Chapter 2
At that moment, two women entered the room. Draco knew both of them. One of them was his mother, Narcissa Malfoy. The other was his aunt, Bellatrix Lestrange, whom he could only remember seeing in the Daily Prophet and on wanted posters. She had extremely tangled glossy black hair and heavily lidded black eyes. "I heard that the demon dog doesn't like you very much, Draco," she said. "But, by the looks of it, it didn't bite you; you've still got all of your limbs." "Um… she called it a crup," said Draco. "I think she named it ginger."
"So, you've met Sky Lorrel," muttered Crouch. "She likes magical creatures, especially those that are dangerous, carnivorous, and furry. Crups fit all of those categories in a way. I believe that it has always been one of her dreams to get a Runespoor also. They aren't very furry, but she likes serpents…" "Well, I'm surprised that that dog hasn't bitten her yet, considering Sky's blood status," said Bellatrix. "Her father was a Mudblood, her own brother was a Squib, and her sister…" "It doesn't matter." Crouch said, firmly. "She's a clever witch and crups only care whether a person has magical blood or not. It doesn't matter to crups what a person's blood status is." There was a different tone in his voice. It was almost defensive.
"Well, they're odd little creatures, crups," Bellatrix said. "The blood purity is what really matters. Muggles, Mudbloods, Squibs and all that filth… they contaminate the blood of any wizard or witch, and you should know that, Barty. You came from a respectable pureblood family afterall." "If you ask me," said Crouch. "There was nothing really respectable about my family. Sky on the other hand…"
"Come, Draco," called Narcissa. "They can go on for a rather long about these things." As she and Draco left the room, Draco heard Bellatrix say in a mocking tone, "You seem very passionate about defending her. Why do you care so much, Barty? Are you in love with the blood traitor? Are you willing to contaminate your own pure blood status?" Then, the door closed behind them.
"We'll be staying here for now, Draco," said Narcissa. "I'll show you where you'll be sleeping and where you can unpack." "Why didn't you tell me that we were coming here in your letter?" asked Draco. "If I had told you and that letter got in the wrong hands," replied Narcissa. "It would have been a disaster for all of us. I'm sorry if it confused you." "But why can't we go home?" asked Draco. "And where are we?" Narcissa sighed and said, "Now that your father has been imprisoned and exposed as a Death Eater, we are no longer safe. This is the current headquarters for the Death Eaters. It's the best place for us to be right now. The Aurors are probably searching for us right now."
"But we're not Death Eaters," said Draco. "Why should they be looking for us?" Narcissa sighed again. "Your father's a Death Eater," she said. "And your aunt and uncles are Death Eaters too. As long as we have relatives who are Death Eaters, we're in danger." That didn't make much sense to Draco, but he didn't ask for an explanation.
They walked up a long spiral staircase. Draco thought that there must have been at least five different floors. At the third floor, they turned and went down a short corridor. At the end of the corridor, there was a small room. There was a bed with a side table by it, a little closet, and a chair. Narcissa handed Draco the key to the room and said, "You'll be sleeping here during our stay." Draco nodded. His mother turned to leave. "Wait." he said. Narcissa turned around to face him. "If this is the Headquarters for the Death Eaters, is the Dark Lord here?" asked Draco. "No, not yet." replied Narcissa. She sighed for the third time and added firmly, "Don't go around talking about the Dark Lord or asking any questions about him. They won't like it." Then, she left the room without another word.