PRETENDING TO LIVE~ {The Lestrange Daughter #2}

𝟓𝟎. Children

Valentine and Draco stood at the entrance of Malfoy Manor once more. It seemed strange to be back so soon as they didn't always back the trip back for Easter. But Valentine wasn't thinking about that. She was thinking about the knot that had coiled itself in her stomach.

She could feel it like a serpent squeezing her insides unsettlingly as Haley took Draco's coat and Narcissa gave her girl instructions for dinner.

What is this?

Valentine frowned as she looked around at the marble floors and tall ceilings. She'd seen them all a thousand times and yet...something was different.

Malfoy Manor almost seemed warped. The place was always dark and looming, but today the walls seemed to lean in like they wanted to eat her. The shadows bent and twisted strangely, she swore she saw a candle fixture on the wall almost flicker out completely despite there being no draft.

Something's not right here. I knew things might be a little different but this can't just be because of Lucius's absence. This is bigger than that.

Valentine glanced at Narcissa. She looked tired. The dark circles under her eyes matched her sons. The woman hadn't said much of anything on the way over and again, like her son who hadn't been in a talkative mood for obvious reasons.

Valentine remembered Easter. When she and Draco had been here last she'd met her mother for the first time. Perhaps she would meet her father this time? Was that the strange feeling of dread that was lingering in every corner of the place?

"Cissy!" Bellatrix called down from the top of the steps with a grin. "Oh, and children!"

"Bella-" Narcissa hissed up at her sister.

"Now, now you know he wanted to see them as soon as they arrived." Bellatrix tutted as she came down the stairs. "And that's just what you were doing, weren't you?"

"Of course, I was Bella." Narcissa looked down to the floor briefly then back up. "But we're hardly in the door. We should give them a minute to clean up."

"Excuse me." Valentine cleared her voice loudly. "What the hell is going on?"

She was ignored.

"They look fine Cissy." Bellatrix rolled her eyes and linked her arm with her sisters. "Come along, kiddies. We have a surprise for you."

Draco glanced wearily at Valentine as Bellatrix began to lead Narcissa up the stairs.

It would appear we have no choice.

Valentine gestured for him to follow her.

The hallways felt longer and dimmer than usual. Everything was just as it had been and at the same time, nothing was. The decor was the same, the portraits and tapestries and yet the further they stepped into the house, the tighter her stomach clenched.

Bellatrix was whispering excitedly to Narcissa but Valentine couldn't make out any of the words.

Her first guess had been that Bellatrix was talking about Rodolphus Lestrange, but with every inch forward they moved, that felt less and less likely. She'd been told multiple times after all that she was unlikely to see him anytime soon, as though he didn't have the interest in going out of his way to see her. But if it wasn't him, then who?

It didn't take long for Valentine to figure out they were going to the dining room as they took what had once been a familiar path. When they reached the hall that held the dining room she almost stopped her tracks.

The feeling that had consumed the manor seemed to originate from here. It was thick and inescapable. It wasn't a smell, it wasn't something she could hear but she could feel every instinct in her body screaming at her to run, to grab Draco and never look back. Whatever was inside was dangerous and incredibly so.