Dark Waters Require Warmth

Chapter 8 - A Dip in Deep Waters

For the next couple days, everyone had accommodated Hermione and tried as much as they could to help her continue to tag sharks. So far they had tagged a Bramble shark, a Mouse Catshark, and a Porbeagle Shark.

With the tracking system, Hermione was able to see where the sharks swam, over what periods of time; their temperatures and changes in their behaviors; and to see if there were areas of mating opportunities for the shark breeds.

Everything had calmed down a lot since the storm and Hermione was already becoming very close with all of her crew mates. Andromeda and Narcissa were like mother figures to her, and Tonks was basically her older sibling at this point. Bellatrix on the other hand seemed to be flirting with Hermione every-so-often and being quite lovely, but she had put some distance between the two of them since the massage and storm fiasco.

Hermione kept wondering if anything had happened that made Bellatrix distance herself from her, but she decided to try and continue to focus on her research.

—

It was Friday already and the whole crew had been working hard for a whole week and a half, so Hermione thought she would wake up bright and early and start her surprise. She raced to the kitchen, knowing that Tonks only woke up around 8am to make breakfast, so it being 6am gave her plenty of time to start breakfast before anyone woke up. Hermione also knew that all of the Black sisters tended to wake up around 8am on Fridays and on the weekend, expecting breakfast.

Hermione cooked up some eggs, bacon and pancakes, which Tonks had already planned out making that day, so Hermione knew she wouldn't be wasting any food. She hoped that everyone would be able to serve themselves with certain toppings for their pancakes, because she didn't really know who liked what.

She was cooking one last pancake when she felt a presence behind her. She mustered up the will to not scream when someone breathed lightly on the back of her neck and said huskily, "Well hello there, pet... Someone's up bright and early. Everything smells quite delicious." Bellatrix practically purred in Hermione's ear, and she was sure she would have melted to the floor if she didn't have to take the pancake off the griddle.

She turned the stove off and headed to pour Bellatrix a cup of coffee, and went to hand it to her, "Good morning, Bella-" Hermione almost dropped the cup when she turned around to see Bellatrix with just a sports bra, and some very short and tight workout shorts on. They clung

way too deliciously to Bellatrix's thighs, and she knew it was purposeful from the way she smirked at the younger woman.

"A black coffee, served to me by a stunning woman right after my morning workout... am I still dreaming?" Bellatrix grabbed the coffee from Hermione's hands and sat down at the kitchen table. "Please tell me why you chose to wake up so goddamn early and cook breakfast, when we literally have a chef for that?" Bellatrix questioned.

"Well... since it's Friday and everyone has been working so hard lately, I decided to plan a little day off for everyone!" Hermione added the plates of food to the table for everyone to grab from, and sat down already exhausted. "I don't know how Tonks cooks so much everyday, and in such a hot kitchen! I'm practically sweating!" Bellatrix smirked at the younger woman, and grabbed lots of bacon, some eggs and a couple pancakes. "First come, first serve. And luckily you're off limits..." Bellatrix growled that last bit under her breath.

Before Hermione could question that, Narcissa and Andromeda entered the room and asked what was going on, Hermione resuming her explanation to the other ⅔ sisters. When Tonks finally rolled in and scooped Hermione up in a thankful hug, they all finished breakfast and Hermione set out the plan of the day for everyone.

"I don't have a time chart for today, because it was quite the spontaneous plan, but I know that I want us all to have a nice relaxing swim, a quick lunch, maybe do some sunbathing, filler, filler, dinner and then have some drinks and star gaze! Of course nothing is in order, just lots of ideas to go off of, oh and we could also play some games, if anyone is up for that!" Everyone seemed to be quite on board with the 'fun-filled day' but Bellatrix did not provide much input.