The Queen of Vipers || Fred Weasley

III.VI

Electra had tried not to shudder away from Dumbledore's arm the moment they Apperated into the dark shade of the unkempt square.

Transitioning from the harrowing winds of Azkaban's island, to the still, warm climate of London was almost a shock to the system. A lasting shiver ran through Electra as she stepped out from the shade of an enormous tree. It was still early in the morning and a low fog covered the dewy grass of the square, dampening her socks peaking over her Mary Jane's, not exactly helping with the left over chill in her bones from the prison.

Mad-Eye led them back to headquarters, knocking roughly on the battered door once it popped into place. Almost instantly, her uncle's face took up the space where the knocker had been a second before. She could see the worry etched into his features ease the moment his hazel eyes found Electra. And if his face didn't tell her everything, the sigh of relief that had left him did.

He moved so they could enter and before she could make it a few steps into the hall, Sirius emerged from one of the rooms and was upon her. His hands took her face as his grey eyes, almost identical to hers, swept over her in distress. "Are you okay?" Electra hadn't had the energy to fight him off, and only slid her eyes past his face. With a sigh he smoothed out the wild curls around her face and his scowl deepened. "You look peaky," he said ingeniously. Sirius straightened— which was really just a lift of his chin as he and Electra were nearly the same height, give or take an inch— and let her face go. She snuck a peek up at him and watched his eyes darken looking over her shoulder at Dumbledore and Mad-Eye.

"Ella, go have breakfast. It'll help," he instructed absently, his eyes still on the men behind her.

Remus looked at Sirius in unease as he stared the other men down as he moved into the dining room. Dumbledore and Mad-Eye followed, as well as her uncle —which Electra was sure only went to keep Sirius in check— and closed the door behind them.

But Electra had just stood outside the dining room door, staring at the moulding for a long while. That was until Sirius's shout pierced through the Muffliato charm.

"AZKABAN?!"

Electra jumped, not at Sirius's outburst, but at a woman's, and spun around to face the curtained portrait. "FILTH! BLOOD TRAITOR SCUM IN MY GREAT HOME! FREAKS AND BEASTS—!"

Electra ripped the velvet curtains open. The pale woman in the portrait immediately quieted. The Walburga in the portrait couldn't be more than fifty and strikingly beautiful, cruelly so even, made of all severe lines and sharp angles. Her loose, raven curls identical to Electra's, were pinned elegantly around her head, but her almond shaped eyes were a darker grey than her own. Around her neck was the Black family crest on a short necklace, over a high lace collar, superfluously showing off her noblesse. She looked almost identical to Andromeda now, just with darker hair and a much stricter face and eyes filled with venom. The hereditary Black family's looks were strong indeed.

"What are you doing here?" asked Walburga.

Electra started, forgetting for a second that the portrait could speak. She blinked slowly.

She knows who I am?

The words were nearly out her mouth when the portrait spoke again. "You look different than I remember you last, Bellatrix." 

An image of Rodolphus Lestrange; pale as ash and sunken faced, as he bellowed hysterically for her, flashed in her mind.

Electra's mouth closed in a frown as she tried to suppress the chill that snaked down her spine. Walburga's eyes narrowed. "Are you here to cast out the scum from my home—?"

The door to the kitchen creaked noisily, pulling both their attention. Arthur Weasley peeked his head out and, upon spotting Electra, grinned in that merry sort of way of his. "Oh good, you're back in time for breakfast. Molly's made quite the spread."