She was waiting for him when he got off the train. His mother, unfortunately never missed an opportunity to dote on her "darling little boy." But he was not a little boy any more. He was almost of age. Just another year and a half.
It was rainy and overcast making the June day surprisingly chilly. Rain fell in big drops soaking his silver blonde hair. He ducked his head hoping to avoid his mother.
"Draco!" Narcissa's sweet voice was muffled by the rain but he could still her it. "Draco! Over her darling."
Draco Malfoy grudgingly lifted his head to his mom. Searching for her among the throng of students. But something else caught his eye.
A tall woman stood in the shadows of the station. She looked strangely familiar though with her long wild dark hair and scornfully piercing eyes he couldn't figure where. But she was watching him so intently it made his skin crawl.
He craned his neck to get a better view of her but she was gone.
"Draco, darling. Are you okay?" his mother asked. "What were you looking at?"
"I thought I saw…..um. I thought I saw something. But it's nothing. Nevermind." The last thing Draco needed was for his mom to thing he was going mental.
They barely talked on the way home. Draco didn't want to offer any recounts of his time at school which may or may not led to uncomfortable questions from his mother. Narcissa was uncharacteristically quiet. Still it was uncomfortable to be soaked through and Draco was preoccupied with thoughts of warm fires, hot cocoa, and soft beds when his mother finally spoke.
"You're aunt will be staying with us." There was a brief pause. "….for awhile."
"My aunt?" Draco was mildly confused. He had two aunts that he knew of, both on his mother's side but they never talked about them. One, he knew was the one so disillusioned to dissert her family for a Mudblood. Ana, or Medea, or something. She was disowned a long time ago and no one had heard from her since. His mother's other sister was talked about even less. She was one of the few Death Eaters that went down proudly after The Dark Lord's disappeared. Until recently she was shut up in Azkaban Prison until she escaped last winter.
"My aunt?" Draco asked. "Which one?" They were in front of their house now. Still Narcissa refused to speak until they were in the house.
"My older sister" Narcissa said at last. "Bellatrix"
Draco who was unfortunately never good with names was still confused. His mother must have noticed because she said impatiently. "Bellatrix. The one from Azkaban. You didn't really thing I'd harbor and filthy blood traitor in my house did you?"
Draco didn't answer. Instead he asked another question. "How long…I mean has she been here since January or is this recent?"
"She's been here since January. I don't know how long she'll be staying or how often she'll be around but she will always be welcome in my home." Narcissa said firmly as though to convince herself rather than her son. She continued. "If you see her, you are to treat her with the utmost respect."
"Why?"
"Because she will-" but his mother changed her mind about what she was going to say. "Because she is your superior in age, rank, and ability."
"So?"
"I don't need you to go picking any fights."
"I'm nearly of age. You don't need to protect me. I know how to defend myself."
"My sister was trained by The Dark Lord himself. She knows things that even your father doesn't. " Narcissa's voice was getting uncannily shrill. She seemed to notice went silent for a moment to collect herself before she said in a calmer softer tone, "Darling just don't get in her way. My sister is has a lot to preoccupy her thoughts at the moment."
"Fine," Draco said. "I won't bother her. Happy?"
His mother didn't respond.