Bella could safely say she had never packed so quickly in her life. It did not matter that she had only thrown the few items she had collected while she was in France into a bag. She was just desperate to get out of the prison that they called a house.

Tom had said he would come to get her, but, after waiting half the morning, she left without him. Grabbing, her small satchel she tossed the green dust into the fire place and called, "Lestrange Manor." Stepping inside the green flames, her body twisted and turned in the grate until she arrived in the sitting room of her home.

It had not changed.

The antique couches were the same; without a trace of dust, mess or any evidence of humanity.

She could not even hear any noise from the rest of the manor. Obviously she was the only one home.

It was a shame. She would have liked to confront Rodolphus.

Smirking to herself at the thought of what she would do to Rodolphus when she found him, she ventured upstairs to reclaim her home.

Reclining on her bed with a stack of old prophets from the days she had missed beside her, her mood had been flipping rapidly from pleasure to frustration. She enjoyed the tales of Grindelwald and Dumbledore's fall, but some stories were disconcerting and put her on edge.

It was probably the wrong time for Tom to show his face.

"You didn't wait for me," Tom snapped obviously irritated as he slinked through her bedroom doorway without an invitation.

"And you didn't consult me!" she growled just as fiercely as she hurled the paper across the room. It did not get very far. It only travelled a slight distance in the air before the individual pieces drifted to the ground.

Tom was unfazed. It only made her more annoyed. Maybe if he was just as angry and as worked up as she was, she might have calmed down. He only glanced down at the headline of the paper on the ground and chuckled. "I was unaware you desired your husband's presence or that you were foolish enough to not realise the significance and the necessity of his imprisonment."

"It was not just your decision," she said as she continued to argue despite possibly sounding like a child. "You make it seem like only your opinion matters. It does not."

"Your stubbornness is only blinding your ability to see that I am correct."

She sneered and continued to glare at him from where she lay on her bed. "We shall see. You will not have free control over the Ministry. I will be there on Monday Morning"

Again, he was unaffected by her declaration.

"We shall see, but for now you are due somewhere else. This evening your sister and Lucius are hosting a celebration in honour of the new future for the Ministry in the guise of a Halloween Party. You are expected there."

"A party?" It was a peculiar thing to hear from him, but she did not complain. "Fine I will be there."

He nodded curtly. "Good, until then."

Turning on his heel, he turned and left. Her eyes lingered over his departing back as she sighed.

With all that was happening she could have done without one of her sister's parties.

Dressed in one her tight red dresses, she stepped into the Entrance Hall of Malfoy Manor with her head held high and her stride long and without a shred of hesitation. She was aware of the glances directed at her, but she did not care. She only smirked in amusement.

Evidently her infamy had increased; positive or negative she did not care.

Her eyes skated over the figures milling around the area searching for a particular crop of blonde hair.

In hindsight she did not need to bother looking.

"Bella!" exclaimed a familiar voice that was normally composed but now it was unusually loud and excited. "You are here!"

As she turned on her spiky heels she almost expected Narcissa to throw all decorum to the winds and to embrace her, but her sister maintained her composure and instead she crossed the floor only at a slightly quicker pace than normal.

"I am," she replied with a genuine smile as her sister wrapped an arm around her and kissed her on the cheek before she stepped away. "I have returned."

"I had thought you might, but I wasn't sure..." she trailed off slightly before you offered her arm. "Come on I'll tell you what you have missed."

If it was not Cissy she would have rejected the offer, but looking into her sister's bright blue eyes she could only slide her arm through her sister's. "Just give me the interesting news," she said with an impatient but teasing note in her voice as they set off towards the Malfoy Great Hall. "Not the pointless gossip."

Bella was surprising herself. By eleven o'clock she had concluded that the party was not dull or boring, but instead it was fantastic. She was sure that summation was based on the party and not based on the two bottles of wine she had drunk.

"Cisssyyy..." she said with a slight slur in her voice as she rested her hand against her sister's shoulder and leaned in her chair towards her. "Did I tell you how much I missed you?"

From her point of view it seemed like Narcissa smiled, though she could well have grimaced or looked at her pityingly. "Once or twice tonight."

"Oh..." she paused for a moment as she tried to remember her point. Strangely, at the moment, it seemed harder to think. "Well I did."

Narcissa smiled once more before she turned back to the conversation she was having with their mother. Of course Cissy was talking to their mother about how Lucius was without any faults. She always had the perfect life and the perfect husband. She never had to worry about her bed being cold.

Bella supposed she might not have to either. Smirking a little, she looked up and spotted Tom across the other side of the room talking to Lucius. Without even considering the consequences, she pushed back her chair and stood. She was not sure why but her legs shook slightly and she pitched forward a little before she recovered herself. She heard the call of her sister, though she ignored her and staggered to the other side of the room to where Tom was.

"Tom!" she called more enthusiastic and slightly louder than she should have as she nearly reached his side. He turned from his conversation to Lucius. If he was irritated she did not notice or care. "Are you going soon?" she murmured into his ear as her hand lightly touched his chest. It was difficult to not slip her fingers lower. "You should go, with me. I have been thinking of having you inside me all night."

He stepped backwards and somehow she was not at all annoyed. "Bellatrix," he warned. There was a note of danger in her voice, though she ignored it. "Behave."

She did not relent. She only reached for him again. He gripped her hand and she only focused on her prize ignoring the impatient cough from Lucius.

Tom might have retorted, but she was stopped by a hand on her shoulder from Narcissa. "Bella," she said gently. "Maybe it is time for you to go home. You might feel better after you sleep."

"I'm fine!" she snapped automatically as she turned to face her sister. "I feel wonderful!"

"No," Cissy said still more gently. "I'll take you home and-"

Bella was about to retort, but she was stopped by Tom. "But you cannot be expected to leave your guests, Mrs Malfoy," he interrupted politely. "I was just about to leave so I can take her home. It is no trouble."

Bellatrix did not even bother arguing. She only stepped in and leaned into Tom. "He can take me."

She was sure she and Tom could entertain each other rather well when they were alone in bed.

"Bel-" Cissy began but Bella interrupted.

"I will be fine!"

Before anyone could argue, she leaned against Ton and set off towards the exit.

Bellatrix was not as happy in the morning when woke from the light from the window flooding into the room. Groaning softly, both of her hands clutched her head at the sharp pain that was more apparent now that she was awake. Her mind was fuzzy, there was an unpleasant taste in her mouth and, as she turned over, one feeling became very obvious.

Her eyes snapped open as she tossed her head over the side of the bed and threw up the contents of her stomach. The feeling of acid was strong in her throat and she continued to heave and dry reach for several moments. Concentrating on the unpleasant sensation, she only vaguely felt a hand hold her hair back and lightly rub her back.

Staring down at the mess she had made of the carpet, it was only when a spell vanished the contents of her stomach that she turned to the man who had leaned over the bed to assist her. With the sickly feeling coursing through her, she could only lean back against his frame in exhaustion.

"What in Merlin's name happened?" she murmured quietly, sounding slightly defeated. She did not even bother hiding her naked body. She was just confused and ill.

"Don't you remember?" Tom said softly in her ear as one of his arms curled around her waist to rest against her stomach. "I suppose you did drink a lot..."

She did not argue. Her mind was fuzzy and her memory was even worse. "Not really," she groaned softly.

"Well I had intended to take you home, but you did not stop clinging to me, rushed upstairs to my bedroom and stripped quickly before I could even blink."

She was too out of it to feel embarrassed. She only snipped instead. "So you took adva-"

"I did nothing," he snapped suddenly. "I did nothing. You finally passed out and have been asleep since then."

It did not help her feeling of confusion. Twisting from his grip, she tuned and faced him directly. "So you expect me to believe that you helped me for no reason other than you wanted to be kind?"

Tom hesitated before he answered. Even he looked confused. "Yes."

Both had the same question at the forefront of their mind: Why?

Neither had an answer