It had been a long time since Bellatrix Lestrange had seen the light of day. Not that she was really the type to be frolicking in the sunlight like some stupid Hufflepuff. Still, one could say that the refusal to go in the daylight after her imprisonment was a testament to her remaining insanity.
It was a quiet holiday in Malfoy Manor. With Draco holed up in his room, Narcissa pointedly ignoring her, and Lucius gone, Bellatrix was left to sit by herself in her quarters. Her hand brushed over the hand mirror that lay on the ebony vanity. It was very much like the one Bellatrix had been given by her grandmother as a child. Her fingers traced the elaborate designs of snakes and apples, only faintly ringing on the starry patterns in the Black family mirror.
Looking into the bigger mirror, Bellatrix could see how the time had passed. She'd been a looker, back in the day. Her curls had been her pride, then, and she had eyes that were a little bit brighter, a less gaunt face, maybe less pale, too. Merlin she missed those days. The days when she, Estella Havisham, Rhiannon Rosier, and countless cousins were being their little gorgon selves.
They were snakes primarily. Wearing makeup and studying for tests, trying to use both their beauty and their brains to their advantages. Estella Havisham was the best out of all of them at that, Bellatrix remembered. Estella was from a respectable pureblood family, even if not one of the Sacred Twenty-Eight, but pure enough that Bellatrix could stand to be seen with her.
Bellatrix sighed. The past was gone. Estella had married Westley Greengrass and had two daughters now, if Bellatrix remembered what Draco had told her correctly.
The fact that she was a convict didn't stop Bellatrix from getting to her feet.
The fact that she was an escapee didn't stop her from pulling her heavier cloak off of the stand that collected dust in her room and slamming the door behind her.
The fact that she could go back to Azkaban if the Greengrasses had a change of heart didn't stop her from Apparating onto the Greengrass property in Wales.
Satisfied at her somewhat clumsy Apparition (she was never as good at the dratted thing as Cissy was, but that was because her instructor was a muggle-born stooge) Bellatrix drew herself up to her full height, and rapped on the door with utmost imperiousness.
The door was almost instantly answered by a young woman with blond hair like Westley's and diamonds at her throat. A gloved hand went to her mouth.
"Y-You're Bellatrix Lestrange!" she cried. "I'll go get Mother!"
The young woman darted off in a fashion more like filthy muggles than a respectable member of the Sacred Twenty-Eight should, Bellatrix noted. She waited, tapping her foot impatiently. The young woman, now Bellatrix realized was just a girl of fourteen or fifteen, returned with an older version that seemed to shine like a star with a glow from within, fueling all the diamonds and satin on her body.
It took a few heartbeats for Bellatrix to realize that it was Estella. She hadn't changed much, only what she wore did.
Estella's cold face softened.
"Bella, what are you doing here?" she asked. "You're-"
Bellatrix just nodded. "It's been forever, Stella."
An understanding passed through the two women. Estella smiled a smile worthy of her name and stepped aside. Bellatrix clutched her cloak tighter around herself and strode in like a queen.
The Greengrass Estate was clearly decorated for Christmas. Fairy lights hovered everywhere, and silver and gold banners were draped down every stairway. There were no shadows, no dark corners like in the Malfoy Manor. Bellatrix was surprised by how warm it was, too, as opposed to the empty, drafty hallways she'd have to walk through to find another family member.
She perched like a crow on the ice green couch, the obvious thing that did not belong. While Estella walked into another room, the daughter sat down next to Bellatrix, rather fearlessly , she noted.
"You're Mother's friend," she said earnestly. "She's told me quite a bit about you."
"I'm sure she has," Bellatrix murmured. "Which sister are you? Draco mentioned that there were two Greengrass siblings."
The girl seemed to perk up, almost unnaturally.
"Draco talked about me?" she said. "I didn't think he knew I was even alive. My name is Astoria."
Awkwardly, she stuck out her hand. Bellatrix reluctantly accepted. The girl was a bit too sunny for her tastes, but Slytherin nonetheless. It made Bellatrix wonder, especially since she thought Draco was interested in the Parkinson girl before, but now...
No, she told herself. This visit was for her. She didn't realize that that was what she really needed, but it was, nonetheless. She wanted to meet more people. Supporters of the Dark Lord, obviously, but more people nonetheless, since none of her other relatives would talk to her.
Estella came back in and sat down.
"Tell me, Bella, how are you?" she asked. "I'd heard that your delusions got worse in Azkaban."
"They have," Bellatrix admitted reluctantly. "I haven't told Narcissa. She's worried enough, as it is."
"Ah yes, poor Lucius," Estella murmured. "I could whip up a potion to help with that."
"You always were good with cauldrons," Bellatrix said with a smile.
"Meanwhile, why don't you stay here for Christmas dinner? Unless the other Malfoys would mind?" Estella offered.
It was Christmas?
Bellatrix shook her head to clear it. It didn't matter. Here and now did.