Okay, so this one was on quick too. A lot happens and yet also not so much, but I have everything planned out. I really like Rodolphus, don't you?

Anyway, I have two weeks before my finals, which last about three weeks, so the next update will take a while. Maybe a month. But I will be back and I updated thrice in a week and a half, okay? I'm trying.

So here it is, THE MEETING. I must admit, I almost cried.

Don't forget to review if you liked it and to follow (if you don't which... this is the 33 chap, shouldn't you already have done that?)

There was a voice calling her name, which was weird since it was really late.

Anna turned around in her bed, becoming even more tangled in her sheets and her curls. There was a frown on her face. Merlin, just shut up. Who was talking at this time of night? Who could possibly be annoying enough? At this time of night. Who would want to die such a horrible and bloody death- Wait. That was uncle Lucius' voice.

The girl rolled out of bed in a hurry, reaching up blindly to take her wand from the nightstand. With a simple wave she lit it up and looked around the room, trying to blink the sleep out of her eyes. She got to her feet and ran over to her desk, rummaging among the scrolls and books for the two-way-mirror. This had to be important, this had to be urgent.

Soon she had the small silver oval in her hand and she let herself fall into her chair. In one swift movement she pulled the blankets, which were still draped around her legs, up around her shoulders. The nights were getting colder and this was no time to get sick, she would be heading home in two days and she had to be in top shape. How else would she deal with her nerves?

"Yes, uncle?" She whispered.

The blank surface of the mirror lit up and the senior Malfoy's face appeared. He looked tired and worried and honestly as if he were about to pass out. It was strange seeing him like that, it made goosebumps cover every inch of her skin.

"Anna." He started. Then he paused as if needing time to figure out what he was about to say. As if he were having a hard time believing his own words. "I have something important to tell you, please remain calm."

Her gut twisted. "What is it?"

Lucius took a deep breath and then sighed. "I just got back from Azkaban."

She blinked, looking at him dumbly. It was hard to... to process. From Azkaban. There was only one reason for that and- and that would mean that they had gotten her parents out. It was hard to figure out how to feel. Mainly because she didn't know how she should feel but also because... what should she focus on? So many things needed to be taken in consideration. Maybe it would be best to start with- with the least objectionable topic? Avoid the other train of though for as long as possible. That seemed like a good plan.

"Why wasn't I informed?" She muttered, swallowing down the anxiety which was starting to build up.

"For the exact same reason why you're not asking about them." He deadpanned. "You would loose it, completely. Dumbledore would know immediately. Or at least, that's the reason our- the Dark Lord gave us."

Anna nodded, licking her lips. That was... far more logical than anything she could think of at the moment. Her mind kept flickering over to that night with Barty, what he'd told her about Azkaban. Annabelle, Anna, Annie...

"How are they?" She finally asked. "Are they like... Barty?"

They should be worse, really. They'd been in there much longer...

"Physically speaking there's nothing we won't be able to fix in a month or two. Frostbite, exhaustion, malnutrition, self harm wounds-"

"Self harm?" She questioned. "How could they have harmed themselves? They were in prison."

He sighed. "It seemed Rodolphus and Rabastan took to scratching the walls until their hands bled to keep themselves awake and to have something warm in their mouths. I got Rodolphus out just after he'd done it."

A shiver crawled up her spine as she remembered the man in the painting. Tall, strong, grim, healthy. What would she find? A shell like Barty? Mad, worn, faded? She couldn't imagine it, she's spent so long thinking of that person as her father that anything else was... anything else was reality. This was reality and in reality her father had gone through something horrible for doing something horrible. And now he was out. And now she would meet him.

"And other than that?" She continued. "You said physically, what about mentally? All three of them weren't... aunt said that all three of them were slightly unhinged when they went in. How are they now?"

Lucius looked uncomfortable. "Well, we only just arrived and they seem to be having difficulty believing that they're actually out. They keep telling themselves to wake up. Barty says it's because sometimes the dementors would leave so they would fall asleep and then take away their good dreams, that they think that's what happening now."

"Oh, Merlin." Anna muttered, rubbing her face with her hand. She was definitely not falling asleep anymore. "Go on."

"Barty is staying with them, they feel comfortable enough to not start muttering to themselves when he's around. Your m- Bellatrix is feeling the best of the three of them, seeing the Dark Lord brought most of her back right away. I think she should be... aware of what's going on by tomorrow or the day after that at the latest. Of course that doesn't mean she'll be alright, just like Barty isn't alright, but more in control of her own mind. She's with him right now, he's telling her how... proud of you he is. She seems fascinated, but as you know fascination is neither positive or negative. Then again, I've always had difficulty reading her." He told her, studying her face carefully for any sign of distress. "Rodolphus keeps asking for you, I've been told, though that might have been because I told him he could see you. It was the only way I could get him to get up, though he doesn't seem to register what's going on either. Or at least, I don't know if he does. We can't make out what he mutters and he won't talk. Rabastan is pretty much the same, but he's sticking to Rodolphus like a shadow. I think he might have looked up when Rodolphus asked for you the first time though."

"Alright." Her voice was hoarse in the silence. "Don't- tell them anything they don't need to know. Not about the horcrux, not about Theo and definitely not about my feelings towards our Lord. It would... I don't know what that would do to them or to me, but I don't want to find out."

Her uncle nodded, looking at her worriedly. "I assume you'll want to go back to bed now." They both knew she didn't, but they both also knew she wanted to be alone. "Just try not to think too much about this. They're your parents but they're not in charge of you. You don't need to come in here with your mind made up about what you're going to do with them or how you're going to treat them. With them, you're allowed to make it up as you go along."

Anna nodded, not looking at him. "I'm terribly tired, uncle." She lied, and not very well at that. "Thank you for telling me, I'll see you at the station."

"Good night." He murmured and the mirror went blank.

She put it down, carefully so as to not shatter it with her shaking hand.

What was she going to do? What could she do? Nothing, nothing at all. They were out of Azkaban and in her life, much sooner than she had anticipated. She wasn't prepared, though when would she be prepared. Never, probably, she would never stop being both elated and terrified at the prospect of meeting them. She was afraid of them for multiple reasons; afraid to be like them, afraid to disappoint them, afraid to lose them, afraid to have them.

By the time she shook herself out of her stupor, the clock on her bedside table said it was six thirty and she had to get dressed. She wore her uniform impeccably like any other morning, her make up was flawless and her smile fake, her hands didn't shake.

Her friends didn't ask her what was wrong, though they cast her confused looks. Theo tried to talk to her in private but she pulled him into the Great Hall, where they couldn't talk. As an explanation she held up the the morning copy of the Daily Prophet that told the world about the break out. They didn't look at her strangely anymore, but they kept close after that. Theo held her hand during the day so it wouldn't shake and that night Draco held her hair back so she wouldn't get vomit on it.

Anxiety was a funny thing, it was like a snowball, rolling down and down a hill. By the time you see it you're buried and freezing.

The floor was cold as Fred and George landed in a heap, both holding on tightly to Ginny. George could feel his heard beating in his throat, cloud feel his hands get sweatier and clammier by the second, but he forced himself to swallow it down. He and Fred were the oldest siblings present, they had to take care of the others even if it wasn't their usual role. These weren't usual circumstances, and with dad...

He shook himself out of it and helped his little sister to his feet, keeping her close even as they stood.

Sirius came barging into the hall from one of the rooms, shooing the murmuring Kreatcher with even less of a thought than he normally would, and started helping the ones that were still on the floor. He smelled of booze and his eyes were bloodshot and it seemed like he hadn't shaved in a few days.

"What's going on?" He questioned. "Thineas Nigellus said Arthur's been injured-"

"Ask Harry." Fred bit, nerves flowing off of him but eyeing Sirius with barely contained anger.

"Yeah, I'd like to hear this for myself." The other twin agreed.

They knew they shouldn't do this, they knew it wasn't right, but what else could they do? They find out in the middle of the night that their father's been injured and they should be rational? Heck no. That girl. That thrice damned girl was to blame, for all of it. She brought him back, she kept poisoning Harry's brain, she was responsible for all of it.

"It was-" Harry began. He seemed to consider something before going on. "I had a- a kind of vision. I was asleep and... then I was in a corridor, I've been having dreams about it pretty often and it wasn't any different at first. But there was a snake, a very large one, and it sort of- mr. Weasley was there too, but I barely saw him fore the snake attacked him. He was wounded very badly-"

He opened his mouth a few more times before shaking his head, unable to say more.

It took a few minutes for them to shake off the... well, shock. It was all a bit difficult to take, particularly because it was Harry. How could he have known this? It was... it wasn't right. It wasn't... normal.

It was her.

"Is mum here?" Fred turned to Sirius. George didn't know if it was because of worry for dad or a need to ask questions. Probably dad, but the questions were a close second.

"She probably doesn't even know it's happened yet." Sirius told them. "The important thing was to get you away before Umbridge could interfere. I expect Dumbledore is letting Molly know now."

"We've got to go to St. Mungo's." Ginny started, looking around to her brothers with wide eyes. "Sirius, can you lend us cloaks or anything?"

"Hang on, you can't go tearing off to St. Mungo's!" Sirius stopped her, looking as if she'd gone mad.

"Course we can go if we want!" Fred glared. "He's our dad!"

"And how are you going to explain how you knew he was attacked before the hospital even let his wife know?"

"What does that matter?" George got a bit closer.

"It matters because we don't want to draw attention to the fact that Harry is having visions of things that are happening hundreds of miles away!" Sirius shouted. "Have you any idea what the Ministry will make of that information?"

George opened his mouth, about to retort hotly, but Ginny interrupted them, sounding desperate. "Somebody else could have told us- we could have heard it from someone else than Harry!"

"Like who?" The man snapped impatiently. "Listen, your dad was hurt while on duty for the Order and the circumstances are fishy enough without his children knowing about it seconds after it happened. You could seriously damage the Order's-"

"We don't care about the dumb Order!" Fred shouted, voice echoing in the empty house.

"It's our dad dying we're talking about!" George followed it up.

"Your father knew what he was getting into and he won't thank you for messing things up for the Order!" Sirius countered, just as angry as the twins. "This is how it is- This is why you're not in the Order- you don't understand- there are things worth dying for!"

"Easy for you to say!" Fred hissed through grit teeth. "Neither you nor your family are risking your necks. Not really."

George whipped out a hand to pull his brother back as he watched the color drain from Sirius' face. He looked like he would have wanted to hit them, but when he spoke his voice was calm. Too calm really.

"I know it's hard, but we've all got to act as though we don't know anything yet. We've got to stay put, at least until we hear from your mother all right?" He motioned to the kitchen.

It took a few seconds but Ron moved from the corner in which he'd crept into during the argument. Slowly he trudged into the lit room and took a seat at the table, crossing his arms on top of it and letting his head fall onto them. His siblings followed suit and sat down around him, Harry sat at the opposite side of the table. The silence was tense and deafening as the twins glared at the older man while keeping their hands on the younger Weasleys' shoulders.

"That's right." Sirius attempted to sound encouraging as he sat down next to his godson. "Let's have a drink while we wait."

He waved his wand over his shoulder and six butterbeers flew in from the pantry. They landed before each of them and they started drinking.

Meanwhile the twins alternated between watching Harry and watching Sirius watch them. The boy was pale and grey seemed terrified, they couldn't bring themselves to pity him, not when they felt just like he did. The man was visibly struggling between being suspicious and empathetic with them, they knew that what they'd said was low. They didn't regret it though, they meant it. It was all her fault and when they saw her next they'd- well, they'd have to think of something, but something would be done.

Suddenly there was a burst of flames in the air above them, drawing startled shouts from them all, and a scroll fell onto the table with a heavy thud. Sirius reached for it but retracted his hand as he looked at the writing on it.

"That was Fawkes, but that's not Dumbledore's writing, it must be from your mother." He made a motion that they took to mean that they should grab it, so George did.

With trembling hands he unrolled it and started reading aloud. "Dad is still alive, I'm setting off for St. Mungo's now. Stay where you are, I will send news as soon as I can." He paused, looking at his twin with frightened eyes. "Still alive... but that makes it sound like..."

He didn't finish the sentence. In fact, he didn't want to do any more talking at all, he just wanted to sit and wait. Wait for good news, wait for bad news, any news at all really. So that's what he did. He shut his mouth, pushed the scroll away, and leaned back on his chair. He reached for his twin behind the back of the two siblings between them and Fred took his hand.

"Where have you been?" Anna snapped as Blaise entered their compartment.

The boy looked taken aback at the rough greeting. True, she was more pale than was normal, even with the dark clothing and make up, and she was practically glued to her boyfriend's side, but he hadn't actually expected to be addressed so... well, angrily.

"I was having a conversation, it was quite important." He answered, taking a seat between Daphne and Pansy with a hesitant expression. They shot his nervous looks, apparently he wasn't the only one she lashed out at. "You might want to hear about it."

"What?"

Theo put a hand over hers to calm her, but she didn't look at him. Her eyes were boring into Blaise', he could see the anxiety in them so he forced himself to be patient. Discord among them could only lead to nasty situations. It was bad for everyone.

"Potter was taken out of the Gryffindor Common Room last night, after a nightmare. My Gryffindors say that they took the Weasleys away not much later and that they haven't been seen since." He started, but was interrupted.

"And I care, why?" She hissed, but het jaw was clenching and her eyes were flicking from side to side, something she did when she was thinking rapidly, making her look as if she were reading a book. "It might have escaped your notice, Blaise, but I am a little preoccupied at the moment. If you have information to tell me, try to give me complete information, not rumors I can't do anything with."

"Anna, he was just-" Theo began, but she gave him no time to reply.

"I need air." She got to her feet and walked out of the compartment, waving off Vince and Greg who made to follow. "I'll see you when we get to London."

As soon as the door closed behind her it felt as if the tension in the small space drained away. Theodore let his head fall into his hands and Draco took a deep breath, as if breathing for the first time. Vince and Greg only looked at each other with puzzled expressions while Pansy and Daphne both tried to console Blaise. The dark skinned boy shook his head at them though, telling them he was in no distress.

"It's fine. She's- she's not herself." He excused her, even if he felt the sting of her words. She'd never spoken to him like that, to any one of them in fact. It was strange.

"You're damn right." Pansy scoffed. "But that doesn't mean she's allowed to do this. Don't get me wrong, I sympathize with her, but I won't let her walk all over me like this. Not ever, and she knows it. She better apologize when she gets back."

But when she did nobody said anything. Annabelle came back and sat down, not looking at any of them, muttering some sort of apology that nobody heard clearly. Theo tried to take her hand again but she winced away, she looked at Draco for a second before turning back to her boyfriend.

"I- Theo you can't come with me to Malfoy Manor... mother won't be happy about us." She started.

"Anna, you're not-" He began, face turning pale. He wasn't the only one either, the others in the compartment had turned to look at her in astonishment.

"No!" Her eyes widened in shock as she reached out to cup his face. "No, no, I didn't mean that. I meant that- that it might be best if you didn't visit until I put the matter to rest, at least until the Christmas Ball. I don't want- I don't want to break up with you, I need you, and they can't make me but... I don't know how to deal with them, I don't know how I'll react to them. I need time."

He watched her for a second before nodding, placing a hand over hers on his face. "If that's what you think is best... Deal with them as you think you should, I'll be there when you need me."

She nodded and crept closer. "I'll deal with it. They won't be a problem."

"They'll love you." Pansy soothed. "But you have to pull yourself together Anna. A pet snake is still a snake and it can bite if you're weak."

Possessing him? Voldemort was possessing Harry? It had to be her fault. How could Voldemort get into Harry's head, being as far away as he was? The only Death Eaters with access to Harry were her and Snape, and Snape was part of the Order. How could Dumbledore let this happen? Right under his very nose. Just because Sirius and Tonks threw a hissy fit every time someone tried to mention her? They couldn't believe Mum and Dad were still defensive about her. They, along with Tonks, shut down the conversation about her in the hospital room as soon as Moody said 'the Lestrange girl'.

Someone had to do something about it. Someone had to do something about her. They would, if no one else. They just needed a plan.

Anna put a hand on uncle Lucius' arm before he could open the door to the drawing room where her parents were waiting. Her parents and the Dark Lord and uncle Rabastan and aunt Narcissa and Barty. She needed to breathe for a second. In and out, once, twice, thrice. Then she nodded up at him aand he opened the door.

It was silent as she looked around, for once not focussing on her snake-like godfather. There were two men on the couch, sunken and pale, watching with curious and unbelieving eyes as she entered the room. They were wrapped in warm clothing, as if they were still cold from the snow outside, and the larger of the two -her father, a voice whispered in her eat- looked as if he were looking at the stars. It felt... strange. She didn't know what she expected, but they seemed much worse for wear than she'd seen in the painting, but better than she'd imagined.

But the center stage went to Bellatrix. She didn't wait for Anna to speak, she got right up and walked forwards, stretching her arms out towards her, with a large smile adorning her weathered face.

"Annie! My little girl!" Her voice was... manic. That was the word, it wasn't warm, it was enthusiastic and a little out of control. "Come to your mother!"

Anna froze as the woman embraced her, looking over her mother's shoulder -she was taller than her... she was taller- to aunt Narcissa, knowing that her panic was showing. It was going to fast, she was so... rushed and quick and immediate.

The woman nodded pointedly at her. Do something.

"I-" She swallowed and took a deep breath. "Hello, mother."

She placed a hand on the woman's back and tried to ease her off. That went more easily than she'd expected as she immediately drew back, what she hadn't expected was for Bellatrix to grab her face and stare at her intently.

"My pretty girl, there you are." She began. "I'm so proud of you, you've made your mummy so proud. You've been so loyal."

A warm feeling in her stomach blossomed at the same time that she felt cold bucket of water drown her. Of course, that was the reason. Was she happy about making her proud? She supposed that was the only reason that- No, don't think like that. Give them a chance.

She swallowed and looked into her mother's face, smiling softly. It was sunken and pale and wrinkled, but she was beaming, there seemed to be life beyond the dead exterior. That was good, if nothing else.

"Of course, mother." She answered, biting back her disappointment. "Nothing less than what you deserve."

She turned to her father, who was still staring at her in disbelief. With a gentle hand she guided Bellatrix out of the way so she could walk to him. The woman stayed right behind her as she took careful steps, hand on the small of her daughter's back, trying to keep her knees from buckling under her own weight.

When she got to him, she kneeled and placed a hand over his. He had shaved recently, and through all the pain she could see the proud man from the painting. His eyes were the eyes she used to dream about, the ones that calmed her, the ones that got her close to Draco in the first place.

"Hello dad." She whispered. "It's me, Annie. Remember me?"

"Remember?" His voice was hoarse and low. He reached up, displacing her hands hesitatingly, and trailed his fingers over her cheek as he studied her whole face. He seemed stunned as he struggled to come to terms with everything that was going on. "How could I forget you, little one? My little Annabelle."

That was... Anna straightened up and engulfed him in her arms, breathing in the smell of soap and new fabric as she felt him tremble. It didn't take more than a second for him to reach up and wrap his arms around her. He was still wide of shoulders, even if he had a lost a lot of mass he still felt steady and... and safe.

He started humming. She knew that song, she remembered not remembering where she got it from. Then she looked over his shoulder to where Rabastan was watching intently. She let go of her father with one arm and reached out to him.

"Hello, uncle Rabastan." She said.

He reached back tentatively, as if afraid that she weren't real. But his fingers brushed hers and then he intertwined them, brushing his knuckles over the back of her hand. His hand was big, she'd never held the hand of an adult man before, she'd never felt... small like this. But his lips twitched, as if he'd attempted a smile, and he was silent.

"Oh, this is just fantastic!" She heard her mother exclaim behind her. "A family dinner tonight! So can tell us all about everything you've done, darling!"

Oh yes, fantastic was definitely the word for that.

Draco had been stiff all evening, Anna noticed as they moved on to dessert. But of course that was to be expected, having met Bellatrix for the first time. Unlike her father and uncle she was... eccentric, and in a rather rattling manner. It was a lot to take in. That and the fact that the Dark Lord sat at the head of the table, but the boy had bowed, presented himself, and remained quiet the rest of the dinner, watching everything carefully.

They'd skipped her life before Hogwarts and gone from her subjects at school -she'd claimed loudly that with her and Rodolphus' blood there was no way she wouldn't be a straight O student, Anna didn't know how to feel about that, happy that her mother was proud? Or upset that she was chalking it up to her parents and not her own efforts?- to the fact that she was already marked and working on keeping Dumbledore distracted, which seemed to be working well -her father had blinked a few times, as if trying to understand- and now they'd arrived at her circle of friends.
Mother had chuckled when she'd heard she had pretty much all of Slytherin under her thumb. Pansy and Daphne were approved, Bella had blinked twice about hearing about Blaise, pursed her lips at Vince and Greg -but since they were just friends she didn't seem to want to make too big a deal out of it- and then they came to the dreaded question.

"And, Annie? Is there a boy you like?" Bellatrix asked, smiling widely.

Rodolphus' and Rabastan's heads shot up and Draco tensed even more. The Dark Lord's eyes lit up in amusement and Lucius, Narcissa, and Barty seemed to hide a wince.

Anna swallowed. "Actually, mother. I have a boyfriend. We've been together for two years last Halloween."

"Oh, really?" The woman's voice was cheeky. "A pretty girl like you, I shouldn't be surprised. Who is it?"

"Theodore Nott." Anne looked her mother in the eyes. No matter how much she might be beginning to feel for them, Theo was hers. Theo was there when they weren't and Theo was important. Nothing they said could make her break up with him, nothing at all.

But she saw her mother's face freeze and harden, saw her father's eyes tighten and her uncle's hands clench on his eating utensils. Anna's stomach dropped. Don't do this. Please don't do this.

"No, Annabelle." Bellatrix started. "That boy is not good enough for you."

"You have no say over what is good for me, mother. If I wanted your opinion on my relationship I would have asked you." Anna's voice hardened, taking a dangerous tone.

Draco's hand slipped from the table to the side of her leg, urging her to calm down. Now, that would depend on her parents, wouldn't it? Father wasn't saying anything, neither was Rabastan but...

"I am your mother, I have every say in your relationship." Bellatrix snapped. "And that boy is not good enough for you. His father-"

"That boy has a name. His name is Theodore and yes, he is good enough for me. He is too good actually." Anna bit out, her fork stabbing the lemon pie on her plate viciously. "He has always been there for me, since first year. He has helped and supported me through everything I've done and is currently working very hard to keep the Slytherins under control. He is loyal to me and he cares for me and you have no say in my feelings for him."

She took a deep breath, eyes roaming over the frozen faces of her parents. Stop, stop, don't say it!

"If a parent's actions spoke for the child then I would also be guilty of torturing Frank and Alice Longbottom to insanity, without reason at that." She hissed and watched them freeze further. "And you may say whatever you like about how wrong Lord Nott was to betray our Lord, but do you know what Lord Nott and aunt Narcissa and uncle Lucius have in common?" Stop, she screamed at herself. Don't say it, it's going so well! "At least they stayed out of Azkaban to raise their children." She finished.

They winced. Bellatrix looked like she's been hit and Rodolphus started shaking, eyes closed. Dark Lord had been watching the whole scene with an amused smirk, and the rest had sat by and listened in horrified silence as she hurt them. Hurt them on purpose. What had she done? She... No, no, what had she done? No, she- she hadn't meant- she shouldn't have- No, no, no. Don't-

Guilt rose up in her stomach and she looked down.

"Might I be excused, my Lord?" She asked.

"You may."

Anna got to her feet and half ran out of the room.