The library

Chapter 5

Hermione had arranged to meet Ginny in the library during first break, mainly to catch up on how each other's mornings had gone. She went to the bathroom to splash some cold water on her face, she needed a bit of refreshing after Professor Black's lesson. Although it was mostly just to remove the pinkness from her cheeks from running down two flights of stairs and along multiple corridors.

Just as she was making her way back along the corridor, she realised that she had left her scarf next to the sink. She quickly ran back to get it although something felt off when she returned. The corridor had darkened slightly as she went to leave the bathroom after fetching her scarf, there was something that unsettled the girl more than she cared to admit.

Rose. Rose and cedar wood. Just as it hit her, a hushed voice came from behind a cupboard door.

"I thought you girls travelled to the bathroom in groups" Hermione turned around to see her Professor standing just behind a doorway. You wouldn't notice she was there unless you recognised her perfume or heard her speak.

"Professor Black.." the girl looked at her confused "..what are you doing here?" By this point Bellatrix had begun prowling over to the girl.

"I just came to see you.." she looked at the girl intensely "..to make sure.." every word she said she took another step closer "..that you didn't tell that little ginger friend of yours, about our little meeting in the library on Sunday afternoon." The girl shook her head quickly.
She spoke softly, almost at a whisper yet she was plenty close enough for Hermione to hear every word she said.

"I'd hate it for the other students to think I favoured you." Hermione could feel the woman's warm breath against her face, she wanted to break eye contact but she couldn't. It was as if she was petrified all over again, this time by her professor's obsidian eyes.

"W...wh..why would they think that?" Hermione tried to blink but she couldn't. As much as she needed to break this woman's gaze, she didn't want to.

"You really think I pay all of my students visits at the weekend in my own free time?" She searched the girls eyes for an answer but there was no tell.
"I don't know professor, that's why I asked." Hermione had gotten over the worst of her stutter and had matched the older woman's subtle tone.

Just as she went to reply, a shrill old voice echoed round the corner: "Bellatrix?" It was Minerva, what did that old woman want with her now.

Before she could question what was happening, Hermione found herself being shoved backwards into the cupboard. She went to open her mouth in protest but a finger soon pressed itself against her lips, keeping them quiet and closed.

"Bella?! I need you to come and see Albus and I in his office, we have some very important business to discuss." The footsteps hovered outside the cupboard for a few minutes.

Hermione felt the hand come away from her mouth but was scared to open her eyes. She felt the woman pressed up against her body, her heartbeat pounding through her chest. The girl's breathing intensified as she felt a hand grasp her shoulder for balance, the pair's feet shuffled around, fighting for space on the very small floor of the cupboard which was clearly not built for two.

The footsteps outside approached the cupboard even closer, this caused Hermione to open her eyes in panic. She couldn't see anything, but she knew how close she was to her Professor, their breathing had synchronised and she could feel the lace of the woman's elegant black corset pressed into her own stomach slightly. Hermione's hips dug into her professor's abdomen as she was slightly taller. A small beam of light shone in through a crack in the wall behind her, it reflected off the woman's eyes which were only a few centimetres away from her own. The pair remained pressed together, both with one arm wrapped around the others shoulder for balance. Bellatrix's other hand had moved to the wall just behind Hermione's head, the girl didn't know what to do.

Minerva's footsteps receded along the corridor as she hurried away. Both Bellatrix and Hermione let out a sigh of relief, more so from the girl. More light had began to shine through the wall and the pair could see each other a lot clearer now. Although McGonagall had left, they remained in the cupboard for a few more minutes.

Bellatrix looked down at her chest, hanging her head in relief, she had almost forgotten that she was in there hiding with the young girl. She blushed slightly and removed her hand from the wall behind Hermione's head, careful not to let the girl see her now pinkish cheeks. She then reached behind her and went to open the cupboard door. Before she moved, she turned to the girl and spoke in a very soft but distinctively threatening voice.
"Not. A. Word"
Their noses were almost touching as Hermione nodded her head slowly as she took her hand from the woman's shoulder and placed it on the wall beside her, careful not to make too much noise.
The woman removed her knee from between the girl's legs as that was where she had found her balance. She pushed the door behind her open and almost jumped out of the cupboard. Before Hermione had a chance to say anything she was gone.

The girl sank to her knees, half in shock and half as her adrenaline rush subsided, she felt her heart rate slow drastically and her breathing normalised. However it felt strange, almost unnatural, just for a moment- breathing without her professors body pressed against her own.

She shook off the thought and stood up, picking up the scarf that she had initially returned to collect. Ginny. She had remembered she was supposed to be meeting her friend in the library, she most definitely couldn't go in the state she was in though, all hot and flustered. Once more she splashed her face with cold water and headed back to the library where her friend was waiting, quite impatiently.