The rest of the night was a blur to say the least. Bella was caught up in a whirlwind of emotions, unable to completely process what was happening. She was happy, no ecstatic, for the first time since her youth. It was more than that though and she knew that there would never be enough words to express half of what she was feeling in that moment. To think that not even a year ago, she was locked away, clinging to the hope that her master would return; while the dementors did their best to take every ounce of life from her body. Her wildest dreams could not compare to her life now. She was free, really free. More importantly then that she had just about everything she had ever wanted. She was finally more than just her master's right hand. No matter what that more might be, she was definitely more.
She awoke the next day wrapped in dark emerald sheets, in a bed she was sure was not her own. There was a fire crackling in the fireplace keeping the winter chill at bay. A content smile played delicately across her lips as she looked around for the Dark Lord. She knew he was not there, but she had to look to be certain. There was no telling where he might have been lurking. She sat up slowly taking the glass of pumpkin juice that was left on the nightstand for her, pulling her winter robes around her tightly. She was not sure how long she had been sleeping, but the sun was shining brightly outside, gleaming on the freshly fallen snow outside the window. It had to be at least after breakfast and that made her nervous. There would be questions, questions Bella could not answer. Until her master made something public it would just have to be a secret. No matter what. Finally, she crawled out of bed and made her way back to her own room. Today was feeling like a hot bubble bath and a good book kind of a day. She could hide away for a little while, safe from any nagging questions.
Bella reached for her wand when she noticed that her bedroom door was already ajar. She crept quietly ready for whoever was lurking inside. When she turned into her doorway she was relieved to see that it was only her nephew, sitting patiently on the end of her bed for her. She breathed a sigh of relief.
"Funny running into you here," she said playfully taking a seat next to Draco. He smiled back at her.
"Oh just wondering where my aunt slipped off to after dancing the night away with the Dark Lord himself," he said with that I know what you are up to look.
"None of your business where I went last night," she said keeping her playful tone.
"Well, your husband interrupted my date to ask me if I had seen where you had snuck off to. You remember your husband, Rodolphus," he said sarcastically, "Anyway I told him to bugger off, which he did, but he came back with this letter for you and made me promise to give it to you," he finished pulling the letter out of his robes. Bella took it, her feelings about her nephew's story clearly written across her face as evident by Draco's reply, "Hey, at least, you are not stuck with him at school all term pestering you about your aunt who clearly wants nothing to do with him." He smiled, which made Bella smile again.
She wrapped her arms around him, "Thank you," she said kindly. "So it was a date then?" she asked playfully.
Which was met by Draco's rolling eyes and an equally playful, "Bugger off," as he stood and left the room.
She sat there for a moment before getting up, she slipped Rodolphus's letter into the latest book she was reading, grabbed her bathrobe and headed out to continue her relaxing day.
Her first stop was to the kitchen for a bottle of wine and a glass. After that, she made her way to the large guest bathroom. With a wave of her wand, the taps on the large bathtub began to fill the tub up with warm water and an assortment of multi-hued bubbles, the hundreds of candles placed around the room lite and flickered softly and her long curly hair was done up on her head. She smiled softly as she got in she placed her book on the edge of the tub, pouring herself a glass of wine before placing the bottle down too. She closed her eyes, taking a sip from her glass as she sank into the warm frothy tub. It was not long before she was half way deep into her bottle of wine and finishing up the last pages of her book. Rodolphus's note tucked into the back for when she felt like dealing with his nonsense. A few more glasses and she might just be there she thought as she put her book down and sinking lower into the tub closing her eyes, her head resting on the ledge surrounding the tub contently buzzed. It was not long before she felt something change in the air and before she could even open her eyes she felt a cold hand rest on her shoulder. Her eyes opened wildly, one arm reaching for her wand when she saw none other than the Dark Lord sitting on the edge of the tub.
"Master," she said breathing easier now that it was only him.
"Having a good afternoon?" he hissed softly taking the wine glass from her hand and placing it next to the bottle. "I brought you a little surprise, but I need you to be at your best before I can let you have it."
She nodded quietly looking up at him with her big dark eyes. He leaned over and kissed her gently on the forehead before disapparating. She smiled as she grabbed her wand and stepped out of the tub and into her fluffy bathrobe. If she would not have been so excited about her master's surprise she might have been sad about leaving almost half a bottle of wine. She managed her way back to her room to change before making her way downstairs to eat something. She had to try to get rid of this buzz and fast.
Finally, sober Bella sat in a large green chair that had been moved to look out one of the windows overlooking the grounds of the manor. A blanket of fresh snow covered the landscape of her brother-in-law's home. The familiar paths outside hidden away until next spring. She had traded her wine for pumpkin juice as she waited for her master to decide that she had been given enough time to sober up for whatever he had in store for her. There had not been another mission since Diagon Alley, which almost did not count. The minutes turned to hours before she felt what could only be her master's hands resting on her shoulders. She grinned, a grin that only he could coax out of her.
"Master," she cooed, her eyes looking up into his cold expression.
"My dearest Bella, shall we?" he asked, moving his hands off of her shoulders and holding one out for her to take.
She placed her hand gently in his as she stood up and followed him through the manor and down into the cellar. In the dark, damp room sat a young girl in her early twenties with bubble gum pink hair and a strange familiarity that Bella could not place. She grinned wickedly looking up at her master eager for the chance to torture and kill for him. He grinned back at her.
"Bella, I would like to introduce you to your niece, Nymphadora Tonks. Other than being the half-blood child of your sister she was also an Auror who now is working for the Order. She was captured early this morning trying to smuggle mudbloods out of the country," he laughed.
Bella cackled along with the Dark Lord. While it was certainly a shock to finally meet her niece face to face she was more than ready to punish her for her crimes. Her master gestured to the girl, his eyes never leaving Bella who without hesitation flicked her wand cackling as the red light hit her "niece" her screams filling the cellar. The Dark Lord stood back watching Bella as she cast curse after curse as the defenseless girl. Bella's bloodthirsty laughter and the girl's agonizing screams filling the cellar until the girl could no longer scream.
"Pity," Bella cooed softly at the girl, "Your mother had so much potential. But she threw it all away on that filthy muggle father of yours."
The girl was just about as lifeless as one can be while still having a pulse, tortured past the breaking point. Bella stepped back, disgust painted across her face.
"Avada Kedavra," she shouted striking the girl and ending her life.
Her master always had the best surprises for her. He placed his hand on her shoulder, smiling down on her before disapparating with her, leaving the girl for someone else to dispose of.