Draco was awakened by a crackling in the fireplace in his room, followed by a woman's voice. Recognizing it immediately as his aunt Bellatrix, he said that he'd be right there. He then sat up and pulled a blanket about himself, then walked over and sat in front of the fire and his aunt's face.

"Hello, Draco. Had a good night's sleep?"

"Fine."

"You sound a bit hoarse, alright aren't you?"

"Fine." Draco wondered why she was being so polite, to the point of being nice.

"Well then, I was just checking in. Sure you're alright?"

Draco had been shivering since getting out of bed and was now slouching over to the left, eyes closed. Unable to hide his suffering any longer, the only thought that occurred to him was that, since Bella was being nice, maybe she'd help somehow.

"Bella..." but he couldn't ask her to come so what did he want? He just finished falling to the floor and laid there, shivering, in front of Bella in the fireplace.

How long he laid there, Draco wasn't sure. All he knew was that when he woke up he was in his own bed. Well, not his bed, but yet he felt comfortable in it. He heard again the voice of his aunt Bellatrix, only it seemed more real than it had, without the crackle of the fire in her voice.

"He's coming around, Cissy."

"Oh thank god. Draco?"

"M-Mom? Bella?" Draco coughed and found a cup of water being pressed against his lips. He opened his eyes to see his mother standing over him, holding the cup. behind her stood his father, and to the side a bit behind the bedside table was Bella. He recognized the room to be the room he'd slept in when he visited his aunt before she'd been sent to Azkaban. She'd been prettier then, with perfect white teeth and smoother hair, with not so much a gangly look about her. Now but a residue of her formal beauty, she had the look of one who'd been in Azkaban for fourteen years, especially her eyes. Her eyes had always been big and green, but now they were maddened. She no longer laughed but cackled. But perhaps worst of all, Draco knew she was in love with the Dark Lord, and though his whole family served him, none had taken that step. But nonetheless, he was grateful for her putting him up. His father stepped up and put a hand on his mother's shoulder. Bella smiled and stepped closer, looking down at him and forcing him to look up rather than around.

"You gave me a fright. Now is that any way to treat your dear auntie Bellatrix?"

"Sorry…everyone. How did I get here?"

"Bella flooed and brought you here, of course."

Draco was instantly fearful for a few reasons. Number one, why was Bella seeming to care so much all of the sudden? Number two, why didn't the alarms go off when she entered Hogwarts? And number three, how bad off was he to draw a hint of concern out of Bella's eyes? One of these was answered by what happened next. The Dark Lord walked into the room and stood just within seeing distance.

"So, the boy will live, I presume?"

"Yes, my lord." Bella was as she always was to him.

"Good. He may still finish his task."

"But my lord!" his mother seemed shocked, "He's not yet recovered; he could relapse!"

"If I didn't know better, Narcissa, I'd say you were telling me what to do."

"She isn't, my lord." Again the protector of his family, "Women are always overly concerned for their young."

"He's your son too, Lucius!"

"And I'm concerned as well, but what our master wants, he shall have it."

"Thank-you, Lucius. I see you've regained some sense after your stay in Azkaban. Now then, the boy."

Narcissa ran out of the room crying. The Dark Lord took her place at the bed and looked down at Draco, who shivered as much from fear as anything.

"You will complete the task I have given you."

"Yes, my lord, with honor."

"And you will be sure he knows who did it, knows he was killed by a boy of his own school."

"Y-yes, my lord. I would delight in it."

The Dark Lord smiled. "Good." Then he turned and went to the door. "One last thing, Bella."

"My lord?"

"Don't be so urgent. I was in the middle of something of grave importance when you summoned me."

"I'm sorry, my lord. It was out of concern for his mission I was so urgent."

He smiled again and left. Lucius nearly collapsed from relief. Bella did nothing but stare at the door. After a few minutes, Lucius left. More of a falling unconscious, Draco closed his eyes and slept.

Bellatrix was torn from her thinking of how it would be if the Dark Lord would announce her as his most faithful follower when she heard Draco stir. She turned and looked, only to find that he was shivering, badly. She thought of getting him another blanket, then saw that he had to be quite feverish. Then he started coughing, hard. The coughing fit racked his whole body and made tears come out of his eyes. Bella had no idea what to do but had seen her sister give him water so she did that. He couldn't stop coughing long enough to drink it and Bella had the feeling the skin in his throat was shredding. Even though they'd all been specifically ordered not to use magic, she'd been allowed to keep her wand as it was her house and the need would arise to transport him back to Hogwarts. Though the alarms hadn't gone off for her, one of the worst Death Eaters, they would doubtless go off for the Dark Lord even if he did want to take Draco. She pointed her wand at the boy and said a charm to silence his coughing. Almost at once, the Dark Lord came in, enraged his orders had not been followed.

"I deliberately said no magic, did I not?"

"Yes, lord."

"Yet you used magic, did you not?"

"Yes, lord."

"Your reason might mean the difference between punishment and death."

Bella looked at the Dark Lord, not in his eyes but at his face nonetheless, a boundary only she would dare to overstep. "I did not want the boy to die before his task could be completed. He was coughing so badly I feared the worst could happen. I shall take whatever punishment you deem necessary, my lord."

The Dark Lord looked at Bella for a bit then laughed. "So you would go to prison for me, yet you would take death for him?"

Bella thought about this, choosing her words carefully. "I went to Azkaban and suffered Dementors for fourteen years for you, my lord. Death is not something I fear, if it would help the task to be completed."

The Dark Lord thought about this and raised his wand. He pointed it at Bella and she closed her eyes, ready. Instead of pain or the shock of death, she felt a slight tingling, then suddenly remembered that she'd cast a spell of lasting protection over Draco. The memory of helping his coughing fit was gone. The Dark Lord turned and left, leaving Bella to look down at Draco laying on the bed, shivering in his sleep.