November - The next day
This little human was different. We didn't care much for humans. We didn't mind killing them. But sometimes humans surprises us. We were growling. We were showing our teeth. We were threatening. We were not expecting the little human to light up. It smiled and ran toward us. The little human threw its arms around us and held us in the way little humans do when they are happy. We stopped everything. We were so confused.
The little human started laughing and touching our face. It ran away, unconcerned about us at her back. The little human moved a stone from the ground and took something from under it. It came back holding something pink and removed something brown from it.
The little human held the brown thing out to us, its paw open. We smelled it, it was sweet-smelling. We weren't sure why it was showing the brown thing to us, we looked back up at the little human. It seemed to notice our confusion. It brought the brown thing to its mouth and pretends to eat it before offering the morsel to us again. We know enough to know that human kittens this young do not harbour the ill intent seen in adults. We eat meat to live, but we always enjoy treats.
We took the sweet from the hand of the little human. The sweet was good but the laughter from the little human was even better. The kitten laughed as our tongue tickled its paw. It wiped its paw on its fake fur and happily walked to the door of the den. It motioned for us to follow. We did. But it could not open the door.
The kitten was slightly upset but it didn't progress. It once again motioned for us. The kitten led us towards the small forest to a wooden basket up in a tree. The kitten was agile for a human, it even reached out for us to help us climb. But we love trees. We jumped right into the kitten's basket. It laughed again and also got into the basket.
It started gesturing to us. We recognised it was communicating. We didn't know what it was saying. But we had decided we liked this kitten so we laid down and pretended to listen to the happy kitten. Happy kitten soon became sleepy kitten. It drifted off to sleep right in front of us. How odd, the kitten has no fear. We smelled the kitten, and felt something odd. Magic was flowing around the kitten, more magic than the magic humans. This was a half-breed.
We decided to leave the kitten, but we would be back. This was a nice kitten. But as we were going to jump we saw the kitten shiver. It was cold out for a furless animal, even with its fake fur. We decided to lie next to the kitten to warm it up. The kitten snuggled into us, putting its cold paws in our fur. We wrapped our tail around the kitten. We would stay for a little while.
We fell asleep. We were woken when we heard frantic cries. But not the kitten. We look through the basket toward the den. Two female humans were looking for something. The kitten looked like one of them. We nuzzled the kitten once more and leapt out of the basket and away from the den.
We would be back for the kitten.
Hermione stretched out as she woke up. She was nice and warm, the sheets were soft and she didn't want to get out of bed. Unfortunately it was a weekday. She sighed and sat up, brushing her hair back. She looked at the clock, 6:58. She beat the clock by two minutes. She turned her alarm off and got dressed.
Once dressed Hermione finally managed to shake herself from sleep's grip. And she immediately wished she hadn't, last night's conversation came back to haunt her. First order of the day, getting Kissara to school. Second, putting a hiring sign at her bookstore to free up some time. Then she was supposed to meet with Bellatrix.
Hermione shoved her worries to the back of her mind so as not to worry her little girl. Her heart dropped as she opened Kissara's bedroom door. The covers were pulled back and Kiki was nowhere to be seen.
"Kissara?" Obviously shouting her name was ridiculous but it helped keep Hermione's nerves in check.
Hermione headed to the bathroom, hoping her daughter was there. She wasn't. Hermione turned and ran down the stairs and literally collided with Bellatrix.
"What are you doing here?"
Bellatrix shrugged nonchalantly but started to get worried when she saw Hermione's expression. "I just thought it'd be nice to have breakfast with you and Kissara. What's wrong?"
"Kiki's not upstairs. I'm looking for her."
Bellatrix nodded and pushed Hermione towards the front of the house. She would check the back. Bellatrix ran to the library and laundry room and made sure to check behind the furniture. She heard Hermione doing the same in the living room and kitchen. No Kissara do far. She walked to the back of the house towards the basement entrance to check there, but she paused as she saw a little black stuffy and the back door. Taiga. She grabbed the stuffy and went to open the door. It was locked.
"Hermione?"
"Did you find her?"
"I think she's outside. Is the back door usually locked?"
Hermione came to join her. "What? Of course it's locked. I don't trust her not to go outside when she's not supposed to. She can't reach the deadbolt."
Bellatrix unlocked the door and stepped outside, Hermione followed. They needed to make sure they looked everywhere. Hermione admitted to herself, that Kissara was more likely to venture outside than into the basement, she was scared of the basement. But what if Kissara had not wandered off? Hermione shook those thoughts out of her head, the thought of someone taking her daughter making her heart tighten.
It was a big empty yard with nothing to hide behind so they each went one way following the perimeter of the yard. Hermione paused when she saw a black shadow move near the treehouse. The young mother took off running towards the treehouse and she spotted Bellatrix following her. Hermione got to the rope ladder and climbed up to see her daughter curled up in her pyjamas without socks. She must be freezing.
"Is she up there?"
"Yes." Hermione reached out to pick up her girl, stunned when she touched her. "She's warm."
"Fever?"
"I don't know."
Kissara woke up as Hermione was getting ready to go back down. The girl at first smiled, happy to see her mom but soon felt the worry of both her mothers come over her. She wasn't sure why they were worried but she apologized anyways. Her mother sighed and went down.
When Hermione got to the ground she motioned for Kissara to come join them.
'What were you doing up there?'
Kiki looked at her mommy and Star.
'I slept with Taiga.'
Bellatrix stepped in. 'We found Taiga in the house, you didn't sleep with her. How did you get outside?'
'I opened the door. And I had a sleepover with Taiga'
Both women were truly confused. Hermione noticed Kiki was starting to shiver so she shook the questions off for now. She took her girl's hand and led her back to the house. Kissara hesitantly reached for Star's hand as well, and Star took the offered hand.
Once inside Bellatrix gave Taiga back to Kissara. She patted the girl on the back; 'Go get dressed, mommy and I will start breakfast.' Bellatrix looked over at Hermione and noticed her wet socks. 'Can you also bring down socks for your mommy?'
Kiki sniffled and nodded, she turned to her mommy. 'Are you mad at me?'
'No sweetie,' Hermione got down to Kiki's eye level. 'I was just very worried that's all. Never again sleep outside without us ok?'
Kissara was teary eyed so Hermione pulled her daughter in for a hug and wiped a couple of stray tears away from her girl's eyes and her own.
Bellatrix noticed the time and placed her hand on Hermione's back, "I hate to say this, but if you want Kissara to catch the bus, we're going to need to hurry up."
Hermione nodded and addressed Kiki; 'Go get dressed.'
The girl nodded and ran up the stairs.
"I can't believe I left the door unlocked."
"I don't think you did."
Hermione stood up and looked at Bellatrix. "I'm sorry?"
"I don't think you left the door unlocked. Think. I found it locked. Even if you had left it open, she can't reach the lock, much less lock it from the outside without a key. Someone was here."
"Think it was her father?" Hermione ask, getting very worried.
"I don't know. It doesn't seem to me like he would be the type to simply let her freeze to death. But we can't rule it out."
Hermione nodded and sighed, frustrated. It was very important to get the wards up today. She bent down to remove her wet socks. "We'll bring her with us today. We shouldn't leave her alone."
Bellatrix thought about that as she led Hermione to the kitchen. "I think it would be better for her if she went to school." As Hermione started to protest, Bellatrix held up her hand to tell her to wait. "If she couldn't feel our emotions, I'd say ok. But dragging her through this…" Bellatrix shook her head. "Muggle primary school keeps a good eye on the children. I doubt he's going to try attacking her there."
Hermione looked at Bellatrix and met concerned dark brown eyes which were also filled with worry. She couldn't help it, Hermione fell against Bellatrix and held her. The other witch stiffened and Hermione was afraid she would be pushed away. But she melted into the unexpectedly returned embrace. She buried her face in the dark, soft, curls and inhaled the wonderful scent of lavender and pine. Tears escaped and she snuggled closer. When Bellatrix treaded hand in her hair, Hermione started sobbing. It had been so long since the last time she had been comforted.
Bellatrix decided to return the hug in earnest, ignoring all warning bells going off in her head. She wrapped her arms around the young woman. It wasn't all that bad. In fact she rather enjoyed it and decided to pull Hermione close. She wasn't entirely sure what to do when she felt tears on her shoulder. Bellatrix tried something she knew she would like if she were in this position. She threaded her hand into brown curls and rubbed her scalp lightly. When Hermione started sobbing, Bella was afraid she had not done the right thing, but was relieved when Hermione clung to her even more tightly.
Once she calm down Hermione didn't want to pull away and she stayed in the other woman's arms until she felt a couple tugs at her shirt. She pulled out of the embrace to find a very worried Kiki looking up at her. She smiled at her girl. Hermione did feel better now and she signed to Kissara not to worry. She looked up at the clock. They were late.
'Toast?' she asked everyone. The dark haired girls nodded and Hermione put toast in the toaster, they didn't have time to make anything else.
Bellatrix looked down at a Kissara and almost laughed when she saw the girl had put her dress on inside out. 'Here, let me fix that.' She undressed and redressed Kiki correctly and was happy to see the child had remembered to put tights on. Bella also asked her if she had remembered to bring some socks for her mother. She couldn't help but laugh when Kissara proudly held up a mismatched pair of children's socks.
When Hermione saw this, she also started to laugh. Poor Kissara looked confused, but Hermione didn't bother to explain. She put the toast for Kissara and Bellatrix on the table, putting some more toast in the toaster. She thanked Kiki for the socks, kissed her on the forehead and went back upstairs to get herself another pair of socks.
Of course Kissara was late for the bus, but Hermione had apparated them in a hidden corner near the school, so her girl wasn't late for school. Hopefully Bellatrix was right and the monster wouldn't strike at school.
Their next stop brought them to the bookstore. Hermione didn't open the store but hung a sign on the door.
Now hiring full and part time. To apply please slide your resume and cover letter under the door.
It wasn't fancy but would have to do. Only the wizarding world would see the sign and she made sure to add.
Must be able to help with muggle books or willing to learn about them.
"Ready to go?"
Hermione turned to Bellatrix and nodded her head. She was starting to get anxious about going to see a powerful witch. What if she had an aversion to humans? What if she refused to help?
Hermione jumped as she felt hands rub her arms. Bellatrix reassures her; "It'll be ok. Rosie will make sure we will find at least one witch willing to help us."
Hermione's jaw dropped. It was amazing to see the 180 in Bellatrix. Unfortunately she worried the voices would rebel even harder after this long streak of kindness. However she would have to worry about that later, right now she would just take this turn of events for granted. She sincerely said; "Thank you."
Bellatrix turned away, uncomfortable. Hermione was sad to see her eyes go black, but they were a shade lighter when Bella turned back to face.
"Come on." Bellatrix said harshly and held out her arm.
Hermione let it drop as she knew the witch was only hiding her soft side. She took the offered arm and soon they had landed in a forest of conifers with such high braches you could see for over a kilometre.
Bellatrix let go of Hermione almost immediately, as if she could not stand her presence anymore. It was a little hurtful, but the muggle-born tried not to dwell on it. Bellatrix's next actions though confused and amused her. Hermione tried her best not to laugh as Bellatrix looked down and started shuffling her feet, taking tiny steps.
Bellatrix looked up and frowned at her; "Well, you could help."
Hermione swallowed her smile and retorted, slightly serious, slightly playful; "I could. If I knew what we were looking for."
That stupid mudblood. It's not our fault you know nothing. It's not like I told her where we were going. You should not contradict us. Do you see what you have done? The mudblood is comfortable in your presence. Foolish woman…
Bellatrix shook her head, hoping to quiet the voices for a bit, without any luck of course. "We are looking for Rosie's den. It's hidden with charms but you can trip on the opening." Even after her explanation the dark witch noticed that Hermione was still looking at her. "What?"
"Nothing." She dismissed, "Do you have a general idea where to look?"
Bellatrix shrugged, "Within 500m of our landing spot."
The younger woman nodded and turned away, heading in the opposite direction. Bellatrix watched her for a little bit, biting her lower lip. Something was happening, something she most definitely wasn't comfortable with. She shook her head. The voices were wrong about how Hermione, or anyone else for that matter, should be treated. Although, that didn't mean she should dwell on the strange sensations that were present in her when she was with the young woman. Bellatrix took a deep breath; The only reason I spend time with Granger is to be able to be part of my daughter's life. Keep telling yourself that fool, you are a disgrace!
Bellatrix jumped and snapped out of her internal debate when she heard Hermione cry out in surprise. She looked and saw that the other witch had found Rosie.
Hermione was startled when a black wolf head appeared out of the ground, seemingly out of nowhere. It seemed the creature noticed the fright she had giving the young woman, so she wiggled her nose and let out a loud yawn, making an odd dog-like meowing noise, then set her head down, giving the witch big puppy dog eyes. Hermione let a relieved laugh as she realised it was just Rosie.
"It's nice to see you again Rosie."
The wolf-creature, yes Hermione had been doing some reading, Rosie was not a werewolf but another species of the same family, perked up at the lighter tone and starting coming out of what must have been her den. Hermione backed up and remembered that Bellatrix had bowed to Rosie at the party, so Hermione mimicked her movements. Rosie seemed pleased and bowed back to Hermione, then bowed again to the dark witch who had joined them and also bowed.
Hermione was surprised a second time to see a woman, a couple inches taller than herself, come out of the den behind Rosie. The woman was sparsely dressed, seemingly comfortable in the cool weather. She had walnut wood coloured skin with earth brown hair broken up by bone white streaks. Her eyes were amber sap coloured.
Rosie's voice filled their head. "I don't believe you've met my mate, Shiara."
Hermione hid her surprise, she was expecting Shiara to be of the same species as Rosie. Though it did narrow down Rosie's possible species. She must be a shapeshifter.
"Nice to meet you." Hermione smiled. "Out of curiosity, what are you?"
Shiara cocked her head and smiled at Hermione like an adult would smile at a curious child. Hermione was not insulted, the creature had an aura of age surrounding it. Deciding to humour the young witch, Shiara answered;
"I'm an earth elemental."
Hermione had thought hearing Rosie speak in her head was unnerving, but Shiara's voice was completely unsettling. It was like she spoke from below them, around there it was both loud and near inaudible at the same time. Shiara noticed the young woman's discomfort and smirked. Hermione did get scared, but was surprised to see Rosie snap at her mate her bared her teeth in return. Their little argument was over quickly and Rosie turned back to an uncomfortable Hermione and frowning Bellatrix.
"Don't mind her. She likes to scare people."
Shiara snorted at her mate's comment but decided to progress the conversation. She did not like having her day off with her mate interrupted, no matter the reason. "So what brings you here?"
Hermione blinked, this time the elemental's voice was normal.
Bellatrix stepped in for the still confused Hermione, rubbing her hands up and down the woman's arms even as the voices screamed. "We were wondering if you could introduce us to a witch. They are hard to find, and we need someone who can put up strong wards."
Rosie cocked her head. "Aren't you capable of putting up strong wards?"
Bellatrix nodded. "Yes, but as you proved the other day, different types of magic need to be used against different species. I had put up the most powerful wards I could, but…"
"But?"
"It seems Kissara's father has managed to get through them. We found her locked out of the house this morning." Hermione finished up.
"This is what you were fearing when you first contacted me?"
Bellatrix nodded to her friend.
"Well then. I suggest we head over to see Vivian." Shiara concluded. She had realised that this visit was important. Protecting one's cubs was paramount.
With that Shiara turned and headed east. Rosie motioned to the witches to follow and also set off. Bellatrix started off but paused when Hermione took her hand.
Get you bloody hand off me, mudblood!
To force the thought away Bellatrix squeezed Hermione's hand tighter and concentrated on the current witchhunt.
It took them an hour to find Vivian, she was living in the more deciduous part of the forest. When they found her she was kicking rocks and seemingly thinking aloud. Honestly underwhelming for a purebred witch, you wouldn't really look twice at her if she passed you in a human city. Not only that, but Hermione couldn't feel even a little bit of magic coming off her. However, she had recently read that certain creatures could hide their magical signature and many chose to place an inconspicuous glamor spell on themselves after the attempted genocides of the Middle Ages, where humans decided they wanted to rule the earth. Either way, Hermione didn't care, as long as Vivian was capable and willing to help.
"Hey you." Shiara called.
Vivian was shaken out of her reverie and her eyes went wide as she observed the newcomers. She soon smiled though and came up to Shiara to hug her.
"It's nice to see you." She turned to hug Rosie. "Who is this?"
"This is my friend, Bellatrix, and her mate, Hermione."
Both human witches opened their mouth in protest but couldn't get a word in as Vivian greeted them enthusiastically;
"Hi! Nice to meet you!" The sand-haired witch looked around. "What can I help you with?"
Rosie nudge Bella with her muzzle, encouraging her to trust the stranger. Bellatrix looked to Hermione before starting her explanation. "About a month ago our daughter's biological father threatened her. We thought she was safe, but this morning we found out that she had been locked outside overnight."
Bellatrix trailed off, but Vivian prodded her. "So you are worried for your child. How do you know it was her father? Both of you seem strong for human witches, aren't you able to put up wards?"
Bellatrix shook her head. "We aren't certain it was her father last night as the method of endangerment was bland for him…" Bellatrix looked Vivian in the eye, "He isn't human."
The witch nodded, understanding. "So you want me to put wards up that can keep his species out. What is he?"
Bellatrix deflated with that question, "I have no idea." she shoved her hand through her hair in frustration. "He had a light bony complexion with glowing green eyes. He doesn't have the teeth of a carnivore."
"Well, that description is incredibly vague." Bellatrix frowned at the witch, annoyed. Vivian threw her hands up. "I know, that's all you know. And, yes, I can put some wards up. Though I would like to meet your daughter first, I could probably identify his species through her."
Hermione, who had only been listening as of yet, thanked Vivian and asked if she knew of something that could protect Kissara while she was out and about.
Vivian nodded, "In a sense, you can only get a certain degree of protection while travelling. There's a special bracelet I can craft to protect her from spells, but as far I know there is no preventative measures against physical attack." She paused, giving them enough time to ask questions or protest. When none were forthcoming, she continued; "I have to make it first and gather some things for the wards. So… I'll meet you in two hours? Do you have a floo? It'll be easier for me to find you."
Both Hermione and Bellatrix promptly agreed and gave Vivian their floo password. The witch smiled her goodbyes and left via apparition.
Bellatrix turned back to Rosie and Shiara. "I'm sorry about the time I took from your day off. But thank you so much."
"Your welco…"
Bellatrix couldn't help but laughed as Rosie and Shiara were stunned as Hermione decided to hug her thanks. Shiara backed out of the hug, but Rosie returned it.
"We will keep an eye out for him. When you know his species, we'll spread the word."
Both mother's felt a weight lift off their shoulders, although they couldn't insure Kissara's safety yet, they weren't alone.
After another round of thank yous and good byes, Bellatrix and Hermione finally disapparated away leaving the other women to enjoy each other's company.
Hermione and Kissara were playing patty cake while Bellatrix paced and thought about what to do. Truth was, unless they knew more, there was little they could do. The monster might not even live on this planet. And maybe he just wanted to put them on edge, then wouldn't do anything? But maybe he was just waiting for them to get lax…
She looked up when she heard Kissara squeal with laughter. Hermione was trying to catch the girl's foot. They had picked up the girl at lunchtime, as per Viviane's request to have her at the house when she put the wards up. Bellatrix paused again. Would Kissara be affected by a ward that was designed to keep out the species with which she shares half her characteristics? Is it even possible to target a single species? What happens if they meet a kind member of that species? Would it be best to make a ward like the ones at non-human gatherings? The spell to protect against anyone who would mean harm.
"You're projecting"
Bellatrix internally jumped and turned to see Vivian who had just stepped out of the chimney. At the sight of the newcomer Kissara ran to her darker-haired mother and lifted her arms to be picked up. Bellatrix complied and the girl tucked her face into her neck.
Vivian noticed the child's discomfort and immediately spoke to her, making her voice higher in a way most people did when around children. "Hey sweetie. You don't need to be afraid. I'm here to help."
Hermione joined them in the hallway. "She's deaf."
"Oh." Vivian tapped the girl on the shoulder and repeated what she had said in the non-human version of sign language. It took a couple tries before Kissara finally understood the different language. The child relaxed a bit, although she still seemed unsettled.
Her mothers were just about to make Vivian back off when Kissara completely relaxed.
Bellatrix nearly growled. "You didn't cast a spell on her…"
Vivian shook her head. "No. I just completely pulled in my magical signature. She's very sensitive to it."
The two mothers exchanged a glance, still wary but decided it wasn't worth pressing further. Yet.
"So, do you have an idea what she is mixed with?" Hermione asked.
"She's half dark elf." Vivian stated confidently. "They are a species of elf that have an affinity for the darker earth magic. Of course this does not make them inherently evil, but just like any other species, some can be."
"They use dark magic but aren't cruel?"
Vivian looked up to the sceptical older witch, whom she could feel had used dark magic; "Contrary to popular belief, where you get your magic does not affect your personality. It's how you use the magic which is important."
"How do you know for certain that is what her father is?" Hermione questioned.
"Your little one's magical signature leaves little doubt."
"In that case, can you put up a proper ward?" Bellatrix was eager to get this over with.
Vivian nodded; "Yes. What I'll be putting up is a ward that protects against people who would do your family harm which is specially designed to withstand dark earth magic. However I must tell you that the charm I made to protect Kissara against magical attack is useless in her case."
Hermione was not happy to hear that. "Is there something else?"
Vivian shook her head.
"Ok. Could you put up the wards now?"
To this Vivian acquiesced and everyone headed outside. It turned out the pure witch was impressed by the wards already set up by the half-breeds, so she didn't bother to take them down. As the magical barriers were put up she taught the other women how to put them up, confident they could handle the difficult spells.
After Vivian left, Hermione left to put up wards around the elementary school, it wouldn't hurt. They also decided to head over to Narcissa's, Andromeda's and Tonks' to put up the wards. Hermione would tell her friends about Kissara's father over the weekend and would put up the wards with their help then.
Next day
Hermione was happy to finally be at home. It was Friday, and she had just hired three new part time employees for her bookshop and one full time employee. Two were students at the London Wizarding University. Wizarding universities were nowhere near as big as muggle universities since most wizarding jobs were obtainable with N.E.W.T certification and a bit of on-the-job training. Hermione was glad to support students. The other part-timer was an author needing a day job. Lastly, she hired Margaret, or Peggy for short, who was three years above her at Hogwarts. They had seen each other quite a bit at Hogwarts, both enjoying the peace of the library, though they hadn't really spoken.
Hermione walked through the door and got tackled before being able to take her coat off. Kissara extended her arms to her mommy, wanting to be picked up.
'Wait a minute, let me get my coat off.'
Hermione laughed as her girl ran around her and help her with her coat. The young mother finally managed to put her coat away and she picked up her daughter and swung her around. The girl giggled in delight. Hermione spotted Tonks rounding the corner with Teddy. The little boy came to give her a hug and she smiled brightly at him.
"Thank you for picking Kiki up."
"Hey, no problem. Thank you for keeping Teddy overnight."
"It's my pleasure, I'm sure they'll have fun." Hermione gave Tonks a hug. "Good luck with your date tonight, yeah?"
Tonks knelt next to her son as she put her boots on. "Be good for your aunty, I'll pick you up tomorrow at lunchtime ok?"
"Yes mommy." A distracted Teddy replied, he was eager to join Kissara who had gone back into the living room to play with the Spirograph.
"Give me a kiss." Teddy obliged. "I love you. See you tomorrow."
"Love you. Bye."
The boy was done with formalities and ran off to go play with Kiki. The women shared a laugh and another goodbye before Tonks left for the night.
The rest of the evening went by more or less well. The kids got in trouble for throwing a ball too high, but otherwise everything went well. Hermione booted them outside after supper in an effort to drain their energy. They did come in hyper, but once in bed they went out like a light.
Hermione went back downstairs, grab the book she had been reading and she settled into her nightly reading.
Bellatrix watched the rock fly into pieces. Rage filling her. She was angry at herself for letting the voices restrict her. She was angry with herself for listening. But what stunned her was she wasn't repulsed by the feelings she had. She wanted to act on them.
Another rock exploded.
The voices were yelling at her again. She hadn't been able quieten them since yesterday, when Rosie had called Hermione her mate. It had really made the situation sink in, not only that but Kissara was now most definitely their daughter. Even worse, she was so worried about Kissara and the voices just told her to let her die. She was filled with sorrow and rage and she couldn't deal with any of it.
Another rock exploded.
She had researched dark elves. They weren't many of them left and they were powerful creatures. Hard to find and even harder to kill.
She tore at her hair, she felt like she was splitting in half. A piece of her wanting the offered family, the other wanting to kill them. She laughed bitterly as the idea to go to Hermione for comfort flew through her head. Like the mudblood would do that. She let you into their lives out of duty. She is sure to want to keep you away from the stupid half-breed. You should forget about them. Go frequent people who are worthy of you. Of course you've degraded so far, you may not be worthy of anyone.
Bellatrix screamed and they went on. She thought about going to Hermione's again. Of course, she could go to her sister's, the voices would probably appreciate that more. But no, she wanted Hermione. Bellatrix breathed in, she would more than likely wake up Kissara, but she supposed that could help as well. Tomorrow is Saturday, the child could sleep in.
Bellatrix disapparated from the rocky beach and apparated in the hallway.
"Oh, hi. You just missed the kids."
Hermione addressed her lightly, obviously Bellatrix's mask was still functional. Although the bookworm seemed to suspect something was wrong when the other woman didn't answer. She didn't comment but watched as Bellatrix took a seat.
Bellatrix looked at Hermione's light brown eyes and saw concern. And that was it. She started to cry softly at first, then sobs. She hid her face in shame. She felt the seat dip and arms wrap around her. The ex-Death Eater tried to pull away but the stupid girl didn't let go. Bellatrix guessed that in a way, this brilliant girl was stupid. How other would she make the decision to care for her? Bellatrix had yet to find a reason why Hermione would want to be able to manipulate her. Still doubting, Bellatrix decided to let herself be held and rocked. The events of the past few days weighing less and less and time went by.
When she finally calmed down, she became hyper aware of the muggleborn's arms around her waist and her face pressed into the back of her neck. She tried to pull away before she did anything rash. However, Hermione wasn't letting her back out yet, she seemed to will their eyes to meet.
"We can't do anything more. And we shouldn't live our lives dwelling on what ifs. We'll deal with it as it comes."
Bellatrix looked at Hermione, and realised that for the first time in years, she couldn't hear the voices. She smiled fully for the first time in a while, absolutely stunning Hermione. And, you know what? Hermione was right, they had to take things as they came. Bellatrix shook her head. Oh my god, that's enough optimism for now.
She got up and grabbed a tome from the bookshelf, showing it to Hermione. "Mind if I stay?"
"Not at all." Hermione sat back down on her chair, slightly upset the moment was over, but happy for the companionship.
They read for a little while before Hermione interrupted the silence;
"Could you watch Kissara for a week?"
Bellatrix nearly dropped her book and looked up at Hermione with wide eyes. She had never been asked to watch Kissara for that long. A couple hours, sure, when her daughter's mother was at the bookstore or grocery shopping, but never overnight
Hermione was also internally stunned, she had planned on asking Tonks to watch Kiki. But it was too late now, so she decided to pretend it had been her intention all along to ask her daughter's birth mother. "Um, hello? Bellatrix?"
Bellatrix shook herself and prepared to happily accept. "I guess you've decided to go get your parents?"
"Yes. I figure this weekend I could tell Harry and the Weasley clan about our problem and about my parents. Put some extra wards up. Then head out Sunday or Monday."
"You would trust me with her?"
"Should I not?"
"Of course not! Wait… No… Yes, you should."
Hermione laughed. "So you'll watch her?"
"Of course!" Bellatrix confirmed. The she frowned. Could she even handle taking care of Kissara? Then the dark witch thought of something that could be very bad. "What if your little friends come to call? Are you planning on telling them about me?"
"Yes." Hermione hesitated. "Eventually. They know you were on our side. They prefer to think you're dead. They also don't know that Kiki's yours. They will not be happy." Hermione looked up to meet Bellatrix dark brown eyes. "I swear I'm not going to hide you forever. I'm hoping to get the secret out before her birthday. It'd be nice to have the entire family there. Unless they decide…"
"They need you." Bellatrix assured. "They'll be mad. But they'll come back to you. I, however, may need to avoid them. Though, that's for later. What do I do if they come calling this next week?"
"I doubt it. But if they do… I'm going to tell them Tonks has Kissara for the week. Just have her drop Kiki off if they want to see her."
Bellatrix nodded and tucked back into her book. They'll work out the details later, right now she wanted to try and finish her chapter before Hermione had to go to bed.