Bellatrix awoke abruptly, her neck stiff from leaning against the side of the wingback chair while she slumbered. She cracked her neck to the side and stood up stretching out from her uncomfortable sleeping position. She was surprised she had slept at all, her mind catching up with her and the realisation of the previous day's events.
He was dead. The man who had guided her path since she was 15 years old was gone. She had betrayed him in the final hour, the thought alone brought the stinging of tears from her eyes as she choked with grief. She needed to unleash her anger. She threw her wand up, the one he had given her. But nothing came from the end, no spell would spit out despite her summoning her rage into the core as she pointed it at the opposing chair, willing so hard to destroy it, in the end, she manually tossed it over with the little strength she had left. It didn't make her feel any better.
She went to the door, only to find it was sealed. Realisation dawning she was sealed and her magic useless. She growled, kicking and thumping the door in a rage before eventually giving up. She turned realising for the first time she was in her sister's hidden room, not even remembering how she even got here from Hogwarts.
The far end of the room was different, initially, it had been a reasonable size area in the corner left empty. Bellatrix had not paid much attention to the details of the room on her previous visits, but she was surprised she had missed this up until now.
In the corner a large pearl coloured magical shield covered the corner of the room, the green shimmer confirmed it was in fact an immunity shield. A very powerful spell used to protect the most vulnerable patients close to death, even many experienced healers at St mungos rarely used such a complex piece of magic, it still baffled Bella how clever her younger sister could be.
'Who?' She wondered as to who her sister would protect, clearly someone important. Master? She thought for a second before shaking her head. No of course not, she had seen him die before her eyes. He was not coming back, and her sister had initiated that plan to dispose of him in the first place.
"Draco?" she shouted, a slither of fear as she reached forward towards the barrier. 3 inches from its surface Bella pushed against it, but like an invisible wall it kept her out. He was safe, he had to be. He looked fine when they ran the last she had seen of him and her sister.
Her thoughts were interrupted when a sound zapped from where she had previously sat. the telltale snap of elven magic as a plate of food appeared on the small table with a goblet. She had absolutely no appetite but knew it was important to eat. She ate the sandwiches provided, washing it down with the wine in the goblet, staring into the flames, and thinking to herself. She had no idea of time, how long she had been down here and how long she would be. The mere thought of being caged caused her to feel on edge. She needed a distraction and turned to the small pile of books on the table. Some of the books appeared odd with strange titles as Bellatrix ruffled through them. They weren't leather-bound but rather covered with thick paper, no moving pictures, and strange titles such as 'GCSE Biology' and 'Science for Dummies'. She recalled her sister mentioning the word 'Science' remembering it being part of her muggle research and dropped the book in disgust before grabbing what looked to be a worn journal tied shut with ribbon.
She walked back to the chair, holding the book, and suddenly feeling overwhelmingly tired, she slumped down, trying to untangle the knot on the journal, but instead, the book slumped onto her lap as she fell unconscious before the knot was even loose.
"Wake up!" the harsh whisper and shaking disoriented her slightly, a slight feeling of deja vu of waking awkwardly in the chair once more was forgotten at the sight of Narcissa hovering above her. Bella bent forward to stand, almost toppling over as her sister caught her in time and pushed her back into the chair, her head feeling heavy and spinning as she tried to focus.
"Drink this, it will clear your head," Narcissa instructed, holding a glass towards her. Bellatrix took it from her. Gulping it down before realising it wasn't water but the foul taste of wiggenweld potion.
She spat out the last of it, at this point feeling her head clear as she looked at her sibling suspiciously. "Why are you giving me wiggenweld?"
"Antidote to make you feel better"
"You drugged me?!"
"Only a mild sedative . . "
"A mild sed-, you laced my bloody food with Draught of Living Death again didn't you!"
Narcissa, not taking the bite, turned with little interest from her sister as she went to the pearl shield. Holding up her wand and chanting a soft tune as it slowly started to fade.
"What happened to Draco?"
Narcissa turned confused until she saw her sister looking at the shield. "It's not Draco" Narcissa answered as the shield dismantled completely and she stepped forward towards the bed, Severus Snape was very pale, Several large puncture wounds around his neck still oozed.
"Snivellus?" Bellatrix spat in disgust.
"He was a double agent," Narcissa confessed.
"I always knew he was a traitor." Narcissa stood up in anger at this comment. She stared at her sister. "Just like us then" she uttered before turning back to analyze her patient.
Bellatrix turned away in the huff, leaving her sister in the corner. She noted the journal she picked up the night before. Pulling at the knot she loosened it this time. The pages unfolding showing scribbles from her sister's rushed notes. A list of names appeared to have been written some last names she recognized, some not so much from the few she could make out under scribbles to mark them off, she barely caught sight of the name 'Granger' Circled on the list before the Journal was snatched from her.
"That's private." Narcissa snapped, tying it shut. Bellatrix rolled her eyes. Looking over at Snape once more, noting he was at least a shade less pale than earlier, his luck he would live of course.
"Here," Narcissa handed over a paper bag with two smaller packages inside, one with a warm croissant, the other with a custard danish pastry. Bellatrix looked up confused.
"Breakfast is to go this morning, you need to leave shortly."
"Are the elves on strike or something?"
"No. There is currently no one in residence, for the last two days most have been sent to Hogwarts and the Ministry to clean up, I had to order this in this morning in order to feed myself and the Aurors.
"Aurors?"
"Yes, Bella. Draco is currently under caution and being questioned as we speak, Lucius is awaiting punishment and is in solitary confinement in the meantime and I am under house arrest. I cannot leave the grounds."
"So what do we do now?"
"We? Nothing, I need to wait this out and look after Severus, I cannot leave the grounds but I am not watched 24/7. You need to go elsewhere."
"You just said we can't leave the grounds?"
"I Said 'I' can't, they don't even know you're here alive and well, the rumour is you were obliterated by Molly Weasley." Narcissa chuckled as Bellatrix pulled a face. She pulled a comb from her pocket.
"Take it, it will take you to a safe house, I will come when I can."
"Where is it?"
"Nox Lake"
"The lake? That place has been abandoned for years, how do you know it's not destroyed?"
"Because I never neglected our inheritance, The lake house is safe, the elves have kept it in good condition and made it habitable just for this situation, There are no leaks, no one knows it's location, it's unplottable. It's safe Bella, please I need to know your safe until I can sort this, Just a few days, and then we begin"
Bellatrix reluctantly took the comb, she trusted her sister. It glowed to life and took her to the safe house.