Chapter Text
Hermione woke up to the smell of coffee and thanked Tilly who had taken it upon herself to bring it to her and Bella every morning. The sun was already high in the sky, Hermione noted, pleasantly reminiscing about last night and what had gotten them to sleep in. Their lovemaking had begun early in the evening, allowing Bella’s eyes to capture Hermione’s naked body in the light of the sunset. According to the older woman this was a sight she would ‘cherish forever’. Hermione still got that warm feeling just thinking about it. Suddenly, all the imperfections on her skin didn’t matter that much.
Bella stirred next to her.
“Good morning” Hermione smiled down at her.
“Morning” she replied, looking up at her in awe. “You’re beautiful in this light. And in any other really.”
“I bet it’s the French sun” Hermione giggled.
The two of them had started their summer away from the prying eyes of Daily Prophet reporters, but Hermione quickly grew tired of the gloom of Black Manor. So, Bella surprised her with packing their suitcases and organising a Portkey to Nice. Apparently this was an old Rosier family villa. Hermione wasn’t complaining, even after a month she couldn’t get enough of the lovely French climate, food, sights, and of course the everyday delight of hearing Bella speak French. She had thought it was impossible to find the woman any sexier. How wrong she had been.
“Il est trop tôt pour y réfléchir sérieusement, mon amour.”
“And it’s too early for you to do this to me” Hermione replied.
“Do what?” Bella’s knowing smirk said it all. Hermione shook her head and got up to walk over and look at the city through the large window. She didn’t bother covering up.
“I will miss this” she sighed.
“We will be back before you know it” Bella came up behind her. “If all goes well, we’ll be in Australia no longer than a week.”
“That’s a big if.”
“Tout ira bien” Bella murmured in her ear, kissing the skin just below it. “Tu es belle.”
“Don’t we have a Portkey to catch?” Hermione all but moaned out as Bella’s hands roamed over her skin.
“Il reste encore du temps. Ton corps est trop beau.”
“Mhm, no” she managed to escape the dangerous path that voice was leading her along. “You have a fresh cup of coffee waiting for you, and I need to clean up.”
“Or we can make an even bigger mess of you while my coffee gets cold.”
“Bellatrix Black enjoying a Muggle drink?” Hermione tried not to pay attention to Bella’s suggestive tone.
“I admit Muggles are quite brilliant if they manage to invent such things without magic.”
“You’re in for a world of surprises if you think iced coffee is a great invention.”
They had decided to make their stay in France more eventful by going out to Muggle establishments and experiencing Muggle life as much as possible. So far, Bella had been surprised by Muggle cartoons the most.
“They draw each motion instead of magicking it to move?”
”Seeing as they don’t have magic…”
Hermione made her way out of the bathroom and back inside their bedroom to find Bella sprawled out on the bed, all but begging for Hermione to revisit her decision about getting ready for the Portkey.
“See something you like?”
“I see a witch who doesn’t play fair.”
“I’m from the Dark side, remember? We don’t play fair.”
Hermione plopped down onto the bed next to her and drew her in for a kiss, ghosting her hands over her breasts. She was delighted to see she left her girlfriend breathless.
“The Light side has some tricks up the sleeves too” she smirked. “Besides, with all your good deeds lately, I’m not so sure about you and the Dark side. Grey area, remember?”
“Dangerous words, Granger. You might let your guard down around me if you keep this up.”
“I speak the truth. Even your hair agrees with it.”
“What?!”
Hermione sniggered as Bella jumped from the bed and ran to the mirror. She searched through her curls.
“I don’t have grey hair!”
“Sure you do. If you can’t see it, perhaps you need glasses?”
Bellatrix threw her a murderous glare.
“You know what? That Portkey can wait.”
Seeing the hungry look in the woman’s eyes as she advanced, Hermione decided to agree with her. Not that she would have had much of a choice anyway.