A/N: Usual disclaimer applies – I own none of this, apart from the weird distortion of JKR's lovely universe that I came up with.

Sorry this has been so long in coming – have been updating my other fanfic as well as hashing out some things in Bellatrix and Antares' history, as well as that of the rest of the Wizarding World, which is slightly different from the one we know so well. Forgive me if I don't quite hit the spot here – I'm still really nosing around characterisation wise and so on. That said, enjoy…


Chapter 2: Spinner's End

Bellatrix Black had never been so afraid in her life, spinning through the Floo Network as she hoped and prayed that her son – all she really had in the world – was following her, unharmed.

She landed awkwardly, with none of her usual grace, hastily shifting out of the way so – just in case Antares had a bad landing, he'd never quite taken to the Floo –

Whump.

And there he was, sooty, blinking away the disorientation from the travel, running dirty fingers through his hair like she always told him not to, other hand reaching out, like he'd stopped doing four years ago.

He'd said, then, that it made them less conspicuous, or something like that. Bellatrix simply took his hand, drawing him tightly to her side, her wand ready, just in case Severus had decided to harm them anyway, as it would be more convenient to do so in his own home –

Whump.

Bellatrix's heart sped up impossibly. Severus had always been somewhat graceful with every form of travel – she tried not to let her hand shake, tried not to let the fear roll off her in waves turbulent enough to alarm her son, even if she did think she'd made a serious mistake.

Antares moved reflexively closer as the black shape unfolded before them, indifferently spelling off the soot and eyeing Bella when she did not do the same. Bellatrix held her head high, a sneer rising easily to her lips – she'd take her chances with the bloody soot, rather than be distracted for a second, rather than let go of –

"Come – come this way – " Severus beckoned to them, his frame taught with anxiety. And well that he was anxious – Bella had made it her business to make those around her uneasy as soon as she'd begun to see the need to have a real life. She followed gracefully after a minimal brush-off of soot from her worn robes, head held high, Antares firmly grasped by the skinny arm – he must be hungry, not to be squirming – trailing her former ally easily into a less formal, but no less disused sitting room.

Bellatrix hardly paid attention to the book-lined walls or the worn couches – no, her grey eyes were seeking points of entry and exit, points of defence, things she could throw or hit out with, if this didn't –

"Relax, Bella." Severus dropped easily into a worn armchair facing her and Antares, who was now beginning to relax. Bellatrix pinched him unobtrusively – now is not the time to be distracted – before replying.

"Who do you serve now, Severus?" Bellatrix did not wish to dance around the topic – it was like a large, stinking monster in the room with them, reflecting in the former – well, at least she thought so – Death Eater's eyes. Antares straightened at that, and it was all she could do not to sigh – ever since that unfortunate evening they'd run into Macnair in the Hogs' Head, he'd been morbidly interested in Death Eaters.

It was her fault for telling him in the first place, she supposed.

Her fault for joining at all –

"You're straight to the point," Severus remarked slowly, his dark eyes still tracing her form.

"Can I afford not to be?" Bellatrix demanded, fighting the impulse to shield Antares with her body. Never had fear played through her veins like this, like a constant counterpoint to their stilted, formal conversation. Perhaps that was how victims of her attacks had felt.

Perhaps.

"You cannot." His black gaze held hers for a moment before he spoke again. "And yet you are here…"

"We are here because Antares got himself into trouble," Bellatrix snarled back, her grip tightening unnecessarily on her son. Dear Merlin, if anything happens to him

"I understand." Severus' dark gaze traveled down to the little boy at Bella's side, making her burn with the irrational need to tuck him away into her robes – "What did you call him?"

"Antares." There was no harm in that –

"Antares Black?" Bellatrix stiffened, the movement not going unnoticed by her wide-eyed son.

"You know Rodolphus threw me off – like some rag – "

"What I didn't know is that you were alive enough to be discarded, Bella." Severus' tone was direct, slow, calculated to set her at her ease, but dear Merlin, she could not afford to –

"Here I am, then – flesh and blood, a Black once more…" She smiled cruelly, not caring what he'd be sure to infer –

"A Black, indeed – it amazes me that you do not shrink from the name of an imprisoned traitor, Bella," Severus sneered.

Predictable – he'd always hated her stupid cousin. Bella's smile grew bitter, as she reflected on the fact that she hated him as well – he was the sole reason Antares felt the need to steal, that she felt the need to pretend she had enough pride left to try and stop him –

"You did not answer my question, Severus." Antares' small arm twitched approvingly in Bellatrix's grip as she locked eyes with Severus. Good – he caught that too

"I serve myself, as I always have," the dark man across from them said slowly, his intent gaze trailing over to Antares' nervous face again, "and I always will." Bella felt herself relax – just a little – but not for long. "Are you hungry, boy?" Antares started, but recovered soon enough.

"I don't think that's any of your business, sir," the boy started, his voice steady despite the slight quiver in his frame. "I'm here only because my mum's here, so don't think you'll have to offer me charity just because I'm a kid squirming in your house." Snape stared at him for a moment, surprise playing across his sharp, heavy features, then turned amused eyes back onto Bella.

"Quite a talker, isn't he?" he put forth, more by way of saying something even as his eyes flickered over to Antares' defiant little form again. "He looks very odd – like Regulus, somehow – " Bella drew her breath in sharply, tightening her hold on her son without meaning to, even as her one-time colleague continued to speak, almost lazily – "You must have used one of the older charms…a blooded one, I presume…?" At her stiff silence, Snape stiffened slightly in surprise. "Those are Dark."

"And?" Bella could hardly hold the words in, hold in the acidic pressure that had been building up within her chest. "It was the simplest way…and, besides, one of the conditions had already been met." She looked away from Severus, so he could not – would not see the memory of that cold, cold morning. "It was the way my Aunt finally took pity on me, in the end – before she died. If not…"

"Does he know?" The cool, calm nature of that question did not faze Bellatrix – oh, Severus might not show it now, but she knew what he thought of her. He was judging her – his face oddly still, somehow pitying…Antares' sharp little voice broke through her angry thoughts, all of a sudden.

"Don't you dare judge my mother, Snipe," came the familiar, tone – much colder than Bellatrix had ever heard it before. Snape started in surprise as Antares struggled out of her grip, glaring at him. "You were a Death Eater, weren't you? I'm sure you've done much worse things than she's ever done in your miserable, greasy life – "

"Antares!" His face, taut with childish anger, spun round to look at her, even as she tried not to laugh or cry or scream at his defence – "Sit down. Now." That he complied only made it worse, and it was all Bellatrix could do just to take tighter hold of his already abused arm. "I assure you, I was just as bad as he was, I keep telling you – "

"That's even worse," her son spat back unexpectedly, "him judging you when he's had it easier this year than we've had in the last five – "

"Antares, please," Bella's eyes bored into his defiant hazel set, which boiled with a familiar anger. She let go of his arm, tugging on his wrist instead, knowing that it soothed him, when he got so angry about their situation that he couldn't, and wouldn't think. Antares had had moments before – dispelling frightening amounts of accidental magic, breaking everything in sight and collapsing like a rag doll immediately afterwards and alarming her more than anything. This could not afford to be one of those times – not in her former colleague's house, not when she already owed the thoughtful, quietly intense man across from her fifty Galleons.

Antares' shoulders finally drooped, and the air around them felt lighter.

"I take it he's magical, then." Bellatrix stared at Snape, wondering how he could say such a thing, such a thing that had single-handedly torn apart her ordered existence, with such levity. Feeling rather inclined to break several of the ugly ornaments around them herself, she forced the answer out through gritted teeth.

"Extremely so." Tilting her chin defiantly, she continued – "Regular bursts of accidental magic at three. First occurrence possibly earlier." She smiled grimly to herself as Snape stiffened, taking notice. Antares stiffened too, beside her – with pride.

"When did you find him?"

"After the trials." She would not be speaking of those – of the experience of being literally forced to testify to save her own skin –

"What did you do beforehand?" Snape's surprise seemed to have melted away, into a look of bland, focused curiosity. Bella sighed, her heart falling within her as she remembered those days – long, full of pain.

Full of nothing but memories, and fragments of a world that had shattered so quickly that it had been unreal…

"Why should I trust you? You're a Squib, you foul woman…"

It was fundamentally fascinating, how one could hiss insultingly around such pain.

Only a Black. Only a Black – no longer a Lestrange – no longer a wife –

Bellatrix felt the hysteria press at the edges of her mind, seeking purchase – its progress only interrupted, only stopped by the harsh, cynical laugh of the bent woman kneeling beside her.

"It's that or expire, I'm afraid." And the Squib's words were right, were so painfully true that Bella wanted to weep, wanted to wail out her disbelief at the awful situation, and why she was still in it…

"I recovered." Two words, so much meaning – so many memories –

"Eat, girl. You were pretty once – don't scowl, I can see it – and you will be again."

"Why? Why do you care?" The older woman's dry chuckle was without much humour.

"Because you'll need it, child. As sure as I need that damned walking stick…"

And she had, during the worse stretches, when smiling in a certain manner encouraged men to buy her – and her son – meals, and not force her to pay quite as much as other witches and wizards. Bella had done some things she hadn't been proud of, but they had been necessary – unlike her deluded actions with her mad, treacherous master and his other mad servants. They had been necessary to keep her and Antares from starving to death, and Bella would not, would never let herself regret her few nights of shame.

Squeezing her son's warm, thin arm, Bellatrix forced herself to go on, not allowing herself to see, to consider the odd expression on Severus' face. It would feel better, somehow, she supposed, having someone else know, even if it was only the hazy outline of the past ten years that she would reveal…

"I was left for dead, after the – the discovery. Someone found me, somehow, in a Muggle graveyard. I still cannot remember much from the rest of that year, as the person was – unable – to – to use magic." She eyed the dour man challengingly, expecting him to say something at that, and, when he made no visible response, went on. "I felt it the night the – the Mark – disappeared. I left my rescuer then, looking for news." Bellatrix looked away, staring at her free hand, which was grimy and not half as elegant as it had ever been. "The Ministry caught me quickly, of course, and threatened me with death if I told them nothing."

"It was you, then…?" A slow nod answered his hesitant, awkward question. He nodded again at her, dark hair sweeping messily into his face. "Go on…"

"I spoke, of course. By then, my – my former husband had been apprehended. He'd told everyone I was dead, of course – it was a shock, for him to see me. I was lucky, about the timing of my capture – they'd just caught him and that little Crouch bastard torturing Longbottom's – or, rather, Lupin's mother, of all people. All they needed was a little crying about how abusive he was to me, about how he'd forced me into serving – his Lord, and then…" Bellatrix's shoulders slumped. "You can easily estimate why you didn't see me, after that."

"You said your Aunt helped you? Mrs. Black helped you?"

"Yes." Bellatrix shot a fond look at her son. "She always had a soft spot for me, you know. I think she knew – about my condition – because she left me something. Not a lot, but enough that we would have been fine…" her voice trailed off bitterly at the recollection of what had followed. "The Ministry blackmailed me out of it when they found out she changed the terms of the will. Certainly didn't want me inheriting enough to live on, dear Morgana, no – they told me it was payment. For my sins." Her lip curled. "I went back to – to my rescuer, and that was when I found Antares, starving in some Muggle orphanage. I could see he was a wizard, as plain as day, and I adopted him – took him to meet her…" remembered fear sliced into her, as she remembered just how hard that journey had been, with no money, no possessions, only an awkward wand she'd grudgingly been allowed, by the Ministry – "She never took to him, of course. He is stubborn, and was already a thief by then." Severus snorted, settling back into the shabby armchair, looking resoundingly disbelieving. Bella shrugged – she was hardly going to praise her son in that way, not now, while he sat tense beside her, eyes fixed on her instead of (as would have been more prudent) on the shifting Snape, who was speaking again.

"The Headmaster still believed you were alive," he said, dark eyes seeking out her own. "I did not – not quite. It makes sense now, I suppose – the invisible traitor that betrayed us all…" Severus' eyes drifted over to Antares again as the tense silence settled on the three of them; searching, no doubt, for any traces of his traitorous nemesis in the boy's tanned, suspicious face. Bellatrix held her breath – this was it – "Will you be sending him to Hogwarts?"

Bella relaxed her grip on her son's arm, hardly daring to believe, hardly daring to believe that the naturally vindictive man was not going to do anything to them both. She spoke, trying to mask her piercing relief and lingering, heavy doubt.

"Of course, Severus." He looked up sharply at the use of his first name, sensing that something had changed in the flow of the stilted conversation, and coloured slightly when he read the gratefulness Bella knew was displayed openly across her face. "I remember the Hogwarts Assistance fund – he will apply for that, and any further funds there might be. Merlin knows," she allowed herself a long look at her stubborn son's dark head, "he is hard-headed enough to do well, there. Besides," she drew herself up slightly, "I still have some of my old things left." The ones I did not destroy in my folly, after graduation. After Rodolphus proposed… "He can use those, too." Severus nodded slowly, his eyes taking on a faraway look for a moment, before he asked what she hoped would be his last question – Bellatrix's eyes flitted rapidly to the worn, ancient clock on the wall opposite them. Their landlord would be expecting her soon –

"Bella, where are you staying? You could…"

"No." she found herself saying, without even waiting for the man opposite her to finish speaking. "No," she repeated, trying to convey the roiling feelings within her as she looked at Severus, who appeared slightly grimmer than before he'd spoken. Bella held his eyes with hers – she would not be beholden to anyone for the care of Antares – she would not, and that was final

The fireplace roared with green flame, and a disembodied voice called out, startling all three inhabitants of the sitting room.

"Severus? Are you there – "

"In a moment – use the kitchen hearth, will you? I have guests…" He trailed off, rising uncertainly to his feet. "Bella – "

"The answer is still no. Don't keep your caller waiting." He strode off, slipping through one of the slightly ajar doors nearby, into what she presumed would be his kitchen. Bella felt her heart constrict – it was all very well, asking her to stay, as if he'd forgotten everything they'd seen together, as if she wouldn't fear for Antares and his cursed curiosity in this house, despite the intensity in Severus eyes that spoke of trust.

That caused a miserable hope to rise in her stubborn heart, a hope that spoke of slight comforts and peaceful surroundings –

The very boy at the heart of the matter stood abruptly beside her, wriggling out of her relaxed grip as he went across to the cooling fireplace.

"What are you doing?" Antares glanced back at her over his shoulder, shrugging as he crouched over the fireplace.

"Something you should be doing, instead of worrying about what you just told him," he supplied, with the scornful tone of a tired, irritated ten-year-old boy. "What do you think?" Rolling his eyes – carefully, so she almost didn't catch sight of the expression – he pressed a palm to the cooling hearth stones, angling his head up into the fireplace as he mouthed a simple eavesdropping charm.

"I wouldn't bother with that, Antares. He's a suspicious man – you know that – "

"Didn't do me any harm to try," he groused back at her, clambering back to his feet as he crossly wiped himself off. "Why did you say no, anyway?"

"Why should I tell you my reasons? You know very well why I do not accept charity, Antares," Bella's eyes followed her son's young, skinny form as he tiptoed about the room, peering at the copious amount of books everywhere. "It can be used against us, against you, and I will not allow that."

"So?" Antares came to an abrupt halt, returning to her side, an alarming amount of passion displayed on his usually calm features. "What happens when I go to Hogwarts, then? The only reason we can get by living in Muggle London is because people feel sorry for me and don't ask questions when I do things wrong, and you know that. What could possibly be so frightening about living with Snipe, or Snape or whatever the hell it is you – "

"Neither of us can trust him, Antares – "

"If you didn't trust him, then why did you let him bring us here? And why are you telling him anything?"

"Because we had, and still have no choice, Antares. We owe him money, don't we?" Antares blanched, sinking slightly into the seat beside her. "What is it?"

"Technically, we don't owe him anything," he said carefully, his hazel eyes looking nervously up at her.

"Technically!" Bella seized Antares by his skinny wrists, forcing him to speak to her – she could never understand why he didn't tell her these things, especially things like this that might mean they could just leave – "Explain yourself – now – "

"I ran into Macnair, not him," he said quickly, "he took the debt off Macnair because he thought he recognised me, or something – "

"Macnair? Did he – " Antares shook his head, just as quickly. Bella squelched the urge to sigh in relief – at least no one would connect her with him for a while –

"Sni – Snape kept looking at me, as if he was remembering something," Antares continued quietly. "I was really worried, when he mentioned you – I thought he'd Apparate us out and just do us in on the spot…" He looked down at his wrists, which Bellatrix had let go of, in her shock of discovering that he'd run into Macnair, of all people – "He hasn't so far, Mum – we could stay – "

"Not you," Bellatrix managed to get out, past the mingled hope and fear coagulating in her throat. "I won't be beholden to anyone, not for you – "

"And after I leave? I won't go to Hogwarts if you're not safe…" Bella sighed, brushing his messy hair away from his thin face, bittersweet pride surging hotly through her blood at the intensity of his expression even as they heard footsteps approaching the door Severus had left them through.

"Already such a manipulator." She planted a quick kiss on his head, not minding the soot that dusted her lips afterwards. Antares smiled up at her for a minute – his sly one, the one she thought made him as handsome as her faithless ex-husband, in a different way – the serious look lingering in his eyes.

"I meant what I said."

"I'm sure you did," Bella replied, a wry smile tugging its way onto her lips. Severus entered softly, as was his wont, looking measurably more hopeful, in his way.

"I have just spoken to the Headmaster, Bella." She stilled – he could not be serious, telling her such information – "He offers an apprenticeship of sorts, for Antares, if he consents to take the requisite tests."

"But the Assistance fund – "

" – is a separate endowment entirely." Severus regained his seat, a curious expression on his face. "Apparently, the tests have not been necessary, or requested for quite some time. He believes your son deserves a chance."

"That's preposterous," Bellatrix said, worry dancing in her veins. "Why would he do such a thing – for me – for us? He knows nothing of my affiliations or my allegiances – "

"As much as his words surprise me, it is perfectly clear what your allegiances are, Bella," Severus said, with a trace of something like amusement.

"My allegiances are to myself and Antares only – surely he can guess that – "

"But you helped his side of the war, though unwillingly, with your confession," Severus retorted, crossing his arms across his chest. "And you have paid for it, perhaps more so than anyone else. It is not charity," he said, bitterness seeping into his tone as he went on, not quite looking into her eyes, "it is merely a clumsy way to repay what you have done in aiding the Ministry in putting away some that they would not have been able to otherwise – "

"I am no fool, Severus," she snapped back, ignoring the way her heart twisted at the bitterness in his voice, "I know this is repayment. What worries me is what Antares will be asked to pay in return for this apprenticeship of sorts, nothing more. I do not mean to offend you – you do know that, don't you?"

"Then accept my offer to lodge you. You know as well as I do that you are not safe working on Diagon Alley – "

"How did you – "

"It was too easy to follow you after I caught sight of you outside the Menagerie, Bella." He leaned slightly forward, his expression intense. "Did your son tell you who it was that originally owned your debt to me?" At her terse nod, he continued, his dark eyes flicking to Antares as he spoke. "What do you think would have happened if Macnair had decided to pursue the matter of your debt to him?"

Bella did not answer – she knew all too well what could have happened to her and her son. It was simply galling the way one simple afternoon had destabilised her and her plans so thoroughly –

"Bella," Severus said, his black eyes holding hers with a disquieting intensity, "all I offer is help – nothing more." Bellatrix sighed, inwardly giving her acquiescence. If only so she would not worry for her son.

If only that he would be safe, especially from those who meant her ill for her treason.

"Thank you, Severus. We will accept your help."


A/N: Gah, that took a while to sort out. Sorry it took me so long to update – it was just a hard chapter to finish wading through, and what with my busy week and wrestling with Chapter 8 of Part the Second, it just languished on my lovely laptop for a bit.

Um, didn't find any pressing questions from reviewers that I haven't already answered in my livejournal (www . livejournal . com / users / uchethegirl /). But, just to lay your minds at ease, I will be answering all the pertinent ones as the story goes along – there won't be any huge expository chapters, as I want to mostly show you how the wizarding world is different, instead of just tell you. You can already guess a bit from the contents of this chapter, namely that Alice Longbottom is alive and remarried, and her son will probably be more of an upstanding character than he is in canon. And as for Bella's stilted behaviour around Zabini senior, I'll just jump the gun and tell you it's brought on by shame that she no longer commands respect, or is recognised widely. Or something close to that.


EDIT as of the 24th of November, 2005: Changed the reference to being 'kedavra-ed' to being done in instead, as Antares, as a kid raised in the Wizarding World, would never refer to the curse as commonly as that. Thanks for the person who raised that issue on LJ (although I can't remember their name now).