"You father is dead," Bellatrix informed him rather bluntly. "The wizard you and your father were hunting in Albania ambushed you. Luckily, the fellow I hired to find you was there and saved your life."
"Then my master will hunt you down," Draco declared boldly.
Bellatrix reached out and grabbed Draco's arm, twisting it so she could see the inside of his wrist. "It would appear that you have not quite yet been branded as the dark lord's own. Did not quite make it to the rank of Death Eater, did you?"
"I would have made it after coming back from Albania," Draco snarled. "You screwed that up for me."
"Pity," Bellatrix said, smiling thinly.
"So, basically, I am in Azkaban. Is that what this is?" Draco demanded, angry, but also a little bit scared, now.
"Not quite Azkaban," Bellatrix told him. "Your mother can visit you, and you will certainly not be confined to this room."
"Oh, and what am I supposed to do outside of this room? Frolic with the Muggles?"
Bellatrix let out a laugh that devolved into a giggle that made Draco very nervous. "The Muggles will be frolicking, I assure you," she said. "But, you will be otherwise occupied. Get out of bed," she directed, motioning with her head. "We have places to be."
Draco watched as his long lost aunt turned her back and made her way out of the room. "Also keep in mind," she called, "that if anything bad happens to me, there will not be anyone to deactivate the magic that keeps you imprisoned in this general area."
Still rather shaken, but curious enough to find out more, Draco climbed out of the bed and discovered that he was wearing Muggle clothes. Idly, he wondered if she had stripped him and dressed him. Finding a pair of shoes on the floor near his bed, he put them on and then stood to follow Bellatrix. He found her down the stairs and near what appeared to be the front door of the house in which they were located.
"Come along," Bellatrix said as she raised her wand and began casting glamour charms on herself.
Confused, Draco watched as she transformed herself into a middle-aged woman and lightened her hair. As disappointment rose in his mind, Draco realized that he had been rather attracted to her original looks. "So, ah, is this what you really look like?" he asked.
"No, this is my disguise," Bellatrix told him as she opened the front door and led him out.
They walked down to the end of the drive, over one house, and up to the door of #4 Privet Drive. Apprehensively, Draco watched as Bellatrix pasted a false smile on her face and rapped smartly on the door of #4.
After several minutes, a rather surly looking man answered the front door, though he quickly placed a genial smile on his face as soon as he saw who his visitor was. "Mrs. White, how are you?" he inquired.
"I am very well, indeed," Bellatrix told the man as Draco looked on in consternation. Bellatrix motioned toward Draco. "This is my nephew. Remember? The one that was just released from the juvenile center. Davey, this is Mr. Vernon Dursley."
Draco stared stupidly at Bellatrix and Mr. Dursley for a moment before realizing that his aunt had renamed him Davey.
"He has always been a little slow," Bellatrix told Mr. Dursley as the large and beefy man shared a sympathetic glance with her. "My husband and I have tried to help his parents, but there does not seem to be much hope for anybody."
"Very unfortunate," Mr. Dursley said to Bellatrix before looking Draco in the eye. "Davey," he said, "do you know how to operate a lawn mower?"
"No," Draco replied, feeling very confused.
"I am sure it will not take much time to teach him," Bellatrix assured Mr. Dursley. "If you would be so kind as to teach him the basics, I am sure he would be glad to mow your lawn free of charge for the next four weeks."
"Sounds like a bargain to me," Mr. Dursley said.
.....
"I'm not sure this is worth skipping dinner for," Leo grumbled.
"The only options were the dead of the night and dinnertime," Rose told him. "Bellatrix chose dinnertime."
"Easy for her," Leo retorted good naturedly as he and Rose rushed to Gryffindor Tower. "She can have Kreacher serve her dinner any time she wants."
"I am not entirely convinced that Kreacher serving dinner makes anybody's life easier," Rose said as she and Leo entered the Gryffindor common room and walked toward the fire. "What time is it?"
"I think we only have a couple minutes," Leo told her.
"Great," Rose said. "Why don't you run up and check to make sure nobody is in the boys' dormitories, and I'll check the girls'.
After a few minutes, the pair concluded that they were alone in Gryffindor Tower. Satisfied, they set some small wards to alert them if anybody approached the common room and then sat down on the couch in front of the fire, waiting for Bellatrix to floo call them.
The appointed time came and went without Bellatrix appearing in the fireplace. "Where is she?" Rose wondered, frowning.
"She is otherwise occupied," came a voice from an armchair to their right.