It took a single step

Finding herself thrown into 1968 of a timeline that doesn't look exactly like the one she knows, Hermione ends up a Hogwarts student once again. And of course she has to be in the same year as another student who managed to earn the title of the brightest witch of her generation, a black-haired terror from her nightmares.But it looks like this younger version of Bellatrix Black, while definitely a blood purist, is no blood-crazed sadistic madwoman. She still cares for her sisters, she can be reasoned with... So what could Hermione do to prevent her from turning into the monster she knows?

Being a Bellamione story, this one simply can't be canon-compliant. It also has a bit of time-travel, which exists in the setting but is always a possible headache, and it has parallel realities, those serving both as a plot device and an excuse why not everything is as in canon. Don't read if that bothers you.Another warning – this one is kind of dark-ish in places. Now, the books include things like murder, war, torture, child abuse and slavery, so one would hope anyone reading potterverse fanfic is ready to face themes of this caliber, but just in case someone needs a warning – you have been warned. Self-harm is just one of the topics that are par for the course in potterverse in general and this one includes Bellatrix, so read at your own discretion.Also, the point of view will be changing even within individual chapters and switching between Hermione and Bellatrix, creating a sort of unreliable narrator situation. Characters' thoughts and feelings and actions are not always based on perfect knowledge or correct understanding of their reality. The aim of this is to offer insights into their minds, not to confuse the reader, so it is never used to intentionally deceive the reader. And given how some minds in the potterverse think... One might hope that the following reminder is not needed – but some people wish to get warned a lot, so... The author not being a blood purist or homophobic is one thing, some of the characters being various flavors of not nice is another. Don't be surprised when characters say some stupid and/or vile things, that's just those characters being themselves.On a final note, neither love nor infatuation will turn a possible future psychopathic dark witch into a lovable paragon of virtue overnight. This is a slow burn story that first has to turn Bellatrix into someone Hermione could actually be interested in, not a love-conquers-all fairy tale. And given we're talking about two smartest witches of their age, the titular small step will be an extremely nerdy thing. One of the reasons for making this an AU story is freedom to tweak even things outside the main plot in order to keep that titular small step a surprise to at least some readers for at least some time, so everyone's been warned about that too. This is a nerdy story of personal growth, not a smutty one, even if some people will definitely end up staying awake past their bedtime :)