Chapter 31: 'Miss Granger'
Hermione Granger felt Bellatrix Lestrange presence in the ballroom. Of course, Bellatrix had to appear just when she gave up on talking to her in person before leaving for Hogwarts.
The question of whether she dared to leave Bellatrix to her own devices for the whole semester was still open in Hermione's mind, but she had to try. This school year was most likely the last time her group of friends would spend together before demands of family, kids, and jobs took over their lives. And, she wasn't Bellatrix's babysitter. The however long they were to stay married would feel even longer and more stifling if she started to behave in such a way.
Hermione already penned half the letter on the topics she and Bellatrix needed to discuss, and her thoughts regarding them.
Out of the corner of her eye, Hermione saw Bellatrix doing the slow walk around the large room. She forced herself to stay focused on the notes she was taking for one of the floating portraits.
With the way her day started, Hermione was not in the mood for Bellatrix's quirks.
The response to her last still-open application for an Apprenticeship at one of the smaller Ministry Departments came early in the morning. It held a refusal and a suggestion to apply again after her graduation and satisfactory completion of her NEWTs. The wording was exactly like all other responses she received during her week at Harry's.
Satisfactory completion!
No one else who participated in the war was asked to do the same!
She penned and discarded several scathing responses.
Bellatrix's words of their marriage being the end of her political aspirations kept running through her mind.
Getting angry, upset or discouraged wouldn't get her far though.
She needed a plan.
She needed to find a way into any Ministry position, while her status as a War Hero and the brightest witch of her age was still fresh and bright in everyone's mind. They would have a hard time using Bellatrix to justify excluding her from advancement. Her work would speak for itself, surely! Elected positions could still pose a problem but that was a problem for the future.
One option was to apply for as many open positions as she could qualify for. Eventually the Minister, or whoever was blocking her applications, would feel pressured to let the grudge go. And if they wouldn't, she'd be able to involve Prophet. Surely the shunning of the Golden Girl would be tempting enough news to report on...
Another option would be to approach someone defiant of the Ministry's main line, someone more supportive of her marriage match decision. Someone whose sympathy towards Bellatrix fate was stronger than their dislike of Hermione's heritage... because surely only those types of people would still have regard for Bellatrix...
She cried for a spell, feeling betrayed and rejected.
She shouldn't need to resort to such plans after everything she had done for the Wizarding community.
Hermione glared at the portraits. She might have decided not to express her anger to the Ministry, but it didn't mean it simply disappeared!
Applefield's document stack was updated with the recent article of his arrest. His portrait along with the document stack relocated to a separate section of the large room. The word HELL was etched in the floor along one side of the etched square outline separating that section from the rest of the room. The word PIT was etched along the opposite side. Six smaller squares were etched inside one another. The flames etchings ran along the every other square edge. If she was a better artist she would have etched the hellish creatures there too!
She heard a puff of amusement. Bellatrix was traversing the squares of hell, seemingly from the outer to the inner direction, and back. Hermione sighed.
She was really not in the mood for Bellatrix's quirks!
The etchings were unnecessary.
Hermione thought she might fix the floor.
Later.
'Hm…'
Hermione looked up startled.
Bellatrix was leaning on the side of her desk barely two steps away from her. Hermione leaned back in her chair. She somehow completely missed the witch's arrival to her desk. Perhaps it was a good time to stop her research for the day.
'Have you heard from my sister?'
'Mrs. Malfoy?'
'I have one sister!'
Just a sentence in and the conversation was already to a great start.
After Hermione recalled all the events of the wedding, she penned Andromeda Tonks. The Wizarding community was too small to successfully avoid anyone. With the godfather-godchild connection between Hermione's best friend and Andromeda's grandson, trying to avoid the witch was a silly strategy. So, Hermione wrote to Andromeda apologizing for her rush departure and suggested a weekend tea in a couple of weeks.
Thankfully, Andromeda didn't push, and simply replied with the time and the place for the meeting.
Hermione hoped she'd have a better idea of what to say, how to behave around the witch, and what to do about the request Andromeda was bound to repeat.
At the very least, Bellatrix had just confirmed Hermione's suspicions of where she stood on the subject. The rest of Andromeda discussion could wait.
'I haven't seen Mrs. Malfoy since the day I left for the Weasleys wedding.'
Hermione remembered the occasion well. The withering look Malfoy's matriarch gave her reminded Hermione of the past. Hermione could not phantom what she managed to do to infuriate the witch. Perhaps Narcissa was not pleased with the latest development between her and Bellatrix. Illogical since Narcissa herself advocated for the marriage. Then Hermione remembered the conversation, Narcissa begged not to imprison Bellatrix. She had no strong opinions on death. Perhaps the youngest Black sister hoped they'd fail and the eldest Black would be judged and executed. That sounded illogical too...
Bellatrix started to say something several times before finally just turning to leave.
'Is something the matter?'
Bellatrix stopped, thought about it then shrugged.
'Would you visit her? Narcissa is angry with me… She is not in the paper, alive or dead. The elves say all is well but the creatures could be manipulated.'
Hermione's stomach gave a flip.
'You want me to go to Malfoy Manor?!'
The black eyebrow rose.
Hermione thought back to her last interaction with Malfoy's matriarch. That must have been the last time she was at the Grotto. Perhaps the last time she ran into Mrs. Malfoy, the witch was unhappy in general and not with her…
'I- I need to think...' Bellatrix frowned but nodded and didn't push. So Hermione felt compelled to add, 'I might not go myself or by myself but I'll check on Mrs. Malfoy.'
The witch nodded again, but remained in her spot next to Hermione's armchair.
'W-was there something else?'
'W-was there something else?'
Bellatrix sighed. Was there something else, indeed. Perhaps if she wrote to Narcissa that she talked to the younger witch as Narcissa instructed, her sister would reply. Taking back her words about Lucius didn't work. Perhaps, sharing that she took Narcissa's relationship opinion seriously, would work. She didn't need to go into details of what she talked to the girl about. Just enough for Narcissa to become pleased or become curious.
'So- that night…' Bellatrix cleared her throat feeling entirely too ridiculous, 'that was acceptable then?'
The girl blinked at her blankly. And then the light went on, and the brows flew up.
'Well yes, it passed the requirements, so...'
The girls cheeks now spotted a faint blush.
'Right...' Unfortunately for them both one question hardly amounted to conversation, 'uh... and the potion was fine then?'
The girl was now frowning. Her eyes slowly narrowed in thought, clearly trying to puzzle out the point of the conversation. Bellatrix gave internal sigh. Good luck with that. Even she couldn't name a reasonable point of this conversation.
'It did what it was supposed to, yes.'
'And you were not scared of me then?'
'Scared?'
'You are not at ease in my presence, Miss Granger, and for good reason. I am not oblivious to that.'
The girl blinked at her thoughtfully. Bellatrix took a deep breath and willed her annoyance, mostly at Narcissa, away. She didn't mean to snap.
'I was not not scared' the girl said slowly after long moment. 'I was too nervous to mess up another attempt to be scared, and then the potion…'
She trailed of, blushed even harder, and shrugged as if that explained everything. As if Bellatrix shared the sentiment. A reasonable, if incorrect, assumption.
'Ah'
Bellatrix fell silent running through the conversation. They talked about the night, and about the potion, and about the girl's feelings... That had to be sufficient enough to inform Narcissa about. If Narcissa would push for details and find them lacking... Well, that would be a different issue.
It appeared the girl was doing some thinking of her own because her pinched thoughtful expression changed once again. She was staring at Bellatrix as if she just solved her puzzle, and was greatly astonished by her solution.
'You-you-youwanttodoitagain!'
'W-'
'You only call me Miss Granger when you invite me to bed.'
'Do I?' a faint mutter.
'I mean of course we are married... I suppose that is to be expected… I mean... especially in light of…'
Bellatrix blinked at the younger witch. This was not going where she expected. She clearly should have thought through the conversation in more detail in her head. It was however intriguing that the girl made the assumptions that she did.
'Expected?' another faint mutter.
Bellatrix watched as the girl ran both hands though her hair; looked at her; pursed her lips; turned the chair to fully face her not only by looking but also by siting directly turned to her.
'Are your rules remain the same?'
'The rules… you would do that again?' Bellatrix was not proud of the slight squeak in her voice, but at least it was audible now.
The odd tone finally got the girl's attention.
'Not if you don't want to. And not,' she gave Bellatrix a very stern look. Bellatrix frowned in response. She wasn't a child to be the subject of such looks! 'Not, if you'll be mean afterwards!'
Ah!
'I could not have been that horrible! Was I? The potion didn't work for you, did it? Perhaps if we rebrew-'
'The potion was fine.' Bellatrix snapped, eager to stop that line of thought as soon as possible.
Just then, Bellatrix realized that not once over the last minute she disproved the girls assumption that she was inviting her to bed. Bellatrix sighed internally, this was so not what Narcissa wished her to do and say. She won't write about this to her sister.
'Do we have more of that potion?'
'Unless you drank it all...' Bellatrix's lips twitched.
'I left just enough for the two of us.' The girl snapped back. 'Tonight then?'
'Tonight' Bellatrix repeated faintly.
This was not what Cissy wanted her to do at all.
Bellatrix found herself frozen in the middle of the large bedroom. The situation was not new, and should not have been surprising, alarming, or worrisome. And yet, even as she heard the bathroom door open, she didn't move.
The vial with pale pink liquid was squeezed in her hand.
She didn't want to take it.
The potion was already modified… just with a valerian root this time.
She didn't know which part gave her insomnia: the root, the poison, the original potion, or the combination of the two in quick succession. She didn't know which part brought the distasteful memory to the forefront of her mind either. She just knew she didn't want to revisit it.
Her breathing quickened.
She felt trapped and she hated the feeling, probably above all others.
Perhaps she should just say that she wouldn't take the potion. One of the stupid rules the girl insisted on was to say if something made her uncomfortable. But that was showing weakness. She showed too much of that to the girl already. No. That was not the solution.
Perhaps she could spit it out when the girl wasn't looking… The opportunity seemed unlikely.
She squeezed her other hand around her fist with the vial. She would just have to take her chances with sleep... and the memory… She'd just have to deal.
She was not the teenager of before. She just needed to remember that she was not her.
Keep to the present.
'Bellatrix?'
'I don't want to use the potion!'
The black eyes widened. She did not mean to say that!
The girl took a step back at the tone.
'Oh… but I've… no-no ok yes ok. I'll go change back?'
'No!'
The girl took another step back and looked at her like she grew a second head or possibly a pretty set of horns. Bellatrix felt like she did sprout a couple of those.
'You didn't let me finish silly m-' Bellatrix stopped mid sentence and next moment her expression cleared even more. 'Miss Granger, all I'm saying it is pointless for me to do so but I will take it.'
The girl blinked at her in a manner similar to that of earlier in the day, as if she once again was solving a puzzle.
One hand unclutched from the other and Bellatrix opened her fist to take the vial. She fumbled awkwardly with the stopper. The girl was looking more confused by the moment, and Bellatrix felt even more foolish by the moment too.
The vial slipped and dropped.
The two stared at the vial.
Bellatrix summoned it back up.
'Wait' the girl stepped into her space. The girl's hand hovered over her own, not touching but close to it. 'You'd rather not take the potion, correct?'
Bellatrix remained quiet.
'Bellatrix, you don't have to.'
Black eyes stared flatly into brown.
'I'll take it.' The heat of the initial objection was completely gone from her voice. She moved to pull her hand out from the shadow of the younger, stronger looking one.
The girl's hand touched her wrist softly, halting the retreat. She glanced up in surprise.
'You don't have to.'
Before Bellatrix formulated a retort, the girl's hand caressed her wrist, slid softly into her palm, plucked the vial from it and pocketed the potion in her pants pocket.
'No item no problem' she grinned at Bellatrix and took several steps back out of Bellatrix's space.
Bellatrix thought she should be furious with the audacity, but she was just too relieved to muster enough ire.
'Uhm… If you don't want to… well you know…' The girl nodded towards the bed. 'You should leave. I've already taken the potion and…'
The girl backed all the way back to the bathroom door as if giving Bellatrix wide enough space to decide and to walk away if needed.
'But maybe decide soon... uhm you are starting to look attractive…'
Bellatrix's eyebrow rose.
'oh Merlin, I didn't mean... not that you are not usually… attractive I mean... but you just look particularly so with the potion and all... especially now that you gained some weight… oh Merlin just kill me!' The mortified brown eyes snaped closed and a hand clamped over the girl's mouth supposedly to stop more observations from coming out of it.
Bellatrix's lips' corners twitched up. She glanced at the door, then at the girl, and walked towards the bed.
Now that her potion was out of the picture, the rest of the situation was embarrassing and not her top choice for an activity but not all that objectionable.
End of Chapter 31
