Hiraeth | Regulus Black

Chapter Fifty Two

It was almost unusual for the house to be so quiet in the afternoon.
Normally at this point Ignatius would be causing mayhem with his friends, galavanting around the grounds with his father scolding them for being annoying.

Yet, there was only silence.

Esme felt almost uncomfortable. There was also another part of her that suspected this was a warning, an omen of things to come.

She was right.

The doorbell rang out, piercing the calm atmosphere like a knife. Almost causing Esme to jump, she rose from her seat in the living room and listened out for a moment to hear if anyone else was going to answer the door.

Nothing.

Letting out an irritated sigh, Esme folded down the corner of the page and closed her book, setting it down on the table before walking out into the hallway.
Just as she reached the door and was about to turn the handle, the doorbell rang out again, quickly followed by a couple of knocks.

Esme gritted her teeth together, already annoyed at whoever was on the other side of the door. Nevertheless, she twisted the handle and as the door swung open, Esme wished she had never decided to answer the door.

Standing on the doorstep, wearing a grin as mad as her wiry hair, Bellatrix Lestrange looked directly back at her.

"Ezzy-merleda! What a delight!" Bellatrix exclaimed with glee, pushing past the girl and straight into the house.

"Please, come on in." Esme grumbled, staring at the empty doorway for a moment before closing the door and following Bellatrix down the hallway.

Bellatrix spun around on the spot, staring over the large reception room. "I've always thought what a wondrous home you have here." She mused with a laugh.
"Please don't take offence but.... What exactly are you doing here?" The younger girl inquired.

"Always straight to the point! I like that." Bellatrix beamed, "No need to waste time on formalities, after all. We've known each other forever!"
Esme raised an eyebrow, "Something like that."

"Well, actually, it's not good news, I'm afraid." Bellatrix pouted playfully at the girl before spinning around again and continuing to poke around the room. She would pick up books, flick through the pages, then put them down. She was rifling through drawers and cupboards as she walked around the room's circumference.

"What's wrong? Do I need to get my father?" Esme asked, knowing that Bellatrix would never give her a straight answer.

"Is your brother around?" Bellatrix ignored the questions.
"What? I don't know. Why?" Esme frowned, furrowing her eyebrows.

Bellatrix ran her fingers along the top of the radiator as she walked, and then came to a stop. She finally faced Esme with a wicked smirk as she replied, "I know you're up to something."

Esme felt her stomach drop.
But she couldn't give anything away.

"Up to what? Studying? I'm doing a lot of that." she suggested.
"What fun!" Bellatrix clapped her hands together, "You're playing stupid."

"Excuse me?"
"Don't play dumb."
"Wh-I don't-"

"What are you up to? You better not be causing trouble." Bellatrix sneered.

That was all Esme needed to know. She was safe, at least for now.
Bellatrix didn't know what Esme was up to and that meant she wasn't in trouble, yet.

"When have I ever caused trouble?" Esme offered with a slight shrug.
This earned a laugh from Bellatrix, "Ever since you got sorted into Ravenclaw. Nothing but bad news, you are."