A / N : Dedicated to Wombat8 this time, as a thank you for the lovely review! I'm still blushing! By the way – it might be obvious, but cookies to anyone who can figure out the real reason Cygnus is so angry . . .

Chapter title is from the song by Gnarls Barkley. Reviews?

Gone Daddy Gone

Bella froze. Her parents were standing in the doorway, clearly furious. Her father began to march towards them, scowling, and her mother follwed hard on his heels, her arms crossed and disapproval written all over her face. Bella glanced at her companions. Narcissa was sitting up in bed, ramrod straight and pink-faced, gripping the covers so tightly that the whites of her knuckles showed. She looked angry and hysterical, and was probably on the verge of tears. Lucius, meanwhile, was standing frozen in an attitude of bewildered irritation, and she herself was breathing hard with her wand held in one clenched fist, though she had no memory of drawing it. They all remained frozen in place while Cygnus and Druella marched towards them. Stuck mid-argument. If Bella wasn't so annoyed, she might have found it funny. Her father reached them at last, and the strange spell his sudden appearance had cast over the three of them seemed to break. Druella smiled at her youngest daughter.

"Happy birthday, Cissy," she said, in an admirable attempt at normality. Narcissa only blinked at her, apparently still in shock.

Cygnus, meanwhile, didn't seem inclined to waste his breath on pleasantries.

"A word," he said tersely, glaring at Bellatrix. "Now."

Bella frowned. "Can't it wait?"

Her father growled in response. "No, it bloody well can't." To her horror, he seized her by the arm and began to drag her from the room.

"Let go of me!" Bella cried in protest, but he ignored her. She saw Narcissa and Druella exchange nervous looks, and then her mother turned away from Cissy and hurried after them. The doors to the hospital wing slammed behind them with a bang that made Druella wince. Bella scowled in annoyance and made another unsuccessful attempt to shake her father off.

"Explain yourself," he snarled.

Bella frowned. "I don't know what you're talking about," she began, but her mother cut her off.

"I think," she said coldly, "your father is referring to your sudden disappearance. France, Bella? Did you really think Cissy wouldn't tell us?"

"Oh." It was all she could think to say. Damn you, Cissy . . . "I can explain," she began.

Her father's scowl deepened. "Oh I'll just bet you can," he growled.

Her mother folded her arms. "What were you thinking, Bella? Running off like that? No note? No letter? Noexplanation of any kind! What were we supposed to think? Hmm? Do you have any idea how worried we were, just picturing the disgrace you might bring on the family name? We thought you'd eloped, and you can only imagine why . ." She shuddered.

"And with a Malfoy, of all people . . ." Her father's hold on her tightened, so that his fingers dug into Bella's arms uncomfortably, cutting off her blood supply. She winced.

"Don't be ridiculous," she snapped. "Why on earth would I elope with Lucius Malfoy? Why would I want to marry him? Ugh . . . I don't think so."

Druella's eyes widened. "But then . . . why would you run away with him?" she asked uncertainly. "We thought you must be . ." She grimaced and waved a hand at her daughter's stomach, in the universally accepted gesture for "pregnant".

Bella felt her mouth fall open. "What?!" she exclaimed, appalled. "Ugh! Of course not!" She shuddered, repelled by the very idea, and silently resolved to give her lies a little more consideration in future. "It was just a joke, really Mother. We only did it for fun."

"So you're not . . .?"

"No."

Her mother visibly relaxed. "Well thank goodness for that," she sighed. Then she frowned. "Wait a minute – Cygnus, darling," - she hesitated, clearly reluctant to challenge her husband on any point - "what do you mean, 'a Malfoy of all people?' The Malfoys are a very respectable pureblood family . . . aren't they?" She trailed off, looking confused.

Bella stared at her father. He still hadn't loosened his hold on her, and it tightened again at the name 'Malfoy'. His breathing was laboured and his eyes bulged, as though he were struggling to keep something under control.

"That – that family's trouble," he managed at last. "You stay away from them . ." He swallowed, his breathing ragged. Bella noticed there was a shining layer of sweat on his forehead, and he was shaking, almost imperceptibly. But still . . . she could feel it. Of course, it didn't occur to her not to push him, not until after she had laughed in his face.

"Lucius?" she said derisively. "I think I can handle him!"

"You think it's funny, do you?" her father shouted, shaking her so violently that her mother gasped in shock.

"Cygnus, please! Not here!"

He ignored her. "Well? Do you? Do you think it's funny? It's not funny!" His fingernails were digging into her arms now, hard enough to draw blood. He shook her again, twice as violently as before, and for the first time in her life, Bella felt afraid of her father.

"Let me go!" she shouted, fighting to keep the panic out of her voice. Once again, he ignored her.

"Don't you ever disrespect me, do you understand?"

Bella cracked. Shoving him away from her with all her might, she pulled out her wand and directed it at him, gasping for breath. For a long moment, they simply stared at each other. But at last, the spectacle of his own daughter brandishing her wand at him seemed to jolt Cygnus back to his senses.

"I mean it," he said, in a tone that was calmer than before but still dangerous to Bella's ears, and to Druella, who was staring at her husband in alarm, as though she had never really seen him before.

"Cygnus . . ." she said weakly. He ignored her.

"I want," he said slowly, "for you to stay away from that family. Do you understand? I am ordering you to stay away from Abraxas Malfoy."

Bella frowned. "Lucius," she corrected, "His name is Lucius."

"What? Oh . . . the boy." He ran a hand across his forehead. "Of course. That's what I meant. Stay away from that whole family, do you hear me? Nothing but trouble, all of them . . ."

Bella stared at him, bewildered. Still . . . her heartrate was only just returning to normal, and she had no desire to provoke her father again. Slowly, she nodded.

"Alright," she said at last. "I'll stay away from Malfoy. I promise."

Her father nodded, looking slightly mollified. "Good," he grunted at last.

There was a beat of silence, and then somebody cleared their throat.

"Ahem."

Bella spun round. Lucius was standing in the doorway, looking confused and out of place.

Cygnus' eyes flashed menacingly and Druella hastily placed a hand on his forearm to restrain him. He shook her off as if she were no more than a bothersome fly.

"Stay away from my daughter," he snarled at Lucius, and then he turned on his heel and marched off, without so much as a second glance. Lucius blinked in surprise, and Druella stood locked in place for a minute, staring after her husband. Then she shook herself.

"I'm . . . I'm sorry about that," she said at last, directing a semi-apologetic glance at Lucius. "He . . he , er . . " She shook her head, apparently lost for words. "I'm sorry," she mumbled, and then she hurried after her husband.

Lucius and Bellatrix, left alone in the corridor, stared wordlessly at each other. Eventually Lucius cleared his throat again.

"What was that-"

"I have no idea."

Silence descended again. Bella put her wand back in her pocket.

"Are you . ." Lucius coughed. "Do you intend to keep the promise you just made to your father? It could prove rather awkward, you know."

Bella frowned. As far as she was concerned, there were people who deserved to have their promises kept, and then there were people who simply didn't deserve such an honour. She swallowed, rubbing her arms and wincing as her fingers brushed against the spot where she knew fresh bruises were blooming. Perhaps there was already a mark. It certainly felt like it. Her heart still hadn't returned to normal.

"No," she said quietly, "I don't intend to keep that promise."