III

For the remainder of the day, Hermione felt as if she were floating on a cloud. Saturday night couldn't arrive fast enough. Although she was nervous, excitement flowed through her. She sat now at her desk after breakfast watching her students complete their assignment, and even though she tried to remain focused on the present, her mind kept drifting to the possibilities of Saturday night. She replayed her interaction with Bellatrix once again, smiling in memory of the funny moments, blushing everywhere at the more intimate ones. She hoped there was more where that came from….

Bellatrix Black had a permanent smirk on her face as she made her way to her classroom. Who would have thought that Professor Granger had that cheekiness in her! She was pleasantly surprised at the witch's humor and coyness. Enough so that she was surprised at the fluttering of her stomach in anticipation of Saturday night. She hoped that spending time with Hermione would help quell her desires, at least for the time being. Small steps of course, but the waiting had been worth it. Now all she must do is make it until Saturday night, easier said than done. "Good morning students" she called as she opened the door to her classroom. Time to try and begin teaching her class. Hopefully she wouldn't be too distracted.

Hermione made her way to the teacher's lounge for lunch. She was relieved for the break in the day, as she had been distracted with thoughts of all to come on her upcoming date with Bellatrix. Most of her thoughts centered around what would hopefully happen after the date. She knew that physical intimacy would be more dates away. Oh, but a kiss, a kiss would be heavenly. She tried not to blush too much as she made her way to her seat at the table, she didn't want her cheeks to give away what was on her mind. No such luck though, as she approached her seat she smiled self-consciously. Headmaster McGonagall had also taken her seat and had been eyeing Hermione the entire time unbeknownst to her.

"Well, what has brought such a lovely color and a smile to your face today Professor?" Minerva asked. "I…well…I've just had a bit of good news is all" Hermione stammered. She hoped that Minerva would leave it at that and not request further details. "Really? And what pray tell is this good news?" Minerva inquired. Hermione sweared internally, damn it, no escaping it after all. She should have known better, nothing gets past the greatest witch in the world.

Gathering her courage, Hermione proceeded to tell Minerva about her date with Bellatrix Black on Saturday. "Ahhh, so that explains the blushes and smiles I observed at breakfast this morning, as well as the sequel just now" Minerva replied with raised eyebrows and a knowing smile. "I won't lie, I can certainly see the appeal, she's quite a fetching witch" Minerva said. Hermione blushed more at that comment, "Agreed" she replied slightly dream like staring off slightly remembering those rich black eyes smiling back at her. Her stomach rolled a bit with nerves and she blanched slightly.

Minerva cleared her throat delicately, "If I may say so, I think I sense a small amount of apprehension about this upcoming outing?"

"No, not apprehension, more like nerves. I am extremely nervous about our date. I worry that maybe I've built her up too much in my fantasies, she is just a woman after all." Hermione replied.

"I see" Minerva responded. "It helps to remember that we're all merely human after all Hermione and can only be who we are in the end. I don't believe that your fantasies about her are too far off. She will likely live up to your expectations, perhaps not all of them, but the basic ones I'm sure. Although I have only just learned of the attraction between the two of you, I do have eyes, and I've seen how she watches you as well, so there is no denying at the very least, the chemistry between you. Build on that for now, the rest will come soon enough."

Hermione considered this for a moment, she was grateful for those words and hoped they saw her through her anxiety. It is merely a first date after all, nothing need be decided yet. However, when you've pinned after someone for a certain amount of time, the anticipation alone can drive one to all sorts of thoughts.

"Thank you, Minerva, that means a lot to me, it certainly helped to ease my anxiety." Minerva patted her hand, "I'm glad dear, all will be well, you'll see."

Hermione smiled and began to tuck into her lunch, she still had a long day ahead of her, and would need the energy.

Bellatrix entered her rooms after evening rounds of the castle grounds. She was exhausted, but not how she would have been any other evening. Today was a day of progress and she had much to ponder as she prepared herself for bed. She was remiss to not have crossed paths with Hermione today after breakfast, she would have loved to see the witches face again as they moved about the castle going about their daily routines. Nevertheless, she had their time at breakfast this morning to replay as much as she'd like in her mind to sustain her.

She sat at her dressing table and removed her wand from her sleeve. She waved it at her face and whispered the simple spell to remove her make-up and let down her hair. A time saver that spell, she smiled at her reflection and saw a flash of warm brown eyes and chestnut hair. She smiled rising from the table and moving towards her wardrobe, she removed her robes and changed into a black peignoir robe set that had been a gift from Rod from Paris. She knew it would seem strange to an outsider that she'd kept such a gift after all this time, but she cherished it so and saw no reason to part with it. She walked to her window and looked out over the castle grounds and into the clear dark sky filled with stars and a hazy moon. It was a beautiful night. Her thoughts once again drifted to Hermione, she wondered if she was also preparing for bed, and what she might be thinking of. Was she thinking of her as well? Dare she wonder what Hermione wore to bed? She smirked at her cheekiness. Why torture herself further, she was sure the dreams would do enough of that.

Bella sighed and walked to her four-poster bed and turned down the blanket. She pulled the blanket back over her and sat up against the headboard. However, would she sleep tonight? Even though she knew she had no reason to be nervous about her date with Hermione on Saturday, she couldn't help but feel a small amount of anxiety. Curiously, although she had had dates with other witches and wizards since Rod's death, she had never had anxiety. She was sure this was since she never desired any of them as much as she craved Hermione. Her worries were the result of fearing that she may be a tad too risqué for the seemingly innocent and pure witch.

Realistically, she knew that Hermione had not had much experience in lovers and in life yet, as the older and more experienced of the two she felt the need to protect her, shield her from the uglier side of people and things. While Hermione had played her part in defeating the dark lord and his followers during the war, and had seen her share of death and darkness, she still had an innocence about her that Bellatrix felt she needed to protect.

Why she felt it was her responsibility to do this was beyond her. It was just another part of the strong pull she felt for towards the witch.

She had to push such thoughts from her mind and remind herself that this was only a first date. There was no need to have such trivial thoughts about such things when they had yet to spend time in one another's presence outside the school walls. Shaking her head hoping to help clear the thoughts from her head, she whispered the incantation to shroud the room in darkness and closed her eyes, anticipating the dreams she knew would come of her witch with warm chocolate eyes.