Bellatrix allowed herself to feel hopeful as she, Rodolphus and Rabastan knocked at the door of 12 Grimmauld place. Her aunt Walburga had written and asked that they come as soon as possible. The note had arrived half an hour before while they were having dinner with Rod and Rabastan's parents and they'd come directly after. Though aunt Walburga hadn't mentioned Uncle Orion or Regulus this time, Bellatrix harbored the hope that one or both had turned up. This time Aunt hadn't asked but nearly every day for the past three weeks she had. As the Lestranges had heard nothing, and did not dare raise the subject to The Dark Lord for fear of retribution, there was no news.

It was Kreacher who opened the door, his face set into a tight frozen mask that caused Bellatrix's stomach to sink. Kreacher would be far happier if Regulus had returned and at least pleased were Uncle home again. For perhaps the first time in the elf's life he did not speak, simply ushering them into the darkened front hall. When all three had entered, he closed the front door behind them and silently led the way toward the library where Walburga sat stiffly on a straight backed chair on the far side of the room. Bellatrix blinked at the sight of her. Her aunt had aged twenty years in less than a month.

"Hi, Sweet heart. It seems your aunt has some news." The quiet voice of her own father caused Bellatrix's eyes to dart around the room. Her parents sat on the sofa near the fire. So focused had she been on Walburga that she hadn't even noticed anyone else in the room.

"Please sit down, all of you," Walburga invited quietly. "Thank you for coming." Walburga's voice shook on the last few words, and at that show of weakness in her iron strong aunt, Bellatrix felt the blood draining from her face. Rod's strong hand was suddenly a steadying pressure on her arm, guiding her over to the love seat where the two always sat when visiting. Rabastan moved to the armchair near the window that he always favored. Everyone was here and they weren't having a party. This couldn't be good.

Bellatrix opened her mouth to ask what had brought them here, then closed it again. Her aunt would speak in her own good time, and something told her to wait though the wait was becoming nearly unbearable. She reached up one hand to toy with the silver raven skull Rodolphus had given her as an engagement gift when the two were in their sixth year at Hogwarts. Somehow fiddling with the pendant made her more agitated this time rather than less. When her aunt at last spoke, the words weren't at all what Bellatrix expected to hear.

"You know, were I Gellert Grindelwald's mother, I would be glad that he was locked away in prison right now," Walburga began.

At that, Bellatrix felt her brows shooting up. What an odd thing for her aunt to say and quite out of nowhere besides!

"You're a bit too young to be his Mum," Rabastan pointed out with a friendly grin.

"Because you see," Walburga continued flatly, quite as if the younger Lestrange hadn't spoken. "When one's son is shut away in prison, at least he is still alive!"

"Oh Sis," Cygnus Black groaned sympathetically. "Did you get news? What happened?"

Walburga's expression was still nearly blank as she gave a slight shrug. "Not news as such, per se. I grew tired of waiting, and wondering, though. I grew worn down from being frightened for the men I love best. I grew weary of starting at every creak from this old house in case it was Regulus or Orion coming home! So I hired a Cursebreaker to check. There is a spell that one can cast to see if a person is alive or not. You must provide an object that was very personal to them. It costs a pretty penny, but of course that is of no matter to our family."

Aunt Walburga's tones were far too calm and it made Bellatrix want to scream. "Please," she burst out, suddenly unable to remain still and quiet any longer. "Please, Aunt! What did you find out?"

Walburga turned a blank look on Bellatrix that somehow hurt her more than if her aunt had glared daggers. "They're gone," she said, her voice finally breaking as her face crumpled.

Cygnus stood and rushed to his sister's side, taking her into his arms as she sobbed against his shoulder. Druella's face was white with shock as she stared at Bellatrix and Rodolphus as if still struggling to take in the news. Bellatrix watched her aunt cry as her own chest tightened, then tightened a bit more. It tightened so much, in fact, that she was struggling to breathe as Rodolphus's grip tightened supportively on her hand. Bellatrix clung back as hard as she could, because right then she very much needed an anchor. Without one, she feared she would shatter like glass.

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Bellatrix hated crying. She much preferred causing others to cry. That was far more fun. So in that moment she was struggling with all her might not to cry. It was almost working aside from the fact she couldn't breathe. Then she made the mistake of looking at Kreacher. He and Regulus were so close, she looked to see how he was taking it and what she saw broke her heart. The elf sat so stiffly, face like stone and eyes nearly dead as he stared ahead of him at nothing. He was struggling so hard to keep it together, and the sight rang a cry of misery from Bellatrix as she broke down. He wasn't coming back! Her cousin wasn't coming back and her uncle wasn't either. Druella came to hold her along with Rod as sob after sob tore from her. She screamed out her pain, unable to keep it in. Rodolphus's face was drawn with shock and a still sort of horror and tears streamed silently down Druella's cheeks as she clutched her daughter.

Each scream that tore from Bellatrix as she cried only served to make matters worse. The crying, the grief gave her no form of peace. It just hurt like hell! "Regulus, oh gods," she wailed as images of her cousin's face swam before her tear filled eyes.

Her cousin looking overly serious as he was wont to do, or laughing with Kreacher as she pretended to hex them both for some vexing infraction or other. The thought of Regulus never laughing or looking serious again was just too much. Bellatrix liked few people and loved even fewer. Regulus and Uncle Orion were family, but more than that, family she saw eye to eye with and truly enjoyed. Whatever had happened, they hadn't deserved it, and the thought of never seeing them again hurt far too much.

"No!" Another scream of grief and she still felt worse instead of better. When did it stop? She caught Kreacher's eye again and rather than coming to grieve with her, the elf looked away. This had to be killing him and Bellatrix cried for that too.

"You...all of you have to be careful. I can't take it if you're next," Druella hissed, locking eyes with Bellatrix, then Rodolphus.

Bellatrix gave another wordless cry, burying her face in her mother's shoulder.

"Was the Cursebreaker able to enlighten you at all as to what may have happened," Cygnus asked Walburga quietly.

She shook her head, continuing to sob as she clung to his hand. "Their spell can only tell if the person is alive or dead. My sweet boy and my husband are never coming home again! I couldn't protect my sweet, innocent, brilliant boy and my husband...he can no longer protect me! They probably died together. HE probably killed them."

At those words, Bellatrix and Rodolphus exchanged a quick look of dread. The words were like a slap in the face. A taste of reality that the Lestranges had tried to avoid, hoping to be wrong.

"We can't know that," Rabastan said hastily.

"Regulus was as loyal as the rest of us. It had to have been the Aurors who have been hunting our lord down," Bellatrix said. Though the words flowed from her without hesitation, a tiny part that she usually kept buried knew they'd avoided asking The Dark Lord about Regulus and Uncle Orion for a reason.

"Let it go,Walburga," Druella whispered pleadingly. "Nothing good will come of you poking the snake as it were. The rest of us still have living children, and you must consider that."

"Mummy," Bellatrix gasped and Druella shot her a hard unyielding look.

"No, Bella! It is true." Her mother's French accent was far thicker than usual, a clear testament to her upset. "Walburga has a brother too, and she won't want Cygnus going the way of Orion if she rocks the boat."

Bellatrix opened her mouth to protest again, but shut it because she knew her mother was correct. Instead of speaking she slumped into Rodolphus's arms, clinging to him as she cried over the raw wound that was the loss of her cousin and uncle. They were gone and there were empty places in the family that she knew time would never fill. This should not have happened, and she didn't know how to cope with it. She didn't know how to make it hurt less, and gods did it hurt! She didn't know how to process the fact that she'd never learn protective wards from her wise uncle or make plans with Regulus to raid the Durmstrang library.

It was all so unfair and unjust. So many unanswered questions they would all have to live with.

"We'll keep you company, Aunt," she promised, her voice breaking as she struggled to speak. "You won't be alone, I swear it."

Of course fate had other plans that would have the Lestranges in Azkaban rather than keeping their word to Walburga Black, but at the moment, no one was aware of the grim future to come.

Walburga nodded, forcing a smile at her niece's words. "Thank you, Bella. I know the three of you always tried to look after Regulus..." Her voice broke, and she began to sob softly again.

Bellatrix's chest went all tight just as it had earlier and she couldn't breathe until she screamed out another sob of misery. Apparently she hadn't looked out for him well enough. This time when she met Kreacher's gaze, the look of silent horror in the elf's eyes made her glance away. There was something...unbearable there that she couldn't see.