Hermione pushed her sausage across her plate. In an hour, she would be flooing to the Leaky Cauldron to meet up with the Weasley's. They would get all of their shopping done for third year and then head back to the Burrow. That meant her time at Malfoy Manor was now over.

Though she could write to Bellatrix every day, she wouldn't be able to see her until her training restarted. According to Bellatrix, it would be a month, perhaps longer, before training resumed.

More than a month was a long time to go without seeing her, just the thought of it made Hermione's heart ache. She couldn't figure out why. She would miss Draco almost as much as Bellatrix and while she was sad to leave him, it didn't instill the same emotions as leaving Bellatrix.

"You should try eating the food," Draco suggested helpfully.

Hermione glared at him and for a moment he was reminded of his aunt. He shuddered at the thought and turned away. "Sorry," Hermione said, dropping her fork. "I'm not very hungry."

They were the only two eating this late. Lucius had already eaten and was at the Ministry. Narcissa had eaten with Lucius and was currently working on some project. Hermione had no idea where Bellatrix was but she hoped to see her before she left.

"You should eat," Draco said gently. "You're spending the day in Diagon Alley. You need your energy for that."

"Draco is right," Bellatrix said walking into the dining area. She sat down beside Hermione and filled her plate. "You need to eat. It's unlikely you'll be able to eat at Diagon Alley." Hermione understood what Bellatrix was trying to say. The Weasley's were too poor to feed all of them, herself and Harry out in public.

Hermione stabbed her sausage and took a bite. The food was amazing. It was nice to get in one last meal before she left. "It's only two weeks," Draco said in an attempt to cheer her up. "Then we'll be back at Hogwarts."

It did help a bit. Hermione couldn't wait to go back to Hogwarts. This was the year she could start her electives. She couldn't wait to start Runes. She just hoped she was half as good as Bellatrix was at it.

Hermione finished her plate. The plate disappeared curtesy of the elves. She was impressed by house elf magic, not that she would ever admit it. She knew how most viewed house elves. The Dark Lord wasn't nice to his elves but he also wasn't cruel.

"Can we talk before you go?" Bellatrix requested.

Hermione got up and together two left the dining area, leaving Draco alone to finish his breakfast. Bellatrix led her to the Floo room. The room she would use to get to the Leaky Cauldron. It made the fact that she was leaving all the more real.

"Is something wrong?" Hermione asked curious.

"No," Bellatrix said. "I have something for you."

She went to the desk and withdrew a package. She walked back to Hermione and handed it to her. She was a little nervous about Hermione's reaction, not that she would ever admit it. She was Bellatrix Black, she didn't get nervous… unless it involved her young bonded.

Hermione carefully opened the package and gasped at the sight of the beautiful violet rose on a small metal stand. The violet was the exact same shade of Bellatrix's eyes. She gently touched a petal and found the rose was real, though it looked like glass. "This is incredible," Hermione breathed.

"The rose is real and enchanted with a preservation rune so it will never die," Bellatrix explained. "I know you sleep better with me close by and I wanted to give you that, without me there. Look at the stand, near the stem." Hermione looked closely and saw a rune carved into it. "If you tap the rune with your wand it will activate the charms I installed."

Hermione pulled her wand out and gently tapped the rune. She instantly felt Bellatrix's magic surrounding her, calming her. The rose glowed a bit, acting as a sort of nightlight. "I poured some of my magic into it," Bellatrix explained. "That way you can sleep, even without me there. If you tap the rune with your wand again, it will deactivate."

Hermione tapped the rune and the feeling of Bellatrix's magic disappeared, along with the glow. "This is…I don't even know what to say. Thank you," Hermione said. For the first time, she was truly speechless. She carefully sat the rose down before throwing her arms around Bellatrix.

"You're welcome," Bellatrix said, gently rubbing her back. Hermione pulled away but didn't let go of Bellatrix's hand. "There's some extra spells on the rose. It won't break and if someone tries to steal it, it will come straight back to me so I can send it back. If that does happen, I'll add a blood rune keyed to you. You'll need to be careful where you activate it. Dumbledore and Snape may recognize my magic, the same with Black if he gets close."

Hermione nodded. "I'll keep it safe. I promise." Hermione carefully wrapped it back up. She removed her shrunken trunk from her pocket and restored it to full size so she could tuck the rose away. She reshrunk her truck and put it back in her pocket.

"Be careful at the Weasley's," Bellatrix said.

"I'll be fine Morgana," Hermione assured her. "They have no reason to doubt me or pay close attention."

"I don't like the idea of you being there," Bellatrix said honestly.

"They won't do anything to me," Hermione said confidently. "They're the good guys. They would never hurt an innocent muggleborn that got caught up with a dark witch."

Bellatrix shook her head. It seemed Hermione had a backup plan ready to go. It was smart. She would be seen as the victim with Bellatrix as the big bad Death Eater trying to corrupt her. Everyone already hated Bellatrix so it made no difference to her if they saw her as trying to corrupt Hermione. If only they knew…

"Write to me," Bellatrix requested. "So, I know you're alright and if anything happens and…"

Bellatrix's mouth snapped shut when Hermione kissed her cheek. "I'll be careful," Hermione promised. She glanced at the clock. It was already nine. She needed to go. "I have to go."

"Lucifer will be getting you at midnight on your birthday," Bellatrix said. "No training, I want to see you."

Hermione grabbed the Floo powder and threw it into the fireplace. With one last goodbye, she was gone.

She landed in the Leaky Cauldron. She flicked her wand and removed the soot, a handy spell taught to her by Narcissa. She walked over to Tom, the barman, and ordered a butterbeer while she waited for the Weasley's.

"One butterbeer," Tom said putting it on the counter.

Hermione handed over a galleon. "Keep the rest," she told him.

She sat the table, sipping her butterbeer while she waited. The Weasley's were always late, except for the Hogwarts Express and even then, they cut it close, so it was no surprise that she was sitting here alone.

It took fifteen minutes for the Floo to light up again. The Weasley's stumbled out one by one before Harry and Ron appeared. "Hermione," they both said when they caught sight of her.

"Harry, Ron," Hermione greeted. She downed the rest of her butterbeer and hopped off the stool.

"Where's your things?" Ron questioned. "Are you still coming to the Burrow?"

"I am," Hermione confirmed. She tried not to sound too sad about that. "I shrunk it down when I got here," she lied. She walked over to Mr. and Mrs. Weasley. "Hello, I'm Hermione Granger. It's nice to meet you both."

"It's wonderful to meet you as well Hermione," Mrs. Weasley said before pulling her into a hug. It wasn't nearly as comfortable as hugging Bellatrix. "Have you been waiting long?"

"No too long," Hermione said. It was only fifteen minutes and she didn't mind since it gave her time alone.

"Well, why don't you three get your things," Mr. Weasley suggested. "Molly and I will take Ginny. Fred, George, stick together. Percy…"

"I'll be fine," Percy told him. "There's a few things I need to pick up. I'm Head Boy," he announced to Hermione.

"Congrats Percy," Hermione said genuinely happy for him. She saw Ron roll his eyes and had to stop herself from scolding him. She really liked Percy, though she didn't talk to him much. She would have to change that this year as it was his last year at Hogwarts.

"Thank you Hermione," he said grateful. "I knew you would appreciate it." He glared at his brothers before leaving the Leaky Cauldron.

"Be back here in two hours," Mrs. Weasley told the three.

Ron frowned. "What if we're not done?" he asked.

"Be back anyway and one of us will escort you to get the rest of your stuff," Mrs. Weasley said firmly.

Hermione cast a quick tempus. It was almost nine thirty in the morning. That meant they had until eleven thirty to shop. "I'll keep track of the time," Hermione promised.

Mrs. Weasley beamed at her. "Thank you dear," she said. "I'm glad you're here."

"We better go," Harry said. "I need to go to Gringotts still."

The three headed into Diagon Alley. Their first stop was Gringotts so Harry could get gold. Hermione had gold from Bellatrix so she was all set. Not that she had a vault to visit. She would have to talk to Bellatrix about how she could get a vault for herself.

"Do you need to get gold Hermione?" Ron asked. He had a small amount of gold given to him by his mother. The gold his family won from the Daily Prophet allowed him and his siblings to get new things this year. It wasn't much but it was something. A brand new set of robes and books was going to do wonders for his self-esteem.

"No," Hermione answered. "I came by Diagon Alley and picked up some books. I exchanged my muggle money then," she half-lied. She had come to Diagon Alley earlier in the summer but she never exchanged any money.

"That'll save us some time," Harry said happily.

The trip to Gringotts took twenty minutes. Harry had to go to his vault alone so Hermione and Ron stayed in the waiting area. The two of them together was still awkward but it was getting better. Hermione was getting better at pretending to like him and Ron seemed to be getting more comfortable around her.

Once Harry returned, they rushed off to Madam Malkin's. Their robes were likely to take the most time as all three of them needed to be fitted for new ones. Ron had grown the most but Hermione and Harry had each grown a couple of inches.

They got fitted and were able to get their new robes in about forty-five minutes. It was a large part of their time but they didn't have much else to do. Flourish and Blotts would take some time but their other stops would be quick.

"I need some new quills and more parchment," Hermione announced when they reached Scribbulus Writing Instruments. The quills weren't as nice as the ones at Amanuensis Quills but Scribbulus carried parchment and ink as well as quills.

"I could use some more too," Ron added.

The three made their way inside. They each grabbed two rolls of parchment. It would be enough for the year and if it wasn't, they would have Hogsmeade weekends to go. Speaking of which…

"Are you coming to Hogsmeade with us?" Hermione asked Harry.

"Yeah," Harry answered. "Mr. Weasley convinced Uncle Vernon to sign the form when he picked me up. Mr. Weasley didn't seem to like the idea but I begged him to sign it."

"It's Sirius Black," Ron explained. "Mum and Dad didn't want us going to Hogsmeade either. Bill convinced them to let us go. He pointed out that there are plenty of teachers, older students and adults around to help should Black come to Hogsmeade."

"Black's not stupid," Hermione said carefully. "If he was, he would have been caught already. It's highly unlikely that he will just show up at Hogsmeade."

"Mr. Weasley warned me about Black when he picked me up," Harry added. "He told me to be careful this year. I'm not sure why and when I asked he refused to say."

They paid for their things and left the shop.

"I need to stop here for treats," Harry said pointing out Eeylops Owl Emporium. "You guys can wait out here. I'll just be a minute."

Harry rushed into the shop so he could get Hedwig his treats. He returned only a few minutes later with enough to last the school year.

"Where next?" Hermione asked.

They'd already agreed that Flourish and Blotts would be their last stop as it would take a bit of time, like Madam Malkin's did.

"Just Slug and Jiggers and then Flourish and Blotts, I think," Ron said after mentally going through the list of shops.

"We need to move quick. We don't have much time," Hermione warned.

With those words they rushed off to Slug and Jiggers. They restocked their ingredients before heading to Flourish and Blotts. Ron and Harry went in one direction while Hermione went in another. Since they were taking different electives it made sense to separate for now.

Hermione grabbed the Ancient Runes book and the book for Arithmancy. She wasn't taking Arithmancy but she wanted the book for self-study. She grabbed the rest of her books on the way to the Dark Arts section. The section was small and she owned, or had access to, all but one of the books.

She grabbed the new book and quickly flipped through it. It didn't look all that interesting. She was getting ready to put the book back when she felt someone beside her. "That is an interesting choice in reading material," Severus Snape said calmly.

Hermione gasped and went for her wand. She can't believe she got caught. "Professor!" she exclaimed shoving the book onto the shelf.

"Ms. Granger," he greeted. "You should be more careful. What if it was Weasley or Potter that caught you?"

Hermione looked down. She ruined everything. She didn't know how to tell Bellatrix that. "Yes sir," Hermione said.

"Ms. Granger," Professor Snape said. "Look at me." Hermione looked up but didn't meet his eyes. She wouldn't give him more ammunition against her. "I won't be telling anyone."

Hermione was stunned. He wasn't going to say anything about her. It made no sense but she was relived. "Why?" Hermione asked.

"That doesn't concern you right now," Professor Snape said. "I must be going. I will see you at the start of the term."

Professor Snape left without another word leaving behind a stunned Hermione Granger.

Hermione didn't have time to dwell on their interaction. She could hear Harry and Ron calling her. She grabbed her books and made her way through the shelves.

"Hermione," Harry said relieved. "We were worried we lost you."

"Sorry, you know how I am with books," Hermione said with a laugh.

She was trying not to let what happened with Professor Snape mess with her head, at least not until she talked to Bellatrix. She really hoped Bellatrix and the Dark Lord weren't mad at her. Not that she would blame them if they were. She was stupid enough to get caught after all.

"Are you ready?" Ron asked. "We don't have much time."

Hermione double checked her stack of books. "Yes, I'm ready," she said.

The three made their way to the front. "You didn't get any extra books?" Harry asked surprised. "I figured you would have a few at least."

Hermione blushed. "I was going to but I couldn't find anything I wanted," she answered.

They quickly paid and made their way back to the Leaky Cauldron. They still had a few minutes to spare when they arrived. Harry bought all three of them butterbeers and they sat at a table and waited.

"How are you handling everything with Sirius Black?" Hermione asked Harry. She was curious how much he actually knew.

Harry shrugged. "Everyone seems to think he's after me but no will tell me why. Only that he served Voldemort," Harry answered. "I wish they would tell me why. I guess being Harry Potter is enough."

"We'll figure it out," Hermione promised. It was a promise she could easily keep as she already knew. Right now, there was nothing she could do. She would let this thing with Black play out. It wasn't like they were in any real danger from him.

An hour later, they were all gathered in the living room of the Burrow, munching on the pile of sandwiches Mrs. Weasley made them for lunch. Hermione had yet to get a full tour of the Burrow, that would come after lunch according to Mrs. Weasley.

Already Hermione could tell, it wasn't the same as Malfoy Manor. It was much smaller and far more chaotic. Her heart ached at the reminder that Bellatrix would not be across the half from her. Nor would she hold her if the nightmares started. She did have Bellatrix's gift but wasn't sure if she should attempt to use it.

After lunch was over Ron started the tour for her. Their first stop: Ginny's room. "You'll be in Ginny's room," he explained. He knocked on the door and opened it.

Ginny was sitting at her desk, working on her summer homework. "Hello," Ginny greeted.

"Mum said Hermione was staying in here," Ron explained. "Thought Hermione would like to drop off her stuff."

Ginny frowned. "Where is your stuff?"

Hermione removed her trunk her pocket. She tapped it with her wand and it returned to full size. "I shrunk it as soon as I got to the Leaky Cauldron. I didn't want to lug it around everywhere."

Ginny nodded in understanding. "I wish Mum would let us do that before going to Platform 9 ¾."

"I can do it for you," Hermione offered. "I did some reading. The trace is really only helpful in muggle households. If there's adults around it can't tell who is casting the spells, easier to pass it off as an adult doing the spells."

"That would be great," Ginny exclaimed. She glanced at Ron and Harry. "You two can go. I'll finish the tour for Hermione."

Ron and Harry exchanged looks. They both shrugged and turned to leave. Hermione could have sworn she heard Ron mutter something about Ginny stealing his friend. Hermione wanted to roll her eyes at that. She was Harry's friend but she was certainly not Ron's. Not that it mattered. She would happily let them both die. She'd kill them all right now if she thought she could get away with it.

"Mum's going to bring a camp bed in here later," Ginny said, pulling Hermione from her thoughts. "She would have brought it out earlier but she didn't seem sure you would visit. Honestly, neither did I. I didn't think you were really a fan of Ron."

"Ron's not bad," Hermione lied. "He has a habit of talking before he thinks but he's a good friend."

"Sure," Ginny said. She didn't look entirely convinced. "Well, you're always welcome to hide out in here if you need some peace."

Hermione wasn't sure how she felt about Ginny. They hadn't interacted much at Hogwarts and she hadn't realized how observant the younger girl was. She would have to be extra careful while she was here, or Ginny Weasley could ruin everything.