Trying to get Bella to take a bath, was like trying to convince a broom it was a cat.

An endeavour which Hermione would probably have had more progress with.

Bella barely looked away from the ceiling when Hermione entered with the tray as usual these days. The young mediresident was losing optimism fast, surely this was not how it was meant to be….

Deciding to make the best of a bad situation, and try and make some progress, Hermione decided it was bath day.

Now, how to break it to the currently brooding older witch?

"There's no way I can say this without it sounding patronising-"

"Then don't say it"

The brunette faltered slightly, before continuing

"But you need to have a bath. Today. Actually right now would be preferable"

Bellatrix simply laughed

"And what if I don't?"

Hermione groaned inwardly, great. It was going to be one of those days.

"I'll just have to drag you there myself"

The condescending smirk on Bella's lips vanished in an instance.

"You wouldn't dare."

Hermione held her gaze

"No, you wouldn't dare to touch me with your filthy mudblood magic"

Raising an eyebrow, the younger witch stepped forward and folded her arms

"Really? Alright"

Hermione waved her wand and sure enough, Bella was soon floating in the air, still half covered in a bedsheet. Hermione set her down again, gently.

"Go and bathe, or I'll use my, yes my magic, to do it for you"

Grumbling all the while, she hopped slowly over to the ensuite with her crutches.

Throwing Hermione scathing look before slamming the door.

Well that was easier than she had thought it was going to be.

On the other side of the door, Bellatrix was exhausted. That short distance had got her heart racing far more than it would have done normally. Or rather, before she had to rely on metal sticks to get her from A to B.

She grumpily concluded that lying in bed 24 hours a day every day of the week probably wasn't helping the muscles she did have either.

But she wasn't quite ready to admit out loud that Hermione was right.

Damn Gryffindor know-it-all.

Nearly a week later Hermione set down the tray on the table by Bella's bed.

"I don't like chicken soup"

"You don't like anything"

Hermione admonished. Bella paused, almost smiling at the quip, before she remembered she was meant to hate the girl.

Why was that again? She paused. Ah yes, dirty blood.

"Besides, you don't have to like it. You just have to eat it!"

"Yeah, yeah."

It would have sounded a great deal more dismissive if Bella hadn't had a coughing fit at that moment, and drank some of the liquid to soothe her throat.

Hermione outright smiled. Hurdle one, down.

Now for hurdle two.

Mission: Get Bella to have a bath. Again.

Hermione sat in what was becoming her usual armchair, and picked up the book she had taken to leaving on the table next to it.

"That was… vile. I forgot Tiptoe was the kitchen elf for a reason." She looked from the soup to Hermione and back again "How do you get soup wrong? It's soup!"

"Feel free to get up and make it for yourself"

Hermione turned the page of her book.

From her position, Bella looked almost content. She was propped up on her elbow, with a bowl in one hand and a spoon in the other. She had regained some colour, and was being more… human, for want of a better word. Hermione couldn't put her finger on exactly what had changed, but something about the older witch was starting to… defrost. She was slightly different from who she used to be, warmer. Even if it was apparently accidental, these 'accidents' seemed to be occurring more and more frequently, as thought she were… slowly transforming.

The soup was gone soon enough, and after a while in companiable silence, Bella's curiosity got the better of her.

"Whatcha reading?"

"Gulliver's Travels"

"Who did what now?"

"Ah… it's a muggle classic"

There was a brief pause, as a thoughtful look passed over dark features. Hermione awaited the usual torrent of abuse that followed anything muggle.

"Right"

Huh… well that was new.

"What's it about?"

Bella seemed genuinely interested.

Hermione paused before letting her features form into a smile.

Maybe there was some middle ground between them after all.

A/N

I'm really sorry about the wait… hopefully inspiration for the next update will arrive a lot faster!

p.s. I am aware this was a fairly light chap. That's not gonna last long, as much as I love to create a contrast between happy/easier and darker times, I'm just easing y'all back in. As Scar would say, be prepared...