I,m sorry it took me so long to post a new chapter. I have been sick three times in the last one and a half months.
I don't own anything.
She was so cold. It had been ten years since she had felt warm. Ten years since she could have gone back home. But no, she had wanted to stay and keep her cover. If she had taken the offer, she could perhaps have found her daughter. Make sure she was alright. If she had taken the offer, she might have been able to go back to the love of her life. Now she was lying on a cot, in a cold, dark cell, in Azkaban, wishing that she, Bellatrix Black, would be able to go home and kiss Minerva and hold her baby.
She could hear footsteps approaching. Which was weird, since you couldn't hear the Dementors approaching your cell at dinnertime.
The footsteps stopped outside of her cell. The metal scraping on the floor, from the door opening, was the only sound she could hear. The pitch darkness of night kept her from seeing anything. The human visitor carried no light and the shine from the hall light was barely strong enough to show the figure of a person.
There was a man standing in the door. "Please, follow me, Miss Black."
While standing up, she was wondering what was going on. But every attempt to ask was answered with a request to be quiet and follow.
After walking through the prison, they came to a stop in front of a normal looking door.
"Please go inside and have a seat. Your visitor will be with you shortly," the man said, while opening the door for her.
After going inside the man closed the door and she was alone. While looking around, she noticed that this room was very different from the rest of the prison. It had white walls and a magical window, which let in a lot of sunlight.
"As you may have noticed, we're not in Azkaban anymore."
Turning around Bellatrix found herself staring at Albus Dumbledore.
"Dumbledore. What are you doing here, and where is here?" Bellatrix asked, while taking in how the man looked exactly like he had the last time she had seen him, ten years ago.
"I am here, because I wanted to ask you something. As for where we are, we are in an office in the Ministry of Magic."
"I take it you told someone?" Bellatrix asked while trying to figure out if something had happened.
"Yes, I told the Minister, and he agreed with me that you should be given the chance to get out," Dumbledore explained. "There is something you should know. First off, Minerva doesn't know I am here, or knows that you are a spy. Also, how long did you think you could hide the truth from me?"
"What are you talking about, which truth?" Bellatrix asked while feeling very relieved that Minerva didn't know, but at the same time very confused.
"That your daughter didn't die."
"How did you find out?" Bellatrix wasn't sure if she should feel relieved that he knew or worried with the problems this could give.
"She started her first year at Hogwarts last week. When Minerva went to her parents to explain that Hermione was a witch, she noticed her eyes but couldn't place them. Then during the Sorting Ceremony, the Sorting Hat told her something about her real parents. And this morning, she came to see me in my office asking about it. When I saw her, I knew where I recognised her from, and placing that with what the Hat has said, I think she is your daughter."
While Dumbledore was telling her this, Bellatrix started to look a little pale.
"You are telling me you know who my daughter is, without any proof?"
"What's her name?"
"I was looking for starting a duelling class. But I would need a professor for it. So if you are getting out, you are more than welcome at Hogwarts."
"I am here because of the proof. I told Minerva that I would make the Parentage Potion. But I would like to ask you to be there too. In order for you to be there, you need to tell the truth about what you did and didn't do," Dumbledore said, regarding Bellatrix, as she was trying to take it all in.
"What's her name?"
"Hermione."
"If I do this, if I tell the truth, what will happen? Where do I stay?" Bellatrix asked while looking like she hadn't made up her mind yet. The moment she heard her daughter was at Hogwarts, she decided that she wanted out, no question about it, though.
"I was looking for starting a duelling class. But I would need a professor for it. So if you are getting out, you are more than welcome at Hogwarts."
"I want out." Bellatrix said while looking at Dumbledore. "And I would love to teach at Hogwarts, though I am not so sure if Minerva would like it."
"If you are at Hogwarts, you can spend time with Hermione, and perhaps you and Minerva can get back together. I'm not saying it will be easy, because when she finds out, she is going to hex us both," Dumbledore said, looking a little afraid.
"No, you, she will hex, me, she will probably kill." Bellatrix said. "You are the one that is going to explain it to her."