It must have only been around 3 or 4 in the morning when Bellatrix was woken by her master though it was probably only about 7 or 8 when she was swept off to bed.
"Bella, it's time to get up. Better grab your winter robe's as well," the Dark Lord hissed softly as he handed a glass of pumpkin juice to her.
A smile crossed her lips before her eyes had even had a chance to open; what she would not give to wake up like this every day. She took the glass as she sat up next to her master, taking a drink before running her other hand through her long curly hair.
"Yes, my Lord," she spoke softly as she stood up and hurried off to her room.
As she wandered down one of the corridors of the manor it took her several moments to gather her bearings and hurry to her own room. She quickly grabbed her thick winter robes and through them on over what she was already wearing, stopping to look herself over once in the mirror before slipping out of the room and back to her master. The Dark Lord was waiting for her just down the hallway, and as Bella approached she soon noticed he was standing under some of the mistletoe that Narcissa had hung up around the manor. She stood next to him looking at him for a moment before looking up at the mistletoe and back to him, one eyebrow raised slightly,
"Mistletoe, my Lord?" For the briefest moment, Bella thought that she almost saw him blush.
"So it seems. Narcissa certainly outdid herself with the decorations this year," he said matter-of-factly, clearly trying to ignore the look Bella was giving him.
After a short moment of silence between the two of them, he finally gave in and sighed deeply before leaning down and giving Bella a quick peck on the lips. His kiss sent Bella into a flurry of giddy happiness, it really was the little things.
"Shall we get going?" he asked rhetorically as he grabbed Bella's hand and disapparated.
They were now walking down a snowy street in a small muggle village, with their hoods hiding their faces from the unsuspecting passerby; not that any sane muggle would be out this time of night. It was still dark, if it were not for the dim street lights and twinkling strands of Christmas lights it would be pitch black. Bella's eyes looked around anxiously anticipating whatever her master had in store for her. After a short walk around the center of the village, they came to a small church decked to the nines in Christmas decorations. The Dark Lord stopped at the gates that stood at the entrance to the snow covered pathway leading up to the doors and looked over at Bellatrix. She looked back at him curiously before he finally spoke.
"This is the parish church of Ottery St. Catchpole where several of the staff reside. Several wizarding families live on the outskirts of this village that could use a reminder of our power a little closer to home." By the time her master finished speaking Bella's grin was wide across her face, the madness revealing itself behind her dark eyes. "But most importantly, have fun," he hissed as he motioned towards the church.
She could not contain the cackle that escaped her lips as she disappeared in a cloud of thick black smoke that wound and twist through the night sky and through a large stained glass window that promptly shattered. Upon landing inside the church Bellatrix's wand was drawn and she was hysterically breaking as many things as she could. She was certainly making enough noise to wake the muggle occupants and it hopefully would not be long before they came to investigate. Torturing and killing muggles were one of Bella's greatest joys, her master knew her too well. It was not too long before an elderly man in his night close approached her with a hand torch pointed at her. She assumed that he must be the caretaker, caretakers were usually the first to come investigate disturbances. With a flick of her wand, she sent the man soaring into the air, her laughter meeting his screams as she moved him helplessly through the air. When she inevitably grew bored of playing with the muggle she flicked her wand again leaving him dangling in the air by one of his ankles.
She cackled wickedly, "Don't worry now poor little muggle, I'll be back for you dearie," she spoke childishly as she continued skipping through the church on the hunt for more muggles.
It only took a few moments before she came across a short plump woman who by the looks of here must have been the caretaker's wife. Reflexively she flicked her wand sending the hot red jet of light streaming from her wand, hitting the unsuspecting muggle square in the chest. It was so much easier to torture muggles then wizards, the woman's screams echoing through the church. Bella continued [to laugh madly as the woman shrieked; she hoped that her screams would bring the other muggles to her so she would not have to spend too much time looking. Footsteps and shouts echoed through the stone corridors and she knew it would not be long before the rest of the staff made appearances. With another flick of her wand, she suspended the woman, who was still under the cruciatus cure, in the air and began spinning her around. Disturbing muggles was one of the best parts of torturing them. It was not long before another man appeared, mortified shock painted on his pale face. He began muttering and making the sign of the cross and it was very clear that he must be the priest. She flicked her wand and once again sent her favorite curse at the unsuspecting muggle. His cries were most satisfying so much so that Bella sent another jet of red light at him. She cursed him until he was curled into a ball sobbing weakly and only then did she end his worthless life. Another flick of her wand sent the corpse into the air and she floated both muggles into the room where she left the first one suspended by his ankle. His cries upon seeing the other two were what Bella had hoped for, this sent her back into maddening laughter. She threw the corpse of the priest across the room so he was laying sprawled across the altar, then turned her attention back to the two remaining muggles. The woman was already in pretty bad shape so she went ahead and cast the killing curse at her, causing her body to hand limply in the air. She cackled as the man sobbed hysterically, her attention once again fully focused on him. His face was bright red from being suspended upside down by his leg for such a long time. She flicked her wand and sent him crashing to the ground; by the sound, his body made upon meeting the stone floor he had clearly broken a few bones. He was begging for her to kill him, but Bella was having too much fun to stop just yet. She pulled out her new knife from the pocket inside her robes and slit the dead woman's throat, her blood spilling down her neck and onto the floor beneath her. The man sobbed harder as he watched Bellatrix mutilate his wife's corpse. When she finally grew tired of listening to the old man's sobs and cutting up the woman's corpse she sent her body falling to the floor. Then she turned her full attention back to the man who was now trying to crawl to his wife's corpse. With a flash of green light, she left him dead, cast the dark mark over the church and went skipping back to her master.
She returned to her master's side proudly, dripping in blood, a deranged look painted across her face.
"Someone enjoyed herself," he hissed softly, "Looks like you got to use your Christmas present too."
She beamed up at him, of course, it has been her master who had given her such a lovely gift. He flicked his wand removing the muggle blood from her before placing his hand on hers and apparating back to Malfoy Manor. Once back in the safety of her family's home, her master let go of her hand and turned leaving her in the hallway without another word. He always left her wanting more, she thought as she headed to her own room to get a quick nap before breakfast.
She squinted as she opened the door to her room, unprepared for the early morning sunlight that streamed through her window. As she walked in she was shocked to see her nephew sitting on the edge of her bed, apparently waiting for her return. Bella eyed him suspiciously.
"Good Morning," she said as she closed the door behind her and unclasping the thick winter robes she had thrown over what she was wearing last night.
"Where did you slip off to last night," he replied in a tone that reminded Bella a little too much of her sister.
"None of your business," Bella laughed as she threw her winter robes back into the wardrobe. Draco had lowered his head, clearly beginning to lose the nerve he had come here with. Bella sighed softly, she could not be too terribly hard on her nephew, "Why?" she asked as she sat down on the bed next to him.
He looked up at her with his big grey eyes that revealed how young he really was, "I came to look for you after you slipped off last night, mother sent me after they went to bed, and I got worried when I could not find you anywhere."
Bella smiled at him, "Clearly I'm just fine," she said reassuringly.
He nodded and returned the smile, "I know. I just, well, I was coming back from the kitchen a few hours ago when I saw you," he was becoming increasingly flustered as he spoke, "and the Dark Lord," then he blushed, "kiss."
Bella's eyes grew wide with panic, "Draco have you said anything to anyone else?" He shook his head alimentally, still slightly too embarrassed to make eye contact. "Draco you must not tell a soul. No one can know, ever," she said as she raised his head so he was looking at her. "Understand? Or he will surely kill us both."
Draco nodded, "I understand," he said softly.
Bella pulled him into a tight hug, "That's my boy," she said proudly, taking a deep breath as she released him.
"So is that who your Christmas present was from?" he asked innocently enough.
She nodded, "Now run along, I'll see you down at breakfast," she said, dismissing him from her room. She needed to clean up and change before making an appearance downstairs. Thankfully she knew Draco could keep a secret when he knew his life was on the line.