And here we are with the next chapter. Hope you like it:)

Decisions

It had occurred to her hours after Apparating back to her childhood home that she had forgotten to wipe the girl's memories before letting her go. How could she have been so stupid? That girl was bound to tell someone she was alive and hiding. Thinking about it, Bellatrix wouldn't be surprised if she did: if what had happened to Hermione happened to her, she would want to make sure her torturer paid for it. Yet she couldn't just let herself be thrown in Azkaban. She had a suspicion she had already been there – with the abnormal chill she sometimes felt and the flashbacks of some cold, dark and wet place. No, going there wasn't an alternative, no matter how sorry she was for doing the things she had apparently done. Staying in Britain was dangerous once the Aurors began looking for her. Bellatrix remembered her mother had mentioned a house in Toulouse once. She could easily go there and start a new life. She spoke French fluently, so that wouldn't be a problem. The witch also had no one to miss when she moved. Would she even recognize her sisters now? Would she recognize their children? She knew Andromeda had had a daughter. Their middle sister had sent her and Narcissa a letter; Bellatrix had burnt the parchment after reading it. As far as she knew neither her, nor Narcissa had ever seen that child. It didn't matter either way – it didn't look like anyone missed her when she was supposed to be dead, so Bellatrix made up her mind. It was late at night already but that didn't stop her from getting a small trunk and packing the few things she wanted to take. The childhood clothes she had managed to change in size so they fit her went in first, then her favorite books (which took up more than half of the space), some cosmetics because no way was Bellatrix ever letting herself look like that again, an old potions kit she found in her father's office and finally her wand. She placed it carefully on top of everything and closed the trunk. She was going to travel the Muggle way and besides ever since waking up without her wand in her hand she had learned to treasure it and keep it safely tucked away. A good thing they had left her with her wand, she had to thank whoever had thrown her in that room in Hogwarts. Too bad she wasn't sticking around for much longer.

When she was done, she made tea and sat down to drink it before she set off. Bellatrix had decided that beginning her journey tonight would help her reach the border sooner; and she needed to get away as soon as possible because there was no doubt in her mind that tomorrow's Daily Prophet headline would read: 'WARNING! Dangerous Death Eater at large – Bellatrix Lestrange, alive and in hiding.' She recalled Hermione's words about people calling her Voldemort's most faithful supporter. That slimy snake! He had ruined her chance of a good life from the start and now kept ruining it from the grave. She finished her cup of tea and set it down on the small table in the kitchen. She remembered drinking tea before bed every night when she was a child. She had learned how to make it herself and knew just how much chamomile to put in so it would lull her to sleep despite her parents' shouts that resounded through the house. Andy and Cissy used to ask her to make it for them too and the three of them had spent many hours drinking tea in the kitchen.

The years she hadn't practiced this tradition had, perhaps, left Bellatrix slightly inexperienced. When she got to her room to take her trunk and go, her head began feeling heavy. Too much chamomile in the tea, her inner voice tried to tell her, but Bellatrix's eyelids were already drooping. The bed seemed inviting, not like other nights when she knew she wouldn't get a wink of sleep. Come, it felt like it was beckoning her, you will sleep undisturbed tonight. Even knowing it wasn't a good idea to stay much longer Bellatrix dropped the trunk to the ground and fell onto the bed, eyes closing before her head hat hit the pillow.

Morning sunlight was streaming through the curtains, effectively waking up the sleeping witch. Bellatrix slowly opened her eyes and groaned when she remembered this wasn't at all where she was supposed to be. It took her a few seconds of rubbing the sleep from her eyes and driving a hand through her wild curls until she figured out that she had slept well for the first time since the Battle of Hogwarts apparently. Blinking in surprise, the woman sat up and contemplated the possible reasons. It was most likely the chamomile tea before bed. Satisfied with her decision she stood up. Time to go now that she was fully awake. She delayed just a few more minutes too freshen up in the bathroom, then took her trunk and carried it out of the house. She left Black Manor without a backwards glance: she didn't have many happy memories from the place, and the few she did have were connected to people she was going to have no further contact with. She knew there was a Muggle city on the other side of the forest that grew next to the manor. Planning to get on a train at the train station there, Bellatrix began walking through the trees, leaving her childhood home for the last time in her life.

Exactly three and a half hours later she was back in the Manor sitting in an armchair in the living room and smoking a cigarette with a glass of whisky in hand. Smoking Muggle cigarettes was a habit she had picked up at thirteen when she found herself in the Muggle city where she saw three boys smoking behind a pair of dustbins. Her parents had never found out, of course, else they would have beaten it out of her back then. Bellatrix was staring at a piece of paper lying on the coffee table. It was a copy of today's Daily Prophet she had found rolled up on the ground in front of the train station. She had picked it up and backed away in an alley to read it. Then she had taken out her wand and Apparated straight to Black Manor. Sitting with a cigarette and a drink in hand, Bellatrix began to think. Nothing. Not a headline, not a column, not a single word about her was written in the newspaper. Maybe they couldn't fit it into today's issue. But no, that was ridiculous. If there was a Death Eater at large any sensible person would announce it to the wizarding society as soon as possible. Maybe the girl hadn't managed to find a reporter to tell her story. Yeah, sure. Because that made sense. That girl seemed smart enough to be able to write her own story and submit it as an interview. The only possible explanation seemed to be that the girl hadn't spoken a word to anyone about Bellatrix. She could be biding her time until she found out more. But Bellatrix didn't believe that. She had already interrogated her about the ring and Hermione had said she didn't know how it worked; so, she couldn't hope to get to Bellatrix again. This should put her worries to rest, she knew, but Bellatrix Black had always been a very curious child. A trait that had followed her into adulthood. The woman finished her drink and put out her cigarette, then stood up and drew out her wand. It wouldn't do to go unprepared this time, she thought and slid her own Black ring on her finger.