not so s w e e t (family/open)

[gooddontalwayswin]

"Where's my old mask, Bellatrix?" Draco demanded, his voice a low hiss. Bella shrunk back instinctively. "In my room," she replied quietly, keeping her head down, but not allowing her voice to waver. She was not about to show her father just how afraid she was of him. He already held power over her; there was no point in giving him more.

"Do your siblings suspect what you are up to?" he asked, pacing around the room they were currently in. "Safira thinks something is bothering me, but none of them suspect what I'm really doing," Bellatrix replied, tone still even. There was a long pause and then Bella dared to look up at her father. He was watching her closely and gave a short nod once he caught her eye. "Very well, we'll be going to meet Isabelle at nine tonight, be ready," Bella's father said. "You may go." As Draco released the spells on the room, Bellatrix turned a walked out, holding her hands in front of her so her father wouldn't see that they were shaking.

Once out of sight, she moved more swiftly, hurrying up the marble staircase and into her bedroom, which was obnoxiously clean. Bellatrix didn't spend enough time there to truly call it her room, so it was forever clean. She reinforced her spells that kept family members away from her closet, and the mask that was hidden within its depths, then turned to the window.

Even when she was little, Bella had been fascinated by the tree that grew right up next to her second-story window. More than once, she had climbed down it to escape the house. It was the best way of getting out unnoticed, since the house elves weren't allowed in her room or outside on the grounds. Rarely did anyone ever notice Bella going somewhere. Locking her bedroom door with her wand, Bellatrix opened the window wide enough for her to fit through, and crawled out onto the big branch that was next to the window.

As she climbed down, using her wand to close the window, Bella reflected on Draco's time spent at home. Isabelle had said he wouldn't be coming home for a while, but recently Draco had spent more and more time at his manor. Pansy had been delighted with the initial visit, but after a long talk in their bedroom, Bellatrix hadn't seen her parents together since. Perhaps Pansy had finally figured her husband out; Bella hoped so at least, but she doubted it. No, Draco had likely said something that had upset her. Pansy was a great sulker after all.

Bellatrix's bare feet touched the ground and she smiled slightly. Glancing back up at her window to make sure it was closed properly, she pulled her shoes out of the pocket of her robes and slipped them on. Now she could go where she wanted, as long as she was back well before nine. Neither Draco nor Isabelle were very forgiving. "What are you doing?" came a familiar voice from behind her, and Bellatrix whipped around to see...

[malfoy]

Isaac raised his eyebrows as Bellatrix turned to face him, he had watched her quite skillfully climb down from the tree next to her bedroom window, as if she had been doing it for years. It was the kind of thing that he would have done as a child, were there a tree conveniently placed beside his own window. Perhaps he had more of an influence over Bellatrix than he thought. "Quite impressive," said Isaac. "A resourceful escape." He was hoping to make things right with his younger sister, Isaac didn't like not having as good a relationship with her as he did with Safira and Vivienne.

[gooddontalwayswin]

"Thank you," Bellatrix replied, in a tone that displayed no emotion, despite her being quite shocked to find her brother right behind her. "It's really the best way out of the house if you don't want to be seen." Bella fell silent for a moment, contemplating what she should say next to Isaac. They didn't have much to talk about, considering that they were on opposite ends of the spectrum. Isaac was free, Bella was trapped. And it didn't appear as though she was going to get any help from him now.

[malfoy]

"I always used the secret passage in the parlour in the east wing on the first floor myself, it comes out over there," said Isaac, leaning against the tree, pointing to the location where the passage from the parlour lead. "And I think there's a passage in the dungeons that goes out into the forest." He wasn't sure what else to say to his younger sister, the situation already felt somewhat tense, but at least Isaac had managed to not piss her off... Yet.

[gooddontalwayswin]

Bellatrix glanced at the place where Isaac said the passage came out and nodded. "Well, I doubt I'd be allowed in the dungeons, so that passage is pretty useless at the present time," she said with a slight shrug. "But the one in the parlour could prove useful when Mum's not in there sulking." It was true; Pansy spent much of her time sitting in the parlour, doing nothing.

[malfoy]

Isaac shrugged a bit, from his observations Pansy had become anxious since Draco being broken out, but things had been strange the past few days as his father had been making longer and longer visits to the manor. He had, of course, alerted Liam to this, but he had said the best thing to do in the situation was absolutely nothing. Isaac wasn't sure it was the best idea, but he trusted Liam, a hell of a lot more than he trusted Demetri, anyways. "So where are you sneaking off to?" Isaac asked.

[gooddontalwayswin]

Bellatrix shrugged slightly, wondering why her brother cared. He had snuck out more times than she cared to count, so what was this to him? "No place in particular, just away from here," Bella replied, glancing at the manor behind her. She truly hated the place and all the memories it held. Time couldn't go by fast enough to get to the time when she was seventeen.

[malfoy]

"I know the feeling," said Isaac with a nod, fingering the keys in his pocket. They belonged to one of Draco's many expensive sports cars. Isaac would quite frequently take them out for a drive, push them as fast as they could go, just for the thrill of the sheer speed. He pulled out the keys. "Want to go for a drive?" asked Isaac, twirling them slowly around his fingers, making a jingling noise. Hopefully Bellatrix wouldn't refuse him, but he could always go by himself if she didn't want to tag along.[/blockqote]

[gooddontalwayswin]

Bellatrix pondered the idea for a moment. She really had nothing better to do and speeding around in a car was not one of the things she could usually do. "Sure, I'll come," Bella replied, feeling a bit awkward that she would be tagging along with her brother. But how else was she going to get out of Magic Grove for the day?

[malfoy]

"Excellent," said Isaac with a broad grin. He was looking forward to spending some time with his younger sister, hopefully they might be able to reconcile a bit, it bothered him to be estranged from her. He led the way to one of Draco's cars that he had parked toward the back of the estate, it was a small red one, the doors opened up instead of out. "I hope you like to go fast," Isaac said, clicking the button on the keys that opened the doors and sliding into the driver's seat.

[gooddontalwayswin]

Bellatrix shrugged slightly. "I doubt I'll mind," she replied. Perhaps if Isaac drove fast enough, Bella would be able to forget for a few moments. She hoped so because thinking about her dear father and Isabelle with her band of minions did not please Bella in the slightest. Maybe Isaac could help after all; he could help her forget. Bella climbed into the passenger seat of the car, not bothering to ask if that was alright with her brother. She wasn't a little kid anymore; Bellatrix wasn't about to go sit in the back.

[malfoy]

Isaac pulled down the seatbelt and clicked it into place, although with his reflexes there wasn't a doubt in his mind that they wouldn't crash. "Hold on," said Isaac, familiar glint of mischief in his steel grey eyes. He put the car into the appropriate gear and then practically floored the gas petal. The little orange needle on the speedometer jumped up to as high as it could go. Isaac barely noticed the speed, he just knew they were going fast, and that was all that mattered to him right at that particular moment.

[gooddontalwayswin]

Bella liked to go fast, but this was a whole different level than what she was used to. She found herself gripping the seat anxiously, barely able to see what was in front of the car as Isaac sped along the road, seemingly at ease though the car was doing unbelievable speeds. Bella didn't notice that she had screamed until Isaac looked over at her.

[malfoy]

Isaac laughed quietly, he probably didn't need to go that fast, he hadn't realized that it would make Bellatrix so anxious. Then again, she was not inhuman as he was. He eased up on the gas pedal to slow down a bit, this was to make Bellatrix "un-mad" at him, and he didn't want to completely mess up yet again. "Okay, okay, not that fast then," said Isaac, still grinning.

[gooddontalwayswin]

Bellatrix's heart was beating rapidly and she was slightly out of breath, but once Isaac eased up a bit, she found herself enjoying the speed of the car. "Thanks," Bella said, the word a bit awkward on her lips. It wasn't something that she often said. She released her hold on the seat, her hands slightly stiff from clinging to it so tightly.