This is my response to Written Sparks' "Crayola Colours" challenge. My prompt was royal purple, which is one of my favourite colours and so is deserving of a favourite character.
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Lying on their bed, enjoying the luxurious texture of the sheets, Rodolphus Lestrange watched his wife as she prepared for the evening's celebrations. In light of the string of successful raids following his return to power, the Dark Lord had invited his followers to Malfoy Manor for reasons that were not yet clear to him. It seemed probable that Bellatrix would at least have an idea as to what was going on, but she had shown characteristically little interest in him. He was struck by her beauty as Bellatrix fixed a string of diamonds around her slender neck. It had been years since he had seen her wearing such finery.
"Do they please you?" He felt at once excitement and dread as he watched Bellatrix surveying his gift.
"What use could I possibly have I for jewels? The Dark Lord needs our help, and I sincerely doubt that any circumstances in which I would be wearing diamonds of all things could benefit him." Her dark eyes swept over him with the same detachment they had contained when she had first caught sight of the necklace.
"I had thought-" The words died on his lips as he saw the fire of fanaticism burning inside of her, those dark eyes suddenly like coals.
Rodolphus had not bought her any more gifts.
Perhaps she was jealous of Narcissa, who was filling the role of hostess to the Dark Lord. It seemed almost as though Bellatrix sought to mimic her sister by spending so much time on her appearance. Dark where Narcissa was light, Bellatrix was every bit as beautiful as her younger sister, but Azkaban had taken its toll on her. She had never looked so full of vitality since before their imprisonment.
Bellatrix stood and opened the mahogany doors of the wardrobe, lifting a box from the shelf. With a tenderness he had rarely witnessed in her, she removed the tissue paper covering the garment and placed it on the bed beside Rodolphus, giving no sign that she had seen him.
Slipping the dress robes around her shoulders, Bellatrix examined her reflection in the mirror, running her pale hands across the smooth expanses of velvet. For a moment Rodolphus wondered why he could not recall having seen the robes before. They were new. Bellatrix did not buy clothes. Pointless fripperies, he heard her say.
The deep, royal purple complimented her colouring, and the cut of the robes emphasised the slenderness of her waist. Bellatrix looked magnificent. He knew it, watching her rotate slowly, and so did she. It was the colour for her; royal purple. His wife had the dignity of a queen, and she was utterly unreachable to Rodolphus, as though he was a peasant. It was not him that she dressed for. Bellatrix did not dress to be his queen. Closing his eyes, Rodolphus saw only her, clad in the plush robes. Royal purple.
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Thanks for reading. Please review.