AN: YAYYYY UPDATE AGAIN. If we're lucky, I'll have ONE MORE UPDATE before I head off to camp for a week on Sunday. No promises, though. Enjoy, review, and tell ALL OF YOUR BUDDIES!

May 18th, 1996 - Malfoy Manor

"…we will be needing the assistance of Kreacher, Sirius' house elf, for this plan to work, of course… Narcissa? Bellatrix?"

Bellatrix jumped at the sound of her name coming from her lovers' mouth. Staring into his now snakelike pupils, she still saw the handsome man from nearly fifteen years ago sitting in front of her, in a dimly lit room in her sister's home.

"Yes, my lord. We will speak to Kreacher, gain his trust…" Bellatrix said this with full confidence, though she had hardly spoken to the elf since her childhood.

Gain his trust? He must be loyal to Sirius, I haven't even laid eyes on the elf in… decades… Bellatrix's train of thought was running haywire, with so many thoughts going through her head and not enough time to process them. She stared into Lord Voldemort's eyes with her calmest expression, as if she knew his plan would work. The Dark Lord stared back at her, his expression also calm. There was no changing his mind.

"Bellatrix, I assure you, this will work… As long as you and Narcissa pull through on your duty…" The Dark Lord stared deep into the two sister's eyes, daring them to fail this very important task.

"U-understood, m-my lord…" Narcissa said, her voice slightly raising out of fear.

"Good. Well then, Bellatrix, Narcissa…" With a small flick of his wand, the large black door behind them creaked open.

Just before the sisters left the room, Bellatrix whipped her head around to catch a last glimpse of her master. The flames from the fireplace behind Lord Voldemort cackled before her, but his eyes remained cold. Not a spark of love shone behind them.

"Get out." Sirius growled, staring at the house elf with such intensity Kreacher thought his eyes might just burst into flames.

Kreacher let out a small cackle of laughter. After pestering his master all day, Sirius had finally given him the command he needed. "Yes, Master Sirius… Anything you say, Master Sirius…"

And just like that, the elf was gone.

May 27th, 1996 - Malfoy Manor

"Bella… Bella?" A seemingly distant voice echoed inside of Bellatrix's ears. Still in a trance, she stared into the sparkling flames she emitted from her wand.

They seemed to whisper to her; You mustn't fail, Bellatrix… You mustn't fail…

"Bella!" The voice said a third time, finally snapping her back into reality - into the study of Malfoy Manor.

Narcissa glared at Bellatrix with her icy blue eyes, daring her to fall back into the world of dreams again. "Now, as I was saying…" Narcissa circled Bellatrix, who was sitting in a chair in the middle of the study. "The Dark Lord is going to need Sirius out of the way. If the Potter boy tries to contact Sirius to check-"

"Cissy, I know what the plan is, we've gone over this plenty of times. *Honestly, I don't see why The Dark Lord doesn't actually capture and torture Sirius instead of making it up… I ought to kill him if I get the chance." Bellatrix let out several cackles of childlike laughter at the thought.

Narcissa stared at her, startled. "Bella! You wouldn't actually kill him, don't even say that… He's still our cousin…"

Bellatrix's expression suddenly became serious. "Filthy blood traitor would deserve it. Family… Or not." She said in a baby-like tone.

Narcissa glared at her once more. "Well, if you want to bring up the idea to The Dark Lord, be my guest, Bellatrix." she said coldly.

"Maybe I will, Narcissa." Bellatrix's black eyes glared directly back into her sister's.

A loud crack filled the moment of silence. Whipping her head around to find the source of the noise, she saw Kreacher the house elf bowing down to Narcissa.

"Miss Cissy… Such an honor to see you again, Miss Cissy… And Miss Bella! It's been such a long time…" The elf bowed down to Bellatrix as well.

"We were just talking about you, Kreacher…" Bellatrix leaned over to look the elf in the eyes. "But how did you know?" She cooed, her head cocked slightly to the right.

"Kreacher has been trying to escape for days…M-Master Sirius hates Kreacher… It was only a matter of time before he told Kreacher to leave again…" Kreacher looked down at his feet, afraid to look into Bellatrix's eyes.

These were just the words Bellatrix had been looking for. She stood up. "Kreacher, we need a favor from you…"

"Anything, Miss Bella, anything…"

*Narcissa took over, her voice sounding as if it had more authority than Bellatrix's. "Kreacher, on the 17th of June, You need to make sure Sirius stays out of the way. He mustn't have any contact with Harry Potter…"

"If the boy does come calling, make sure you tell him Sirius has left the house, do you understand, Kreacher?" Bellatrix said. Her heart began to pound with anticipation, just waiting for Kreacher to back out.

Kreacher paused for a moment. "Why… Yes, Miss Cissy… And yes, Miss Bella. I will make sure he is out of the way. Is there anything else I can-"

"Yes, Kreacher, there is something else you can do." Bellatrix's voice became louder. "Don't speak a word of this to anyone. On The Dark Lord's orders. Is that understood?"

Kreacher paused at "The Dark Lord".

"Kreacher, I said, is that understood?" Bellatrix glared at the elf.

Kreacher swallowed. "Y-yes, Miss Bella. That is understood."

"Good. You may go."

There was another loud crack, and the house elf was gone. Bellatrix and Narcissa both gave small sigh of relief. The hard part was over.

Bellatrix sat back down in her chair and stared into the glistening flames of the fire. The flames in front of her seemed to dance with glee.

One step closer…They said. One step closer…

Bellatrix turned away. The hissing voices ceased. The madness inside Bellatrix's head, however, failed to leave.