Black's House for Little Witches

17

A/N: ;)

Quick translations (according to google translate):

Devais-tu vraiment grimper sur moi, petite fille? - Did you have to climb over me, little girl?

Tes grandes sœurs vont te protéger maintenant - Big sisters will protect you now

Ma pauvre petite fille - My poor baby girl

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Hermione woke slowly. She sluggishly peeled her eyes open. She could just see through the edge of her curtains. It was just beginning to look like dawn. She had a terrible habit of waking up too early.

As her brain worked its way out of its fog, she realized there was a heavy weight to her bed. That wasn't right.

She shifted just enough to peek over her shoulder.

Andy and Bellatrix were asleep in her bed.

The events of the night came flooding back. She sucked in a panicked breath. She'd been afraid of the loud thunder, and it had caught a wandering Andy's attention. They'd woken Bellatrix up in the middle of the night. At least Andy had a good reason for doing so. Being scared of thunder was just silly, really.

But it was so loud. Like someone had decided to fire a canon amplified by a Sonorus charm inside her room, and it made her window shake and rattle. At least her room in Black Manor wasn't as high up as her dormitory. She'd hated the storms at Hogwarts, too. She'd always feared the winds and lightning would cause Gryffindor Tower to crumble. McGonagall had promised her that the tower was structurally sound and couldn't be felled by even the most fearsome storm, but Hermione worried about it all the same.

Movement broke Hermione from her thoughts.

Andromeda shifted in her sleep. She wriggled her way on top of and over Bellatrix to squeeze in between the older woman and Hermione.

Bellatrix groaned softly in her sleep. "Devais-tu vraiment grimper sur moi, petite fille?" She moved further to the side, allowing room between herself and Andy, before she settled again and went back to sleep.

Andy, however, cuddled up to Hermione, leaving virtually no space between them. "Think too much. Too early, Mione," she whispered. "Tes grandes sœurs vont te protéger maintenant."

Hermione wasn't exactly certain of what Andromeda said, but she did know that Andy referred to herself and Bellatrix as 'big sisters'. It was oddly comforting. She did want to argue the point that Andromeda was possibly only a few months older than her, maybe even younger. Hermione didn't actually know when her birthday was. However, Andy had already drifted back to sleep, curled around Hermione like a koala.

Well, fine. She'd dissect the argument later. In the meantime, it was still pretty early. She could sleep a few more hours.

When she woke again, Andromeda was still curled around her. Bellatrix, however, had left. Odd how she had managed to not wake Hermione, but it was fine.

Hermione tried unsuccessfully to get up without waking Andromeda. The other girl whined softly as the bed shifted with Hermione's movements.

"Sorry, sorry," Hermione whispered as she managed to crawl her way off the bed. Maybe Andy needed another pain potion? "I'll go find one of your sisters."

She quickly ran out of her room. She stopped in the hall and contemplated where to go. Bellatrix had left her room at some point, so it was possible the woman was downstairs. Narcissa could be in her own room still or downstairs, too. Hermione really didn't know where to start looking.