Hello everyone, can you believe that I have managed to update this quickly? Just a little caveat that this chapter is a little odd, it's a bit of a filler chapter and not that much happens. But it is setting the scene for us starting to discover a little bit more about Bellatrix and the dynamic of her family. I intended to include lots more in this chapter but I've had to split it into two as it kind of just got away from me. Also a second caveat, I have attempted some little bits of French in here…I have had to rely on research and translate so it could well be all wrong. In advance I would like to apologise to any French speakers if I have absolutely butchered it. If I have please let me know…and let me know how to fix it.

Thank you so much for the people who took the time out to review the last chapter:

Black Magic99: I feel like for the moment Bellatrix is still a little bit too enamoured with Hermione to really think about all of her little oddities. She is kind of just getting swept along with it all at this point, but the realisation is definitely on the way.

Crazedreader: Thank you so much, I'm glad you like my take on the two of them. I try to keep Hermione as cannon as possible (obviously aside from the time travel and liking women thing) but it's fun to be able to play around with the others.

Hawke420: Thank you, I can help but feel like these two deserved an intense first time. It was never really going to be any other way.

NightmareInTheShadows: Well my work here is done then.

Lynettecullen: Your review makes me happy, thank you!

Disclaimer: I don't own anything I am just borrowing the characters and locations.

Bellatrix and Hermione were enjoying a lazy Saturday together, most of the older years had headed off on the first Hogsmeade trip of the New Year so the castle was quiet and they could have some privacy. Their relationship had progressed quite a bit since their first night together. They no longer felt shy about showing their wish to spend the majority of their time together and so spent every day in each other's company. They were much freer when discussing their feelings towards one another and one day Bellatrix had even admitted that she had begun to imagine Hermione in her future. And they were much more forthcoming with their desires and now found themselves caught in a tryst after the most innocent of situations. Despite her past, Hermione didn't consider herself to be a risk taker and she certainly wasn't somebody that lost herself to her passions. But Bellatrix seemed to have this effect on her; she pushed her to not overthink the things that she wanted and to trust her intuitions more. She challenged her to not always think inside the rigid walls of the way that magic is taught at Hogwarts and to tap into the power at her core. Being with Bellatrix since their first time felt transformative, she felt more at ease with herself and she felt like she finally had a place here, a purpose.

The girls had a Charms essay due next week so were holed up in Bellatrix's room studying the various uses of the 'Aqua Eructo Charm'. They had recently been forced to move their study sessions to one of their bedrooms because of how increasingly difficult they found it to keep their hands to themselves now when they were alone. Currently they were sat quietly next to each other leaning against the wall and reading a textbook each, occasionally they would share an interesting fact with each other but mostly they just enjoyed the quiet company.

Hermione reached the end of the chapter she was reading and let her eyes stray away from the page, she looked over at Bellatrix and a small smile tugged at the corner of her lips. She always loved the intense look the girl got when she was studying and the way that she spun her quill between her fingers. She watched how the girl trapped her lip between her teeth as she leant over to jot something down on the parchment that lay next to her on the bed. Her hair slipped off her shoulder and cascaded down her back exposing the creamy white flesh of her neck. Hermione felt her mouth go dry as she thought about all of the times over the last few weeks that she had pressed heated kisses across that neck or raked her teeth across it in the throes of passion. Her eyes traced the Slytherin's defined jawline, her aristocratic nose and the perfect curve of her dark brow. The more time she spent looking at Bellatrix the more things she found beautiful, she felt like she could look at her forever and never get bored. "Bella" she called softly, to get the other girl's attention.

"Mmmmh?" Bellatrix hummed in response as she continued to scratch notes on her parchment, too engrossed in their research to pick up on the change in ambiance of the room. She hadn't noticed that Hermione had spent the last five minutes staring at her or the nervous tremor in the girl's voice as she had spoken her name.

Hermione paused for a moment, she really wanted to talk to Bellatrix about where they stood but now that she was about to bring the topic up she was feeling a little bit nervous. She hadn't really cared about defining what or where they were in the months they had spent getting to know each other, now they had slept together though that feeling had changed somewhat. She knew Bellatrix cared for her, it was clear in the way the girl treated her and she wasn't worried that there was anyone else, she trusted her. But she was starting to develop some serious feelings for the dark haired girl; she was all she ever thought about anymore and the only person she really wanted to be around. Whatever they were didn't feel casual anymore and she needed to know what that meant. "Can I ask you something?"

Bellatrix stopped writing and looked over at Hermione, the girl was wringing her hands together and she had learnt over the last few months that this meant she was feeling anxious. She decided this needed her full attention so she put her quill down and marked the page she had been reading in the text book before sitting up properly. "You can always ask me anything."

"Are we…do you…erm…what?" Hermione rushed out the beginning of three questions all at once, this was not going exactly as she had planned it to go. Not that she had actually planned this at all, really she had just worried about it incessantly for the last few days and just hoped it would work itself out. She noticed Bellatrix starting to smile at her blundering and covered her face with her hands to hide her embarrassment.

"No, don't do that. Don't hide away." Bellatrix coaxed softly as she pulled at Hermione's wrist to try and get her to look at her again but the girl's hands would not budge. "I know something has been bothering you the last few days, let's get that wonderful mind of yours settled."

"What are we Bella?" Came Hermione's muffled question from behind her hands, she wasn't sure if Bellatrix had heard her when no answer was immediately forthcoming. She tentatively lowered her hands from her face and looked at the raven haired girl sat opposite her with a raised eyebrow and a gentle smile.

"We're me and you." Bellatrix answered as she took Hermione's hands in her own and gave them a gentle squeeze. She didn't really know how to put into words what they were because whatever they were just felt so all consuming. Hermione was one of the only people who really saw her for whom she was, she was one of the only people outside of her family that had ever really cared about her, she was her friend, her lover, her equal. She had been in relationships before, had girlfriends before, but none of them had ever really felt like this and so she was struggling to put a name to it that did it justice. "We're…"

"together?" Hermione supplied hopefully as she saw the myriad of emotions that seemed to flash across Bellatrix's face. The Slytherin was always so measured when it came to things like this, but this time she looked a little bit ruffled and Hermione worried that she had pushed too hard.

Bellatrix swallowed thickly to try to chase the emotions down, she knew that Hermione cared for her but she had never imagined that she would be the one to bring this topic up. That she would be the one to need the affirmation of where they stood. Bellatrix felt like she had nothing to offer Hermione; she was a loner with no friends, she got lost in projects and forgot about commitments she had made and she found it difficult to talk about her emotions. Whereas Hermione was captivating, she drew people to her like a magnet, she made people happy when she was around and all of her professors sung her praises. She was so much more than Bellatrix felt like she deserved. "Do you want us to be together?"

"Why would I not want us to be together Bella?" Hermione asked cautiously, she hadn't been expecting Bellatrix to question whether she wanted her. She was pretty sure she had shown her that over the past few weeks. But Hermione quickly realised that the girl wasn't questioning if she wanted her, she was questioning why she wanted her. All of those years of not being good enough for her parents had clouded Bellatrix's view of what a wonderful person she really was.

"I don't know." Bellatrix replied dismissively as she looked away from Hermione's face and down at their joined hands, her thumbs gently running across the girl's scarred knuckles. "I fuck things up and the more I care about things the more I seem to fuck them up."

"That's not true. You care about your sisters and they adore you, you care about your education and you are top of the class in all of your subjects and you care about your research and I would guess that your knowledge would probably give goblin experts a run for their money." Hermione reeled off hoping to reassure the girl sat across from her, she squeezed her hands and willed Bellatrix to look at her again. When dark eyes finally gazed up from under thick eyelashes she smiled. "We all fuck up sometimes Bella but we can work through that."

"If we're together." Bellatrix said quietly, as she let go of one of Hermione's hand in favour of cupping her cheek and bringing their foreheads together. "You are so much more than I ever could have wished for."

"I'm not going anywhere." Hermione reassured as she tilted her head and gently kissed Bellatrix soundly, hoping that the girl could feel how much she meant what she said.

Bellatrix ran her tongue along Hermione's bottom lip, asking for the kiss to be deepened. The bushy haired witch had just opened her mouth to allow her access when a resounding bang echoed through the room. The girls jumped apart and their heads snapped towards the sound. Bellatrix growled in annoyance when she saw Andromeda come ambling into the room clumsily. She had one hand firmly gripped over her eyes and the other held out in front of her to stop her from walking into anything. "For fucks sake Andromeda, you don't half have shit timing."

"I'm not looking, I'm not looking!" Andie shouted at the top of her voice, her hand still clamped over her face as she wobbled closer towards the other two girls, following the sound of her sister's furious grumbling.

The girl was getting perilously close to a trunk that had been left askew by one of Bellatrix's dorm mates in their haste to get to Hogsmeade that morning. Hermione could see the accident that was about to happen and tried her best to intercept it. "Andie watch out for the…"

"Ow, shit." Andromeda cursed as she caught her toe on the edge of the trunk and clattered around attempting to find something on which to save herself.

"Never mind." Hermione laughed as she watched the girl steady herself on the bed post with her free hand, still refusing to uncover her face with the other. "Would you take your hand from over your eyes?"

"Not until I know it's safe." Andie answered dramatically, gripping her face even tighter to prove her point. "I don't want a repeat performance."

Hermione sighed and shook her head, last week Andromeda had unfortunately walked in on them in a rather compromising position on this very bed. Despite promising not to mention it ever again the girl had promptly brought it up at every opportunity since. "We're fully clothed."

"Not good enough." Andie shook her head profusely, still clinging on to the bedpost for stability. "Last time you were fully clothed, you just had your hand up Bella's skirt."

"For Merlin's sake Andromeda, we're not fucking." Bellatrix shouted at her sister, having had more than enough of the younger girl's theatrics. She was mightily pissed off that Andromeda had stormed in and effectively ruined one the defining moments of their relationship. "Now uncover your eyes."

"Bella!" Hermione shrieked at the crass comment that came from the other girl, hitting her across the arm with the book she had been reading before their conversation. "Can we not say fucking?"

Bellatrix laughed despite her impending sour mood at Hermione's strange prudishness, she was by no means retiring when they were in bed together and yet baulked at the work 'fucking'. A mischievous smirk slipped onto her face as she rubbed the spot that Hermione had just walloped her with the hardback tome. "What would you prefer I say? Making love?"

"Oh god no, that's no better." Hermione cringed at the use of the term; making love just sounded so middle aged and boring. She could hardly say that the sex that she had with Bellatrix was slow and boring, it was passionate and rough and probably did fall firmly into the category of fucking.

Andromeda bounded over to the bed and threw herself on to her back between the two older girls, her hair splaying out on the duvet. She grinned up at Hermione with that expression that is almost identical to Bellatrix. "Screwing?"

Bellatrix laughed her true full laugh at the scandalised look that adorned Hermione's face, she looked over at the other girl and wiggled her eyebrows. "Nailing?"

"Lady loving." Andromeda smarmed, making a lewd gesture with her fingers that caused Hermione to make a squeak of embarrassment.

Bellatrix leapt onto her knees on the bed and spread her arms like a pair of wings, she caught Hermione's eye and winked. "Making the Hippogriff with two backs."

Andromeda shoved Bellatrix so she fell against her pillows in a heap; she laughed and turned towards Hermione poking her in the side. "Buttering the biscuit."

As much as Hermione knew the girls were joking and that this was probably a normal way for sisters to interact it didn't make her feel any less uncomfortable. She turned a stern look at Bellatrix who was clearly readying herself to sprout another innuendo. "Come out with one more and none of those things will ever be happening again."

"Oh wow, is she this bossy in bed Bella?" Andromeda chuckled as she sat up and wriggled her way backward until she was sat against the wall next to Hermione, she bumped the girl's shoulder. "Because if it is, it's fucking sexy."

Hermione shook her head and slapped Andromeda on the thigh as she self-consciously tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. "Was there a reason that you came in here, other than embarrassing me obviously?"

"No." Andromeda replied with a deadpan expression before leaping off the bed again like an excited puppy. "I'm kidding, yes there was. So you know that it's my birthday next Saturday?"

Hermione rolled her eyes, the girl had done nothing but talk about her birthday since the New Year celebrations had ended. They had gone over in microscopic detail all of the things she wanted to do with the weekend. "Yes you may have mentioned it…"

"At least a thousand times." Bellatrix cut in and she scooted over to sit next to Hermione, taking the girl's hand in hers and entwining their fingers, a silent apology for mocking her earlier.

"I'm going to be 17 Bella!" Andromeda shrieked, she jumped onto Bellatrix's lap and grabbed her sister by the front of her shirt and shook her. "17, that means my trace is breaking and I can learn to apparate."

Bellatrix threw Andromeda off her knee with a laugh and attempted to straighten out the creases in her previously neat shirt. "I already taught you to apparate."

"Yes but now I can do it legally and further than over the other side of our ballroom." Andromeda replied with a roll of her eyes at her sister's rather flat response to her excitement. All Bellatrix ever spoke about was freedom and all of things they could do once their trace was removed. The memory of the two of them sat cuddled together under her duvet a few years ago talking by wand light about the lives they could lead if they could get away from their family came to the forefront of her mind. "Bella, we could run away like we've talked about all of those times."

Bellatrix smiled warmly at her sister she would love nothing more than for them to run away together, she had always dreamed of saving her sisters from their family. But she knew, despite all of their fantasies of what life could be like on the run, that her parents would track them down eventually. She grabbed her sister's hand and pulled her into a side hug by throwing an arm around her shoulder. "There's one small blonde snag in that plan Andie."

"Cissy would be fine on her own." Andie whined as she snuggled into Bellatrix's side with a pout. "She is father's favourite and she actually wants to marry that cretin Lucius."

"I know, I thought we'd raised her better." Bellatrix replied sarcastically as she shook her head at their failure to turn Narcissa away from Lucius.

"Anyway I actually came because…" Andromeda squirmed around as she tried to extract something from an inside pocket of her robes. Finally she pulled out a black envelope with 'Miss Andromeda Black' written in neat silver cursive across the front, Bellatrix's face paled at the sight of it. "We have been summoned Bella."

Bellatrix snatched the envelope out of Andromeda's hand and stared at it as though it was about to explode like a howler any second. "Oh Merlin, say it isn't so."

"I'm afraid it's true." Andromeda said in a mock sombre voice, pretending as though she was delivering the most grave news. "Mother wants to have a family dinner to celebrate my ascension into womanhood."

"She'll have the sex talk with you." Bellatrix laughed as she held the envelope back out towards Andromeda. "It was possibly the most awkward thirty minutes of my life."

"It gets worse though Bella." Andromeda sighed as she refused to take the envelope back from her sister. "Read the letter."

Bellatrix slipped the parchment out of the heavy envelope, dreading to think what could be worse than a compulsory mid-term visit to Manor Black. Having to see her parents for the holidays was bad enough without having to add more days in their company to the tally. She unfolded the parchment slowly and began to read her mother's letter.

À mon petit amour Andromeda.

I hope you are excited about your birthday next week, turning 17 is such a huge milestone, you are to become a woman and you should be with your famille as you take this step. I have organised a dinner and have invited your uncle Orion, aunt Walburga and your cousins too. Inform your sisters that I expect them to attend and tell Bellatrix that I demand her behaviour to be parfait, comprenez vous?

Now, I have heard that you have made a new 'amie' at Hogwarts, a transfer student from Beaubatons Academy, I believe her name is Hermione. Please invite her to the dinner as well, it is important that I meet her, I must talk to the two of you instamment.

Tell your sisters je les aime and that I am looking forward to seeing them.

Meilleurs vœux,

ta maman aimante.

Hermione noticed that Bellatrix's gaze flicked in her direction a few times while she was reading the letter, she put the parchment down and looked at her with worried eyes. She waited for the darker girl to explain but she seemed to be lost in her own head. She looked at Andromeda hoping to get a little clarification on what was distressing Bella so much but she was refusing to meet her eye. "What is it?"

Bellatrix swallowed thickly attempting to try and choke down some of her anxiety. Why would her mother want to see Hermione? Andromeda had plenty of friends and her mother had never so much as asked about them never mind invited them to their home. And what could she possibly have to talk to Andie and Hermione about so urgently. Something really wasn't right here but she couldn't figure out what was going on. "She wants you to come too."

"Why?" Hermione shrieked, her eyes darting between the two Black sisters waiting for one of them to come up with an answer. She had been invited over to the Burrow multiple times for one of the Weasley's birthdays. It wasn't that abnormal for families to invite their children's friends over for birthday celebrations, but judging by the sister's behaviour this was clearly very abnormal for their mother. As far as she could tell the girl's had as little contact as possible with their parents, she could hardly imagine them sitting down and having a jolly conversation about their new friend Hermione. "How does she even know who I am?"

"I don't know." Andromeda sighed as she took the letter back from Bellatrix, slipped it back inside the black envelope and then hid it back in the pocket of her robes. "But once my Mother has requested something, only death will get you out of it."

"That might be preferable." Hermione whined as she dropped her face into her hands in despair.

Next Friday found the three Black sisters and Hermione stood in Professor McGonagall's office waiting for the floo to Manor Black to become live at 7pm, the girls barely spoke and their nervous energy was palpable in the air. Hermione cleared her throat and anxiously smoothed out the front of her travelling cloak with her hands. After she had been informed of Lady Black's request of her presence she had hastily sought out Minerva to ask her advice. The professor had been apprehensive about the invite too but had reassured Hermione and told her that she didn't see any reason for her not to visit Manor Black as long as she was careful. They had slipped out to wizarding London one evening after classes had finished to pick up some appropriate attire for the weekend as all that Hermione owned were a few sets of school robes, some muggle clothes and one particularly lovely ball gown. Although the bushy haired witch had never been one to care about the way that she looked particularly she felt like her understated wardrobe might not cut it in this situation. She had always wanted to proudly show off her muggle heritage in her own time, so had never bought into the wearing of wizard robes in everyday life. But Minerva had convinced her that it was probably best if she adapted this way of thinking for this weekend, a choice she was quickly beginning to regret. She was currently wearing a set of midnight blue robes that had a small mandarin collar that was irritating her throat and a thick pleated skirt that felt heavy on her hips. The waistline of the robes were cinched in to her body so tightly that was not sure she would actually be able to sit down, the bodice was embroidered with an elegant silver pattern. The travelling cloak she was wearing matched and featured the same embroidery across the chest and fastened at her waist with two large, ornate buttons. Hermione had to admit that the robes were impressive and they certainly showed off her figure in an appropriately understated way but she felt like an imposter wearing them.

The clock on the mantel over the fireplace chimed 7pm and the flames began to burn bright green, Professor McGonagall stepped forward holding a box of floo powder and offered it to Narcissa first. "Remember to speak clearly dear."

"Thank you Professor." Narcissa said politely as she took a pinch of floo powder and stepped into the fireplace, her face set into a determined expression as she threw the powder to her feet and called out firmly. "Manor Black"

Andromeda watched as her sister disappeared into the network as she too retrieved some floo powder from Mcgonagall. She waited for the flames to settle before stepping in, she sprinkled the powder at her feet and winked reassuringly at Hermione before calling out "Manor Black" and disappearing as well.

Bellatrix looked over at Hermione and took a deep sigh, she tried to smile at her but she knew it didn't reach her eyes. She felt more like she was marching into the Valley of Death than going to spend a weekend at her own home, she just had an awful sense of foreboding that she couldn't shake. "Do you want to go first or would you rather I did?"

"You go first." Hermione nodded and tried to sound more confident than she felt, she knew Bellatrix was more stressed out about this weekend than she was prepared to let on. "I'd rather you were there waiting for me."

"Everything will be fine." Bellatrix replied, but even to her own ears it sounded hollow. She looked over at Mcgonagall self-consciously for a second before shaking her head and stepping over to Hermione and gripping her hands. She caught the girl's caramel eyes and smiled more sincerely at her this time, she leant in and kissed her gently. "You look incredible by the way."

Hermione laughed despite herself as she let go of Bellatrix's hands and allowed the girl to walk away from her to take some floo powder from Mcgonagall. "Thank you, you don't scrub up too badly yourself."

"Stop it, I can barely resist your flattery." Bellatrix mocked sarcastically as she delicately climbed into the fireplace and dropped the powder. "Manor Black."

Hermione watched the flames engulfed Bellatrix and felt her heart rate quicken as she realised that she couldn't put this off any longer. "I think I'm going to be sick."

Minerva chuckled lightly before putting the box of floo powder down on the mantel piece and smiling a half smile at the younger girl. "You don't need to be nervous, just be your usual charming self and you will win Lord and Lady Black over in no time."

"Just be charming." Hermione sighed as she pinched the bridge of her nose and screwed her eyes up tightly. The constant pretending to be something and someone that she was not was starting to get a little wearing. When she spoke to Dumbledore in their meetings he always waved her concerns off with a chuckle as though they were nothing. But she spent so much of her time walking on eggshells and waiting for herself to slip up. "Oh yes, you know just don't mention I'm a muggleborn to the pureblood fascist or don't mention I'm from the future and try not to let it slip that I am sleeping with one of their daughters."

McGonagall's eyebrows raised and her lips pinched into a stern line at that last comment, she would usually chastise the girl but she didn't think it would be particularly helpful at this moment in time. "I would try to avoid all of those topics if you hope to have a pleasant weekend."

A look of horror slipped onto Hermione's features as her brain caught up with her mouth and she realised why Minerva was looking so awkward all of a sudden. "Oh my god, I can't believe I said 'sleeping with' in front of you."

"That may have been a lapse in judgement, yes." Minerva replied with a shake of her head but she couldn't stop the smile that tugged at the corner of her lips. "Now will you please stop fretting, it's causing your hair to frizz."

"See I am already royally screwing this up and I haven't even got there yet." Hermione groaned as she patted her hair down where it had indeed begun to freak out.

"Hermione calm down, I have something for you that may help." Minerva chuckled as she reached into a pocket inside her robes and pulled out a small box. She flicked it open to reveal a delicate signet ring with a Ravenclaw eagle embossed into it; she took the ring from the box and slipped it carefully onto Hermione's little finger. "I have a matching one, with a Gryffindor lion on though naturally. If you feeling like you are beginning to 'royally screw this up' just rub the ring and I will make an excuse to Lord and Lady Black and come to collect you."

Hermione looked down at the ring and couldn't help but be touched by the older woman's constant thoughtfulness and generosity, she stepped forward and pulled her professor into an embrace. "Thank you so much Minerva."

"You're welcome. Now go." Minerva replied sternly as she released the girl and pushed her none too subtly towards the fireplace. "Being late will not stand you in good stead."

Hermione took a pinch of floo powder from the discarded box and stepped into the fireplace; she took a deep breath and threw the powder into the flames. "Manor Black." She felt the usual uncomfortable feeling of being pulled backwards up a slide, she saw the non-distinct flashes of other fireplaces as they zoomed by and just as she thought she might begin to choke on the soot and ash in the air it all stopped. She took a moment to compose herself, straightening her posture and raising her chin before stepping out of the large fireplace onto the highly polished floor of a grand ballroom. The second her feet were planted a little house elf with a long thin face stepped forward and began brushing the soot from the bottom of her cloak and with a snap of long thin fingers Hermione felt the ash disappear from her face and hair. She fought with herself not to smile down at the creature and thank it, instead she stepped past the elf and further into the room.

In front of her were the three Black sisters standing ramrod straight with their hands clasped at their waist demurely, next to them was a tall elegant woman wearing clearly expensive jet black robes that clung to every inch of her slim frame. The woman had platinum blonde hair, a shade lighter than Narcissa's, which was twisted up into an elegant up-do. She had high cheekbones that she had evidently shared with all of her daughters, her eyes were an almost inhuman shade of blue and she held her lips in a harsh pout. She was potentially one of the most beautiful women Hermione had ever seen. She reminded her of a combination of Narcissa and Bellatrix from the future, she had the elegance and haughty attitude of Narcissa and the intimidatingly powerful aura of Bellatrix. The woman's presence seemed to fill the cavernous ballroom despite her being barely an inch taller than Hermione herself.

The woman stepped forward and placed her hands on Hermione's upper arms, she stayed an arms-length away from the girl and observed her with those unnatural azure eyes. The corner of her mouth twitched as though she might smile but the expression was gone as quickly as it appeared. She leaned forward and delicately pressed her cheek to Hermione's right before moving elegantly to do the same on the left, greeting her with the traditional French faire la bise. "Bonjour 'ermione, tu es la bienvenue." (Hello Hermione, you are very welcome.)

Hermione felt her palms go clammy, she knew Bellatrix's mother was French so why did it come as such a shock that she had spoken to her in her own language? Hermione was supposed to have lived in France, to have attended Beauxbatons, so naturally the woman would speak to her in French. She mentally shook herself to clear the cloud of impending panic; she could actually speak French so why was she being so ridiculous? Why had every word she had ever learned slipped from her mind? She fixed a warm smile on her face that she hoped looked natural and forced her brain to function. "Bonjour Lady Black, merci de m'avoir invitée dans ta belle maison." (Hello Lady Black, thank you for inviting me to you beautiful home.)

"Je ne connais pas la beauté" (I don't know about beautiful) Lady Black replied harshly, she rolled her eyes before looking around the ballroom as if to prove her point. The room had an ebony wood floor that had been polished to such an extent that you could almost see your reflection in it, it gave you a sense that you were losing your balance. The walls were a bright white but were overlaid with an intricate filigree pattern carved out of wood almost as dark as the floor, it made it seem that the light walls were caged behind a thorn forest. There were no windows in the room and it was lit only by the false yellow light of the opulent chandeliers. The ceiling featured a fresco of the Black tapestry, the faces of the family's ancestors gazing down at them with judgemental eyes. "Je le trouve plutôt oppressant." (I find it rather oppressive.)

Hermione cleared her throat nervously, she had effectively been backed into a social corner here, if she disagreed with Lady Black she was being rude and if she agreed she was being insulting. Her eyes flicked quickly over to Bellatrix hoping for a modicum of reassurance, but the girl was looking at the floor with her jaw clenched so tight she could well have cracked some teeth. She looked at Lady Black again and held her eye for a brief moment; she caught something in them that felt all too familiar. The comment was a challenge, a challenge like Bellatrix used to bat her way when they first met, when the girl wanted to see how she would react to her pushing, when she wanted to test her metal. If the woman was anything like Bellatrix, and Hermione had a sneaking suspicion that she was, she wouldn't appreciate her playing the part of the wilting wallflower. Hermione took an exaggerate look at the ceiling, allowing her eyes to scan the names for a short time, before she looked back at Lady Black with a small smirk. "Oui, la pièce pourrait certainement se passer des fantômes du passé de Noël qui nous regardent. (Yes, the room could certainly do without the ghosts of Christmas past looking down upon us.)

Lady Black laughed delicately, raising an eyebrow as she observed Hermione appraisingly. She spun on her heel and looked towards her children; she nodded almost imperceptibly causing all three to release a sigh of relief in unison. "Venez, asseyons-nous pour le dîner." (Come, let us sit down for dinner.) And with that she set off at a brisk pace, her high heels clicking on the wooden floor as she went.

Narcissa and Andromeda fell into step behind their mother, but Bellatrix lingered for a second to allow Hermione to catch up with her. She reached out and entwined their fingers, giving them a quick squeeze before leaning in close to whisper to her. "Shit, you did well there."

"Yes she did." Lady Black spoke unexpectedly in heavily accented English causing Bellatrix to drop Hermione's hand rather abruptly. "And 'ow many times do I 'ave to tell you not to swear."

"Désolé maman" (Sorry mother). Bellatrix muttered as she looked over at Hermione from under her lashes and smirked.

The small, unconventional group made their way through a set of ornate doors into a large dining hall; this room had a large pair of windows at one end that stretched from the floor to the ceiling and allowed in a reassuring amount of natural light. The walls were adorned in a Slytherin green wallpaper that had clearly been custom made for the property as it featured a repeating pattern of Black family crests upon it. The room was accented with decadent white marble which stood in contrast to the black wood cornices that framed the top of the space. The room was dominated by a large ebony table that could easily seat twenty people comfortably; five places had been immaculately set at one end of the table.

Lady Black clicked her fingers and the seats smoothly slid out to make space for them to sit down, she elegantly her place at the head of the table. "'Ermione, as our guest you can sit 'ere to my right, Andromeda you will sit next to 'er."

"Merci Lady Black." Hermione said stiffly as she slid into the chair she had been directed to as carefully as possible. Andromeda plopped down into the seat next to her and placed a calming hand on her knee under the table; Hermione looked across and smiled at her friend's brief wink. Narcissa sat down across from Hermione while Bellatrix took the seat opposite Andromeda. The oldest girl made sure to scrape her chair noisily across the floor as she sat down, earning herself a stern look from her mother.

Lady Black clapped once and within a beat five house elves popped into existence each holding a bowl of soup aloft while looking at the floor with deference. They stepped forward in unison and delicately placed the bowls in front of each person, laid a cloth napkin on their laps and disappeared as quickly as they arrived. Lady Black swept her arm in front of her, gesturing to the food that had been presented to each girl, before picking up her spoon delicately. "Bon appétit."

Narcissa observed her mother with a keen eye and attempted to copy her graceful gesture as she picked up her own spoon. She dipped just the tip of her utensil into the soup, just like her mother had, and began bringing it carefully to her lips. But with a mischievous smirk upon her lips Bellatrix nudged her younger sister's arm causing the girl to slop the liquid onto the table. "Bella!" Narcissa shrieked in outrage and embarrassment as she whipped her napkin off her knee and wiped the slash of soup off the table.

Lady Black tutted at Bellatrix and Andromeda's barely restrained laughter and reached over to cup Narcissa's flushing cheek. She winked at her subtly in a way that reminder Hermione distinctly of Andie causing the young blonde to brighten significantly. "Bellatrix must you always be such a douleur dans le derrière?" (pain in the arse)

"Yes." Bellatrix replied cheekily to her mother as she delicately blew on her own spoonful of soup and eyed the woman from under her lashes, a subtle game of social chess being played. Lady Black's jaw clenched and she drew a deep breath in through her nose; she still looked composed but as if she was desperately trying to keep control. Hermione worried what the woman's response would be to her daughter's insolence but her panic was quelled when a laugh broke free from Lady Black's throat. It was if the entire temperature of the room had been turned up a few degrees as a result of the sound, Hermione smiled a genuine smile for the first time since she'd arrived.

"Where's father?" Andromeda asked, Hermione was glad that the girl had enquired as she herself had been wondering at the absence of the lord of the manor.

"'e 'ad a business meeting zat 'e could not get out of." Lady Black informed her daughters and Hermione, her expression turned stern again at the mention of her husband. If Hermione hadn't been watching the woman so intently she might have missed the change in her demeanour, it was clear there was not a great deal of love between the two of them. "Not a great loss, I'm sure you will agree."

"Will he be back at all this evening?" Bellatrix asked, sounding almost hopeful. In a normal household that tone could be interpreted as a young girl excited to see her father, but Hermione knew that the hope was that the man was not expected to return.

"Non." Lady Black answered simply, choosing to tactfully ignore the smiles that had slipped onto the face of her two oldest daughters. "Miss Ross will be spared zat privilege until tomorrow."

The rest of the meal continued on rather uneventfully, there were a few more mischievous jibes from Bellatrix and a few more stern words from Lady Black but the time had been rather pleasant overall. Hermione had learned that the relationship between the Black sister's and their mother was a warm one and the woman clearly adored her daughters. Lady Black had taken a genuine interest in her life at Beauxbatons and seemed to have a clear grasp of the things that were going on in her children's lives. Hermione hadn't expected to find this dynamic when she arrived; she had imagined their relationship to be cool and distant. Bellatrix had always suggested that her time at home was almost unbearable but despite the ridiculous opulence of the setting this had been a lovely scene of a family reuniting. She looked around at the smiling faces of the Black women as they listened to Narcissa tell them the story of their cousin Evan Rosier being set on fire by a blast ended skrewt in a Care of Magical Creatures lesson. She couldn't imagine why the girls seemed to loathe being at Manor Black so much; her eyes scanned the room and fell upon a large portrait that hung above the white marble fireplace. It featured an undeniably handsome man with neatly quaffed hair, as dark as Bellatrix's, and black soulless eyes. He had a carefully trimmed beard and moustache that highlighted his superior smirk, even just scowling at her out of a portrait the man was intimidating. Her eyes dropped to the plaque below the picture, it read 'Cygnus Black III'. It dawned on her that this was what was missing, or more pertinently who was missing, and this was clearly who changed the interaction of this family to such an extreme. She had already felt nervous about meeting Lord Black, but after getting a sense of his menacing presence from his portrait that had ramped up significantly. Hermione almost jumped out of her skin when a house elf appeared next to her to clear her place, the little creature squeaked nervously at her reaction and looked at her in horror. She smiled a tiny smile at the elf before looking away as it collected her desert bowl and used cutlery quickly.

Andromeda laughed and laid her hand over Hermione's where it lay on the table, squeezing it reassuringly. "Lost in your thoughts for a change Hermione?"

Hermione smiled warmly at Andie, rolling her eyes at her mocking tone. "Not all of us can be as void of intelligent thought as you are."

"Ouch, you wound me." Andromeda bemoaned as she threw her hand over her heart in a dramatic gesture. "And in my own home too."

Lady Black cleared her throat in such a way that it was evident that she was conducting the attention of the room, four set of eyes snapped towards the regal blonde instantly. "Narcissa, Bellatrix. Vous êtes excusé." (You are excused).

"What? Me too?" Bellatrix asked, outrage clear in her voice as she glowered at her mother. Narcissa jumped up from her chair and looked down at her sister desperately but the girl refused to move. "I'm the oldest, I don't get excused from the table."

Lady Black fixed Bellatrix with a look that would make any other person wither, but Bellatrix just met it head on. The older woman's eyes flashed at her daughter's disobedience, she set her jaw and spoke slowly between gritted teeth. "Laisse nous" (Leave us.)

"But Mother…" Bellatrix almost whined, her demeanour slipping from fighting for control almost to that of a child being scolded.

"But nozzing." Lady Black replied dangerously, she gestured with her head towards the door behind her. Clearly Bellatrix knew she was not about to win this argument as she got up from her chair bad temperedly, grabbed Narcissa's hand and dragged the girl unceremoniously from the room. The older woman turned her azure gaze on the two girls that still sat in front of her, she picked up her wine glass and swirled the contents before taking a sip of the crimson liquid.

Andromeda drummed her fingers on the table for a moment but stopped quickly when she received an enraged glare from her mother. She slipped her hands on to her lap and swallowed thickly, glancing quickly at Hermione before addressing the older woman. "Is everything ok maman?"

Lady Black observed the two girls sat in front of her with a discerning eye, weighing them up for a moment before she drained the last of her wine in one swift motion. Hermione sat ramrod straight in her chair, her face had taken on a grey pallor while her daughter was looking back at her with a confused frown marring her dark brow. "I want to discuss your relationship?"

"Our relationship?" Hermione croaked nervously, her mind had been racing through a million different reasons as to why this woman had requested an audience with her. She had never imagined that the woman would care about something as trivial as her friendship with Andromeda. It was almost frustrating how much input people wanted in her relationships at the moment.

"Oui." Lady Black said simply, her blue eyes holding Hermione's caramel ones for just long enough to make the girl feel awkward, forcing her to look away. She looked at her daughter and raised a perfectly manicured eyebrow expectantly, but Andie shrugged and shook her head clearly unsure of what her mother was expecting from her. Lady Black sighed impatiently, she rested her elbows delicately on the table, threaded her fingers together and rested her chin on her hands. "Andromeda, are you… coucher avec elle?" (sleeping with her).

"Mon Dieu maman, sleeping with her?" Andromeda almost shouted, her head snapped towards Hermione who had visibly withered in her chair. She looked as though she was waiting for the ground to open up and swallow her whole. Andie looked back towards her mother who was watching their interaction with a discerning eye. "Where is this coming from?"

"Zat… garce (bitch) Constance Malfoy came to see me a week or so ago, she took great pleasure in telling me about ze rumours zat are sweeping through 'ogwarts." Lady Black snapped her fingers and her wine glass filled again with crimson liquid, as did Hermione's and Andromeda's. She watched how Hermione instinctively reached for the glass with a shaky hand before lifting it to her lips and draining half of its contents.

"Allow me to ease your mind maman." Andromeda replied, shaking her head and pinching the bridge of her nose in despair. She'd had more than enough of the pure blood wives club rumour mill in her seventeen years to last her a lifetime. "There are no rumours sweeping through Hogwarts because Hermione and I are most certainly not… sleeping together."

"Yes Lady Black, I can assure you that this is all just a figment of Lucius' imagination." Hermione added, making the assumption that Constance Malfoy had learned of their supposed relationship though her son. "He has accused us of it many times, we have simply never corrected him."

"You 'ave allowed 'im to go on thinking you are togezzer?" Lady Black questioned, looking at the girls in front of her sceptically. "Pourquoi?" (why?)

"Well to distract him from what is really going on." Andromeda chuckled, that mischievous smirk that she shares with Bellatrix slipping on to her face as she looked at Hermione. The bushy haired girl shook her head subtly, she could see it in the girl's eyes that she was about to throw her and Bellatrix under the bus. The girl really was a true Slytherin at heart.

Lady Black sat up straighter in her chair, her face looking the least composed it had all evening. "Que voulez-vous dire?" (What do you mean?)

Andromeda slipped out of her chair and held her hands up in surrender as she smiled down a little at Hermione. "All I'll say is you are having this conversation with the wrong sister."

Lady Black turned as quick as lightening towards the doors that were behind her, Hermione had no idea where she had produced her wand from but it was held steadily in her hand. She cast a silent spell which caused the doors to blast open, behind them was Bellatrix who had just about managed to scamper away to avoid getting hit. She righted herself quickly and threw an angry look at Andromeda that said she had been listening in to every word of the conversation, just as Lady Black had assumed. "Bellatrix, entrez ici maintenant." (get in here now)

Well…there you go. Another chapter, the next one will pick up from where this one left off. Please let me know what you thought, your reviews are really helpful and I like to be able to include your thoughts and ideas in the story where I can. Always feel free to PM me if you have a question or private thought. And again….sorry if I butchered the french.