Astronomy Tower

[Bellatrix Lestrange]

Bellatrix stepped out onto the top of the tower, having spotted Draco slipping up into the stairs and decided it was well past time for a little chat with her nephew. Though, frankly, she though Cissy was being far too over-protective, asking her to watch over him as well. Besides, Lucius was his father - wasn't that his job?

[Draco Malfoy]

Hearing the footsteps the blond froze but did not turn, honestly the last time he was here it was the Carrows, so he really didn't care to check this time. Perhaps he should just stop coming up here at all...

[Bellatrix Lestrange]

"Feeling nervy, are we, Draco?" Bella cooed to him as she stepped up beside him on the edge of the tower.

[Draco Malfoy]

Draco looked over with a frown, before asking a bit abruptly ".... when did you get here?"

[Bellatrix Lestrange]

Bellatrix raised an eyebrow at him. He might be her nephew - favourite, only, whatever - but that didn't mean he got to ask impertinent questions. "What did you say?" she asked sweetly. "I missed it, you see."

[Draco Malfoy]

"I... just..." he caught the warning in her tone and his surprise was melted away by his self preservation. "I was surprised to see you... both you and Father having shown within the last week... are you teaching as well?"

This time his tone was less rude and more appropriate for addressing another pureblood of certain status.

[Bellatrix Lestrange]

"Not quite, I'm here to keep control," Bellatrix replied with a gleeful strain in her voice. "Make sure the little bloodtraitors and mudbloods don't fall out of line."

Lucius was teaching... well, that was going to go well. She'd known he was here, she'd heard he was teaching, but it was more amusing at the prospect of her watching him trying to teach anyone anything. She might just turn up one day...

"Yes, I heard about Lucius' assignment," she smirked, biting back a laugh. "Most... appropriate."

[Draco Malfoy]

Draco rose a brow "I doubt he agrees... but the other Professors seem excited about the prospect.."

[Bellatrix Lestrange]

"Of course he doesn't," she laughed at that. "That's the point. It's going to be brilliant."

[Draco Malfoy]

Draco eyed her, still unsure for his part. After all he'd seen quite well, that his Fathers action reflected directly on him. So if Lucius was considered a laughing stock, by extention so was Draco. However, he didn't tell Bellatrix that, as he doubted she'd care either way.

[Bellatrix Lestrange]

"Poor Draco," Bellatrix mocked him with a pout, running a hand through his hair, ruffling it. "Your father failed you, so now what do you do? Such a difficult situation, though of course your father's position only counts for so much."

[Draco Malfoy]

The boy didn't comment, since he had no idea what (if anything) this woman felt for him. Instead and just turned his gaze back towards the school grounds, right now it felt startingly similar to talking to Alecto Carrow as opposed to his Aunt. Though he was well aware he didnt have one of those overly close, much too involved families like Weasley. He could certainly see the draw of them right now. Though something did occur to him

"Where is Mother?" he asked frowning and looking at her. If his Aunt was here and his Father was here, was his Mother stuck at the Manor with that *thing* and his other lackies?

[Bellatrix Lestrange]

"Cissy is at the manor," Bella told him, leaving his hair alone since he didn't react - not that he ever had much, in the last year or so. "She is perfectly fine; you don't need to worry about her. You should focus more on yourself and what you should be doing. Speaking of which, how have the dear Carrows been? Up to their usual perverted tricks, I imagine?"

She didn't quite understand why Draco was worrying about Narcissa. Narcissa would be fine: if anything happened, Bella would be the one asking the questions, rather than Lucius. Draco, on the other hand, was the one in the more precarious position - with a father who had disappointed more than anyone had ever done before short of turning traitor, he was the one who should be looking over his shoulder and asking 'what can I do?'.

Then again, she supposed it wasn't a surprise, since neither of his parents had ever been inclined to any measure of generosity.

[Draco Malfoy]

"They're keeping themselves entertained," Draco agreed with a light hitch of his shoulders, not adding anything additional as he had no idea if his standing with her was much better than it was with them.

[Bellatrix Lestrange]

"They do that," Bellatrix commented, fixing Draco with a surprisingly shrewd look. "Well, if they bother you - they do love their pretty little toys - it will be better for you to come to me than your father. Lucius won't be able to do much. Besides, I already made it clear once for them to keep their paws away from my family, and I don't like it when people ignore me."

There, sisterly obligation to keep 'baby Draco' safe, with the minimum of fuss and 'let me protect you' rubbish Cissy had seemed to want her to spout. Times like that Bella wondered which one of them had been in Azkaban.

[Draco Malfoy]

Draco finally looked at her again, though this time with a small frown "Come to you?"

[Bellatrix Lestrange]

"That's what I said, isn't it?" she snapped. Dear Merlin, she did not want to have to repeat herself - had the boy turned stupid overnight? - she was not going to get all soppy and maternal and smother Draco the way Cissy would. It was a simple enough statement, and that was that.

[Draco Malfoy]

"It is... but why?" Draco asked looking at her with a small frown. "To be blunt, you don't seem very fond of me..."

[Bellatrix Lestrange]

Bella glared at him. Did he have to ask so many questions? Hadn't he got the hint by now? Apparently not...

"That is irrelevant," she told him, her tone cold and harsh. "You are family, however unlikely it may seem, and therefore it's an option. Any more stupid questions or are you done for the day?"

[Draco Malfoy]

"I suppose I'm done for now..." Draco responded raising both brows and hands defensively.

[Bellatrix Lestrange]

"Good," Bellatrix replied, eyeing him a moment longer. "I suppose it's not wholly your fault - you get it from your father."

[Draco Malfoy]

"Have you two ever gotten along?" the boy asked after a moment, slanting the woman a wry look.

[Bellatrix Lestrange]

"Don't be ridiculous, of course not," Bellatrix responded easily, amused at the idea of them ever getting along. Somehow, she couldn't really picture herself sitting in the parlour of Malfoy Manor, sipping tea whilst Lucius rambled on about the latest changes in the stock market. "He's a pretentious bore; always has been."

[Draco Malfoy]

Draco wasn't sure what to reply to that, so he just shrugged "Mother must see something in him."

[Bellatrix Lestrange]

This time, she gave him an honestly amused look. Did he really not know? Was he really so naive as to have failed to grasp how his parents' marriage worked; why it worked? Then again, Narcissa had always been an excellent actress.

"Perhaps one day I'll explain it to you," she commented in reply.

[Draco Malfoy]

Draco sighed and looked at her "Arragned or not, they seem to get along is my point."

[Bellatrix Lestrange]

"They always got along - though they were never really friends, as such," Bellatrix told him. "If that's what you were looking for."

[Draco Malfoy]

"Exactly, so she sees something in him," Draco replied with a hitch of his shoulders. Yes, maybe he as childish but was it wrong to hope your parents have some type of affinity towards one another.

[Bellatrix Lestrange]

"Quite possibly," Bellatrix drawled idly. "I never bothered to wonder about it. Speaking of your mother, one more thing: she wants you to write to her. So she knows you're fine. Alive. Breathing. Not being harassed by mental twins. That sort of thing." She couldn't help the faintly mocking smile on her lips from appearing; in her opinion, it was a bit ridiculous to require a boy of age to write to his mother. He was an adult, he should act like one.

[Draco Malfoy]

Draco noticed the smile "I'll do that, after all she *is* my Mother..." his gaze flicked over her in a way that implied that, as a woman without children he hardly expected her to understand.