Bellatrix rolled over to her side, thinking that doing so might make her a little more comfortable. She was incorrect, as lying on her side dug her hip into the cold, hard floor of the cave. Frustrated, Bellatrix stood up, accidentally banging her head on the roof of the cave. She swore, and she walked out of the cave, crouching as she did so.

The sharp, biting cold hit Bellatrix so badly that se drew her long, black cloak so tightly around herself that it tore at the back seam. She sank to the base of the cave, and stared up at the dark, starry sky. It seemed impossible that the stars could be there, just sitting there in the sky, when so much trouble was occurring. This thought opened up a memory in the back of Bellatrix's mind, where she had forced it some 10 years previously.

FLASHBACK

"Bella, what with all that is occurring.."

"What, the war you mean?" Bellatrix interrupted, her cold, piercing eyes snapping towards the man she was sitting with.

"Yes. With the war and all, I feel that we can no longer be involved as we are at the present. The Dark Lord frowns upon such involvements, and if he were to find out…. It would be too much trouble, and I'm not about to take the chance that he won't find out."

Bellatrix could hardly believe what she was hearing.

"You're breaking up with me?" she asked slowly, "after all we've been through together, after all the times I've saved your neck, you're breaking up with me?"

"The Dark Lord is an extremely skilled legilimens…"

"I am well aware of that, also being one of the Dark Lords servants," snapped Bellatrix.

"I'm sorry, Bella," came the voice from beside her. Bellatrix felt something brush against her arm as he stood up and walked away.

END FLASHBACK

"Why can nothing in my life make me happy? Why must everything in my life make me miserable?" Bellatrix demanded of thin air.

"I don't know Bella, but I know that if anyone can get through this, it's you," came a quiet voice from behind Bellatrix. Bellatrix spun around, to see her sister Narcissa emerging from the cave and taking a seat beside her sister.

"Did I wake you?" Bellatrix asked, without looking at her. Narcissa shook her head.

"No, I was already awake," she said, but then added, "you know, Bella, that I'm going to see Severus?" Bellatrix looked horrified.

"You're WHAT?!" she cried, "Cissy, you do know that he cannot be trusted?" Narcissa raised her eyebrows.

"Bella, I know you don't trust him, and after what he did it's not surprising, but he's an old friend of Lucius and I need his help."

Bellatrix ran her hands through her ink-black hair in frustration. She then lay back against the wall of the cave and turned to Narcissa.

"Cissy, please don't do this. I can't stand the though of you talking to him after all this time," she said desperately. Narcissa then looked rather anxious.

"Well, Bella, the reason I told you about this because..um, I wondered if you could come with me?" she said in a rush. This was more than Bellatrix could handle.

"WHAT?!" she screamed so loudly that Narcissa had to shush her, "YOU WANT ME TO COME WITH YOU! HOW CAN YOU ASK THIS OF ME?!" Instead of cowering away, which she normally did whenever anyone fired up at her, Narcissa stood up to face her sister.

"Well, I'm going, and I don't care if you want to come or not!" she screamed, and she disappeared into the darkness.

'Cissy….." muttered Bellatrix as she rushed after her, knowing she was going to regret this.