PRETENDING TO LIVE~ {The Lestrange Daughter #2}

𝟒𝟑. Bellatrix

Valentine and Draco followed Narcissa through the front entry of Malfoy Manor. Emma was already standing by the door to take their coats. Standard practice. She took Draco's and Narcissa's, Valentine not having a need to wear one in the first place. 

"Mother-" Draco started but was cut off.

"Soon, Draco." Narcissa tutted at him. 

Draco had been trying to irritate an answer out of her since they'd met at King Cross Station but Narcissa had remained tight-lipped.

Valentine, although just as curious as her cousin, stayed quiet herself. Whatever her aunt was hiding, just couldn't be said out loud. Valentine did have more than a hunch as to what the 'important family business' could be and she feared that she would be right.

As Emma folded the coats in her arms, Valentine caught sight of a white bandage peeking out from her long sleeve.

"Emma." Her voice was cold and uninterested but her eyes were sharp and keen.

"Yes, Miss?" Emma replied timidly.

"What happened to your arm?"

The maid's eyes grew wide and she attempted to tug her sleeve down over the bandage.

"Val." Narcissa interrupted, clearly trying to halt the conversation. Her eyes softened a tad and moved to stand in front of Valentine. "Val, the reason I needed you to come home. I reason I needed you both here- there's someone you need to meet. But this cannot leave the house, do you understand?"

I knew it.

Valentine's gaze narrowed. 

"You mean Bell-" 

"Ah! The kiddies are home!"

The unfamiliar voice cut Valentine off as it echoed down the grand staircase. Emma hurried off as Valentine, Draco and Narcissa all turned to stare at the person standing at the top of the stairs. She threw a stringy curl over her shoulder and started down the steps towards them.

The first thing Valentine noticed wasn't the hair that looked so much like her own or the cheeks bones cut in the same fashion. She didn't notice the sickly complexion, the unkempt nails or the frame that was too slender to be entirely healthy. The first thing Valentine noticed when she saw her biological mother for the first time was the way she walked.

That leisurely saunter, unhurried and comfortable. Each step echoed like it had the purpose to intimate. This was a woman who had no regrets or reservations for herself or her actions. This was a woman who was accustomed to entering a room and being in complete control. And Valentine had seen its effects before.

She could feel the sudden rigidity in the atmosphere. For a second it felt like the air in her lungs had frozen like ice. What would she do? What would she say? During the few times she'd imagined her parents return to the world, she'd never given thought to how she would act.

"Bella." Narcissa sighed with a disappointed shake of her head. "I told you to wait."

"Boring!" Bellatrix sang out, rolling her dark eyes, rolling her neck as she did so. "Really Cissy,  I'm not some gift to be unwrapped."  

Out of the corner of her eye, Valentine noticed Draco hesitantly inching himself behind her as if he didn't even know he was doing it. 

"Valentine." Narcissa turned to grasp her shoulders softly. "This is-"

"Bellatrix Lestrange." Said Valentine.

"Your mother." Narcissa corrected with a tender smile. "Bella, this is-"