Sprinting down the cobblestone road, already twenty minutes late thanks to Tonks's annoying blabbering, Ginny jerked opened the door to Borgin and Burke's, glad to see that the two people she had been meeting had not yet arrived. She gave a sigh of relief, thinking that they would not discover her mistake, as a tall boy with a long pale face and sleek blonde hair strode towards her, accompanied by a black cat.
Ginny greeted the boy with an eager kiss as the cat transformed into a thin dark women with heavily lidded eyes, a mocking smirk, and wild, black curls.
"Ginevra," Bellatrix Lestrange greeted her coldly, "You are late." Ginny's eyes widened with terror as her worst fears were confirmed.
"My sincere apologies, Mrs. Lestrange," Ginny said, staring at her feet.
"You shall receive punishment-"
"Aw, come on, Aunt Bella, don't be so harsh. You sleep through the morning meetings most of the time, and the only punishment you get from the Dark Lord is a nice trip to France and a bottle of champagne –"
"That will be all, Draco, darling," she said through gritted teeth, fixing him with a deadly glare. The two teenagers avoided each other's eyes, afraid that they would burst into childish fits of giggling.
After several moments of awkward staring, Bellatrix pointed out, "We should probably be going. Luckily, I had a hunch you would be late- I told you to come an hour before the meeting actually started."
Ginny flushed and grabbed Draco's hand as Bellatrix transformed back into a cat and led them down the dark, mazelike alleyway of Knockturn Alley, tracing and retracing their steps so as to make sure they weren't being followed, before the three of them disapparated to the front of Malfoy Manor.
