Author's Note :- Chapter Twoooo!

One week later, night had fallen once again over Malfoy Manor. Bellatrix was none too happy about having to spend her free time with her nephew. Be it teaching or merely general conversation, she couldn't stand Lucius or his son; Narcissa she could just about put up with. She thought that teaching Draco was a complete and utter waste of time, and she was questioning why she had agreed to it in the first place; her nephew was too cowardly to learn, and it was clear that he wanted this no more than she, Bellatrix, did.

Subsequent to laying her wand on the vanity table, Bella took a glance around the bedroom that she and Rod shared at her sister's manor. It was a mess, (just how Bella liked it), and mostly littered with discarded clothing and tattered Dark Arts books. The items that lay on the floor were mainly owned by Bella – Rodolphus did not spend enough time in this bedroom to make a mess, for he was usually out until late at night, drinking alone, or with his fellow Death Eaters, and he generally did not return until Bella was either fast asleep or on a mission.

The knock on the door startled her out of her thoughts. She must have gone back into her own little world, as she normally did, to stop herself thinking of something unpleasant. Today, her unpleasant thoughts revolved around Draco, and the painful task of having to teach him Occlumency.

"Come in" She called, slowly floating back into reality. Just as Bella had suspected, in walked Draco. He was wearing an expensive looking black suit, which Bella could not help but stare at – he looked like his father, and disgustingly so. Draco's clothing – In Bella's opinion – also seemed to indicate that Narcissa wanted to spend as much money on her only son as possible, in order to make her child look more presentable. "You didn't need to dress up on my account, Draco" The young man cleanly rolled his eyes in reply. Like his aunt, he was less than happy to be in this bombsite of a room, and for a good reason; after all, Occlumency wasn't the easiest thing to learn.

"Can we just get on with this now?" Draco enquired, pompously – again, he sounded exactly like his father, which was not improving Bella's mood. Conversely, rather than getting irritated, a smirk appeared on her gaunt face.

"All in good time" She sustained her smirking. "So...if not for me, then what are you all dressed up for? A date, maybe?" She had received the reaction that she had been hoping for – Draco looked harassed.

"I always dress like this" He answered, coldly. "There's no harm in looking presentable" Clearly a line that he had learnt from his mother, whom was obsessed with her looks. "In any case, how am I supposed to go on a date when mother won't let me set foot outside the front door?" Bella shrugged.

"There are windows, Draco"

"Just because you jumped out of windows when you were my age, Aunt Bella, it does not mean that I am inclined to do the same thing" Bella giggled in amusement.

"How did you know about my little midnight escapades? Did your mother tell you?"

Draco snorted – not in amusement, but in annoyance. "Aren't you going to find that out for yourself? You're keen on spying on me, after all" Bella sighed, in exasperation.

"I told you, and I keep telling you, Draco. Occlumency isn't spying; it is protection. People may use legilimency against you, and you need to protect yourself, especially in this day and age." Draco shook his head.

"Occlumency may not be spying, but legilimency is, and that is what you're about to do to me, is it not?" Bella groaned – he was getting smart with her, and she hated it when anyone did that, let alone children.

"No" Bella rolled her eyes, "And do not get smart with me, Draco. It infuriates me. I am teaching you this to protect yourself. I have no intention of spying on you, as you call it. I have no interest in the goings on in a child's mind. I have better things to do with my time" This was true, as she had told Narcissa more than a few times.

"Then why are you putting us through this, then?" Bella said nothing for a while, because not only did she not know the answer, but she was less than satisfied with his tone.

"Because your mother feels that this is what is best for you"

"And you do everything she says, do you?" At this, Bella had to snort. She never followed orders from anyone else except the Dark Lord, unless she felt that it would do her any good.

"Far from it, my dear nephew. But she seemed desperate, and she is my baby sister, after all"

"Oh, so you do care about anyone other than yourself?" Draco smirked – evidently, he had only seen Bella's self centred side; He couldn't remember her pre-Azkaban self. "Anyway, you said you had better things to do. What would they be? Getting drunk like that useless husband of yours?" Bella felt herself stiffen; her calm resolve was fading. How dare he compare her to Rodolphus? Yes, she did like the occasional drink...or two. But she did not drink half as much as Rodolphus.

"No. I could be on missions, doing important work for the Dark Lord, if you must know." She responded in an icy tone. She decided at that moment, that it was time to begin the lesson, and change the subject. "So..." She said, retrieving her wand from the top of the vanity table, and caressing it with her left hand. "Lets start"

Two hours had gone by since the lesson had started, and Draco had still made no advancement in the Occlumency front. It was going as badly as last year, if not, worse, Bella thought, growing increasingly intolerant.

"You're getting worse" She sneered in antagonism and impatience. "You don't listen to a single word I say, do you! Clear your mind! Discipline it! Show it whose boss!" Her blonde haired nephew was leant against the wall, panting and clutching his right side, as though he was suffering from appendicitis.

"That's easy for you to say!" He retorted, almost in tears from the physical and mental demands that Occlumency entailed. "You're not the one being tormented! You're enjoying this, aren't you! Watching me suffer!" Bella would have enjoyed it, but she had a very short attention span, and she had become bored over an hour ago.

"No I'm not! Not anymore! I'm pissed off with you, always getting it wrong! You're as pathetic as your father!" Draco made a move towards his Aunt, but she got there first; she aimed her wand at him again, her brown eyes turning momentarily scarlet. "Legilimens!"

The delicate, hand painted, miniature broomstick had, for the past three weeks, become four year old Draco's favourite toy. He adored the shiny, painted surface, and the model of the young man sitting astride it, dressed in the Slytherin colours, of course. (Green and silver, if anyone had been paying attention). Draco sometimes wished that he was the model man riding the broom, whizzing to anywhere he wanted without a care in the world. His mother had said that he was too young for a broom, which wasn't fair at all. He was perfectly old enough for a broom; maybe not a big one like his father rode, but most certainly one that was just big enough for him. He had promised his mother that he wouldn't fall off, and that he would be very careful, but she didn't seem to be listening; her mind seemed to be focussed on something else entirely.

It was the evening after Draco's mother had refused to buy him a broom, that he heard about the Death Eaters for the first time. He had gotten bored of being upstairs, and decided to come down for some company. He had reached the kitchen door, and was about to open it, when he heard his parent's voices; it sounded like they were having a fight, or a heated discussion, as grownups usually liked to call it.

"I don't think this is rational, Lucius." Narcissa was saying, in a concerned tone. Draco heard his father sigh somewhere behind the door. His poor father, having to listen to his mother's complaints about right and wrong. Draco didn't enjoy these types of lectures, either.

"I refuse to argue with you about this, Narcissa. The Dark Lord and I both agree that this is best for everyone, including Draco" In reply to this, Narcissa gave a snort.

"Best for Draco?" Narcissa replied, her voice cracked in an effort to hold back tears. "How is Draco becoming a...a..." Draco's mother paused for the space of a shudder before she continued, "...a Death Eater going to benefit anyone?" A Death Eater? What was that? It must have been bad – his mother got upset over little things, sure. But she was SUPER upset now. Lucius gave another exasperated sigh.

"I keep telling you. It won't be until he's seventeen or eighteen; when he's of age. By then he will have been fully educated, and you will have nothing to worry about. He will be willing to accept and carry out any command that the Dark Lord gives him"

"You know what I mean, Lucius" Narcissa responded, firmly. "You know full well that I don't want Draco joining up. You just refuse to admit it" Draco frowned. Again, this Death Eaters thing must have been REALLY bad. There was a long pause before Lucius spoke again.

"He will be a lot safer under the Dark Lord's instruction, than not being protected by our side, and running the risk of being harmed or killed" Lucius was starting to sound more and more intolerant and harassed, but nowhere as much so as his wife, who was, (though Draco couldn't see), now red faced in fury.

"I don't know if it escaped your notice, dear husband..." She snapped – she rarely called him 'dear husband'. She only spoke to him like that when she was fuming, and that was pretty rare. She loved Lucius too much to get angry with him often. "...but it's a lifetime's service or death! He can't just leave if she doesn't like it! He can't just wander up to the Dark Lord one day and say 'Excuse me, Master, I'd like to hand in my resignation'! And I know for a fact that he'll hate it, Lucius! He's not strong enough for what the Dark Lord asks his Death Eaters to do! If he joins, he will die, and if he quits, he will die! Is that what you want for your son!" There was an angry silence following the end of this speech, and this worried Draco. What if his father had lost his temper and lashed out? And what was all this about him dying? He didn't want to die. Ever.

"It's not my fault that he's not strong, Narcissa. You're the one that picked him up whenever he fell, did everything for him! You failed to discipline him when he did wrong! You're the reason that he's the cry baby that he is!" Lucius' calm resolve and faded, and he was feeling as much rage and anger as his wife. He had always thought this about Narcissa's parenting, but he had never admitted it...until now. Narcissa went pale in fury, hurt and frustration. Draco shuffled closer to the door to listen, but his mother was now speaking in a whisper.

"Are you questioning my ability as a parent, Lucius?" Her voice was high pitched as she tried to hold back her tears of pain and anger.

"I'm not discussing this with you anymore, Narcissa" Lucius responded, callously. Draco heard his father's chair scrape against the floor as he stood abruptly. Draco moved away from the door, promptly, and seconds later, his father emerged through it, looking extremely bad tempered.

"What did you hear!" He barked at his son. He was colourless in both panic and anger.

"N-Nothing, daddy. I promise..." Draco stammered – he was used to his father being angry with him, but he had never been quite this furious, before.

"You had better not be lying to me, Draco..." Lucius stated, slowly, yet dangerously. Draco shook his head rigidly in terror.

"I am telling you the truth, father, I swear" Lucius considered his son for a moment, before giving a stiff nod, turning, and walking away.

Draco gasped and backed into the wall as the scene ended. He fell backwards with such force that the wall shook and vibrated, before stilling. Although not many children would have remembered a scene as insignificant as this, Draco remembered it well; particularly because of his father's anger. When he finally regained the capacity to breathe normally again, he noticed that his aunt Bella was staring at him.

"What?" This simple word came out in an icy tone, but he didn't care. The woman that stood before him was the whole reason that he had to relive one of his parent's rare arguments. The memory may not have seemed horrific to others...but Lucius' anger and resentment got worse as Draco got older. He, Draco, could tell that as these lessons went on, he would end up hating his aunt more than he already did.

"I agree with your father, is all. It was, and is, your duty" Bella replied with a shrug; her tone was flat and emotionless, as if she couldn't care less. "It's a rarity for me to agree with your father, in any given situation" She muttered, sourly, taking out a cigarette that had been stored in her bra, and lighting it with her wand.

"Mother doesn't allow smoking in the house, unless father does it" Draco waved the smoke away, whilst coughing and spluttering. Bella merely snorted, taking a drag and blowing the smoke out. She paid no attention to Narcissa's unjust household rules. Why should rules apply to one person and not the other?

"Well what she doesn't know can't hurt her" She stated, taking yet another drag.

"But she'll find out. She'll smell the smoke" At his response, Bella didn't move.

"She won't be able to tell the difference between my smoke and Lucius' smoke. In any case, she hasn't suspected me yet" Draco unexpectedly gave a nasty smirk.

"She may know already..." He drawled, "...but she's hiding it from you. She may trap you in a corner when you least expect it" Bella shook her head.

"I know your mother, Draco, and she isn't like that. She can't keep her mouth shut about anything" She paused to take another drag, and then said, "You seem to be feeling better" Indeed, Draco had some colour back in his cheeks, and had stopped his heavy breathing. However, he stepped away; the look that he had on his face suggested that he was feeling something between fear and fury.

"Don't you think you've tortured me enough tonight?" Bella gave a wide smile, and had an evil glint in her eyes.

"I'm always up for a little torture. You know better than to ask that"

"Fine, it was a stupid question. But I'm getting ti – don't look at me like that!" Bella was now pouting childishly.

"Pwease?" She said in her infamous baby voice, "I only want one more go..." Draco growled in anger.

"No! I'd rather have the Cruciatus curse placed upon me than have to suffer your interference again!" Bella's pout turned into a sadistic grin. Clearly, Draco had said the wrong thing, and he was now going to pay the price.

"Are you sure?" She smirked spitefully. "Well...as you wish" Before Draco could protest, Bella screamed, "Crucio!" Immediately, Draco began to thrash and yell.

"STOP IT! PLEASE! I DIDN'T MEAN – ARGH!" Bella had been having so much fun causing excruciating pain to her only nephew, that she hadn't heard frantic footsteps pelt towards the room, nor had she heard the door being kicked open.

"BELLA!" Narcissa screeched, hysterically. Re-entering reality with a jolt, Bella released the curse, lowered her wand, and stared at her little sister, as though what she had presently been doing was perfectly normal.

"What!" Bella snapped, still startled. Narcissa became paler than usual, and all of the blood seemed to drain out through her feet, and onto the carpet.

"What do you mean 'what'! You were torturing my son! Your nephew! He isn't one of your toys that you like to play with, Bellatrix! He's your flesh and blood! Does your family mean nothing to you!" At this, Bella felt physically sick. Of course her family meant something to her. She had spent her entire life fighting to keep the honourable members of the family that she had left, and dispose of the filth.

"He asked for it...quite literally" This was one of the rare moments that Bella was telling the truth...and she always expected her sister to believe her, long after she had gone onto the next thing. Narcissa pulled her pale and gasping son into her arms, and stroked his hair in the loving, motherly way that she always did.

"It's alright, baby. Mummy's got you..." It was sickening, Bella thought, as her sister looked up to glare at her. "I asked you to teach him! Not scare the life out of him!"

"Well he wasn't trying!" Bella snapped, in aggravation. "You'd probably torture him too if you knew what I had to put up with!" Narcissa led Draco to the door, before turning back to her sister.

"If you had sons, Bella, you would understand how hard this is for me, and how disappointed I am in you" Narcissa said, a hint of sadness in her tone, as she ushered Draco from the room and shut the door. It was apparent to anyone who witnessed the relationship between Narcissa and Draco, that she loved him so much that she didn't want to let him go.

'If I had sons, I would be glad to give them up to the service of the Dark Lord'

"If I had sons..." Bella mumbled to herself before she fell asleep that night, "I would never mother them like that"

Author's Note :- I'm planning chapter three as we speak, so see you there! x