Bellatrix lay down on one of the three beds on her stomach, dark curls touching the red silk covers lightly. Narcissa sat down on the edge of the bed and when she finally turned to look at her elder sister, unable to bare the silence any longer she found Bellatrix had gotten out her wand and was making a dead spider float around the room.

'That is horrible.' Narcissa cringed as Bellatrix made the spider do back-flips in the air, she was amused by it, a smirk playing on her lips until Narcissa spoke.

Bellatrix sighed and let the spider drop to the floor. 'I'm bored.'

'You're always bored.'

Bellatrix laughed and gave a slight shrug. 'I want to do something.'

Narcissa frowned instantly, when Bellatrix was bored she tended to get into trouble as a way of conquering said boredom.

'Hmm.' The dark haired sister pouted, before exhaling sharply and jumping off the bed, causing Narcissa to bounce gently. 'Accio bag!' There was silence for a while and then the sounds of thumping could be heard upon the dark wooden door. Bellatrix wrenched it open and her bag flew into her arms.

Narcissa watched, as she tended to do, as Bellatrix sat down on the bed beside her and began rifling through her school bag. She started handing things to Narcissa, presumably so she could empty the contents to reach the bottom. By the end of it Narcissa had piles of broken quills and old Chocolate Frog wrappers and loose Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans in her cupped hands. She looked down at the pile, incredibly disgusted, but Bellatrix took no notice.

'Here!' Bellatrix exclaimed as she pulled out a large, tatty and rather dishevelled book. She wiped it with the sleeve of her jumper first, as there seemed to be some residue on the front. Narcissa wasn't sure how Bellatrix could not have found the thing instantly, it wasn't exactly small.

'Ugh.' Narcissa scrunched up her face and held her hands out as far in front her of possible, something in the pile of stuff she was holding had started to wriggle.

Bellatrix chuckled at Narcissa's expression and held her bag open for Narcissa to dump the stuff back into, which she did without a second thought. She then sat back on the bed, leaning against the headboard. She patted the fabric next to her and Narcissa moved to sit next to her sister, looking down at the closed book in her hands. It was definitely old, the corners were faded and in places it was light, but in others strikingly dark. The only writing on the front was a small title in the top right hand corner in a language that Narcissa could not read.

'What is it?' The younger sister added, her voice barely a whisper.

'You'll see.' Bellatrix opened the book, and flipped through the pages, as if searching for something, it was all in the same strange language as the title on the front.

'Can you read it?' Narcissa asked, curious as to what the words said.

'No, but Rodolphus can. He's been translating it for me.' The pages wafted a musty smell towards them, and Narcissa pulled a face just as Bellatrix came to a stop on a page with a roughly scribbled note wedged between. She extracted the note with care, and unfolded it with one hand. 'Here.' She placed the book down on the bed beside her legs face down, careful to keep the page.

'What is it about?' The blonde asked, not knowing whether she truly wanted to know the answer or not.

'Have you ever heard of Unforgivable Curses, Cissy?'

'I… No, I haven't.'

Bellatrix let out a short laugh. 'Good. They're probably the three most powerful spells that any witch or wizard can cast; of course, you have to really mean them. I think, I'm not so sure. Rodolphus can only translate little snippets here and there, we're not supposed to have this book-'

'Where did you get it?' Narcissa's eyebrows knitted together gently.

'The Restricted Section.'

Narcissa gasped, and placed a her hand over her mouth. 'But you're not allowed to go there without permission.'

'I had permission. After a fashion, anyway.'

'Do I want to know?'

'Well, I…' Bellatrix laughed, almost giggled, and Narcissa was quite certain that she did not want to know. 'I happen to know one of these curses already. It doesn't make much sense until I read this to you, so I'll tell you about that curse first.'

Narcissa did not speak.

'It's called the Imperious Curse.' Bellatrix began, dropping her voice so low that Narcissa had to strain to hear it. '"The Imperious Curse is notorious for it's ability to allow the caster to completely control the actions of their victim. It was widely used within the wizarding world until it's consequent ban-" Well, that bit is boring, so I told Rodolphus to translate the most important bits- "It is implemented by pointing one's wand at one's desired victim and pronouncing 'Imperio,' the casting power of the caster can alter the duration, strength and control of the curse," blah, blah, blah.'

'It's banned?'

'They're all banned, if you're caught casting one, or you're found to have cast one, it means a lifetime's spell in Azkaban.'

'Azkaban? But Bella, if you've cast this curse-'

'I won't go to Azkaban, I'm not that stupid, I covered my tracks. Besides, I didn't use it for anything bad, I just… persuaded Professor Slughorn to write me a note allowing me to enter the Restricted Section. Ssh, listen to the rest.' Bellatrix waved her wand and Narcissa bit her tongue, keeping back her words.

'Here, the next one is my favourite. "The Cruciatus Curse allows the caster to render the victim completely immovable by causing them physically and mentally unbearable pain. It is said, by those who have been victims of the curse, that it feels like an immeasurable number of knives and needles searing and tearing at every inch of one's body. It is often debated as to which curse is worse; the Cruciatus Curse or what is known as the Killing Curse, for the Cruciatus Curse can cause permanent damage if implemented with enough force and desire to harm one's victim. It is cast by pronouncing 'Crucio' whilst having one's wand pointed at one's victim, however it is to be noted that it takes a true desire to want to cause pain to the victim and if not used correctly may just cause a light, rather pleasant tickling sensation."'

Narcissa said nothing but stared, open-mouthed, at the note in her sister's hand. She couldn't believe that a curse like that even existed. When would anyone ever want to cause harm to anyone like that? Bellatrix had said that that was her favourite, did that mean she had used it already?

'Bella, have you used that curse?' Without her knowing one of Narcissa's hands had scrunched around the bed sheets.

'No.'

Narcissa's grip loosened.

'Cissy?' Bellatrix asked, voice a whisper and toned with concern.

'Yes?'

'I'm not… I wouldn't use a curse like that for no reason, you know this, don't you?'

'I-'

'Don't you, Cissy?' Her voice became more commanding and raised slightly.

'Yes, Bella.'

'I think I should read you the next one some other time.' Bellatrix picked up the book and slotted the note back in before shutting it. 'It's late. I'm tired.' Bellatrix shifted, and eventually got to her feet. She placed the dark book back into her bag before changing into her sleepwear. When she had just pulled her shirt over her head, hair tousled and scruffy, Andromeda walked in.

'Andy, are you okay?' Bellatrix asked, frowning up at her younger sister.

Andromeda smiled weakly, and shook her head. Her eyes seemed bloodshot, as if she'd been crying.

'Andy?' Bellatrix stood up and took steps towards her sister.

'I just-' Andromeda's voice cracked, and her eyes welled with unshed tears.

'Hey.' Bellatrix wrapped her arms around Andromeda, who promptly cried onto her shoulder. Narcissa stood up also, feeling uncomfortable and rather useless.

'I just-I hate it-I-' Andromeda stammered, speaking through gasps and sobs.

Bellatrix sighed. 'I know.'

'You know?' The younger sibling pulled away, looking into Bellatrix's dark eyes.

'I know.' Bellatrix nodded, 'You don't like it when they argue, right?'

'Right.' Andromeda looked down, eyes gazing at the wooden flooring. She breathed steadily and slowly, and eventually calmed. 'I'm going to get changed.'

The elder sister nodded, and let Andromeda go and they both stood and watched as she left the room. Uncomfortable silence lingering between them. Bellatrix did not say anything as she got into the bed on the furthest left, leaving Narcissa to have the one in the middle and Andromeda the one on the right. Andromeda did not return when Narcissa had changed into her nightwear, nor did she return when Narcissa had crawled into her bed, and she did not even return when Bellatrix's light snores could be heard from across the room.

It was dark, the thick black curtains prevented any light outside seeping in, and the only light was that which crept under the door from the passageway outside. Slowly, the door creaked open, and a figure emerged into the darkness, tip-toeing lightly across the room.

'Andy?' Narcissa whispered, careful not to wake Bellatrix.

Andromeda gasped loudly. 'I thought you were asleep, you scared me.' Her voice was hushed, and she laughed lightly.

'Sorry.' Narcissa smiled, in the darkness. 'You can sleep in my bed… If you want.'

Andromeda did not reply for a while, until she turned, and walked over to her younger sister's bed. She pulled back the covers and the cold air hit Narcissa terribly, only to be replaced the next moment with the warmth of Andromeda's body.

'Night, Andy.'

Andromeda kissed her sister's forehead softly. 'Goodnight Cissy.'