*Revised*

Chapter 3

"Hermione! Are you even listening to me?" The red head had been whining all morning and Hermione had done her best to block him out. She didn't want to hear all about Lavender and how she was mercilessly chasing after him, especially since she knew for a fact that Ron adored the attention.

Instead of replying the golden girl turned her back on the red head, "You haven't seen Alex around this morning have you, Ginny?"

"Um, no I don't believe I have Mione. She's not sharing a dorm with anyone as far as I've heard, so maybe she just over slept?"

If Harry hadn't been so focused on Ginny, he may have noticed the level of concern that his friend wasn't even bothering to try to hide over the new girl. The younger girl at his side did of course, and wondered what an outsider had done to make the brunette care for her so much and so quickly. She filed away all her questions for later when she and the older girl were alone.

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"Fuck! Cissy why didn't you wake me!" the raven haired death eater screeched, as she stumbled out of bed trying to locate her pants. She was very late and it could jeopardise her entire mission.

She flicked her hand, summoning her clothes to her without even bothering to pick up her wand. Magic had always came easily to the witch, so it was no wonder that wandless magic had been a breeze for her to master - regardless of what everyone thought about her not being focused enough to channel her magic without the guidance of her wand. they had been wrong. She was in fact very focused, when busy ripping someone's throat out, even more so when she was torturing members of the Order (like those filthy Longbottoms) blood traitors the whole lot of them. She would never forget there screams as she tortured them. The revenge could never fill the emptiness they had caused in her life; their actions had brought about the inevitable.

Once upon a time, the order had thought that they had broken Bellatrix. but they had forgotten one important thing: she was not a worm, like the Lestrange brothers. She was a Black of the most Noble and Ancient house, and she would never be broken, regardless of the torture she had suffered. They would live to regret their actions and she intended to live long enough to witness it.

As Bellatrix exited the manor, she spun around and with a faint pop she apparated, hoping her plan still worked in the light of day.

~Page break~

The studious know-it-all had, for the first time in her life, wanted to skip all her lessons. She had very little will to learn when her mind was running through a hundred different scenario's the raven haired Gryffindor could be in that very minute. Spending so much time looking after Harry and Ron had made worrying a well-worn past time for the young witch. All the brunette could think about was leaving to go find and Alex. She feared above all that the girl was in fact avoiding her, as they shared most classes. The brunette had looked forward to seeing a friendly face as she walked into her morning classes, but as morning rolled into afternoon the young witch had just about given up as she started to scribble down notes half-heartedly.

Professor Slughorn was by no means a boring man: he was knowledgeable on a variety of subjects and thrived off the intelligence of his students which met Hermione's liking to a tee and although she appreciated the lesson she couldn't fully concentrate. In fact, she was almost lost completely to the darkest scenarios her mind could muster, until the potion rooms door burst open and an out of breath girl stood framed by the door way.

"I'm so sorry, I'm late Professor. I lost my way" Alex voice was a welcomed alternative to the professors. Considering nearly an entire lesson had gone by, Hermione was confused as to how Alex had gotten that lost, since she had shown her the way to all her classes the previous evening before their awkward encounter at the lake.

"Ahh yes they informed me that you'd be in my class, it's an honour to meet you Ms…"

"Just call me Alex," the new girl snapped interrupting the professor.

"Very well, Alexandra please have a seat. I believe Ms Granger is in need of a partner."

The minute the raven haired girl took her seat Hermione had passed her a note, written in beautiful elegant writing.

'Where have you been all morning? I was worried about you...'

'Sorry Mione I over slept'

'Oh I heard you didn't have anyone rooming with you. We shall have to set you an alarm, so I don't have to miss you at every breakfast'

Their conversation continued like this for the rest of the lesson, with little flirts here and there, the only thing that ruined the moment was Professor Slughorn.

"Ms Granger could you and Ms Black kindly pay attention."

"Sorry professor it won't happen again," the brunette had chimed out her perfectly acceptable response before she realised the abrupt whispers that started to circulate the classroom. Had she said something wrong? No she couldn't have, she then recalled the words the professor had just spoken:

Ms Granger could you and Ms Black…

wait what? Ms Black? As in related to Bellatrix, Narcissa and Andromeda Black? All Hermione could do was stare at the girl sitting next to her with confusion clouding her honey brown eyes.

How could she be related to such monsters? Okay, Andy wasn't as bad as the others, but still! She knew for a fact Andromeda only had one daughter which meant

Oh God she's Bellatrix Lestrange's daughter.

As the class began to settle, Hermione couldn't help but stare at Alex. The girl seemed almost ashamed, but that look changed immediately into a hard glare that was fired off at anyone who sought it fit to stare. She had the confidence of a Slytherin, the confidence of a pureblood, the confidence of a Black. Hermione felt her stomach flip at the thought of holding this girls hand. How could she have been attracted to someone so inherently evil? The brunette's thoughts were interrupted by the pleading eyes that turned to face her and the note the lay between them with a freshly written note.

I am sorry Mione.

Those four words were all it took to break down the Golden girls walls; she reached under the table for Alex's hand, intertwining their fingers once more. How could she judge this girl? She had no control into which family she had been born - and what a horrid fate at that! The torture she must have endured before being sent away to America... Hermione couldn't stomach the idea of the raven haired beauty being broken and beaten. She had seen the bruises on Draco's face enough times to understand that being a pure blood meant pain. She would save this girl if it was the last thing she ever did.

The rest of the day hadn't gone much better. Even for such a big school, news spread like Fiendfyre -there was no controlling it. Students were whispering behind Alex's back no matter where she went, but soon enough the Black in her demanded respect; her glare froze people right down into their souls if they dared to look at her. Most people realised very quickly that they were to keep their mouths shut and themselves at a respectable distance from the witch. All except Hermione who had followed the pure blood around all day. She out right refused to let Alex go anywhere alone and the dark haired witch had indulged her, because, despite her hard exterior, it was comforting to know that someone had her back.

During dinner, it seemed that the gossip had died down a bit. The group of friends sat awkwardly at first during the meal, as they all had questions they desperately wanted to ask the new girl. However, Hermione had silenced them with a knowing look, stating that they would discuss it later and with that the group acted as if nothing had happened and spoke about their days allowing Alex to disappear into the single bit of normalcy she had had all day.

However, the peacefulness could never last as a commotion came from the Slytherin table, as a few cocky boys made snide comments about Alex being a blood traitor for being placed in Gryffindor and for associating with people below her. It had taken all of Hermione's strength to hold the raven haired witch back from attacking the boys, as she wrestled with the enraged witch until she was able to drag her out from the hall and into the corridor. Hermione pulled her into a swift hug as Alex shook with intense anger. She thought she had finally calmed the witch down as she released her from her vice grip, only to notice that a handful of the boys had followed them out.

"Awww look at that boys, the itty bitty baby Black is a Mudblood lover! You filthy blood traitor!" A dirty blond hair body sneered before turning to laugh with his friends. The Slytherin had realized the danger far too late, as he turned around to taunt the girl a little more, only to notice that Alex had drawn her wand and in a fury like no other, the pureblood started firing off hexes at everyone within range. She sent them in such a rapid succession, that the brunette would have sworn that the young witch had been casting three spells simultaneously and repeatedly interchanging the spells as she went along, most of the spells Hermione had never heard of.

As impressive as Alex's skills were Hermione noticed that the girl was being encircled by at least twenty Slytherins, so without a second thought, the brunette stepped into the circle throwing up a powerful shield ready to protect the girl at whatever cost. Fortunately it didn't come to that, as Harry and Ron soon flanked Hermione, followed by the rest of what had once been Dumbledore's Army. The Slytherin's knew they had no chance in a fair fight and quickly retreated away down the corridor towards their own common room.

~Page break~

Despite all efforts to contain her anger to avoid this very situation, Alex found herself in McGonagall's office with a stern professor staring down at her through unimpressed eyes.

"Good evening Ms Black, I can assume you know why you are here?" her Scottish accent slipped through as she spoke to the younger witch.

"Yes professor"

"Good then I do not need to tell you that what you did goes against school rules and as such I will be taking 50 points from Gryffindor as punishment. I will leave you with a warning for now. We here at Hogwarts do not accept bullying and although you are a victim in this, you also severely injured six students and as such I am unable to take matters further with regards to the Syltherin's involved. In future Ms Black, if you have any issues I hope you will come seek my assistance first."

"Yes professor."

"Very well Ms Black, I see no further reason to keep you from your friends. I'm sure Ms Granger is in a frantic state as we speak and I assume the others will have many questions for you as well." The Professor studied the younger witch to watch her response as she spoke; it seemed that the young Gryffindor lit up when she spoke of Hermione. That was a good sign at least the professor thought.

"Good evening Ms Black and please send my regards to your mother. I was always rather fond of her."

The young witch regarded the old woman before nodding her head in acknowledgment.

"Good evening Professor"

~Page break~

The raven haired witch took her time walking up towards the common room, trying to delay the inventible onslaught of questions that was bound to come her way. Once inside, she made her way to the fire place and flopped down on the couch next to a frantic Hermione. The witch smiled to herself as she acknowledged that McGonagall had been right, the brunette had been completely stressing since she had been whisked away to McGonagall's office. Absentmindedly, Alex reached out for Hermione's hand to comfort the girl as much as to comfort herself. This gesture was missed by the entire group, except for the youngest Weasley, as she once again regarded the familiarity of the pair.

The silence that filled the room was deafening as everyone stared awkwardly at each other waiting for someone to start. So with a final deep breath Alex's voice broke the silence.

"My name is Alexandra Black. I am a descendant of the Most Noble and Ancient House of Black. My mother is Bellatrix Lestrange now known as Bellatrix Black, since the death of my father. My mother is a world renowned Death Eater and the most loyal follower of the Dark Lord. She is responsible for countless accounts of torture and murder and as much as I wish I hadn't been born into this tormented, twisted family - I was. My cousin is Draco Malfoy and I should rightfully be in Syltherin but I am not. I haven't seen my parents since I was sent away after the first war when my mother was imprisoned. I had to leave my last school because the bullying got so bad once they realised who my family was. I came here because I heard that it was different. After today I'm not so sure anymore."

After she had uttered the last words the room erupted into chaos that only Hermione's voice had been able to silence.

"Shut up all of you! She can't help who her parents are, she can only help who she is and shame on you for judging her before you even know her! She has been through enough suffering without us adding to it."

"But Mione," the red head voice came out exasperated, "she's a Black, she can't be trusted."

"She's also a Gryffindor Ron." Harry reminded the red head. He had always taken Hermione's side because he knew where her loyalties lay and he also wasn't ashamed to admit that the golden girl was far more intelligent than he would ever be. He trusted her judgement.

Silence took hold of the room once more, as they all contemplated what Harry had just said; she was a Gryffindor which meant that she was inherently good despite being born to evil. If she was evil she would be in Slytherin, wouldn't she?

"Look guys I know you don't know me well enough yet to judge my character, but I read in 'Hogwarts, A history' that the sorting hat does not lie and will choose based on your character. I was placed into Gryffindor because I am good, you have to believe that I am on your side. " The pleading look that formed behind those beautiful brown eyes was enough to break Hermione's heart; she would protect this young witch no matter what.

The brunettes encouraging smile and firm grasp on the raven haired girls hand was enough for Alex to know that the brunette had believed every word that she had said.

"Ok guys, look it's getting late why don't we head to bed - Alex you look exhausted." The brunette recognised the look on the boys faces and saved the new girl from being pummelled with more questions that neither of them had the energy for at that point in time. Hermione's words seemed to leave little room for question as they all dispersed in opposite directions towards their sleeping quarters.

"Good night Mione." Alex's voice seemed to betray her exhaustion as she whispered, "and thank you for saving me back there, I owe you a lot."

And with that the young witch leaned forward and placed a chaste kiss on the girls cheek before leaving towards her own room.

The Malfoy manor was almost deserted as Bellatrix made her way to the study; she had apparated outside the gates in order to give her enough time to compose herself before facing her sister. She knew Narcissa would once again be upset with her for running late.

"Evening Cissy." The older witch had found her sister sitting on a couch near the fire, reading as she normally did. Their routine was flawless, as Bellatrix made her way over to her sister placing a glass of elf wine in her hand and a sly kiss on her lips, before sprawling out next to the younger which with her own glass of fire whiskey.

"How is the mission going?" the blonde asked without looking up from her book. Her voice seemed disinterested but Bellatrix knew her sister well enough to know that there was definite worry that they would be found out.

"It's going well, they haven't suspected anything yet. Your potion skills are flawless my sister." Bella's high praise was enough to make Narcissa relax into her sisters' arms while exhaling deeply letting go of her fears.

When the Dark Lord had told Bellatrix of her mission, she knew it was suicide. To infiltrate Hogwarts disguised as another student by means of Polyjuice potion, she would surely be found out, as she couldn't drink the potion continuously without being inconspicuous and it was near to impossible to lengthen the effect of Polyjuice. No, Bellatrix would surely be found out and sent back to Azkaban.

Narcissa, however, could not allow that. Although had never been one to speak up towards the Dark Lord as she wasn't one of his followers, she didn't take the mark and didn't care of any plans unless they involved Bella. The blonde refused to let her sister be sacrificed, so she came up with another plan. No one had thought it was possible and even the Dark Lord was sceptical, but had allowed Narcissa one day to make a potion to reverse age whilst still keeping ones memories. The younger witch had spent her free time often researching and creating various potions during the long days when Bellatrix was in Azkaban, trying to find a cure to her sisters insanity and an end to her torment. During these studies the witch had come across an effective re-aging potion and with some tinkering she was adamant that it would to transform Bellatrix to her original self, her younger self, back when she was still innocent. Bella would have all her memories and all her magical strength that she had gained through the years - which was normally not the the case with re-aging spells, and thus the reason they were never used.

However, the previous night she had been exceptionally worried as she wasn't able to be with her sister when she used the potion for the first time and the blonde witch didn't know if it would work or not, and if it didn't Bellatrix would have had to use the Polyjuice potion which was not ideal, but all her worries were put to rest when she had laid eyes upon her sister.

She was as she had always been before Azkaban: beautiful. Her long raven hair was no longer knotted and tatty, her eyes shone again with a deep brown instead of the dull black eyes that she had gotten used to, she was no longer malnourished and to the blondes delight her teeth were no longer rotting and skewed but instead lined up and a miraculous white. All in all Bellatrix looked as beautiful as the day she had entered her sixth year at Hogwarts.

The plan had gone off without a hitch. Bellatrix had entered the school under the guise of Alexandra Black, Bellatrix's daughter. It was the perfect cover as no one could question it, it was common knowledge to the Order that Bellatrix had been pregnant during the first war and therefore no one could question Alexandra's existence as well as the fact that she looked astonishingly alike the younger Bellatrix. The plan was truthfully, quiet simple and effective, as Bellatrix was able to slip out every night and make use of the secret passages to leave the Hogwarts grounds and apparate to the manor.

"The Dark Lord will be pleased with your progress, Bella" Narcissa cooed as she cuddled closer to Bellatrix.