A/N: I've recently been rereading and rewatching the Harry Potter series and for some odd reason Bellamione started to peak my interest. I know the series ended a while ago but I really wanted to write a story about them.

I haven't planned out a lot of this story yet, but the first couple chapters or so will take place during The Sorcerer's Stone.

This has not been beta-ed, so please excuse any errors.

Anyway, enjoy and review!

Young Love

Chapter One:

Having been born to worry-prone muggle parents Hermione and her family arrived at Kings Cross Station an hour before the train was due to depart, the Deputy Headmistress's instruction to look for platform 9 3/4 and run through a magical wall had put the Grangers on edge and made them arrive early to make sure that their daughter would make her train on time.

When the Grangers finally found the platform with ten minutes to spare they kissed their daughter goodbye and helped her load her luggage onto the train.

Being as anxiety filled as her parents, Hermione chose to sit in the first car as to not bother or be bothered by anyone. Hermione found an empty compartment and glanced out the window watching children and parents part, and friends reunite after a long summer away from each other. Hermione wondered if she would make any friends, she had a reputation of being a tad of a know-it-all, which Hermione discovered very early in life put people off.

Hermione's thoughts were interrupted by a small knock on the compartment door. Hermione looked up to see a girl her age with a mess of dark curls cascading down her shoulders, warm brown eyes, a slightly hooked but cute nose, fair skin, and plump plum lips. Hermione smiled politely as a sign for the girl to join her. The girl slid open the compartment door.

"Is anyone sitting with you?" The girl asked sweetly.

"Oh, um, no." Hermione stuttered, taken aback by her beauty.

"Do you mind if I keep you company?" Hermione blushed and stammered out a quick "of course".

The dark haired girl sat across from Hermione.

"I'm Bellatrix by the way, Bellatrix Black, you can call me Bella though," smiled Bellatrix.

"I'm Hermione Granger, nice to meet you." Hermione smiled back not really sure what to say.

"Likewise, are you okay? You seem a bit nervous." The dark-haired witch observed.

"Is it that obvious?" Hermione laughed.

"You're muggleborn aren't you?"

"I'm what?!" Hermione asked offended. Bellatrix snickered at the girl's reaction.

"It means that you are not from a magical family or parents, I wasn't trying to insult you or anything." Hermione let out a long 'oh,' before answering her question. In the spirit of conversation Hermione asked her what kind of family she came from and before long Bellatrix was explaining the different types of witches and wizards. The two girls were so caught up in conversation that neither of them took notice of the Hogwarts Express pulling away from Platform 9 3/4.

The young witches conversed comfortably for a long while until a boy with slicked back bleach blond hair and two other rather thuggish looking eleven year olds interrupted them.

"Bella, what are you doing talking to this trash? Out with you mudblood!" Hermione looked up at the boy absolutely startled, never had someone whom she had never met before been so abrasive on a first encounter.

"Oi, shut it Draco!" The dark haired witch replied cooly although annoyance was easily detectable in her voice. "Can't you see I'm trying to have a conversation here without you griping on someone about their blood purity? Scram, or I'll tell Cissy you were picking on me." At the mention of his mother's name, Draco and his gang of goons quickly left the compartment but not before Draco could sneer out a very original "Bloodtraitor!".

As the boys fled out of view Bella turned her attention back to Hermione. "Sorry about that," Bella apologized.

"Um, it's okay. Is that your brother or something?" Bella let out a hearty laugh.

"No, thank Merlin. But sadly we are related, he's my nephew." The fair haired girl's eyes bugged out of her head.

"Nephew?! You're an Aunt?! You can't be! You're like eleven!"

"Twelve," Bellatrix corrected. "He's my older sister Narcissa's son. I was my parent's last child before my father died, I was born a couple months before Draco." Hermione nodded, finally understanding.

"I'm sorry about your father, Bella." Much to Hermione's surprise Bella laughed again.

"Don't be, he was a right foul git!" Hermione scrunched her brow in confusion, urging Bella to explain. "That name that Draco called you is synonymous with the term muggleborn, but it's a slur. Like my father and my sister, Draco believes that a witch's and wizard's blood status makes them better than others. My family has a long history and tradition of being purebloods, they also have a long tradition of hating muggleborns. But I think it's a load of shite, if you ask me." Hermione smiled, realizing that Bella was nothing like her nephew Draco. Bella was articulate, beautiful, and kind while her nephew was barbaric and obnoxious.

"Well, thank you for standing up for me, Bella. I really appreciate it!" Hermione smiled.

"No problem, Mione!" The fair-haired witch smiled at the new found nickname.

"So what house do you think you will be sorted into?" Hermione asked, trying to shift the conversation to a lighter topic and a topic she knew something about.

"I'm not really sure, to be honest. Everyone in my family has been a Slytherin besides one of my cousins. I suppose it only makes sense seeing Salazar Slytherin's views on pureblood supremacy. And although I do not approve of classifying anybody by their blood purity, I do resonate quite a bit with the attributes associated with a Slytherin."

"What house was your cousin sorted into?" Hermione questioned.

"He was sorted into Gryffindor, which is pretty much the antithesis of Slytherin. Fat lot of good it did him though, seeing that he's been locked up in Azkaban for the past eleven years. I guess it just goes to show that any witch or wizard has the capacity for evil, not just Slytherins." Bellatrix sighed. Although the raven-haired witch was from a magical family, this did not ease her anxiety surrounding which house she would be placed into. Like her cousin Sirius, she does not believe in pureblood supremacy, but Bellatrix knows that if she were to be placed in Gryffindor or any other house, her family would begin to resent her and see her as they saw Sirius before he was disowned by The Noble and Most Ancient House of Black. Not to mention, not being placed into Slytherin would break her mother's heart. The death of Cygnus in 1979 cast Druella into a deep depression, a depression that Bellatrix had seen her mother cope with her entire life. This is partly why Bellatrix was able to form her own opinions of blood purity, because after her father died her mother did not have the will to carry on his legacy of teaching their children the importance of pureblood supremacy. However, this did not stop Druella from telling Bellatrix how proud she was of her for going to Hogwarts and continuing the Black's Slytherin legacy. "Anyway, what house do you think you'll be sorted into?"

"I have no clue," Hermione huffed, nerves starting to get the better of her. Bellatrix moved to the edge of her seat to get closer to Hermione before placing her hand of the fair-haired girl's knee.

"You'll do fine, I guarantee it!" Bellatrix reassured Hermione.

"T-thanks," Hermione stammered out. Hermione turned her face to look out the window, but more importantly to hide the blush creeping up on her cheeks from the close contact. The moment was short lived as they found themselves arriving at Hogsmead Station.

Bella retracted her hand after letting it linger for a few moments, and with that a prefect opened the compartment door and gave them directions to find the gamekeeper and Keepers of Keys and Grounds of Hogwarts, Rubeus Hagrid. The two young witches exited the train and followed their fellow first year students to Hagrid, who quickly introduced himself and led them across the Black Lake to Hogwarts.

The first years climbed the steps of the castle with Hagrid leading the way. They were met by a stern-looking witch clad in an emerald cloak, square framed glasses, and what Hermione thought to be a very stereotypical witch hat.

"The firs' years, Professor McGonagall," said Hagrid.

"Thank you, Hagrid. I will take them from here." Said the woman the students now knew as Professor McGonagall.

They followed Professor McGonagall across the flagged stone floor. The professor showed the first years into a small, empty chamber off the hall, and the students all crowded in.

"Welcome to Hogwarts. The start-of-term banquet will begin shortly, but before you take your seats in the Great Hall, you will be sorted into your Houses. The Sorting is a very important ceremony because, while you are here, your House will be something like your family within Hogwarts. You will have classes with the rest of your House, sleep in your House dormitory, and spend free time in your House common four Houses are called Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. Each House has its own noble history and each has produced outstanding witches and wizards. While you are at Hogwarts, your triumphs will earn your House points, while any rule-breaking will lose House points. At the end of the year, the House with the most points is awarded the House cup, a great honor. I hope each of you will be a credit to whichever House becomes yours."