Luckily for Andromeda, she wouldn’t be waiting all night. Rodolphus had stopped by fairly regularly, and even her ridiculous Uncle had done his best to tempt her into conversation regarding her actions. But for the last couple of days Bella had been left to the mercy of her own, increasingly erratic, thoughts. She did not have the kind of mind that was well suited to isolation – it was far too sharp and cruel for that, and without someone else to prod at Bella turned to herself.
So when she realised that someone was approaching, she’d got to her feet immediately, hovering at the side of the bed like a coiled spring until she could recognize her visitor. Andromeda’s shadow outside the door, lit only by the spot of light on her wand, and her voice drifting through the deathly hush was all she needed. A split second later, Bella was stood in front of her, inches away and separated only by bars. It was strange after so many years apart, that they had found themselves this close twice in the space of a month.
Bellatrix treated her sister to a wide grin, her white, even teeth glinting the light from her wand. “You’re still alive, then?” The last few weeks had not been kind to the eldest Black sister, physically as well as mentally. Her hair was dirty and mattered, her usually flawless skin covered in a layer of dust and grime.