Black's House for Little Witches

10

A/N: I forgot to upload this here yesterday, oops.

Hope you read and enjoy. :)

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Hermione woke up to the sound of her name being called. Someone slowly rubbed her back over her blanket.

"Hermione, it's time to wake up now, sweet girl." Bellatrix. Definitely Bellatrix. She was the only one between the two older Black sisters to call her that.

Hermione whined softly and pulled her blanket up over her head. She was warm and comfy on the bed. She didn't want to get up.

"Come on, love. You really should get up now. It's almost ten. We still need to eat breakfast."

How long had she been asleep again for? She didn't know what time it was when she originally woke up, but she must have slept for several hours. With an exaggerated huff, she tossed her blanket aside and sat up.

Bellatrix chuckled softly. "Curly hair makes for the gnarliest of bedhead, doesn't it?"

Hermione blushed and ducked her head. Her hair always did look more wild and unruly than normal after she slept.

She glanced up shyly to find Bellatrix smiling softly at her. "I'm surprised none of the girls in your year taught you anything about hair to properly care for your hair," she mused quietly.

"I didn't get along with many of the girls. Not enough for them to talk about those things with me." Hermione shrugged and avoided the woman's gaze again. "My mum tried, but she wasn't very good at it, either. And she didn't have hair like mine."

"That's alright, love. I can show you a few things if you'd like."

Hermione nodded. That would probably be really nice. She'd given up on ever managing her hair well.

She finally sat up and looked around. The astronomy display was still going, but the room was much brighter this time thanks to several lights being turned on.

Narcissa sat at a small dining table with an assortment of food. Hermione wondered how she had managed to get out of bed without disturbing her.

Andromeda was still asleep across from her. She looked much more relaxed than she had earlier. Ignoring the scarring that marred her face, she looked peaceful in her sleep.

"Andy will be up soon," Bellatrix murmured softly. "I still think she won't be up for much today, but we can find something to do."

Hermione shrugged as she slipped out of bed. She honestly wouldn't mind having an uneventful day. Maybe she could practice some of the other charms from her new book. Better still, maybe she could summon an army of stuffies to play with. So far she only had the one teddy bear Narcissa had given her. It would be so nice to have more.

Bellatrix moved to the other side of the bed. She gently shook Andromeda's shoulder. "Drommie, baby, it's time to wake up." She chuckled as Andromeda whined softly and burrowed underneath the blankets, shifting further down the bed. "No, no, baby girl, come on. Cissy and Hermione are waiting for us."

Hermione took that as her cue to move to the table. Narcissa smiled at her as she sat. "Sorry for falling asleep so long."

"Don't apologize." Narcissa shook her head. "It was only nearing six when you fell asleep, Hermione. I was surprised you were up so early in the first place."

"I woke up and didn't think I could go back to sleep."

"Well, we certainly know how to put you back to sleep now, don't we?" Narcissa teased. She laughed as Hermione blushed and looked away. "We can continue your story tonight if you'd like. We didn't get very far before you fell asleep."