December 2004

The sun was just an orange sliver in the sky. Their little girl had turned 5 yesterday and today was her birthday party. Hermione and Bellatrix were sitting on the living room floor groggily working to finish wrapping Kissara's presents. They had snuck downstairs to finish wrapping everything. Hermione would have finished sooner, but Bellatrix had been – distracting – lately.

Hermione looked at the 20-some-odd gifts lying about. They hadn't been particularly expensive, but she still felt a little sheepish. Perhaps she was spoiling her a little too much. But then again, she was an only child, and they could afford it. Hermione would just have her open the gifts before guests arrive. To avoid jealousy. Teddy was normally just as spoiled, but watching your friend open so many presents probably wouldn't be too much fun.

A soft creak was heard above their heads.

"I take it the menace is up."

"Mmm." Hermione agreed. Hopefully, Kissara would play in her room for a bit.

Footsteps traveled from Kissara's side of the floor to the women's bedroom, then towards the staircase.

"Go run interference, I'll finish up here."

Hermione nodded and went to get up when they both heard Kissara run down the stairs.

The women scrambled to hide everything. They had just managed to hide the last of the unwrapped presents before Kissara walked in.

'Good morning sweetheart.' Hermione signed.

Kissara's eyes seemed distant, she looked directly at her momma. 'Why does Uncle Z not like you?'

Bellatrix sank to the floor, eyes downturned.

'This may not be the best time sweetie.'

Kissara ignored her mommy and walked closer to Bellatrix. Kissara tapped her momma's shoulder and asked her question again.

Bellatrix took a deep breath. Hermione stood, ready to take Kissara away if need be. Bellatrix reached out and held Kissara's arms. Taking deep breaths, and observing the child's body language, before finally signing;

'I made many mistakes when I was younger. One of those hurt your uncle. I've since apologized and made good... But apologies don't remove scars.'

'Will he always be mad?'

'Yes, and I don't blame him for that. But we would like him to be civil.'

'What did you do?'

Bellatrix didn't reply right away. Hermione took the opportunity to scoop up the five-year-old into her arms. The girl wriggled in protest.

She the girl to the kitchen and sat her down on one of the kitchen chairs. Hermione stared into her big green eyes, full of questions. Sure, Kissara was intelligent for her age, but she was still just a young child. How much could she say? How should she say it?

Hermione pressed her forehead to Kiki's then pulled back.

'This is going to be a hard talk. For momma, and for me. Please give us time to think about it. Ok?'

Kissara pouted but nodded her compliance.

'Time to dress. Today is supposed to be a happy day.'

Kiki perked up in the chair and her legs started swinging. 'My birthday party!'

Hermione smiled and gave a quick enthusiastic round of applause.

'Go get dressed.'

Kissara ran back upstairs, and Hermione deflated a little. She was tired. This was going to be a long day. But hopefully a fun one.

Hermione returned to the living room. Bellatrix was right where they had left her. Hermione knelt down beside her and wrapped her arms around her.

"It was an accident you know."

"I know." Hermione kissed Bellatrix on the cheek.

She remembered that fight very well. Well, she remembered all of the war's battles. Time had melded together on those days, blurring everything, everything over in a flash. Yet she could still slow down time. Pick out details. Everything had gone by so slowly at the same time.

Bellatrix had cast a stupefy at Sirius that day. Pushing him back. The ground was uneven, and Sirius could not steady himself. And he fell back into the veil. Of course, at the time, everyone had thought Bella had done that on purpose. But after she was revealed as a spy, Hermione knew it hadn't been intentional. But she was one of the very few who believed it.

"We never got along as kids." Bellatrix rubbed at her red eyes. "He was a brat. But I didn't want him dead."

Hermione tightened her grip on her friend. They stayed seated in silence until they heard footsteps once again run out of Kissara's room.

"I'll make breakfast. We'll finish the presents later."

"I don't know why you insist on wrapping the presents the muggle way."

Bellatrix took out her wand and after a few waves, all the presents were wrapped.

"Spoilsport." Hermione gave her another peck on the cheek.

Teddy burst through the front door and ran into the house, tracking snow everywhere. He found Kissara in the living room. The older boy picked up his cousin and twirled her around. Both children giggled and squealed. He placed Kissara back down, jumping on the spot, and he signed.

'Happy birthday!'

Kissara giggled. 'Thank you!'

"Edward Lupin!"

Teddy quickly ran back to the front door and kicked his boots off. He threw his coat on the floor and was about to dash off, but his mother grabbed his arm.

"No sir. You will pick up your coat and wipe up the water from your boots."

Teddy made a face, flopping his shoulders down and hanging his head back. But he picked up his coat anyways.

Hermione emerged from the kitchen holding an old towel. Teddy grabbed the cloth and dropped it to the ground. He placed both hands on the towel and ran it down the hallway and living room. They heard his heavy footsteps turn and he came back towards them.

The job wasn't perfect, but Hermione accepted the towel back. "Thank you."

Teddy nodded and ran to find his cousin again.

"I'm sorry about that." Tonks waved.

"No worries. I got one too, I get it."

"How are you feeling?"

"Harry and Ron aren't coming. I doubt anyone else from their side will."

Tonks gave her a hug. "But... The Blacks are. And your parents!"

Hermione smiled. "Yeah. That's actually pretty great." Her smile got even wider when she thought of her parents. They'll be attending their granddaughter's birthday festivities for the first time.

They weren't far behind Tonks actually. Giving liberal hugs to the kids. They had seen Teddy a few times now and Hermione was pleased to see them treat him like a second grandchild. He was her nephew after all.

Then Andromeda and Narcissa showed up. Arm in arm. Both looked a little more relaxed than they had previously. After Hermione found out about Narcissa's impromptu visit while she was gone, she and Tonks conspired to get the sisters to see each other more often. And it looks like it had worked. Hermione had also noted a marked improvement in Bellatrix's mood every time she came back from their visits. More hugs were given out.

Then Freddy was dropped off by his mom. He was Teddy's school friend but got along with Kissara. Hermione thought they should have a least one other child over and had prepped some games for them. Unfortunately, Kissara didn't seem to have any friends. Hermione had once pulled Teddy aside to see if he had insight as Kissara always brushed the issue away. Teddy had only remarked that she wasn't exactly a social butterfly. The teachers had let her know that Kissara seemed to pull away anything time another child approached her to play. The issue had Hermione's stomach in knots, but you couldn't force friendships.

They got a couple surprise visitors a little later on in the day. Draco and Astoria. The kids were happy to see their cousin, but the Blacks were even more thrilled to catch up with the newlyweds.

Rosie and were not in attendance, though they had been invited. They were queasy about spending so much time in the company of so many humans. Instead, they offered to kidnap the child all of next Saturday.

Overall, the festivities were light and happy. But when the cake came out and they sang 'happy birthday' to Kissara, Hermione felt the absence of the rest of her extended family. Bellatrix took her hand under the table when the smile that had been on her face all day faded. Hermione held on tightly.

The last guest left late. As much as Hermione wanted to send Kissara directly to bed so she could relax, she found that she couldn't refuse reading Kiki at least one of the numerous new books her daughter had accumulated. Or two, or three.

Bellatrix came into the library at the end of the fourth book.

"I know it's Saturday but um… It's eleven."

"Oh shoot."

'11? Has it been enough time?' Kissara signed from her mommy's lap.

'For what?' Hermione put the book back unto the stack.

'For the talk.'

Hermione and Bellatrix shared a look.

'From this morning.'

The warmth was sucked out of the room.

Kissara stood and picked up the pink rabbit she had gotten from her aunt Cissa and brought it to her momma. She took her momma's hand and brought her to the floor in front of the couch, where her mommy was still sitting. She then took an identical green bunny her aunt Andy has coincidentally bought her and handed it to her mommy. She then went to grab the stuffed butterfly Teddy had gotten her and came back to sit in between her mothers, facing her momma.

Bellatrix opened and closed her mouth, clutching the stuffy tightly. Green eyes looked at her expectantly. Hermione whispered.

"We can delay this. Talk about it. If you aren't ready."

Bellatrix's dark eyes connected with Hermione's. The ex-Death Eater took a deep breath and began signing to their daughter.

'Before you were born… There were really bad people. Who hurt a lot of people. I – I was asked to –spy on them.'

'S-P-Y?' Kissara repeated the fingerspelling.

'Yes. It means 'to gather information' about the bad people. I had to –pretend to be one of them.'

Bellatrix scanned Kissara's face, looking for any reaction. She wasn't sure if she should tell her now that she had once truly belonged to the group. But, if she didn't say it now, maybe someone else would before she could.

'It was – easier for me. I used to be one of them. I used to be bad, but then I learned and I became good.'

'Like Moira!'

Moira was a character in one of Kissara's fairytales.

'Real life is much more complicated than that, unfortunately.'

'Did you hurt Uncle Z when you were bad?'

'No.'

Bellatrix jumped up and motioned for Kissara to wait there. She disappeared up the stairs and returned carrying a frame Hermione had seen her shove under the bed, one of many.

Bellatrix sat back down and showed the picture to Kissara.

'Do you know who that is?'

'He's at Uncle Z's house. In the living room.'

'He is my cousin. S-I-R-I-U-S. He was Harry's godfather. He would have been your uncle. And he would have loved you very much. But – during a fight...'

'You hurt him?'

Bellatrix didn't answer. Her arms were numb; her face was numb.

Hermione tapped Kiki on the shoulder. Kissara turned to look at her mommy.

'I think that's enough for tonight. You'll learn more as you grow up.'

Kissara nodded but didn't get up. Her eyes flitted between the adults.

Hermione decided to add; 'Mommy and momma lived through the fighting. They fought against the bad people. And it hurts to think about it. It is important that you learn, but it'll be only a little bit at a time.'

Kissara startled Hermione by leaping into her lap and wrapping her arms tightly around her neck. The little girl kissed her mommy's cheek and, before Hermione could react, she had done the same thing to her momma. Kissara ran out of the library and up the stairs.

Hermione let out a breath. She looked back to Bellatrix. The tears she had been holding back were rolling down her cheeks. Hermione moved closer. Cheeks, then eyelids were softly kissed. Hermione felt privileged to be allowed to see this, but it was something she wanted to prevent as much as possible. Wouldn't it be nice to be able to wipe away all the hurt?

Kissara ran up the stairs to change into her jammies. She picked up her pajama pants from the floor and scanned the room for her top. Her eyes were drawn to a shimmering silver package on her bed. Her jammies slipped from her hands as she approached the present. It must be a surprise gift from her mommies. She tried to pick it up but it slipped from her grasp and thumped heavily on the ground. It was so heavy. She patted it down, it felt like a book. She wasted no time ripping into the paper.

Cryptids by D. Muller

The book was larger than anything she had in her collection. Its cover was brown and didn't feel like any other book she had touched.

She flipped the cover open. The letters were swirled so she couldn't decipher what it said even if she knew this was in English.

She opened to a random page. No pictures. Maybe her mommy would read it to her. She flipped to another page. A snarling maw full of sharp teeth greeted her on one of the pages. Its eyes were angry; its claws dug into a mess of red. Kissara swallowed hard. This book was scary. Maybe it was one of those books her mommy said she could read when she was a little older.

Kiki couldn't bring it to her bookshelf, so she opted to slide the book under the bed to keep the floor clear. She stood back up and jumped when she felt a hand touch her shoulder. She turned around, her imagination almost leading her to believe the creature from the book would be behind her. It was just her mommy.

'What are you doing? Why aren't you in your pajamas?'

Kiki looked at her mommy, her eyes wide. She then gave her mommy a toothy smile and a shrug.

'PJ'

Kissara quickly changed. She jumped on one foot to the bed as she slipped her last pant leg on, then hopped into bed.

Her mommy pulled the covers up and gave her a kiss.

'Goodnight sweetheart.'

'Goodnight Mommy. Thank you for the book.'

'I am glad you liked your presents.' Hermione kissed her girl. 'Sleep well.'

Her mommy left the room and shut off the light.

Hermione quietly shut the bedroom door, despite not needing to. It just felt right. She tiptoed to her bedroom, she was looking forward to her wearing her pajamas. Her plan changed when voices floated up to the second floor.

"Have there been many appearances?"

Ginny's voice reached Hermione's ears as she made her way downstairs.

"Not that I know of. It's putting us on edge."

Hermione stopped at the bottom of the stairs and stared. Bellatrix and Ginny were standing at the door having civil conservation. Ginny spotted her over the other witch's shoulder.

"I'm sorry I missed the party. Harry's been a git lately. I – "

Hermione lightly pushed Bellatrix out of the doorway and wrapped her arms around her friend.

"Thank you for coming."

Ginny returned the hug. "I'm sorry."

They pulled apart and wiped tears out of their eyes. Ginny nodded towards Bellatrix.

"You sure she's ok?"

"Yeah, she is. We're friends remember? I didn't lie to you about anything. I just –kept her name back."

"You let me know if she becomes a problem."

An unexpected laugh bubbled up from Hermione. "To be honest if Bella is a problem, I think my first call will be to her sisters." Hermione heard the older witch snort behind her. "But yeah, I'll let you know if anything happens."

Ginny nodded, eyes wandering between the two. "Thanks. Oh–" She looked down and pulled a familiar toy out of her purse. "Kissara forgot this at our place." Ginny held out Kiki's tailypo stuffy.

Hermione didn't take it. "Do you want to come in to wish her a happy birthday? She just got to bed; I doubt she's asleep."

"I'd like that." Ginny smiled and stepped into the home.

Kissara had tucked herself under the covers. She clutched at the top of her blankets to keep them firmly over her. She was having a very hard time relaxing.

Suddenly a weight was on her mattress. She squeaked, curling herself into a ball. She felt a hand rub her back. When the covers shifted, she could see the lights turning on and off. Something her mother did to grab her attention.

Kissara forced herself to peek out from under her protective bubble. The lights were on, and both her mothers were standing in her doorway, looking at her quite concerned. The 'monster' on her bed was her aunt Ginny also looking at her like she had just taken a fall.

Kissara jumped out and gave her aunt a big hug, which she returned in earnest. When they pulled apart, Aunty Ginny signed;

'Sorry for startling you. I didn't mean to. Were you having a nightmare?'

Kiki nodded and rubbed her eyes. Aunty Ginny pulled her hands down and brought her into another hug.

'I can stay until you fall asleep if you want.'

Kissara nodded again and crawled back under her covers. She saw her mothers leave the room out of the corner of her eye.

Aunty Ginny tucked her in and booped her on the nose. 'Happy birthday. I'm sorry I missed your party.'

'It's ok.'

'I love you.'

'I love you too.'

Aunty Ginny kept her promise and sat by her side in the dark, keeping a steadying hand on her torso as her eyes closed.

When Kissara's eyes opened again, Aunty Ginny was gone and the only light was the soft glow given off by her walls. Unsure of what woke her up, she turned to snuggle back into her bed. Through the window, a pair of glowing yellow eyes greeted her. Her heart skipped a beat, but she soon recognized her friend's eyes. She smiled and got out of bed. She needed cuddles.

Hermione closed the door behind Ginny. Her head dropped back and she took a deep breath in. So much weight had been lifted off her shoulders. Ginny was still her friend, and she would work on the rest of her family.

"We're friends huh?" Bellatrix gave her a quick peck on the cheek.

Hermione returned the kiss with one on the lips. "Maybe more."

Bellatrix pulled on Hermione's hips, closing the distance between them. She tentatively ran her teeth down Hermione's throat. She felt a shudder run through the other woman. Bellatrix ran her hands down Hermione's back, pressing them even closer. Then she cupped a very fine ass. Bellatrix grew wet at the feel of Hermione's breasts pressed against her.

Someone moaned and before long, they were stumbling to the bedroom. They were so uncoordinated in their efforts, trying to steal as many kisses as possible as they went up to bed. Bellatrix was relieved at that moment that Kissara wouldn't be able to hear their stumbling.

Bellatrix threw Hermione down on the bed and crawled over her body, latching onto her neck. She felt Hermione start to ball her skirt up in her hands and up to her hips. Bellatrix sat up and slapped her hands on top of Hermione's to stop her.

"But, I want to see you."

Bellatrix looked into Hermione's golden-brown eyes. Nothing but sincerity, and lust.

Bellatrix felt herself shake as she reached for the hem of her dress. What was she doing? This girl was young enough to be her daughter.

Soft fingertips touched her hands.

"It's ok."

Bellatrix took a deep breath and threw her dress off before she lost her courage. She now only wore her underwear. Hermione's hands were quick to wander upwards, tracing her too-thin frame. She had gained some weight in the past year, but she still had some ways to go. Hands slowly went back down, this time tracing the numerous scars. Bellatrix shivered.

"You're lovely."

Bellatrix found herself blushing. She moved to cover herself but Hermione suddenly flicked her nipples. She gasped. Hermione sat up and wrapped her arms around her, bringing her into a kiss. Bellatrix melted into the moment, letting the younger woman lead.

Hermione brought them closer to the edge of the bed so she could plant her feet on the ground. The taller woman picked up her soon-to-be lover without much difficulty. Hermione turned them around, lying Bellatrix down on the bed, switching their positions.

Kisses were exchanged and Bellatrix finally lost all reservation. She pulled at Hermione's shirt. Hermione answered immediately by removing the garment, followed by the removal of her bra. Bellatrix was momentarily stunned by the vision before her. She didn't have time to react. Hermione was on her within moments, bestowing kiss after kiss upon her. Bellatrix moaned and pressed their bodies together.

The witches were soon lost in physical bliss. Hands and mouths exploring. Both wanting more. Both wanting to pleasure––and be pleasured.

Hermione watched Bellatrix twitch and cry out for the third time that night and smirked. Hermione pulled her fingers out of Bellatrix and couldn't help but lick them. The older witch had her face buried in the pillow, ass in the air, presenting herself to her lover. The clock read 3 AM. Hermione kissed Bellatrix's sex. The woman shuddered under her. She was stunned they had lasted this long. Tomorrow—today would be rough.

Hermione slid her hand up Bellatrix's back as she settled down next to her. Bellatrix lay herself flat on her stomach.

"I should probably take you out for a proper date," Bellatrix muttered into the pillow.

Hermione laughed. She rolled to her side and pulled Bellatrix into her. She kissed the shell of an ear before tucking herself away and falling asleep in dark curls.

AN- I wanted something a little more explicit originally, but I could not get over my author's block for the sexy scene – so sorry :( I figured it would just be best to give you a chapter than keep staring at it. I figure if I'm ever in the mood for smut I'd come back and add a bonus sexy chapter for you.