When the doorbell rang, it was Draco who dutifully went to answer the door for the Death Eater who had just apparated on his front porch. Mind you, his mother hadn't been impressed with how much he had been involved in the doings of the Death Eaters. She had a perennial fear that something bad would happen to him one day. Sometimes Draco wondered just how committed she was to the Dark Lord.
He pushed his white blond hair back angrily. He wasn't a child anymore; his family had to face the facts. The Dark Lord was angry with the Malfoy's, to sit back and do nothing now would be a sure way to find their whole family tortured or worse. His mother only cared about his safety, she didn't seem to realise that his whole family's safety was caught up with his and his father's intricate Death Eater tests of loyalty.
He glanced through the peephole cautiously. He had been warned about the possibility that Harry Potter and his imbecile friends might try to pop by and cause mayhem. But no, the woman on his doorstep's identity was not in question.
He let his Aunt in cheerfully enough. Sometimes he wished Bella had been his mother; at least she had the conviction and passion that the Dark Lord was right. She would never have entertained his mother's doubts about the cause. "Evening Auntie," he said casually.
She didn't say anything at all, just looked at him with her luminous brown eyes. He tried again. "Um Auntie?" Her gaze seemed far away, but at the sound of his voice she seemed to come back to reality, smiling oddly at him. He felt a tingle of fright run up his spine. Was this a trick? His Aunt had always been so proud of him; she'd often told him he should have been hers. Whenever she visited, she'd treat him like a man, like an equal; not trying to hold him back like her sister. His father had said that Bella was always at her sanest when she visited her favourite nephew. But not now. Her expression could only be called predatory. For some inexplicable reason Draco Malfoy was terrified. The look on Bella's face, it was the look she reserved for those she despised, those she would enjoy torturing, it was the look of insanity, and he had never ever received it before.
He tried to be calm. "Come in."
She studied his face intently. "Are your delightful parent's home?"
She had never cared every other time she had come visiting. Perhaps she came on the Dark Lord's orders and needed to convey a message to Lucius. "No, father is with the other Death Eater's and mother has gone shopping as we no longer have a House Elf to do it for us," he said, putting a thin layer of irritation in his voice.
She stepped towards him, putting a pale finger under his chin, still smiling, a deranged light in her eyes. "Good, my dear. You and Aunty shall have a chat." She deftly moved her finger away and began to circle around him.
"What about?" asked Draco defensively.
She came up behind his neck, her perfume filling his nostrils, as her mouth touched his skin gently. He felt his whole body shiver; though wether in desire or fear he could not say. "Oh, you'll never guess."
When Bella entered Malfoy Manor, she did not see Draco before her. She had schooled her thoughts. She could only think of Tom, of holding him in her arms. Nothing else mattered. Not blood ties, not affection, not loyalty, not love. He was not her nephew. He was just another shadow to be broken. She knew she could not do this the least painful way for Draco's sake, for the Dark Lord would know and she would get nothing. No, she must do this the hard way; for the both of them.
Draco turned and led Bella down the hallway to the spare room. He had no idea of why she was here but all he knew was that maybe he didn't want to know. Something deliciously evil no doubt. He shuddered.
"Never turn your back on an opponent," she whispered from behind.
"What," he snapped, "Don't be..."
"Crucio," shrieked Bella.
Draco didn't even have time to wonder why his own Aunt had suddenly taken it into her head to torture him. The pain was too much. He tried to hold himself upright, but Bella was a master when it came to this spell and soon he was doubled over on the ground, screaming for release. Her insane laughter filled his ears and he wished he could have moved his hands up to block out the sound.
He couldn't think anymore. The pain was increasing in intensity. A hundred, no a thousand knives were stabbing him, a hundred thousand pins pricking his skin, as his muscles rebelled inside his body, aching all the more as it went on. He dimly registered Bella's white face above him, with her wand held out as he at last mercifully slid from consciousness. She wore a look that could only be described as triumph.
When Draco came to, he was in his bed, lime green coverlets pulled up neatly. He groaned, turning his head to the side expecting to see his worried mother beside him.
Instead he came face to face with Bella.
She smiled at him sweetly. "Surprised?"
"A little," he managed to get out. "But more to the point, what did you do that for?"
"Oh, I have my reasons. Good ones too. You're probably wondering how I explained this to your parents."
"I care less about that, than about why you used an unforgiveable curse on your own nephew," replied Draco coldly.
Again that oddly seductive smile. "I have my orders." When he said nothing she answered her own question, "I told them you passed out. They were both tired from their ever so long day, so I said that being the dutiful Aunt that I was, I'd stay by your side till you woke up."
"Get out," snarled Draco. He picked up the paperweight beside his bed and attempted to throw it at her head. She calmly got out her wand and muttered a spell to slow down its flight, before plucking it out of the air and putting it back on the dresser table.
"Now, now, Draco. I'm your beloved Aunt, remember?"
"I'll scream."
She sat beside him on the bed, leaning in seductively close to his face. "Not before I've killed your father and mother and everyone else you hold dear."
"But why? You'd do that to your own family?"
"For the most important thing of all, I'd do anything."
Draco's wide eyes stared up at her in confusion. She felt only contempt for him. How could he ever hope to understand the love she bore for the Dark Lord, child that he was? "You won't need to bear my presence much longer. But before I leave I think I should tell you a bedtime story, after all, I am your loving Aunt," she said mockingly.
"Whatever. I want you out of here and fast."
"Don't test me, Draco. You know what I'm capable of." He shrugged sullenly.
Bella smiled again and began to speak. "Once upon a time there was a happy family; a mother and a father and a baby son. They lived blameless enough lives. Over time, however, they began to entertain foolish notions of heroism. They had heard stories about the Dark Lord, about his pure blood creed; about his hatred of Mudbloods and the deaths he had dealt to many in the wizarding community. This family wanted to be brave. The husband and wife were Auror's for the Ministry of Magic and they thought themselves invincible. They joined a pitiable group dedicated to thwarting the Dark Lord's noble plans. They were foolish. They did not realise that the Dark Lord knows all, that he knew of their treachery." Her laugh was high and shrill. "He sent his most faithful servant to deal with this upstart family. She went to their home in the dead of night and tortured them gradually over days. No one in the neighbourhood intervened; for they were too afraid to stop me. Slowly, bit by bit, their minds disintegrated under the strain. They were reduced to gibbering idiots. The husband died soon after; the pain broke him and he feared it more than he feared his own death. The wife lives a half life to this day. She is silent and alone, with nothing but memories of her dead husband to keep her company. She gives lolly wrappers to her child, now all grown up and just as delightfully stupid as his parents. He lives with his grandmother. Do you want to know how it felt?"
She continued on without waiting for Draco's answer. "They writhed on the ground in pain before me while I laughed and laughed at their contemptible attempts at resistance. Sometimes I'd let them get out of the room, let them think there was a chance of getting away, but soon enough I'd be behind them and the pain would start again. It was...highly entertaining."
Draco looked terrified. The Dark Lord was right. A coward like his father. "Well goodnight Draco. Make of my story what you will. Sweet dreams." She walked out of the room, blowing a kiss in his direction, before turning away in a whirl of black.