very surprised, it took her a couple seconds to return the hug. She felt Bella jolt, stiffen and then shove her face in the crook of her neck. Andromeda responded by tightening her grip. Bella started to whisper something she didn't understand and after a little while her older sister relaxed and pulled back. They looked at one another, in silent agreement, they decided they would talk later, right now they would go in for supper; they had kept the others waiting long enough.

Supper went well, mostly the conversation centred on the children, there was some small talk about their current lives. The children were also captivated by Bellatrix's tales about the different magical creatures that live in the forests.

Now supper was done, the children were playing in forts in the living room and the adults were still in the kitchen. Dessert hadn't been served yet, everybody needed to let the big holiday meal settle before eating again. For a bit, the women were just silent and watched the children. They seemed to take turns bossing each other around. Eventually the eldest at the table broke the silence, addressing Hermione;

"I didn't expect Andy or Tonks here, maybe your family, the Potters and Weasleys but not my sister." Bellatrix paused. "And, if Andy is here, why isn't Cissy here? I thought you two had gotten very close?" The last question was addressed to Andromeda.

Andy answered first, "Yes normally Narcissa and Draco are here, but this year Astoria's family invited them over for Easter."

Hermione then answered, "I've grown a little further from Harry, Ron and Ginny, though we still see each other on occasion and at Christmas. I've seen Ginny a little more lately, she just had a baby and from time to time she wants advice from someone who isn't a Weasley."

Bellatrix nodded but obviously noticed the fact that Hermione didn't mention her family. "What about your family, parents? Do they not like you being a witch?" Bella added the last part because she knew most wizards don't like having a squib.

Tonks grabbed the youngest witch's hand and explained for her friend; "Her parents were very proud of her. It's just… When the muggle and muggle-born murders became more numerous, Hermione decided to alter her parents' memories and send them to Australia to keep them safe. She figured they would be higher on the 'Death Eater hit list' because of her friendship with Harry."

"She was right, they were a target, but we never found them. Not as far as I know anyway. Why didn't you go get them after the war?"

"She doesn't know where they are. We tried to find them, our friends as well as the ministry searched for 4 years and we found no trace of them."

Bellatrix frowned, seemingly in deep thought. She looked at her daughter's mother who had her eyes downcast with possibly unshed tears. Bellatrix now saw Hermione as she was, a young woman and young mother with no family who was making ends meet quite well, a strong woman… Well, she almost had no family, it seemed Tonks had taken her in, Bella found it odd that it wasn't the Weasleys. Perhaps childhood friends, while their friendship may last, might have taken different paths in life which separated them? Bellatrix wouldn't know, she had never had real friends, though perhaps her relationship with her sisters was similar?

Finally, Bellatrix sighed, which caught Hermione's attention, and she simply said; "I'm sorry." The dark witch also made a mental note to try and find the Grangers. 'NO!' Bellatrix jumped, startling everyone, and put her hands to her ears. 'Don't help the mudblood! Yes…Find them...Kill them...Make her cry.' Bellatrix banged her head on the table in an attempt to make enough noise to drown out the voices. Yet she stopped when she felt little hands on her lap. She pulled Kissara onto her lap and started whispering her spell. Apparently the spell worked a lot faster when someone she cared about was with her, they quieted within a few minutes. Bellatrix looked up to see four pairs of eyes looking at her, only Hermione was not confused, she started to glare at them, but didn't get to do it as she felt Kissara's hands moving.

The girl repeated her hand gestures, first bringing her index fingers towards herself, then shaking her hands with only her pinkies and thumbs extended, lastly pointing to herself and Teddy. Bellatrix understood the first and last bit 'Come' and 'me and Teddy'. She looked at Hermione; "What does", she repeated the sign, "mean?"

"Play."

"Oh," Bella nodded towards the girl, who promptly jumped up and grabbed a hold of her hand, pulling her towards the living room. Bellatrix struggled to remember the sign for wait so she instead settled for 'Stop'. Kissara looked annoyed but stopped anyways, Bellatrix answered the child's annoyed look with a 'you're old enough to know better' look.

"Granger…Hermione…. Would you mind explaining it to them?"

Hermione simply nodded as Bellatrix went to play with the children.

The children were sleeping, Hermione and Tonks were playing a game of chess (not Hermione's idea) and Andromeda was looking for her sister. After Hermione's explanation, they all went into the living room where Hermione and Tonks had joined Bella and the children on the floor. Andy noted that Bella seemed to be more comfortable with Hermione than the younger witch was with her. When Hermione had gone to prepare dessert, Andromeda had followed her and asked her what was wrong. Hermione had only looked confused and said she didn't know herself. During dessert, Bellatrix ended up talking mostly to Nymphadora, Andy was very happy to see them getting along. After dessert, even though it was late, the children still had energy to spare so Dora had taken them out for a run, Andy and Hermione had gone to read in the library. It seemed like Bellatrix was following them to the library but when they turned around, she had disappeared. First assuming she had gone to the loo, then thinking her sister wanted to be alone, Andromeda only went searching for her sister after the children were put to bed.

She eventually found Bellatrix in the backyard, up in a tree. Bella watched her approach. As a greeting, the older witch reminisced, "Do you remember our swing?"

"Of course."

Her older sister leaned her head against the trunk and looked at the sky. "The best parts of my childhood were spent with you and Cissy on that swing. It was quiet with only the two of you, even when you were being brats." She scoffed and sat up. "I've always loved you, you know, never stopped, not even after you left. For a while I wanted to hate you, I envied you, to be brave enough to run from it all, considering the price…"

"What? Being disowned? It was worth it."

"You don't know." Bellatrix looked at her in wonder.

"Know what?"

"They wanted to kill you." Bella's voice was barely a whisper.

Andy's eyes widened. She took a moment to process that information before asking; "Why didn't they…kill me?" Bellatrix didn't answer, but the look on her face said everything. She had protected Andy.

When Bellatrix was sure that Andy had figured it out, she tapped the branch she was sitting on, inviting her sister up. Andy hesitated only a second before climbing up. As soon as she was seated comfortably, Bella leaned her head on her shoulder.

"Everything makes more sense now."

"What makes sense?" Bellatrix lifted her head to look at her sister.

"The voices… It explains a lot. When did you start hearing them?" The subject of the 'voices' hadn't been broached after Hermione's explanation. This new bit of information about her sister troubled her, though she was glad Bellatrix had a spell to control them. Andromeda had decided to blame the voices for what her sister has done, so hopefully she would be getting her older sister back now that she had some measure of control over the 'voices.'

Bellatrix shrugged. "I've always heard them."

"You never told us about them."

"No," Bellatrix was obviously avoiding her questions. Andromeda decided to ask one last question before dropping the subject.

"I suppose the most important thing is that you can control them… You can control them, can't you?"

Her sister sighed. "It's harder in public or with people I don't care for or despise. When I'm alone it's OK, they either don't have much to say or I can distract myself. And, I found out this week, that they retreat very easily when someone…I love… is with me, you or Kissara, probably Cissy too."

"What about Hermione?"

Bellatrix paused. "The voices don't like her, but every time they tell me to hurt her, I go see Kissara. Though tonight it wasn't that bad."

Satisfied with what she had learned, Andromeda let her look-alike lean on her shoulder again. And that was how they stayed until the younger witches came searching for them. A peace had settled between the two sisters.

As they went in, Bellatrix was content despite the voices chastising her for her 'weakness', she thought now she just needed to make peace with her youngest sister…and needed to start bringing gifts for Teddy as well as Kissara during the holidays, thankfully she had brought two stuffies today… Oh - and she should get a swing for her daughter.