Harry mulled over his options. Did he want to grade papers or get out of the castle and spend a little time with Bellatrix? A number of months ago, the answer would have been grading. Now, it seemed like Bellatrix was a better bet for enjoyment. "All right, I'll go," said Harry.
"Great," said Bellatrix. "Let's get going. I promised Sirius that you'd take him with us. He's waiting out in the hall."
"What about your sisters or Regulus?" Harry asked. His mind flashed to the times he had taught them in class. He didn't feel any close connection to those members of the Black family, but he didn't want to leave them in the cold.
Bellatrix waved her hand dismissively. "Walburga has made arrangements. Sirius and I weren't anxious to participate, so we're leaving early."
"All right," Harry said, not minding the opportunity to spend some time with his young godfather.
It didn't take long before Harry, Bellatrix, and Sirius were walking across the Hogwarts grounds and down to the main gate. Bellatrix had foisted her carrying case on Harry and was chatting amicably about a number of topics. Sirius was silent. Harry wondered whether Sirius had gotten along with his father better than his mother. Harry couldn't seem to recall Sirius saying much about his father in the future.
They reached the gates and were ready to apparate. Bellatrix gave Harry instructions so that he could side-along apparate Sirius. She would be apparating on her own. Harry vaguely wondered why it was she felt it was necessary for him to escort her to the funeral when she was perfectly capable of going herself.
They appeared in some woods, not far from what obviously was a cemetery. The cemetery appeared to be rather rundown. Though the various graves and monuments were impressive, the plant life was abundant. Instinctively, Harry scanned their surroundings for any sign of life. There was none.
"Well, here we are," Bellatrix announced, a little too brightly. "There's enough time before other folks arrive for you to find a nice hiding spot, Sirius. Have fun."
Sirius rolled his eyes and wandered off and soon completely disappeared from sight. He seemed to have understood that Bellatrix wanted to be alone with Harry. Harry felt rather guilty for not paying more attention to Sirius at his father's funeral, but Bellatrix was running the show.
"This is the ancient resting place of the Black family," Bellatrix said to Harry, making like she was being a tour guide while Sirius was still in earshot.
"Looks like you folks put effort into the upkeep," Harry commented. "Do you visit often?"
Bellatrix frowned at him. "It has fallen into decay in recent years," she admitted. She gestured through the forest beyond the graveyard. "If you look carefully, you'll be able to spot some stone walls. More like ruins, actually. That's what remains of Ravenbourgh, the ancestral Black manor."
"I never heard of Ravenbourgh," Harry said, surprised at the new information.
"Not many people have," Bellatrix said. "The Blacks have always preferred to be city dwellers, or rather, to reside near the seat of government power. Ravenbourgh was neglected in favor of Grimmauld Place. Eventually, it burned down. Had the family been in residence, it might have been saved from the flames. Being the city dwellers that we are, no effort has been made to rebuild. Because Ravenbourgh no longer stands, there is no longer a staff of house elves to visit occasionally. Consequently, there is no one to maintain the graveyard."
Harry shrugged. "Whatever."
"I thought you wanted to know why we neglect the graveyard."
"I'm more interested in hearing what these errands you have for me are," Harry said.
"What? Do you think they are nefarious or something?"
"Well, I don't know," said Harry. "It is you."
"Ha, ha," Bellatrix said. She pointed at the carrying case Harry had been drafted into carrying for her. "You're going to take the contents of the case and sell them to the apothecary in Knockturn Alley."
Harry raised his eyebrows. "You've been down in the Chamber of Secrets, haven't you? That's why you've been busy all week."
"Yes," Bellatrix said. "Harvesting that monster's venom wasn't so hard, but getting the skin and guts has been impossible. It's going to take months to get it all. Seeing as I'm the one going through all the misery of harvesting it, I think we should split the money 70/30.
"You seem to forget that you would have never known the basilisk existed without me," Harry grumbled.
"60/40?" Bellatrix proposed.
"50/50," Harry said. "You're the one always talking about us being fair partners, and let's not forget your plans for our marriage. If we do get married, won't the split be irrelevant?"
"Well, I don't know," Bellatrix shot back, "are you going to marry me or not?"
"Let's worry about that later," Harry said, hefting the case and preparing to apparate to Knockturn Alley.
"Fine," said Bellatrix, "50/50."
"Good," said Harry.
"One last thing," Bellatrix said before Harry could apparate away.
"What?"
....
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