A/N: Firstly I apologise for my lengthy absence :( between work, personal matters and discouraging PMs about my stories, I went off writing for a while. But after all that time, people have still been reading and reviewing, asking for more. So I thank each and every one of you who have still been following this story and it's for you that I update today! :)

I do not have a Beta so all mistakes are my own and I apologise in advance for those I've missed.

Disclaimer: The world of Harry Potter and the original storyline are not mine; they belong to J.K. Rowling.

Read, review and most of all… Enjoy!

Chapter 14: Homecoming

Hermione

"Hermione!" The two boys cried out in unison as they all but sent her flying as they wrapped their arms around her tightly before she could stop them. The crushing group hug temporarily banished Hermione's ill-feelings towards both Harry and Ron as a wave of affection and relief washed over her. Despite the dull painful sensation coursing through her as the boys' tight grip overwhelmed her fragile body. Hermione allowed herself to silently rejoice and enjoy the reunion while it lasted, before she confronted them. 'May as well make the most of this hug, it may be my last for quite some time…' she thought as she forced a smile, barely listening to what the boys were muttering in her ear.

"I can't believe that they finally let you out! We had no idea you were free, let alone coming here!" Ron blurted out brashly as he pulled away slightly; his arms still clung to Hermione tightly. "It's about bloody time!"

Harry was nodding in agreement, giving her one last tight squeeze before moving away and giving Hermione room to breathe. "It's so good to see you Hermione, feels like it's been forever since we were last together."

'And whose fault is that! You both could have come and seen me! Instead you left me to rot!' She thought bitterly, the witty sharp remark was on the tip of her tongue, ready to be spat out at her so called friends. But the tears running down their faces, and their looks of genuine glee, brought a lump to Hermione's throat. It was only when she tasted salty tang of her own tears did Hermione realise she was crying too. Whatever she had felt about them previously, what she had been so ready to get off her chest, all of that took a back seat. Despite how they had seemingly abandoned her to her fate, she couldn't help the fact that she had missed them terribly.

"I… I missed you both… So much…" Hermione choked out truthfully. In the distance she could see through misty eyes, the faint blur of ginger hair as other members of the Weasley family poked their heads out of the house and beckoned to her.

She didn't protest as the boys began to guide her towards the Burrow. Although part of her deep down didn't want to step foot inside the Weasley's home, she couldn't forget how she was abandoned, she wouldn't. And yet another part of Hermione couldn't wait to be in warm familiar surroundings, the part of her who just wanted to forget everything and move on. 'Am I being a selfish hypocrite? Is this how the boys felt when they saw home?' Hermione thought, her feelings in a state of turmoil, some of the dark bitter thoughts that had filled her mind the past few days were already passing. Had Azkaban's influence been the cause of them? Had her mind not been her own for the duration? Or had the solitude helped her see more clearly? Too many questions were whizzing around her head, too many to ponder the answers to now. But she was free now and had all the time in the world to reflect on them, without any dark influences potentially corrupting the way she looked at things.

Hermione pushed aside everything going on in her head and allowed herself to put on a smile as the trio reached the Burrow. She was released from the grip of one redhead, only to find herself in the grip of another, and then another, as Mr and Mrs Weasley greeted her with open arms.

"So good to have you back with us my dear." Mrs Weasley said with a wide warm smile.

Mr Weasley was nodding and had his usual charming, boyish smile on. "I knew Kingsley… Er the Minister I mean, would come through for you."

"Come now Arthur, no need for such titles among friends." Kingsley said over the shoulders of the redheads. "Let's take this inside shall we? I'm sure Miss Granger could use something warm to eat and drink."

No one complained at Kingsley suggestion, Hermione certainly didn't, if anything, she was looking forward to a real meal. Mrs Weasley guided everyone in, pushing gently on Hermione's back till she was in the kitchen. "Where's Tonks?" Mrs Weasley asked, Hermione looked back to see the redhead matriarch looking out the door before shutting it. "I thought you said she had come with you Kingsley?"

Kingsley didn't look too surprised that Tonks had left, for a moment Hermione thought that maybe Kingsley knew more than she would have liked about what had really happened. 'Surely Tonks didn't tell him… Did she?' "Hermione wanted to talk with her in private." The Minister met Hermione's gaze and sure enough at that remark, Hermione felt everyone's eyes fall on her. "Did Tonks say where she going?"

'No… We were too busy destroying our friendship, to learn what we had planned for the day…' Hermione sighed and shook her head, trying to ignore the feeling of guilt as she spoke out. "She said something about getting back to work."

For a split second, the Minister narrowed his eyes on Hermione, making her wonder if he saw through her lie before he nodded his head. "I thought she might, she practically lives there unless I order her home nowadays." A solemn atmosphere descended on the room; clearly they were all as aware of Tonks's grief as Hermione was.

Before the gloom could settle and spoil the morning, Mrs Weasley jumped into action with a cheery smile, pushing everyone towards seats at the table. Hermione naturally was sat next to Ron, opposite Harry and an empty seat which had to be Ginny's, although there was more than one empty seat. 'There will always be an empty seat at this table now…' Hermione thought with renewed grief as she glanced at the seat that used to belong to Fred.

"Ginny! George! Breakfast!" Mrs Weasley bellowed up the stairs before turning to face Hermione. "Now dear, what would you like?"

"Erm…" For a moment Hermione didn't know how to answer, it had been so long since she had a choice about what to eat. When she finally found her voice again she settled on a childhood favourite. "Could I have egg on toast please?"

"Certainly my dear. Ron?" Mrs Weasley replied with a smile before moving onto Ron.

"Tea Hermione?" Mr Weasley asked as Mrs Weasley finished taking orders around the table and started to get to work cooking in the kitchen.

Hermione nodded and exchanged pleasantries with Mr Weasley as he passed her a cup of steaming hot tea. All the commotion and friendly banter that filled the room was a bit much for Hermione, she felt overwhelmed and sat there, dazed. The hectic goings on in the Weasley household was a drastic difference from the breakfast in solitude she had for weeks in Azkaban. Everyone seemed happy, content, as if life was back to how it was. To look at them you wouldn't have guessed that the war had only just ended almost a month ago. 'This doesn't feel right. Them pretending that everything is fine, that everyone is ok…' Regardless whether this was all for her benefit or if this charade was how they all had planned to move on… It would take more than a few fake smiles for things to ever go back to how they were. 'No… That will never come to pass, things will never be the same… There is no going back.'

Stifling a sigh, Hermione drank slowly from her cup as she tried to overcome her mood. The hot liquid may have been warming up her throat, but it did nothing to thaw her icy mood. The banter around the table as Mrs Weasley cooked was pointless and false, they were chatting away about such trivial things. Ron and Harry tried to engage her in meaningless conversations, but she didn't feel like playing along with the pretence and kept her contribution to a minimal, instead just listened and observed. 'Was this how they forgot about me? Sitting around the table talking about playing Quidditch and pretending the outside world didn't exist?'

Only Kingsley appeared to be on the same page as her, even Harry seemed to be just as caught up in the act as the Weasleys. But then maybe out of everyone, Harry was the only one who deserved a bit of false bliss and normality. 'He had been the chosen one all his life and now his fight is over… He's probably as confused as I for different reasons. He's never experienced… A normal life before.' Hermione had to bite her lip to stop herself smiling at the idea that now it was Harrys turn to follow Ron's lead. 'Poor Harry.'

"So… Her… Mione…" Ron started to say between mouthfuls of toast, to which Hermione gave him a disgusted disapproving look for. "What do you want to do with your first day of freedom?" Ron asked after finishing eating his latest mouthful.

She frowned at him and was about to answer when footsteps came slowly down the stairs. Hermione looked past her redheaded boyfriend to see the youngest Weasley come down in her white nighty. "Morning." Ginny said in a low weary tone of voice, even from where she stood, Hermione could see the bright red puffy eyes of someone who had been crying a lot recently. 'I guess there's at least one Weasley who isn't playing along either.'

"Come Ginny dear." Mrs Weasley said to her daughter after everyone barring Hermione bided Ginny a good morning. "I made you your favourite."

Ginny smiled ever so faintly and muttered a word of thanks before dragging her feet to her seat besides Harry. Harry being the soft and kind hearted guy he was, wrapped an arm gently around the young redhead and pulled her into his chest for a brief hug. Ginny smiled a little wider as she looked up, for a moment she seemed to look right through Hermione, before blinking several times in surprise and rubbing her sleepy eyes.

"Morning Ginny." Hermione said with a small honest smile.

"Hermione?" The female redhead sat up straight, giving her eyes one more rub, before looking straight back at Hermione. "How? When?"

Before Hermione could answer, Mrs Weasley butted in as she placed Hermione's breakfast in front of her. "This morning, she's only just arrived. Kingsley and Tonks brought her." At the mention of Tonks name, Ginny began looking around for a second unexpected visitor but looked even more confused when she didn't spot the Auror. "She headed off back to work after dropping Hermione off here." Mrs Weasley added as she continued to serve breakfast.

There was a long pause after that as Hermione waited to see if Mrs Weasley or anyone would answer Ginnys second question. When it became clear that the conversation was already over, an unsatisfied Ginny pressed for more answers. "Ok, and how? Dad said the Goblins wouldn't give her up?"

Hermione didn't fail to notice the notice the dark look Mrs Weasley shot her husband before trying to deter the youngest Weasleys curiosity. "Now's not the time for such subjects Ginny." She said shortly and sharply.

"When is it time?" Ginny shot back rather heatedly, refusing to back down. Hermione tried to reach out and calm Ginny, with every intention of trying to say she'd tell her later, but another voice cut sharply across the room.

"Never… Never if mum gets her way!" Everyone including Hermione turned to look up at the owner of the voice. George was standing on the stairs, gripping the rail tight, like his sister he too had bright red puffy eyes which matched his hair and freckles. "She'd have us playing happy families, living in the past and forgetting what has happened! Things will never go back mum! Fred's place will always be empty at that table, how can you pretend otherwise? Like he never existed!"

Mrs Weasley's face turned bright red, but before she could say anything back, George ran back up the stairs out of sight and slamming his door moments later. Not knowing what to say or do, Hermione stared down at her food, her appetite now gone. Out of the corner of her eye she watched Mrs Weasleys reaction, watched as tears filled the mourning mother's eyes. She wasn't red faced with anger; but with grief and pain instead, abandoning the breakfast and taking off her apron. Mrs Weasley hurried across the room and up the stairs, presumably to go see the distraught twin.

An awkward silence fell upon the room, an atmosphere that Hermione couldn't help but feel she had caused. "I'm sorry Mr Weasley, I never meant for my arrival to cause trouble." Hermione said apologetically after a few moments had passed.

Hermione almost jumped and yelped out in surprise when a rough hand clapped her on the back. "It's not your fault Mione." Ron said in his best attempt at a reassuring voice, which didn't sound very convincing to her ears.

"Ron is right Hermione. This has been coming for days. I'm just sorry you had to witness such an outburst so soon after being released." Mr Weasley sighed, sitting back in his chair as he laid his knife and fork to rest. 'It's not the day's first…' "Molly… She's in denial, about Fred. She won't talk about him, or anything to do with what happened."

"It started a few days after we went to Azkaban. Dad came down to find mum cooking away and carrying on as normal… You couldn't utter a word about it without fear she'd blow." Ron added in a low whisper in her ear, as if just in case his mother overheard him. "Think she's bloody lost it."

"Come now Ron, it's not your mother's fault. We all deal with grief in different ways." Mr Weasley stated after giving a Ron a hard look that warned him not to cross the line.

Hermione nodded softly, she couldn't begin to understand how Mrs Weasley felt, a mother losing a child was said to be one of the greatest pains imaginable. Of course the same is said for a father, but a mother brings her children into the world, and it's said when they depart before their time, a part of them dies with their child. 'No parent wishes to outlive their children… No parent, mother or father should have to bury them.' Such a pain, such an unbearable loss, could change someone to the very core, but one thing is for sure; they'd never be the same again. Hermione felt ashamed as what she had seen previously as a naïve charade finally became clear, they weren't being ignorant, they were trying to help Mrs Weasley through her grief by going along with it.

"I'm sorry again for your loss. How are you holding up?" Hermione asked Weasley senior.

"Me?" Mr Weasley's face twitched as he clasped his hands, nodding slowly. "I miss Fred, every day. And I always will. But I still need to be strong and provide for my family…" If Mr Weasley planned to say more, he never got the chance to as Ginny bolted over to him, sitting herself on her father's lap and hugging him tight.

Not wanting to intrude, Hermione smiled softly and diverted her eyes as a father and a daughter comforted each other. Glancing slightly to the side at Ron, she watched as her boyfriend toyed with his breakfast. Gently she reached out and covered his large hand with hers and squeezed softly. "I'm ok…" The ginger said as he gave her a short smile before looking up from his food.

After a few moments passed, Ginny dismissed herself, giving Harry a quick peck on the cheek before heading off to the bathroom. With Ginny reassured, Mr Weasley dismissed himself along with Kingsley and left to discuss private matters and from the look she was given before they left, Hermione knew it was to do with her.

With breakfast undoubtedly over, the trio left to find a private place to talk, which as expected, ended up being Ron's room. After placing a silencing charm placed on the door and clearing the room a little, the boy's took seats on their beds and Hermione awkwardly found herself joining Ron on his.

No one said anything for a while; the boys kept exchanging each other looks, occasionally glancing in her direction. They seemed to be waiting for her to open up about her time inside and most likely how it came to be that she was released. 'I wonder who will try and pry first…' her gaze dropped to the floor. This was a topic Hermione had hoped to avoid for as long as possible, she had no idea what to say, what she could say and what to keep to herself, besides the obvious.

Out of the corner of her eye she saw Harry shrug and felt the bed shift under her slightly. "Mione…" Ron said softly as he reached out for her shoulder. "Do you want to talk about it?"

Hermione gritted her teeth and resisted the urge to shrug off Ron's hand. "No. But you two obviously do so get it out of your system already." She snapped far more than intended. "Sorry… I mean, what do you want to know?"

Again Harry and Ron exchanged a look, before Harry took the lead. "Do you know why you were let out? I mean we are over the moon that you are but… Like Ginny said, the Goblin's made it clear you were there to stay…"

Different answers rushed through her head, different variations of the truth, some more elaborate, some more vague, but in the end she settled on a single word. "Bellatrix."

There was very little that could get Harrys face redder than Ron's hair, but Bellatrixs name was one of the things that got his blood boiling. Taking a deep breath, Hermione started from the beginning, surprising herself at how open and honest she was being about the whole affair. Expressing most of her feelings, her thoughts, all up to the day Bellatrix arrived and beyond. Hermione told them almost everything, almost every exchange both verbal and physical, leaving out anything remotely sexual. Apart from one kiss, the first kiss Bellatrix gave her and as far as they knew, the only kiss. She didn't want to tell them of course, but she had no choice, her story would have had too many holes in if she didn't bridge the gap.

"WHAT?!" Ron bellowed in her ear and nearly fell off the bed in shock. "She kissed you?!"

Hermione nodded slowly, trying her hardest not to blush or give away anything that would suggest she felt anything other than disgust for the Death Eater. "Like I said, she was heavily drugged and…" Hermione paused, almost letting slip part of Bellatrix's secret and while she didn't feel she owed it to the dark witch the keep her secrets, but she also didn't feel they needed saying. "Deluded."

"Ugh that must have been horrible! Being kissed by such a twisted evil bitch! Must have been like kissing poison." Ron spat out darkly. 'Well it was intoxicating… And far better than any kiss you and I have shared.' Hermione thought with growing annoyance, unaware that her fingers were digging into her legs at Ron verbally attacking Bellatrix.

Shaking her head, Hermione swiftly moved on with telling her story before Ron's verbal bashing got out of hand and before she found herself defending the Death Eater. But she did heavily emphasis how Bellatrix had helped and saved her life, in her own warped way and that the Death Eater wasn't as evil and two dimension as she came across, that she had other sides. She spoke quickly to stop the boys interrupting her, to stop them questioning her story.

Hermione had no idea how much time had passed, or how long she had been talking but when she was done the morning sun was now high above the Weasley's home and her throat parched. 'Well… That was the easy part… And now their questions will come, as will mine followed by their excuses…'

"Wow that… Wow… That's fucked up…" Harry muttered as he sat back. "That… Thing… She really saved you?"

"Bellatrix. Yes. And helped Kingsley and Tonks." Hermione said with a short nod, not even allowing herself a short smile for fear it would betray her.

Ron choked out a brief laugh, looking completely astonished and taken aback. "Blimey I bet Tonks is mad as hell." He remarked trying to sound serious, but Hermione could tell he was trying hard to mask his amusement at that.

Hermione nodded in agreement and let out a sigh. "She wasn't happy… Nor was she happy with my suggestion." Without drawing any attention to it, Hermione casually stroked her cheek where Tonks had left just how unhappy she was with her. 'I wish unhappy was all she was with me, unhappy could be mended…'

"I bet she wasn't! Bloody hell Hermione why would you even consider that?" Ron's voice snapped her away from her thoughts, in an accusing tone of voice, as if everything that had happened was suddenly her fault.

Before she could try defending herself and her actions, Harry quickly sided with Ron. "Have you forgotten who and what she is? She's a murderous psychotic bitch!" He snapped at her angrily, giving her a dark look, a look almost that of disgust.

Pain rippled faintly throughout her thighs as her fingers dug deeper and harder into her legs. "Have I forgotten? Have I forgotten?!" Hermione snapped back, her voice growing increasingly louder as her thoughts of abandonment, of her being forgotten came flooding back, washing away her restraint. 'How dare he… How dare they make this my fault! If they hadn't of abandoned me I would probably have never seen Bellatrix in the way I see her now!' "How can I forget with this?" Her hand came up swiftly and ripped her sleeve up, revealing the mudblood scar Bellatrix had given her. "Or this?" Hermione's hand shot up and moved the hair aside that had been concealing her Azkaban ID, branded in black on her neck, drawing gasps from the boys. "I will never forget the day the world I helped saved, turned its back on me." Hermione whispered darkly.

Pity filled their eyes and their anger dissolved in an instant. 'I don't want or need their pity! I want answers!' She thought angrily as she jumped to her feet, turning to face both of her so called friends. "I owed her! That murderous psychotic bitch as you so elegantly put it is the only reason I survived Azkaban both physically and mentally! So what does that say about you two?"

Ron and Harry looked at each other in shock; clearly they had no idea what was upsetting her so much, which only angered her further. "What do you mean?" The redhead said finally, scratching his head as he tried to figure out what she was getting at.

Resisting the urge to strangle her ignorant boyfriend, Hermione didn't hold back and laid into the two boys with as much anger as she could muster. "I mean aside from a couple of visits from Tonks and the twofaced guard who turned out to be a lowlife after the bounty on my head. Bellatrix was the only person I had for company! A Death Eater was the only one who had my back in her own fucked up way when the rest of the world left me to rot in that hell! You two included!"

"Hermione…" Ron got to his feet and approached her slowly, his hand reached out.

But there was no way Hermione was going to let him touch her, she stepped back and swatted his hand away. "No! I don't want to hear it! I've always been there for you both, as best I could! And when it was finally my time to need you, you abandoned me!"

Her boyfriend shook his head rapidly; he looked back at Harry and mouthed something before turning to face her again. "Hermione please! This isn't like you."

Harry was on his feet next, looking just as dismayed at her hostility towards them. "He's right, this is Azkaban's and Bellatrixs influence on you, you're not thinking straight!"

Hermione let out a short sharp laugh, which probably only made the boys believe further that she wasn't in her right mind. But she couldn't help it, if she didn't laugh at it, she would have cried, and in no way was she going to allow them to worm their way out of this by being nice, it would be too little too late. "Unbelievable… You're both too cowardly to acknowledge the truth, not man enough to accept you're at fault!" Hermione began pacing as she grew restless, her feet wanted to escape but her mouth had far more to say. "You couldn't even be bothered to send me a single letter to say you hadn't forgotten me, nothing was stopping you!" Ron pulled a face that he usually pulled when he was about to tell a half-hearted lie. Hermione quickly rounded on him and got up close to his face. "Don't even try to lie! I know full well there wasn't and I know you both haven't been rushed off your feet! So tell me, why?"

"Why?" Ron repeated with a blank look as he took a step back.

Suddenly feeling very powerful, Hermione closed the distance and kept on doing so every time Ron moved back until he tripped and fell back on his bed. "Yes Ron! Why? Why no letters, why no visits, why no anything?"

Ron quickly dropped her gaze and looked to Harry for support; Hermiones eyes followed and look at him too, as if to remind him that the questions were directed at him too. But between them, they couldn't even form a coherent sentence, let alone a plausible excuse. "Don't think too hard! I wouldn't want this to be a challenge!" She snapped, growing rapidly inpatient waiting for an answer, until an answer of her own came to her. "Perhaps the reason why you can't give me an answer is that you thought I'd never get out, that you would never see me so you'd never need to know the answer!"

Seeing red, Hermione swung her hand fast and slapped both of the boys hard across the face, and without another word, stormed out of the bedroom. 'That's three close friends I've struck, three friends I've lost. I'm free… And yet I've never felt more alone…'

Bellatrix

Bellatrix was bored; she lay on her bed clucking her tongue to pass the time. It had been a few days since the mudblood girl had been released, but it may as well have been weeks, months, as each one seemed to go on forever. Every day had been exactly the same as the last since the girl left, meals came and went, the sun replaced the moon and vice versa, with nothing to fill the endless voids between the only two events that signified roughly the time of day. She found herself missing the old Azkaban; at least she could listen to the endless whining and screaming of her fellow inmates. The thought of being utterly bored until the end of her days, which at the rate they were dragging, would be a very long time off, was not a punishment she felt she could ever deserve.

Though the old Azkaban wasn't all Bellatrix was missing, as much as it pained her to admit, she was missing her mudblood wing mate. 'Her company wasn't so… Bad. Least I had something to do then… Someone to do at times too.' A mischievous smile played about her lips as she called upon her memories and remembered some of their exchanges, both verbal and physical, but mostly the physical ones. Recounting past events was just about the only thing to do, in the old Azkaban you was forced to relive the worst moments of your life again and again. This time she could choose to relive the best, which unsurprisingly she found her didn't have many. Bellatrix knew that already, she had lived her life for a cause; in servitude to someone she had believed. Fighting for the Dark Lord, those used to be her best moments, but after seeing what had happened to her baby sister at the Dark Lords orders… Those once joyful memories had turned to ash.

Once she put aside just about every disastrous childhood memory, every moment serving the Dark Lord one way or another, she was left with very little she wished to recall. Bellatrix could probably count all the truly happy moments in her life on her hands, and that was being generous. And half of those, if she followed her train of thought, would eventually end up leading to the darkest and most painful moments. 'Happiness… Always turns to ash in your mouth in the end.'

Bellatrix had tried to forget the girl once she left, she had hoped that once out of sight, the girl would be off her mind from there on, to get back to being herself somewhat. It worked, briefly, for no more than an hour, and then she found herself already hoping for a visit. Not that Bellatrix believed the girl would ever return, she wouldn't if she were her. Bellatrix did consider having a visiting order sent to her baby sister, but her pride stopped her, she had made a point about never seeing Narcissa again and she stubbornly wouldn't go back on it.

Other than the off chance that the girl would visit, the only other thing on the horizon other than her death was the arrangement to see a therapist. As of yet she hadn't heard anything about that since the girl had mentioned it, nothing official, not that official word from the Ministry counted for much to her. But if the girl had been telling the truth about that and if the Ministry went along with it, and of course if she did and the therapist deemed her okay. Then she could be one step closer to freedom, not as an escaped convict again but as free reformed woman. Did she dare hope for that? What did she have to lose?

Shaking her head she pushed all questions aside and started rapping her fingers against the mattress, it was no good questioning it. She would only seem how utterly deluded the prospect of freedom was and right now, she was content with having false hope, it's not like she had much else to hold onto.

And so she continued to lie there, fidgeting, remembering the same memories over and over. When Bellatrix next heard footsteps, she ignored them, believing it was time for her next meal. "I'm not hungry." Bellatrix muttered without looking at her guest when the footsteps stopped.

"Good thing it's not meal time yet then." Said a familiar male voice.

Bellatrix looked up to see Head Warden Brown standing by her cell. "Well, this is an unexpected surprise. For what do I owe this pleasure?" She asked dryly, feigning disinterest, she didn't want to come across hopeful in case the visit was nothing special, didn't want to give them a good laugh at dashing a Death Eaters hopes.

Mr Brown regarded her for a moment, his lips pursed tight. As Bellatrix waited for his reply, she couldn't help but notice a document clenched in his hands. "As I'm sure you are aware." He began to say, grabbing her attention. "Due to your… Recent actions and some prompting from Miss Granger. It has been suggested you be put forward for an extensive rehabilitation program. But before you can even be considered for that, it is the Ministers wish you see a therapist for the foreseeable future until we are satisfied, then and only then will you be put on the program."

"I see." Bellatrix stated flatly, unsure how she felt about what the Head Warden had said. 'For the foreseeable future until they are satisfied… That could just be a fancy way of saying I will never enrol on the program…' "And when do I start seeing this… Therapist?"

"As you can imagine, not many people would be willing to go along with such a task for you and as a result, every therapist we have asked as of yet has declined your case." To Mr Brown's credit, his tone held no malice or glee as he dropped that bombshell, not that it made Bellatrix feel any better. Her short lived hope had already been dashed. 'Why am I not surprised.' Anger rose up inside her and she was about to snap when Mr Brown continued. "However… We have had a volunteer willing to take up your case."

Bellatrix blinked in surprise. "Who?" She asked cautiously.

"Despite the fact she's not officially qualified as a therapist. The Minister believes her connection to you makes her just as suitable for the task, if not more so." He went on to say, ignoring her question.

'A connection to me? Could it be… The mudblood?' Getting to her feet, Bellatrix approached Mr Brown. "Who?" She half demanded, half pleaded, eager to hear the name she was hoping to hear.

Head Warden Brown frowned and sighed as he looked down at the file. "Andromeda Tonks."

A/N: Hope you enjoyed the latest instalment, I know this particular chapter wasn't worth the long wait, but it needed doing ^^ Plenty is yet to come, and I will be updating again soon x