A / N : Update! At last! Chapter title is from the song by Daniel Powter. Read and review, if you like!

Bad Day

Bellatrix was beginning to regret coming back to Hogwarts in the first place. She opened her eyes, the morning after Narcissa's birthday, to find out that she herself was the sole subject of gossip in the Slytherin common room, as almost everyone above fourth year believed she and Lucius had eloped together. Five minutes of listening to the excitable chatter of her dim-witted, unsuspecting roommates made this uncomfortable fact clear. Bella was forced to waste fifteen minutes hexing some respect into them and clearing up this worrying misconception. An activity which left her late for breakfast, and also meant she had no time to visit the hospital wing, to check up on Narcissa. The day went downhill from there. Slughorn pulled her aside after class to question her about Camilla Parkinson's swollen, hamster-like cheeks, which were apparently preventing her from speaking at all, though not, unfortunately, from pointing accusingly at Bellatrix. Making a mental note to hex her fingers next time too, Bella was forced to apologize to the girl, and listen to another tiresome series of dire warnings from Slughorn about karma and the importance of friendship, or some such nonsense. On the way out of Slughorn's office, she was sure to pull Camilla into an empty classroom and warn her, in her sweetest, most deadly tone, of the effects of interfering with Bellatrix Black's attempts to teach you your place in life. "I hope," she said menacingly, as she tugged Camilla's index finger out of its socket with a sickening 'pop', "we won't have to have another little talk about this." The girl nodded, whimpering, and Bella stormed out, feeling she had made her point.

Unfortunately, a knock-on effect of this was that she was late for her next class, which just so happened to be Transfiguration. An irate Professor McGonagall treated her to almost twenty minutes of furious ranting before dragging her into an argument about "official school attire" which turned out to be even worse, as Bella had no intention of removing the scarf that was causing so much offence. Her perceieved 'insolence' earned her a detention. All in all, it was turning out to be the worst day she'd had in a long time. The only consolation, in fact, was that Lucius was having a similarly trying time. There wasn't a single class either of them could enter without being treated to a ten minute lecture from the resident professor and a punishment of some sort. By the time the lunch bell rang, they had each been given three detentions and five essays, and had been docked fifty house points. They entered the Great Hall in identical foul moods, Lucius speculating aloud on the blood status of various teachers, and Bella providing the bitchiest answers she could think of.

"Flitwick."

"Half blood at the very least. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if he were half-breed."

Lucius raised an eyebrow. "The other half being . . ."

"Goblin," Bella said without hesitation. "It's obvious, isn't it? I mean, the height just for starters . . . and I could swear I saw a gleam in his eye that time I wore my goblin silver brooch to class. Didn't you notice? Around Halloween."

Lucius laughed. "I think that may been to do with your attitude to mining charms, not what you were wearing."

Bella rolled her eyes. "What attitude? All I said was that I didn't see the point in learning how to 'extract base metal from the earth and craft it into a recognizable item'. I mean, why bother? If I need a saucepan, I can always buy one. And if I want jewellery . . . well, what are goblins there for anyway?"

Lucius smirked. "I think that may have been what offended him."

"Oh please. Spare me. Those little animals should be grateful for something to do. If they didn't have a talent wizards could use, they'd have died out years ago. We gave them a livelihood. You'd think they'd be grateful. But no . . . how do they repay us? By trying to kill us every chance they get! Ungrateful, back-stabbing vermin . . . ."

Lucius gave a short, cruel laugh. "I agree. Although are you sure the other half isn't house-elf? I wonder about that squeaky voice sometimes . . ."

Bella laughed along with him. "It's a thought," she conceded, "though I'm still going with goblin. Who's next?"

"McGonagall."

"Her," Bella snarled. "Well, I wouldn't say Mudblood, but she's definitely got that Muggle-loving look about her. Let's see . . . pureblood, but not very pure. I'd put money on there being Mudblood in there somewhere, and probably not too far back."

Lucius laughed again as they sat down, but Bella's smug smirk slipped from her face at the sight of Narcissa, sitting in her usual place and toying with a strand of spaghetti on her fork, as if this was just another day. She looked up as they sat down and jumped a little, dropping her gaze immediately, as if not looking at them would somehow make her invisible. Oh no you don't, Bella thought furiously. Lucius looked quite alarmed at her sudden, ominous change of expression. But she didn't give him the chance to intervene.

"What," she growled, glaring at her sister, "are you doing here? And it had better be good."

Cissy swallowed nervously, putting down her fork. "What do you mean?" she asked hesitantly, playing for time.

Bella glared at her again. "You know exactly what I mean, Cissy," she said dangerously.

Her sister flinched.

"I . . I left the hospital wing," she mumbled. "The nurse said I could go."

Bella felt her fingers curl around the wand in her pocket, and fought to keep her breathing even.

"Why," she said slowly, "would she say that?"

Cissy blushed, a delicate pink flush creeping up past her collarbone. "Because she says I'm fine," she murmured, staring at the tangled mass of untouched spaghetti on her plate as though hoping to find divine inspiration there, or perhaps just an escape from her sister's scrutiny.

"And why," - Bella forced the words out through clenched teeth - "would she say that? When you're quite obviously not."

Narcissa began to tremble, her eyes shining oddly, threatening tears. "I am fine," she whispered, the words scarcely audible. "I am . . ."

Bella scowled. "Rubbish," she said coldly. "You are not. You lied to her, you tricked her somehow . . . I want to know how." When Narcissa made no response, she continued with a threat. "I'll find out, Cissy. Don't play games with me. I'll find out what you did, and trust me, you won't like it when I do. So if you had any sense at all, you'd tell me now."

She waited. Narcissa was staring at the tabletop now, at her plate, at her lap . . . anywhere but at her sister. She folded her arms across her chest, shaking again, as if she were quite literally trying to hold herself together. Lucius frowned at her.

"Bellatrix," he said awkwardly, "perhaps this isn't the best idea . ."

"Shut up Lucius," Bella snapped automatically. "This has nothing to do with you."

He frowned again, unhappily this time. Bella ignored him.

"Well?" she demanded. Once again, there was no response, and Bella's brittle temper finally snapped. She slammed her hand against the tabletop with force enough to make a nearby tureen of soup jump. "Tell me the truth!" she ordered. Half the Slytherin table turned to stare at them, and a little pocket of hushed silence descended. At the staff table, Professor Slughorn frowned and pushed his chair back, getting slowly to his feet. Bella, whose eyes were locked on Narcissa, did not notice, but Lucius did. Narcissa leapt to her feet as though scalded, and ran from the hall. Bellatrix swore loudly and jumped to her feet herself, about to storm after her. She was shocked to feel a firm restraining grip upon her upper arm.

"Lucius, get off me!" she demanded, incensed. He only tightened his hold on her, apparently impervious to the stares he was attracting.

"No."

Bella reached for her wand and then hesitated, deciding she wasn't reckless enough to curse him in front of the entire staff. She tried to wriggle free again, only to find that Lucius was more unyielding than she'd given him credit for.

"Let go of me!" she ordered again, to as much - or as little - effect as before. Even worse – Slughorn was now heading towards them, wearing an expression of grim determination mingled with disappointment. He stoppped in front of them, shaking his head like an old elephant bothered by mosquitos.

"Oh dear," he began, "Miss Black, again?"

To Bellatrix's utter shock, however, Lucius interrupted him. "It's alright Professor," he said calmly. "I have this under control."

"What?" Bella felt her mouth fall open, and she did not even attempt to close it. Who did Lucius think he was? As if he could do anything he liked just because of that stupid Head Boy badge . . . Her mental rant was cut short, however, as Lucius began to steer her towards the door, leaving Slughorn staring after them, apparently lost for words. He marched her out past the staring students and into the Entrance Hall in stony silence, pulling her down a long corridor and out into the sunny, empty courtyard, where he eventually released her.

"How dare you?!"

Bella was so angry she hit him. He barely blinked. Apparently he had been expecting it. Irritated beyond belief by his unresponsive acceptance, Bella slapped him again, snarling in frustration. He raised an eyebrow, his grey eyes glittering in amusement.

"Who do you think you are?" she shouted, hitting him over and over again, raining blows down upon his chest until he sighed and caught her by the wrists.

"Stop."

Bellatrix found herself powerless to hit him any more and so was forced to obey. She glared at him, breathing hard. "If you ever humiliate me like that again, Malfoy, it'll be the last thing you do, I swear . . ."

He shrugged, and then grew serious. "Bellatrix, you were terrifying her."

"So?"

He frowned. "Doesn't it concern you, that you terrify your own sister?"

"No," Bella replied belligerently. "And I don't see why it concerns you."

"The poor girl was about to start crying," he pointed out. "It was uncomfortable to watch. Did it honestly not bother you at all?"

Bellatrix shrugged. "A little," she conceded. "But I care more about getting the truth."

They stared at each other for a long moment. "I'm going," Bella said at last, turning her back on him. She hesitated with one hand on the door handle and glanced back at him.

"Lucius?"

He looked up. "Yes?"

"Er . . . thanks." It was only now she'd had a chance to calm down that she realized his actions had probably spared her another detention. She supposed he'd been trying to do her a favour, not simply annoy her.

He nodded. "It's fine."

Bella turned away from him in a hurry and went back inside. She had just realized that Lucius had, in fact, done her more than one favour. Almost everyone in the school was currently in the Great Hall, and she had absolutely no intention of returning there. Which meant that for the first time today, she had some free time. Excellent, she thought, swinging around in an abrupt right turn and changing direction, so that instead of heading back down to the dungeons, to look for Narcissa, she found herself on course to the hospital wing. She hurried through the empty corridors and pushed open the double doors, stepping quietly inside. To her delight, the ward appeared to be empty.

Bella approached the office at the top of the ward slowly. The door handle yielded immediately to her touch, which was her first indication that she was not alone. Sure enough, the plump figure of the matron could be seen at the other end of the office, stacking the shelves with fresh supplies of Pepper-Up Potion and Soothing Solution. She was humming contentedly, and didn't notice Bella's soft footsteps until the girl was standing directly behind her.

"Hello."

The nurse jumped, sending bottles rolling in every direction. "Oh! Miss Black! You gave me quite a fright, dear, I must say!" She climbed to her feet, massaging her heart, and waved her wand, so that the fallen bottles soared into the air and slotted neatly into place upon the shelf. She smiled. "What can I do for you?"

"Hmm." Bella pulled out her own wand, twirling it idly between her fingers. She smiled back at the healer - a cold, unfriendly smile. "Well that's just the thing, isn't it? What can you do for me? Because I have to admit, from where I'm standing, it doesn't seem to be an awful lot."

The nurse blinked at her. "Excuse me? I'm not sure I understand . . . you don't seem in urgent need of medical assistance . ."

Bella scowled. "Not me, you idiot! My sister. Narcissa. Remember her? She was in here, oh. . . that's right – just yesterday!"

The healer blinked again, like a rabbit that unexpectedly finds itself face to face with a fox.

"I . . yes, of course I remember her," she said uncertainly. She sighed. "Miss Black, I think I know where this is going. Does this, by any chance, have anything to do with what you told me about your sister not eating?"

Bella stared coldly back at her. "What else?" she managed at last, forcing the words out from between clenched teeth. She stiffened as the healer put a consoling hand on her arm.

"Dear," she said quietly, "I can understand, of course, if you were . . . misled. But your sister is fine. I spoke to her and it really is just exam stress and family concerns. She admits she missed a few meals, here and there, but that doesn't mean she has a serious problem. There is a world of difference between the two things. In fact," - she hesitated, drawing a deep breath and squaring her shoulders - "Miss Black, I wonder if you know that eating disorders are extremely serious. To accuse someone of having one is a very serious charge."

Bella stared at her, feeling suddenly wrong-footed. "Let me get this straight," she said slowly, absorbing every nuance of the healer's expression. "You think I'm lying?"

"I . .well, I . ."

Her hesitation told Bella all she needed to know. "You do! You think I'm making this up!" Bella found herself breathing hard, her hold on her wand tightening instinctively. The tell-tale signs of anger were creeping in again, but this time Lucius wasn't around to restrain her. There was a rushing sound in her ears – the angry roar of her pulse – and she realized she couldn't really hear what the healer was saying anymore.

The woman shifted her weight from one foot to the other, clearly uncomfortable. "You must admit, Miss Black, that your disiplinary record in this school would lead anyone to suspect-"

"I am not lying!" A spark shot from the end of her wand and narrowly missed the matron as it flew past her waist, singing her apron strings. The woman's eyes widened in alarm.

"Put that down," she ordered.

Bella laughed. "Why? Are you afraid I'll set your office on fire? Or do you think I'll hurt someone?"

When the healer didn't answer, she laughed again. "Or is it," she considered, "that you think I'll do something like this. Expelliarmus!"

The healer's wand shot from her hand and clattered to the floor. In one swift movement, Bella seized the unarmed woman's collar and twisted it tight, making a fist of the fabric that almost choked the matron as she shoved her against the wall, pressing her wand into her throat. She gasped and struggled, but Bella only pressed her wand harder into the hollow of the woman's neck. She knew she would leave a mark now, but she didn't care. She stepped closer.

"I am not a liar," she said quietly. "Do you understand that? Don't you think I have better things to do with my time than make up lies about my sister?" She swallowed. "I came to you, because stupidly, I assumed you'd know what to do. But no. You don't. All you know how to do is make things worse. I suppose I should have expected it. Stay away from my sister in future. I don't care if she comes to you begging for help. I don't want you anywhere near her. Got that? This - this is just a warning. Next time I won't be so nice, Mudblood."

Bella pulled her wand back and waved it once - a quick, jerking movement. An unseen force struck the healer across the face with a sound like a whipcrack, leaving an ugly red weal. She crumpled to the floor and Bella turned her back on her, storming out.