People often supposed that Bellatrix's fanaticism meant that she was an idiot. Their underestimation often worked in her favor, and many a skilled witch or wizard had lost a duel (or worse) by assuming that they had the upperhand.
Unfortunately, her sister knew her too well. She greeted Bellatrix several days later with a bright smile and ushered her into Malfoy Manor.
"It's been too long, Bella," she chided gently, taking her sister's cloak. "Lucius informed me that you know about our happy news!"
Bellatrix narrowed her eyes suspiciously as she took in her sister's glowing face, and allowed herself to be pulled into one of Narcissa's rare embraces.
"Yes… Shame I had to find out second hand from Lucius…"
Narcissa apparently missed the bitter note in her words, "I wanted to tell you, Bella, really, but I didn't dare hope that we might- that the Dark Lord would-"
"The Dark Lord is very generous," drawled Bellatrix coldly, "you should have given him more credit."
"I know that now," Narcissa twined her arm around Bellatrix's, and strolled her into the sitting room. "Would you like to meet her properly?"
Bellatrix had no interest in meeting babies. She had scarcely noticed her own nephew's presence in this world. "Maybe later- oh good, you've brought them both out."
Her nephew, with his blond fluffy hair was strapped into some chair that had a plethora of brightly colored parts that could be twirled, strummed, pulled, pressed and chewed. It looked like he had melted the contents of his toybox into the chair, and he delightedly pulled a purple star that rattled as he touched it.
The girl had been placed on one of the ivory chairs, and though she was impeccably dressed, Bellatrix immediately noticed the lack of toys surrounding the toddler. She also noted the way Narcissa sat in a chair on the other side of the coffee table, situating Draco firmly between herself and the child.
Good show, Cissy, thought Bellatrix, I almost believed you for a moment.
She sat down beside the child, and made a point to grasp a chubby hand in her own, "It's very nice to meet you, Hermione."
The girl stared up at her in astonishment, and then a slow grin stretched across her face. Bellatrix felt the corners of her mouth twitch in response. The girl was charming, she could acknowledge that.
But a swift look in her sister's direction confirmed her suspicions. Narcissa watched the girl with a cool, calculating look. The same look entered her eyes when she played wizard's chess. Bellatrix looked back at the child with new curiosity.
Why are you here, little one?
She intended to find out. She had to find out. Maybe the girl was Lucius' bastard (it would certainly explain Narcissa's coolness) in which case she could relax and let her sister maintain her reputation through this one insignificant lie.
But part of her was convinced that there was something deeper going on here. Something told her that there was more at stake than a simple reputation. If they had lied to the Dark Lord… Bellatrix could care less what happened to Lucius, but despite her devotion to her leader she could not allow anything to happen to her sister.
Which was why she needed answers.
"So this is the baby you've become infatuated with? You must be so happy to have her home."
Narcissa hummed in agreement, and reached to wipe drool from Draco's chin. "We've been ecstatic. I can't imagine our lives without her here."
Again, her tone was warm and genuine, but Bellatrix noted that her sister did not so much as glance at the child.
"Are you going to tell me the real reason that you've brought this child into your life?" She asked, suddenly very irritated with her sister.
Narcissa's blue eyes were wide with feigned innocence, "Whatever do you mean?"
She rolled her eyes, and plucked the girl into her arms. "I mean that if I were to kill her right now I doubt you'd even shed a tear." It was an extreme threat, but one that got her sister's attention.
Hermione, completely oblivious, cooed delightedly and reached for one of Bellatrix's curls.
"So let's try this again. Why do you really have this child?"
Somehow the sight of her sister holding the muggleborn child made Narcissa's chest constrict with fear.
"The Dark Lord has instructed me to take a special interest in this child," Bellatrix cooed, twirling her little finger through one of Hermione's curls, "I think he intends me to mold her into, well…" a vicious smile curved her mouth, "me."
Her voice softened, so that Narcissa could barely hear her, "But there's something off about this child. You, my dear sister, are no philanthropist. I would sooner believe that Albus Dumbledore intends to become a Death Eater than that you fell in love with that child while visiting an orphanage." She cradled Hermione against her shoulder, and fixed her sister with an undecipherable look. "So what is so special about this girl?"
"I can't tell you." Narcissa said, hoping that her voice sounded surer than she felt.
"That's what I thought. Well…" Bellatrix's wand was up and pointing at her before she had time to react, "Legilimens!"
Narcissa had never been good at keeping her sister out of her head. She struggled to raise her Occlumency shields, but by the time they were up Bellatrix had seen everything. She withdrew from her mind so quickly that Narcissa had to grip the nearest chair to prevent herself from falling over.
"You went to Dumbledore?" Bellatrix hissed, he face a mask of shock, confusion, and betrayal. "What, in Merlin's name would possess you to do such a thing?"
"I will not allow my son to become a Death Eater," Narcissa vowed, her eyes flashing like blue flames, "He will not risk his life for your Dark Lord. He won't."
"The Dark Lord would never force-"
"Wouldn't he?" Narcissa scathed. "He killed Albert Thurston for telling him that his son would not join."
"Thurston was an imbecile! His whole family is a disgrace, and now you are trying to betray the Dark Lord." She said each word slowly, deliberately, "I have killed men for less than this."
A thrill of fear raced down Narcissa's spine. "I'm your sister, Bella. You wouldn't-"
"No," Bellatrix spat the word as if it were poison. "I wouldn't. Despite my better judgement, I love you, and I could never hurt you." A crazed gleam entered her eye, "But I can make this right."
Narcissa's mouth formed the question how? but before she could speak it she watched her sister slip a knife from her sleeve.
"Bellatrix," her mouth dry with fear, Narcissa found herself edging closer. "What are you doing?"
There was a flash of light from Bellatrix's wand, and the blonde sister fell to the ground, her limbs trapped in the body-bind spell. All she could do was watch as Bellatrix pulled the blade across her own arm, and grinned maniacally at the little girl.
"You see this blood, little one? This blood is pure. Your blood is filthy. You've got muddy blood." She said this last part in a singsong voice, and bounced Hermione so that the child let out a squeal of laughter. "We've got to fix that haven't we?" She bobbed her head in an exaggerated nod, and Hermione, who was still mesmerized by the dark witch, mimicked her actions.
"Very good! Such a clever girl." Bellatrix pressed a kiss to Hermione's head.
Narcissa's eyes were glued to the rivulet of blood that was oozing from the cut on her sister's arm. She strained to move her arms or her legs, but the spell prevented her from moving.
"You see, little one, my little sister has gotten herself into trouble again, hasn't she?" Again, Hermione burst into giggles as Bellatrix pressed their foreheads together and continued to speak in that strange voice. "And now, Bella has to fix it."
Bellatrix shot Narcissa a dark look, and Narcissa shivered at the glint in her eyes. Please don't hurt her, Narcissa thought, as if her sister could hear what she was thinking.
"The Dark Lord expects a half-blood, so I'm going to make her a half-blood."
Narcissa's heart gave an unpleasant lurch as she realized that her sister wasn't joking. Stop, Bella, please. She doubled her efforts in vain to get free of the spell.
"Don't worry, little one, you'll be getting the purest blood there has ever been." Bellatrix lifted the knife, the silver tip slick with her own blood, and pressed the tip to Hermione's arm.
Whoosh!
There was a pulse of blinding light, and Narcissa was up on her feet without realizing that no one had removed the curse. She ripped Hermione away from her sister, and pressed the tip of her wand to her sister's throat.
"Have you gone completely mad?" She hissed. Hermione had begun to cry, and she clutched the child closer. "You planned on making her a half-blood. That's insane, Bellatrix! Even for you!"
"I'm trying to protect us, Cissy, what do you think the Dark Lord is going to do when he finds out you lied-"
"I don't intend for him to find out!"
Bellatrix blinked in surprise, "Cissy…"
Narcissa stepped back, "Get out of here, Bellatrix. You are not allowed back in this house until I determine that you are safe for my family to be around."
"You're not serious?"
"I am."
"Cissy-"
"You're lucky I don't turn you in to the Aurors! I would be well within my rights, but somehow I doubt that the Dark Lord would take kindly to me having his favorite pet imprisoned."
"Cissy be reasonable. I'm sorry, I was acting rashly. We can find another way-"
Hermione's cries were getting progressively louder, but Narcissa did not back down. "Leave now."
Bellatrix's pleading expression was replaced by one of pure indignation. "Fine, but when the Dark Lord discovers your lie don't expect me to save you. As far as I'm concerned the whole lot of you can-" she did not finish her sentence, instead she stomped across the room and vanished through the door.
"Dobby!" Narcissa cried, trying to keep the panic from her voice.
The young house-elf appeared before her with a CRACK! "Yes Mistress?"
"Ward the room. I don't want anyone to come in or out until Lucius returns."
Narcissa did not try to contact her sister until Halloween, when Lucius stormed home white as a sheet and gasped-
"The Dark Lord has fallen!"
But by the time she tracked her sister down it was too late. Bellatrix had already tortured the Aurors Frank and Alice Longbottom, she had already been captured, and Barty Crouch was already beginning his onslaught of sentencing Death Eaters to Azkaban.
On the night of her sentencing, Hermione woke the house with a scream unlike anything she had ever heard from the girl before.
"Lucius, she's going to wake Draco!" Narcissa said, gliding into Hermione's room with her wand drawn. "What's wrong?"
Lucius, who had lifted Hermione into his arms, turned wide eyed to her, "I don't know," he confessed, gently rocking the howling toddler. "She doesn't appear to be injured…"
Narcissa stepped closer, and was immediately seized with concern for the child.
Hermione's face was bright red, and scrunched up with pain or fear. Big tears coursed from her bloodshot eyes, and she clung to Lucius as if he was about to vanish into thin air. "Papa…" she wailed, "hurts!"
"What hurts, sweetheart? Tell Papa what hurts."
But her only answer was to bury her face in his nightshirt and let out another bone-chilling scream.
And her husband, her clam, calculating husband was staring at her in panic. "Call a Healer, immediately."
She shivered, and nodded. She was through the door in a heartbeat, and though it felt like hours for St. Mungo's to respond and finally send a Healer, it must have only been a few minutes.
It was a long night. The first Healer could find nothing wrong, so Lucius ordered a new Healer to come. The second was just as perplexed as the first had been, so Lucius banished him as well. Finally, the third dosed the child with dreamless sleep, and they all breathed a little more easily as Hermione rested at last.
"There is nothing physically wrong with the girl," the Healer said briskly as he re-packed his medical case.
"There's something wrong," Lucius said from the chair where he had collapsed, Hermione still cradled against his chest. "You heard her-"
Narcissa walked over and leaned against the chair. To her surprise, she found herself gently stroking Hermione's hair.
The Healer sighed, "As I said, there's nothing physically wrong with the child. However, I noticed in her chart that she was adopted. Sometimes, if the circumstances in which the child lived were less than ordeal, or if the child has witnessed something particularly distressing, the memories can be… unpleasant."
"But Hermione is too young to remember," Narcissa cut in.
The Healer smirked a little, and Narcissa decided that she disliked the man immensely. "Memory is often underrated. I assure you that she is not too young, especially if the event has taken place recently."
"So what do you propose we do?" Lucius asked.
"Be understanding, be gentle-" his smirk had not gone away, and Narcissa desperately wanted to hex him, "and when she is old enough allow her to visit a professional so that she can explore these memories in a safe environment."
Lucius' hand on her arm was the only thing preventing her from jumping at him.
"We understand, thank you."
The Healer left a bottle of Dreamless Sleep with Lucius, and strode imperiously through the door. "I shall allow you to see me out, Madam Malfoy," he sneered.
"We can't hex him, Cissy," Lucius murmured as she moved to follow to infuriating man, "but the less people who know about Hermione's… memories… the better."
Narcissa flashed him a brilliant smile, and sauntered through the door.
The man was successfully Obliviated, and Hermione was put back to bed without further incident.
"She'll get through this," Narcissa assured Lucius as they finished checking on Draco (the boy had, thankfully, slept through the whole ordeal) "we'll discuss this with Dumbledore, surely he'll know of a discrete Healer who can give us a second opinion."
Lucius smiled tiredly, and pressed a kiss to her head. "I'm sure you're right."
"I am," she teased.
The thought never crossed their minds that the child's distress might have something to do with the thin, silvery white scar that slashed across her left forearm.
A/N: This was a little more difficult for me to like, and I'm not entirely happy with it. I hope you like it though! Please leave a review and let me know what you think!