"Goodnight, Aunt Bella," Draco said.
Bellatrix blinked her eyes a few times. Then, she began to laugh.
"What's so funny?" Draco asked in a half-confused, half-offended voice.
"You're a Death Eater who's been given a huge opportunity to prove your worth," Bellatrix explained, "yet you still have a bedtime."
"Mother told me that I needed my rest," Draco frowned.
"Your mother is much too overprotective for her own good," Bellatrix responded.
"Mother just doesn't want anything to happen to me," Draco snapped.
It was true that Draco was often annoyed by his mother's tendency to treat him like a little child instead of the young adult he now was, but Draco also felt the need to defend her. She was his mother, after all. And she had always loved and supported him unconditionally.
Besides, he had just met Bellatrix recently, so he felt more of an emotional connection and more of a sense of loyalty to his mother than to his aunt.
"Your mother has gone soft since your worthless father messed up so horribly in the Department of Mysteries," Bellatrix sneered.
Draco stood up straighter at the insult to his father. "I believe you were there as well, my dear aunt," he snarled. "If you're so wonderful, why didn't you make sure that the mission was a success?"
"You sound just like your mother," Bellatrix replied in an insulting tone of voice.
"Good night, Aunt Bella," Draco sighed. He really didn't feel like getting in an argument with her, especially with her being in this type of mood.
"Goodnight, Draco," Bellatrix returned, now smiling fondly at him.
Draco just shook his head in disbelief as he walked past her.
Bellatrix watched as Draco walked past her and down the hallway.
Bellatrix then decided to check on Narcissa. Her sister had become more emotional and less reasonable since Lucius's capture and imprisonment.
Narcissa clearly was in need of Bellatrix's guidance and support.
Bellatrix found Narcissa with her cloak on and heading toward the front door.
"Where are you going?" Bellatrix asked, sounding at that moment more like Narcissa's mother than her sister.
"I'm going out for a little while, Bella," Narcissa answered in a sharp voice.
"I know you, Cissy," Bellatrix replied, "and I know that you have never been one to go out for no reason. That has always been more Lucius's style. Where are you really going?"
Narcissa didn't want to be delayed any longer than necessary, so she decided to just tell her sister the truth.
"I'm going to see Severus."
"Snape? Why in the world would you want to go see him?"
"You know the task that Draco has been given," Narcissa cried. "Bella, there is no way that the Dark Lord intends for Draco to succeed. This is Dumbledore we're talking about, after all. No, Bella, the Dark Lord does not truly intend for Dumbledore to die. He intends for Draco to die."
"If Draco dies," Bellatrix responded, "then he will be dying for something truly glorious. There is no greater glory than to die for the Dark Lord."
"You're not a mother," Narcissa sighed. "You don't understand at all."
"If I was a mother," Bellatrix returned, "I would gladly give my child to the Dark Lord. You're just being overemotional, Cissy. I know that you miss Lucius, but you're allowing your loneliness to cloud your judgment."
"It's not my judgment that's clouded," Narcissa snapped. "With Lucius gone, Draco is now all that matters to me. And I'm not going to let anything happen to him. Go up to bed. I'll be back shortly."
With that, Narcissa opened up the front door and stepped outside.
"Cissy, be reasonable now," Bellatrix cried. "You're about to make a huge mistake. You should know better than to interfere in the Dark Lord's business. Besides, you should be grateful that he's honouring Draco like this, especially considering how much Lucius messed up."
Narcissa, however, didn't pause, not even for a moment. Instead, she kept on walking. It was as if she had not heard anything that her sister had just said.
Bellatrix sighed as she used her wand to summon her cloak. She had to try to talk some sense into Narcissa before it was too late.