Chapter 19: TBD, Part 1


Hermione Granger had never been so close to blindness as she came to over the last two days... That is if she took the superstitious warnings in the old Marriage Manuals seriously, of course.

She spent the last two days, and evenings, staring at the bloody Activity Guide, trying to wrap her head around Bellatrix and herself in any of the pictured ways. Her waking mind had a lot of doubt that it was even possible, without killing each other. Yet, her sleeping teenage brain had different ideas. And of course, one thing led to another... Blindness had to be just a superstition.

She also spent those two days worrying about how she could manage the feat outside the lustful teenage dreams. Half the time when the witch came too close to her, or showed strong emotion, Hermione's world doubled into here-and-now and then-and-there. And what if the witch decided to recreate the position from the Manor's floor sans the torture, for childish amusement? She didn't put such stunt past the devious witch.


Hermione heard the library doors open.

She hadn't seen Bellatrix since the breakfast two days prior. She kept wondering whether the witch truly preferred annulment. She certainly talked and behaved as if she expected to be executed, and never even brough up the consummation.

The footsteps approached. It seemed Bellatrix came in to talk to her and not to pick a book.

Hermione quickly closed the thin book she was looking through, and slid it under the other, larger, tomes. She then hastily pulled one of the large books on her lap and opened it, just as the dark witch rounded the couch and stopped in front of her.

'M-'

Bellatrix trailed off as her eyes fell onto the open book in Hermione's lap. Brown eyes trailed to what the witch was staring at. The Excellence of Conjugal Affection, the chapter's name stated.

'Of all the places…' Hermione blushed and snapped the book closed, only to have the cover announce A Complete Manual to Happy Modern Marriage, and the date under the title, 1773.

She groaned and rubbed her face, willing the blush to go away.

'What do you want, Lestrange?'

She kept her face covered, sure that if she looked up she'd run straight into the slightly upturned lips, Bellatrix's latest version of a smirk. There was a long pause, before Bellatrix spoke.

'Miss Granger'

Hermione's eyes popped open, still hidden behind her hands.

Something was up!

She was a You, a Witch, a mud-ah-Mugglespawn, or just a Spawn, and on rare occasions, a Pet.

She looked up, for the first time getting a good look at the witch.

Bellatrix was out of the loose robes she favored in the Grotto. The dress she had on was still black and still long, but it had a form fitting top and an open neckline. Her hair appeared to be in a bit more of an order than was usual as well. She almost looked like her old self, and a pang of apprehension shot through Hermione. She didn't have time to spiral into any unpleasant memories though.

'Miss Granger?'

Something was definitely up!

'W-what?' She sighed at her own stutter. 'Is Mrs Malfoy visiting? Do you need me for something?'

Bellatrix gave her a long look, and as on other similar occasions Hermione shivered. It was like being under the eyes of Death, she was certain. Over the last week, and especially under strong emotions, the witch's eyes started to show flickers of life, but most of the time they stayed flat, vacant. Hermione sometimes almost wished for the crazy glint to indicate the witch was truly alive and not some bizarre product of a reanimation spell.

'You could say that,' black eyes slid over the Marriage Manual. 'You are not too busy, are you, mu- ah… Miss Granger?'

Hermione snorted and pushed the book farther away. This inadvertently shifted all the books around her, and the thin book, that she was looking through before the older witch showed up, was revealed.

Bellatrix's eyes widened at the sight of the unmistakable cover of The Activity Guide to Witches' Pleasure. The next moment she shook her head, and dragged her eyes up to settle expectantly on the younger witch again. Hermione felt her whole face heat up.

'Miss Granger?'

Something was definitely, absolutely, and without a doubt, up!

She brushed over the sleeve with her wand holder, reassuring herself that she indeed had protection if this was the day Bellatrix finally snapped.

'No-nothing that cannot be done later…'

Bellatrix stared at her some more. Hermione forced herself not to fidget or touch the wand again. Finally the dark head tilted to the side, and then nodded motioning for Hermione to follow.

Hermione was too curious at the peculiar behavior to refuse, and she kept quiet lest the witch changed her mind.


Instead of going to any of the common rooms on the first floor, the witch headed up the stairs and down the middle corridor. They stopped in front of the large double doors at the end of it.

Bellatrix pushed the doors open and once again motioned for the younger witch to follow.

They went through the darkened small study, sitting room and dressing room, and finally stopped inside a spacious bedroom.

With a wave of the hand, the bedroom doors slammed shut and the heavy curtains closed, taking the fading twilight with them.

Before Hermione could fully panic, a single candle flickered to life. The light was barely enough to identify large pieces of furniture in the room. Still it was an improvement over the complete darkness.

She glared wide-eyed at the older witch next to her.

'Lestrange-' She practically growled and gripped her wand, but the witch didn't seem to notice.

Bellatrix looked like she was in her own world…

'You will not remove my clothing. You will not touch me more than you absolutely must. You will never ever speak of this to anyone. Do you understand?'

Hermione blinked stupidly at the witch until it clicked. She discreetly put the wand away, and folded her arms in front of her.

'The consummation. You want to go through with it? Now?'

Dark head cocked to the side, and for the first time since the library black eyes focused on her and not on a point somewhere behind her head.

'Is there another option?'

Hermione shook her head frowning.

'Not that I've found…'

She was still very annoyed about that.

Bellatrix stepped away from her to lean on the bedpost. Her face was now completely in the shadows, but the dim flickering light fell over her cleavage just right at the new position. Hermione's eyes traced the line where the skin met the cloth.

'Doing nothing is an option. You could say I was at fault. That I refused to let a mudblood close to my person. No one would doubt your claim.'

Mudblood. Hermione cringed at the word. The older witch surprisingly enough had never directed it at her after the first morning she came to.

'I could.' She agreed. 'The annulment would, of course, mean that the Intent contract becomes void. You will be imprisoned, possibly… most likely… executed.'

Silence fell as they studied each other.

'Very well.'

Bellatrix pushed off the bedpost and headed towards Hermione.

Hermione gulped. She waited with some curiosity and some apprehension what would happen next. Her brain supplied helpfully, and uninvitedly, a number of ways a similar situation went in her dreams.

The witch was almost at the doors when Hermione realized what the very well apparently meant in Bellatrix's talk.

'Lestrange! Uhm… Bellatrix, I do not think doing nothing is an acceptable option.'

Bellatrix stopped at the doors and turned to look at Hermione.

'You wish to proceed then?'

Hermione nodded. With five days left, tonight was as good as any other night.

'Do you agree to the conditions?'

Ah the conditions.

'Don't look, don't touch, don't talk…I heard.' Some of Hermione's curiosity and anticipation of the past two days dissipated replaced with hurt. Of course the witch won't want a mudblood to touch her. 'Don't go anywhere...' She muttered and stormed to the closest door she saw.

'Miss Granger…'


'...that is a closet…' Hermione ignored the muffled words.

She cast the silencing charm on the pitch black space.

'Horrid - hateful - ungrateful - judgmental - evil - arrogant - narrow-minded - awful - witch!' She clamped her hand over her mouth when her mutter raised to shout.

She rubbed her face, and ran her hands through her hair.

'I should just go… I can just leave… The power is on my side… I have the wand… I'm not a prisoner… I-'

She peeked through the door crack at Bellatrix. The barely visible form stood where she left her. The long hair hung over the lowered head, hiding the face. One hand dug claw-like into the other forearm, clutching and digging into the flesh where Hermione guessed the Dark Mark was.

'Like a bloody security blanket.' she muttered and moved away from the crack. 'Does she expect him to rise and save her?...'

She sat on the floor hugging her knees, and glaring at the barely visible sliver of light from the door crack.

'Come on Mione,' she whispered into the silent space. 'You knew what she was… who she was… getting upset now is… illogical.'

When Hermione felt like her balanced self again, she exited the closet.


Bellatrix was still there, at the same spot, though she stopped gripping her forearm, and had both hands simply clasped in front of her.

'I understand your rules.'

Hermione squinted at the witch who was barely visible with her black hair and in her black attire.

'Can we have at least more light?'

'No.'

Hermione signed.

'I have my own conditions.'

Dark head inclined.

'You will not call me names.'

One shoulder rose in a half-shrug. Hermione glared at the witch expecting some more in the form of agreement.

'Very well.' Bellatrix stopped by Hermione on her way back to the bed. 'Didn't plan on talking anyway.'

'And… and you will be kind, and if you don't know how... then at least be… civil!'

Bellatrix gave her another of those long flat looks, and Hermione started to wonder whether some more clarification required for what she expected of the witch.

'I'll manage, Miss Granger. Remember the conditions.'

With the last warning look, the older witch climbed into the middle of the huge bed, reclined on the pillows and slightly parted her legs.


End of Chapter 19