Chapter Seven
A/N: Thank you to sammiSTRICK and kittyhawk09 for reviewing the last chapter.
The night of the Sorting Ceremony had come, and Minerva had been a great deal more than worried about the fact that Bellatrix Black had turned up on the doorstep a few moments ago, along with the rest of those who would be her classmates.
To ensure that the two did not meet, the woman had instructed Annie that she must stay in her bedroom, and that if she did not, she would be punished for it. She had never been threatened with punishment before, as her adoptive mother did not like to use such harsh treatments to correct behaviour, believing that talking would be of greater consequence in the future, but because it was so new to her, she had obeyed without question. It was a terrible tactic to use, and the professor was not very happy about having done so, but she had seen no other road to walk down. The eleven year old was far too much of a threat to her daughter, or to her remaining as such, at least.
However, Minerva's attention was brought back to the formality when Amelia Abbott flew to her seat on the Hufflepuff table, and it was time for the next name to be called. Glancing down to her list, the woman saw that it was the turn of none other than the girl herself.
"Bellatrix Black!"
As she approached the stool, it seemed that Bellatrix had an air about her, an air of snobbery, feeling that she was better than everyone else, no doubt because she was a member of the small number of families who carried pure Wizarding blood in their veins, though almost everyone outside of the circles was sure that this was utterly untrue. It was that very idea of being better than others that Minerva had taken Narcissa in to avoid, as she had remained too young at the time to truly understand her family's teachings.
The moment she sat down, the professor tentatively put the Sorting Hat down onto her head, already seeming to know what its cry would say. True enough, not a moment after it had brushed a curl on her head, the Hat screamed out its answer, one which came as no surprise to anyone in the room.
"Slytherin!"
The table of the serpents erupted with cheers, and they screamed their pride in having such a revered Pureblood in their midst. She was, after all, from one of the houses rumoured to have utterly pure blood, and the members of the House of Black were the only ones, bar the Malfoys, who did not have an incident on record where a child had been anything but a Slytherin, who in later life would marry another Pureblood, and so it would begin again, for centuries and centuries to come.
When she had read out the name of the next student, Apollo Burke, who also joined the Slytherins, though he did not get so good a response as his predecessor, the professor managed to get a proper look at Bellatrix. She had the imposing bone structure of the Blacks, and the heavily lidded eyes that had been a trait of the Bulstrodes, a family that had married into the house a few generations back from the girl who had inherited them. From sight and memory, there was not a scrap of the Rosier blood in the girl, and nowhere near to the extent of her youngest sister if there was. She was a Black through and through, another reminder of why she had been right to separate the eldest from the baby.
However, just as she read the next name, her thoughts seemed to become reality, as, out of the corner of her eye, she caught Annie sneak into the room, sitting herself down on the floor beside Madam Pomfrey, who immediately pulled her up and onto the chair which her mother had vacated, though not at all without kindness in her smile that was equal as it was in her actions. She did not know that Minerva was horrified by this turn of events, even more so when she turned to see that the majority of the Slytherins were staring at the girl. And Bellatrix was too.
'This cannot be happening.' the woman told herself, wishing she could believe it, but evidently not doing so, as she was beginning to panic to such an extent that she handed Filius Flitwick, the new Charms professor, the scroll of names, and all but ran to take her daughter from the room.
On the way back to her chambers, Minerva did not berate or lecture the girl, nor did she give any response to her behaviour at all, as her mind was so consumed with thoughts and fears. 'What if Bellatrix recognised her? If she knows that Narcissa is here with me, then she might try to turn her against me. Or worse, she might try to take her away. Please say that she didn't recognise her. Oh, please, good Merlin, say that she did not recognise my little girl.'
Professor McGonagall did not speak another word to the child as she put her to bed, merely pressed a kiss to her forehead and vacated the space, still hoping beyond hoping that something would have stopped the girl from recognising the younger. After all, Narcissa had changed a great deal in all the years that had passed, and she was no longer the cherub cheeked toddler she had been the last time Bellatrix had seen her. She was hardly even recognisable as the same person, so perhaps Minerva had a chance there. It was the last shred of hope that she had to cling to, and no matter what it cost her, she would not let it go.
Meanwhile, downstairs in the Slytherin commons, a young girl with wild dark hair sat on a settee, thinking about the girl she had seen in the Great Hall, and trying to remember why the child seemed so very familiar.
A/N: Trouble is coming. Please review!