In the past, before Hogwarts, Hermione's birthday had been the subject of great joy and depression. Joy because she got to spend time with her parents, doing whatever it was that she wanted to do. Depression because she never had any friends to celebrate with.
Now, it was different. Now, her parents would send her a card and some money in the mail. Now, she had Draco, Theo and Pansy to celebrate with in the Room of Requirements later, and more importantly she had Bellatrix.
Hermione glanced at the clock on her nightstand. She had only five minutes before Lucifer would appear to take her to the Shrieking Shack.
Since the start of the term, Hermione had kept an eye on the Shrieking Shack but the dementors never came anywhere near it. In fact, they never came onto the grounds. She reported that information to Bellatrix, and Bellatrix had agreed to keep their meetings at their usual place, unless something happened.
Lucifer appeared at exactly midnight and whisked her away to the Shrieking Shack.
Bellatrix was already there when Hermione arrived. She was busy putting the finishing touches on her birthday decorations. Streamers flew from Bellatrix's wand and attached themselves to the fireplace. On the table was a stack of presents, two plates full of food and a birthday cake.
"Hermione," Bellatrix exclaimed, putting her wand away. "Happy Birthday."
"Thank you," Hermione said going over to the table to hug her.
"Sit, sit," Bellatrix said gesturing to the seat. "How does it feel to be fourteen now?"
"About the same," Hermione responded. "With the dementors around it's hard to focus on anything positive."
Bellatrix nodded in understanding. "The dementors sided with the Dark Lord in the last war. It is likely they will do so again this time. With that being said, I've personally never liked them. They feed on happiness as I'm sure you know. If exposed for too long, you'll be left with nothing but your darkest thoughts." She paused as she considered her next words. "I don't like you being so close to the dementors."
Hermione, who was about to take the first bite of her birthday dinner, lowered her fork. She reached across the table to take Bellatrix's hand. "I'll be okay," Hermione told her. "With any luck Black will get caught soon and the dementors will leave."
Bellatrix laughed. "You put too much faith into the Ministry," she said. She studied Hermione's face, her eyes widened as she realized exactly what Hermione was thinking. "Oh no. Whatever you're planning you are going to stop right now."
"I don't know what you're talking about," Hermione lied.
"So, you haven't come up with some harebrained scheme to catch Black yourself?" Bellatrix asked raising an eyebrow at her.
"No of course not," Hermione protested. "I haven't come up with a plan yet."
"Hermione," Bellatrix warned. "Stay away from Black. It isn't worth it."
"It's not worth getting rid of the dementors?" Hermione questioned confused.
"It's not worth your life," Bellatrix hissed. She walked over to Hermione's side of the table and knelt down in from of her. "Do you have any idea what would happen to me if you were killed?" Hermione shook her head. "I would storm that castle and kill anyone and everyone that got in my way. I wouldn't have a target in mind. I would simply kill who I could until they took me down." Hermione looked horrified at the thought. Bellatrix closed her eyes and took a deep breath to calm herself. "Black has spent twelve years in Azkaban. That's twelve years with dementors. The Black's have never been known for their sanity and after twelve years… I don't know what he's become. He broke out of Azkaban with one goal, revenge, and knowing him the way that I do, he won't care who he hurts in order to accomplish that goal. Hermione, promise me you'll stay away from him."
Hermione cupped her cheek. She didn't know what Bellatrix's confession meant. Or why she would react so strongly if Hermione was killed, but she refused to let it happen. She refused to allow Bellatrix to get herself killed. "I'll stay away from him," Hermione promised.
"Good," Bellatrix said. She went back to her seat and they started to eat in silence.
"Are we starting training again tonight?" Hermione questioned.
Bellatrix sat her fork down. "No, not tonight. Tonight is a celebration," Bellatrix told her. "We'll have plenty of time for training this year. How are your classes so far?"
"Great," Hermione exclaimed. "I love Ancient Runes. Care of Magical Creatures is okay. Hagrid knows a lot about the creatures but he doesn't know how to teach. I can't really say anything because Harry and Ron love him."
"Care of Magical Creatures is a fun class if you like creatures," Bellatrix said.
Hermione nodded and went back to eating. "Percy's been helping me with the class. He took it until OWLs and then dropped the class so I have his notes," Hermione told her a few minutes later.
"Explain your plan for that Weasley boy, Peter," Bellatrix requested.
Hermione smiled. "Percy," she corrected. "I don't have a plan right now. But we're friends. He's tutoring me in Arithmancy. His family makes fun of him for focusing on his studies."
"And you think he will join the Dark Lord?" Bellatrix asked skeptically.
"That I don't know," Hermione admitted. "I don't believe he'll participate in murder and torture. He just doesn't seem like the type. But I think he'll do almost anything to prove himself if given an opportunity."
"Not all of the Dark Lord's followers are Death Eaters," Bellatrix pointed out. "In fact, not all of them are marked."
"Percy wants to work in the Ministry," Hermione said thoughtfully.
"A spy then," Bellatrix said. "He'd be unmarked and simply passing information along. Perhaps the Dark Lord would allow him to run his own department."
"The Dark Lord would allow this?" Hermione asked. Percy was her favorite person at Hogwarts, other than Draco, Pansy and Theo.
"Would you like me to speak to him?" Bellatrix asked.
Hermione bit her lip. "No. I should do it myself," Hermione said. "I want to see if Percy would even consider it first anyway. There's no reason to bring this to attention yet."
Bellatrix nodded in support. It was always best to have concrete plans for going to the Dark Lord. He hated wasting his time. Although, he was much more lenient with Hermione so it was doubtful he would mind.
They finished eating their dinners in silence before moving onto the dessert that the house elves had packed. Bellatrix had treacle tart, not her favorite but it was what the elves prepared for the evening, while Hermione had a fruit tart that was made especially for her birthday.
After they finished dessert, they moved onto presents. When Hermione reached for the first one, she realized not all the presents were from Bellatrix. The first one she grabbed was from Theo. It was a book on borderline dark curses, curses that weren't considered illegal by the Ministry but were still questionable. She sat the book aside and reached for the next gift which was from Pansy. It appeared all of her presents were sent to Malfoy Manor before being brought here by Bellatrix. Inside the box were new winter clothes, a scarf, gloves, a hat and a cloak, all fitted with warming charms. Draco gifted her with a journal, similar to the one Bellatrix gave her, with a note that they would be able to talk anytime they wanted.
"Did you help him with this?" Hermione asked curious.
"He asked me to enchant the journals," Bellatrix admitted.
"Thank you. I miss being able to talk to Draco," Hermione admitted.
Bellatrix cupped her cheek. "Of course. Anything for you," she said softly. She withdrew her hand. "Now, open the rest of your presents."
Narcissa and Lucius had sent her a nice stationary set with a request to write more often. To Hermione's surprise, the Dark Lord had sent her a gift. In the box was a dagger with a note on top.
Inside you will find a dagger I found years ago on my travels. It is goblin made. I have soaked it in Nagini's venom. Be care with the dagger, if you nick yourself at Hogwarts you will be dead before you can get help. Over the summer you will be tutored in using that dagger.
Happy Birthday Ms. Granger.
Her last gifts were from Bellatrix herself. She wasn't really expecting anything from the older woman. The rose she had gifted her with was more than enough.
"You didn't have to give me anything," Hermione protested. "The rose…"
"Was necessary," Bellatrix interrupted. "It's your fourteenth birthday, of course I got you something. Now open it."
Hermione grabbed the small box first. She opened it and gasped. "Is this…"
"A Gringotts key," Bellatrix finished. "Yes it is. As you know, I am a part of the Black family. In fact, I'm the Head of the Black family. Being the Head of the Black family gives me certain privileges, including opening up a vault for you in your name. The vault is connected to the main Black vault. Every year on your birthday one thousand galleons will be added. Although, if you ever need more, I can transfer some more galleons."
"Thank you," Hermione choked out. She knew, from her own research, that muggleborns had a difficult time opening up a Gringotts vault. It wasn't that the goblins hated muggleborns, they were far more accepting than the wizarding world as a whole. The problem was that there was a minimum amount required to open the vault and it took muggleborns a long time to save that amount. Luckily, once the account was opened, it would never close unless the owner of the vault requested it.
"Of course Hermione," Bellatrix said. She held her arms out and Hermione launched herself at the older woman.
The vault in question was one that was given to the spouse of the Head of the Black family. There wasn't anything special about the vault. As Bellatrix had told Hermione, it was connected to the main vault but it was still up to Bellatrix to transfer the gold outside the designated times. Unlike the Heir vault, which refilled if it was empty.
"Next week we will start on the Imperius curse," Bellatrix told her.
Hermione's eyes widened. "Really?" she was thrilled she would finally start the Unforgivables but she knew Bellatrix wasn't too keen on the idea. "Wait, how am I practicing?"
"You will cast the curse on me," Bellatrix explained. "The Dark Lord has all Death Eaters trained to resist the curse, so there is no risk."
Hermione nodded. "If you can resist it, how will I know it worked?"
"I'll be able to feel it," Bellatrix explained. "I'll allow you to successfully cast the curse on me. During the holidays, you will be able to practice on others. I also want to teach you to resist the curse as well."
"On muggles?" Hermione asked curious.
"Would that bother you?" Bellatrix countered.
Hermione considered it. "No," Hermione answered truthfully. "Is there a difference between muggle minds and ours?"
"Muggles are naturally weaker," Bellatrix responded. "They have no way to resist the Imperius curse."
"What about Occlumency?" Hermione questioned. "Could a muggle, in theory, learn Occlumency?"
"There are some muggles that are capable of protecting their minds," Bellatrix admitted tapping her fingers on the table. "It's not the same as Occlumency but it works the same. The main difference is a muggle doesn't have magic to help protect their memories."
"So, they could protect against a brief check but a full Legilimency attack would get through their shields easily," Hermione concluded.
"Exactly," Bellatrix said. "And any shields they may have would be weaker than a witch or wizards. You'll be practicing on muggles to get a handle on casting the curse. Once you can confidently and successfully cast the curse, you will practice on others."
"Others as in Death Eaters?" Hermione questioned.
"No, a Death Eater would never let you cast the curse on them," Bellatrix answered. "You'll cast it on any prisoners we have."
"Shame you got rid of Lockhart already," Hermione said.
Two days after the start of term, Lockhart was found wandering muggle London. Hermione didn't read the article but she had heard others talk about it. He had been transported to a psych ward before the Aurors were able to get to him. He was currently locked up in St. Mungo's while the healers tried to figure out what was wrong with him. Even if they figured it out, there was nothing that could be done.
"Are you disappointed with how I dealt with him?" Bellatrix questioned.
"No, not at all," Hermione replied. "I am surprised you didn't end up killing him."
Bellatrix faked innocence. "Me, kill someone? I would never."
Hermione snorted. "Maybe I would believe that if I couldn't see your Dark Mark," Hermione said. "Why didn't you kill him?"
"Did you want me to kill him?" Bellatrix questioned.
Hermione shrugged. "I get why you didn't," she said. "You wanted him to suffer."
"I am well known for my torture techniques," Bellatrix said slowly. "This is rather tame for me. He's lucky he never touched you or they would never find the pieces."
Hermione didn't say anything. She wasn't supposed to know who Bellatrix was, which meant she wasn't supposed to know the full extent of her torture techniques. Not that she actually knew the full extent.
"The wizarding world thinks I've disappeared," Bellatrix continued. "My techniques are rather… unique, if I were to resort to my usual methods they would know I've returned and it's likely they would realize the Dark Lord has also returned."
"I don't want you to get caught," Hermione said softly.
Bellatrix took her hand. "I won't get caught," she promised. "Even if the Auror's did find me, they have no proof I've committed any crime. The one crime I was accused of, I was proven innocent. I was innocent."
"So being a Death Eater isn't a crime?" Hermione asked.
"No it's not, not officially at least," Bellatrix replied. "You are treated with suspicion if you have the Dark Mark and you will be investigated. However, simply having the Dark Mark won't get you sent to Azkaban, not yet at least." Bellatrix took a sip of the firewhiskey. "It's one of the reasons the Dark Lord doesn't want you marked."
"I thought I was being marked after I finished school?" Hermione questioned in confusion.
"That is still his goal," Bellatrix said putting the bottle back down. "But the timeline is loose. You are much more valuable unmarked. The second you get marked, Potter and Weasley will no longer trust you and the Dark Lord knows this."
Hermione nodded. She stifled a yawn. "You should head to bed," Bellatrix told her.
Hermione shook her head. "This is the first time I've seen you in weeks," she protested.
"And you'll see me every week now," Bellatrix pointed out. "Your education is important. You need rest."
"Why is it so difficult to leave you?" Hermione whispered.
Bellatrix sighed. She wasn't expecting this, for Hermione to feel the bond at fourteen. It was strong but not matured. Hermione simply wanted to be around her all the time. There was no more getting around it. She had to tell her.
"I'll send you a book that will explain everything," Bellatrix promised. "We can talk about it next week if you wish. For now, you should head back. Happy Birthday Hermione." She called for Lucifer and sat back and watched as her bonded was whisked away.
