Draco took a deep breath before stepping into Bellatrix Lestrange's room. He always dreaded his appointments with his estranged aunt and former righthand woman to Voldemort. Merlin, curse my father for bringing her back into this world. Draco knocked twice before opening the door.

Bellatrix was lying on her hospital bed, clawing out some fluff from one of her pillows. She was obviously bored.

She looked across the room to see Draco walking up to her hospital bed. "Drakey, darling! How wonderful to see you!"

"Good morning, Auntie Bella," Draco nodded. She had demanded that he address her as "Auntie Bella," most likely to boost her ego while she was stuck as a sick witch in a confined hospital room. "Are the Zenoxide pills working better on you now?"

"'Bout as good as they can get," Bellatrix tossed her torn, bedraggled pillow to the floor. "Hey, do me a favor and get me some more of those pillows—I've finally found something better to keep me occupied in this hellhole. It's much more fun than doodling on the wall!"

Draco glanced at the wall behind her and to her left. They were covered with doodles of Voldemort, Voldemort's name, and the most disturbing phrases describing herself and Voldemort together. He looked away from the disturbing scribbles and turned to meet her smirking face. "Yes, I'll see if I can get you more of those. But anyway, how is that headache of yours? Do you need me to perform anymore Mantra Charms?"

"Naw, I'm all good," Bellatrix gave a casual swat in his direction.

"Great," said Draco. "I'll go and ask Galvin if there are any…unneeded pillows in this hospital."

"Drakey, darling! Wait!" Bellatrix's shriek made Draco spin back around to face her.

"Yes, Auntie?" He felt uneasy as he saw that her face had that typical seductive sideways smile she always wore whenever she was trying to flirt with Voldemort.

Bellatrix sat up and leaned forward on her palms. "I hear that Tom Riddle performed the Antiaroma Charm on you and that disgusting mudblood, am I right?"

Draco's heart raced. He hated it whenever Bellatrix brought up her questions about Tom Riddle. The woman hadn't met him in person yet, but she was still obsessed about him. "Um…yes, Auntie Bella. The Head Healer of this hospital has her Yapillon dog scouting this hospital for a poisonous teleporting frog, and that Yapillon dog has the tendency to exhale Amorabloom Pollen at Granger and me, which will force us to feel these uncontrollable romantic feelings for each other. So Tom Riddle was nice enough to perform the Antiaroma Charm on us so that we would be unaffected by the Amorabloom Pollen."

"Did you find out if he truly loves that mudblood?"

Draco scowled. "No! How in the world would I be able to do that?"

"By performing the Legilimency Curse on him, of course! Didn't Snape teach it to you just a few weeks ago?"

"H-how did you hear about that?" But then he realized it was so obvious. "Shit. Galvin told you, didn't he?" Damn, I need to be careful about what exactly I share with my Healer mentor.

Bellatrix grinned deviously. "Drakey, darling. If you're too scared to use the Legilimency Charm on him, I'd love to do it for you. Heck, I can just straight up ask him if he loves the mudblood! I have my ways of making people say the truth to my face." She sat up and lifted her shoulders proudly.

"Hehe, sorry Auntie, but I can't let you do that," Draco walked toward the door to exit her room. "Patients are not allowed to leave their rooms, especially if they are in the ICU like yourself."

But a few minutes later, when Draco returned to Bellatrix's room with a pile of pillows in his arms, he saw that her hospital bed was empty. Panicking, Draco dropped his pillows, ran out the door, and burst into Tom Riddle's room, where he saw Bellatrix sitting with Tom on his hospital bed. She was on his right side, with her arm was wrapped around his shoulders, and she was cracking up over a story she was telling him about how close the two of them were so close to having a child before he was defeated by "that Potter boy." Tom was weakly chuckling along, although Draco could tell that he was feeling uncomfortable next to his gaudy aunt.

"Bellatrix!" Draco exclaimed.

She stopped laughing and turned to Draco with a haughty, disinterested expression. "That's Auntie Bella, young man."

"What are you doing here?! I just told you patients are not allowed to venture out of their rooms! Especially if you're infected with an extremely contagious virus!"

"Relax, hun! The Zenoxide virus is transmitted through bodily fluids, and it's not like Tommy and I are going to have sex or anything," she turned and grinned at the young man by her side. "That's something we can look forward to after you're all cured, right, darling?"

Tom chuckled. "You are certainly free to enjoy that when you're healed."

"Oh come on, Tommy, darling!" Bellatrix brushed his frail, dark hair to the side and spoke in a smooth, seductive tone. "Lucius Malfoy brought you back into this world so that you can relive your life. are you really going to relive this new life as a virgin?"

Draco's face contorted with disgust. The two of them just looked so disturbing together, considering his aunt was probably twice Tom Riddle's age.

Bellatrix gave her maniacal laugh before Tom could respond to her question. "I could not imagine Lucius writing you off as a virgin in your biography before bringing you back to this world!"

Tom managed to speak in a calm, casual tone. "Well, even if he did, my life still wouldn't be set in stone. I don't believe that writing my biography with some magical potion would ensure that my new life will follow that biography."

"Ooh, you're so headstrong!" Bellatrix hugged him closer to herself. "Sticking to your own beliefs, regardless of what others say. Just like the old Voldemort!"

"Auntie Bella," Draco slipped out his pager from his white coat pocket. "I'm afraid I'm going to have to call the Head Healers if you're not going to listen to me. You must get back to your room and stay there."

Bellatrix gave an agitated huff and then slipped off Tom's bed. "Fine!" She turned and grinned at Tom Riddle, who was looking exhausted and a little shaken. "FaceTime me later?"

Draco groaned. He kept forgetting that all patients were given temporary cell phones to keep in touch with any loved ones outside the hospital.

Tom gave a small nod. "Sure."

Bellatrix gave an excited squeal. Draco walked up to her and took her arm, pulling her away from Tom's bedside. "You do know that he vows to never be like Voldemort in this new life of his?" Draco muttered to her when they were out of earshot.

Bellatrix threw her head back and cackled. "Hahaha! He wouldn't be my charming Dark Lord if he wasn't being deceptive about his vows." She looked over her shoulder and shot Tom Riddle a wink.

Draco rolled his eyes. "Come on, let's get back to your room."

"Wait!" She yanked her arm out of his grip and faced Tom again. "Tommy, darling! Are you in love with that Granger girl?"

Draco hit his forehead with his palm, feeling the urge to scream with frustration.

Tom chuckled softly. There was no hint of malice in his eyes or voice. "No, Miss Lestrange. I love Dr. Granger as a friend, perhaps even as a sister. But not at all as a romantic partner."

"You sure?" Bellatrix grimaced. "You can tell me anything. And Draco, here, would also keep your secret safe—he hates the little mudblood."

Draco restrained from commenting. His heart raced as he watched Tom look away, shaking his head and smiling. "I am not in love with Dr. Granger," he repeated in his calm, even-tempered tone.

Draco watched as his aunt continued to grimace at him, her eyes unblinking. Was she performing the Legilimency Spell on him? Part of Draco hoped she was, because Draco was actually very curious about the man's feelings for Granger.

Before the silence got awkward, Draco cleared his throat. "Well, sorry about the disturbance, Tom. I'll make sure this doesn't happen again."

Tom Riddle turned to gaze at Draco with his exhausted, slightly disturbed, gaze. He gave a weak smile and nodded. "No need for apologies, Dr. Malfoy. This wasn't your fault."

When he got Bellatrix back into her room, Draco turned to gaze down at his aunt as she settled back in her hospital bed.

"Ah…that young man is quite…something," she sighed. "I just hope I can see the day he fulfills what he had aimed to fulfill before he was killed by that blasted Potter."

Draco narrowed his eyes. He couldn't tell if his aunt was trying to deny the fact that Tom was not the Dark Lord she had hoped for, or if she had actually seen some hidden darkness in him. "Aunt Bella," he spoke carefully, "were you performing the Legilimency Curse on Tom?"

She turned to gaze up at him with a naughty smile. "Of course I was, darling."

"Wh-what are his plans? And…how does he feel about Granger?"

Bellatrix winked at him. "Patient confidentiality, Drakey darling. But if you give me the Organink Wand that brought him back into this world, I'll tell you everything."