Hermione watched the scene in front of her in awe. The nursery was beautiful, it's twin cribs made of mahogany. Mobiles of enchanted stars hovered over each, matching the dark blue of the walls perfectly. Even more beautiful was the woman sitting in one of the two plush rocking chairs. Bellatrix couldn't have been much older than Hermione was now, and her beauty was breathtaking. Seated beside her was an even younger Narcissa. Each sister was holding a young child, and to Hermione's shock Bellatrix began to sing. Like everything else concerning Bellatrix,her voice was utterly magical.
"Birds are silent for the night
Cows turned in as daylight dies
But one soul lies wide awake
Fearing all manner of ghouls and hags wraiths"
Watching Bellatrix lovingly stroke the head of the sleeping child in her lap Hermione's heart skipped a beat. The tender moment was cut short when an angry Cygnus Black stormed into the room, followed by Rodolphus and Lucius Malfoy.
"Father, what is it?" Narcissa asked.
"I've just come from Hogwarts. Demanded to see the register, to see if either of these abominations have their names down. They don't, just as I thought. Fucking squibs, the both of them."
Bellatrix was on her feet at once, clutching the child in her arms tightly. "It doesn't matter."
"Doesn't matter? You bring shame on the house of Black. Never before, not in countless centuries has a Black produced a squib. Of course, I blame you Lestrange. I should have known better than to let you marry my daughter."
"Sir," Rodolphus said.
"There's only one thing to be done now." Cygnus continued, cutting Rodolphus off.
"Of course." Rodolphus roughly pulled the child from Narcissa's lap, a little girl, who woke up and let out one cry at the abrupt treatment.
"Rodolphus, no!" Bellatrix screamed. Cygnus pointed his wand at the child and one flash of green light later, the girl was dead. Bellatrix's scream was heart rending, and Hermione was forced to watch in horror as Rodolphus reached for the boy in her arms.
"Stop." Everyone in the room looked up to see the newcomer. Hermione recoiled as she recognized Tom Riddle, his appearance only slightly altered at this point. It was clear that he commanded the respect of everyone in the room, only Bellatrix failed to acknowledge him.
"Sir. I apologize for the noise." Cygnus said.
"Certainly. I would like to see Bellatrix if you don't mind. Bring the boy with you." Bellatrix stepped forward holding her son, tears streaming down her face.
Hermione turned to leave as well, but not before she heard Rodolphus issue an order to Lucius. "Get that filth out of my house Malfoy."
"She was never the same after that. And to make matters worse, our father did something to her, to render her barren so that it could never happen again." Andromeda said, both having returned from the memory. Cissy told me later that Riddle offered to hide the boy in a muggle orphanage if Bellatrix joined the Death Eaters. She accepted, of course, and Riddle took the boy away, to a location only he knew. He threatened to have Rigel killed if she ever disobeyed him."
"I...this is far worse than I could have imagined. I don't know if it excuses everything she's done, but I can't blame her.
"Perhaps not. But maybe if you can understand why she chose that path you can have compassion for her. Right now she is confronting the fact that her lord lied to her. Muggle-borns can do magic, can be just as powerful as pure-bloods. And if he lied about that? What else did he lie about?"
"So what now? I'm sick of being in this cell."
"She never hurt you? She says she didn't, but I didn't believe her."
"No. She's treated me far better than I would have guessed. Just locking me away here when she is angry."
"And she hasn't forced you to...do anything else you didn't want to do?"
"No. She's made it clear that she would like to have a physical relationship with me. But I think she doesn't want to force me. She wants me to want her, if that makes sense."
"Oh Bellatrix. Always torturing yourself." Andromeda sighed. "I'll talk to her. Believe it or not you're safer here than anywhere else, but there's no reason to put up with her hysterics. Wait here." Andromeda left Hermione and fifteen minutes later Bellatrix came back down.
"I promised Andi I wouldn't lock you up anymore. As long as you obey me, that is."
"I will. I don't have any reason not to. There isn't anywhere for me to go that is safe."
"What about your family?"
"It was just my parents and I, I obliviated their memories before I left home last year. To keep them safe. They moved out of the country, and they don't remember me."
"That was wise of you. I'm sure there are members of the order still out there who would take you in."
"That would put them in great danger. I don't mind being here with you, I feel safe here."
"I know that Andromeda showed you things, even though I asked her not to. I do not ever wish to discuss anything you saw. I do not want your pity."
"I will respect that. May I please take a shower?"
"Of course. And then you must eat, Andy is very angry with me for not feeding you enough.
After dinner Bellatrix led her to her own beautifully furnished bedroom and sat down on a loveseat, motioning for Hermione to do the same.
"Tell me about the Dark Lord." Bella said. "Is it true that he is a half-blood?"
"Yes." Hermione recounted the tale of Voldemort's parents that she had learned from Harry.
"He lied. He said he was a pure-blood. He said muggle's steal magic. That they kill wizards and steal their wands."
"I know."
"He killed Snape. One of his most loyal. One of his favorites."
"He doesn't have favorites. He doesn't feel anything for anyone."
"You're right. I overheard him talking to Rabastan about making a new horcrux."
Hermione was horrified. "He wants to split his soul again? Can he? Is there anything left?"
"I don't know. And neither does he which is why he hasn't attempted it yet. He wants to use someone magical to create this horcrux, someone extremely powerful. He believes doing so will make the horcrux stronger."
"You?"
"I'm afraid so. Luckily, he still needs me for now, but he's obsessed with immortality. Always has been. The spells he used on me, I thought they were just superficial, that all they did was make me look younger. But now I think they actually reversed my age."
"He was experimenting."
"Yes. And judging by some slight changes to his appearance, they are working for him as well."
"He'll never be stopped will he? Not now."
"I don't know. I have something to tell you. But first, I have something for you." Bellatrix called for Horna, who appeared at once holding a fat orange cat.
"Crookshanks!" Hermione reached for him at once and held him close. "That's why you wanted to know where he was? Why didn't you just say so?"
"Because then it wouldn't be a surprise."
"But you terrified me! I thought you were going to hurt him."
"Why would I do that? I actually thought Molly Weasley was going to fight me when I said I wanted the cat. It took a lot to convince her I didn't want to skin him alive."
"Because you…" Hermione stopped herself from saying what she was thinking, that Bellatrix tortured people for fun, no longer sure if that was true.
"I what?"
"Are known for being cruel. Because of all His followers you are most feared by the Order. Thank you Bellatrix, this means a lot to me." Hermione continued to stroke the cats head, reveling in the sound of his purrs.
"You're welcome." Bellatrix said uncomfortably.
What else did you want to tell me?"
"I have reason to believe that Harry Potter is alive."
"What!?" Hermione stared at Bellatrix, mouth agape.
"When Riddle hit him with the killing curse in the forest he sent Narcissa to check to see if he was really dead. She told him that he was and Hagrid carried his body back. Cissy told me later that she lied. She felt a pulse and spoke to him."
"Why did she lie?"
"Draco. She just wanted to get to the castle and find Draco. She didn't care who won. And then, after the battle was over we never found his body. Cissy and I lied to him about that too. We told him that we buried him with the rest of the dead."
"Then where could he be?"
"Someone else is missing as well. McGonagall."
"She must have apparated him away."
"Yes. One of my main duties as head auror is trying to track her down."
"And you can't find her?"
"No. But I think Molly Weasley knows where she is."
"Why are you telling me this?"
"Because I'm tired Hermione. I dedicated my life to someone who lied to me, who would throw me away in an instant. I never wanted any of this. The things I've done for him...I know they are unforgivable."
"I don't think so. If people knew the reason you joined him...it would change everything."
"I doubt that. And it's too late now."
"What are you going to do?"
"Find McGonagall. And then we'll see." Bellatrix scratched Crookshanks on the head as she stood. "Horna has procured the necessary supplies for this one, although I think he could stand to lose some weight." Crookshanks glared at Bellatrix in response before jumping off Hermione's lap and striding towards the door.
"He's offended now." Hermione said, following him out. "Thank you, again. I thought I'd never see him again." She suddenly flung her arms around Bellatrix and hugged her tightly. Bellatrix remained stiff and awkward for a moment before finally hugging her back.