The door to the sole bedroom on the uppermost floor of the residence of Cygnus and Druella Black swung open, as their eldest daughter Bellatrix and her fiancé Rodolphus Lestrange pushed themselves over the threshold. As Rodolphus silently closed the door behind them, Bellatrix threw herself face first onto the massive bed aligned against the right wall, landing with a muffled thud, followed by a quiet clicking as her shoes fell off and clattered against the wooden floor.
"Thank Merlin that's over!" exclaimed Rodolphus after manoeuvring himself over to the vanity sitting between the two windows, resting against the heavily packed countertop. Bellatrix lifted her head, blowing out a puff of air and drawing herself up on her elbows.
"Ugh I know," she agreed, extra displeasure clear in her voice. "If she calls me down there again to look at more table settings please kill me." A knowing look passed between the two, a glance filled with shared tedium and sympathy. Their afternoon so far had consisted being sat around the large table in the Black's dining room to discuss wedding planning, something which neither were particularly enthusiastic about. As soon as they had announced their engagement the tirade of questions and planning had known no end, and they were both sick of it before it had even started.
"If we both have to go, I'll have killed myself first." Rodolphus replied. Bellatrix raised her eyebrows and scoffed.
"You selfish git!" she accused, taking a moment to look slightly offended, before Rodolphus caught a mischievous glint in her eye, one that meant mocking or trouble. "I'm you're future wife," she joked, exaggeratedly batting her hooded eyelids "You should be putting me first."
Rodolphus chuckled, thinking for a conscious second how most people who spent a great deal of time around Bellatrix ended up putting her first anyway, whether intentionally or not. A natural manipulator, just like himself.
"Nah," he nonchalantly responded, flashing Bellatrix a smirk. Her mouth opened wide, imitating a look of shock before it shifted into a grin, her genuine one, not the sinister one she was known for during their school years.
"Good," she told him. "Or else I'd think there was something wrong with you."
Rodolphus was an unashamedly selfish man. It was one of the things Bellatrix admired about him, but little did she know that now he put her first much more than he ever did himself. Maybe she was too wrapped up in herself to notice, but that was one of the things he loved about her, a person that unique deserved to be obsessed with themselves. He was still a ruthless competitor, and competition was what their relationship thrived on, so he was content to have her blissfully unaware that he would do anything she asked, should she just say the word.
Bellatrix groaned "Why does this thing take so long to plan? I just want it over with, then they'll finally be off our backs." Bellatrix had hated the thought of marriage as soon as she knew it would be inevitable for her, that she would be forced to sign away her freedom after barely reaching adulthood in the name of duty, putting her wants and desires on a back bench for the rest of her life. Though she would never admit it, she was thankful that she had Rodolphus, he had been the only person besides her sisters that she rarely grew bored of. So when she could put the issue off no longer she decided that she could tolerate the thought of being married to him, no one else.
"No they won't," Rodolphus counters. "We'll be hearing the dreaded C word before we even leave for the honeymoon." Bellatrix grimaced from the truth in his words, in this heritage line you didn't get left alone until you had produced an heir.
"Shit." She muttered. On the other side of the room Rodolphus tutted.
"Such unbecoming language." He jested, mocking the tone of their parents with considerable flair. Bellatrix giggled before joining in.
"I know, how improper of me," she mimicked the mannerisms she'd observed in her parents and their associates for years, pitching her voice at the so obviously fake tone she reserved for formal gatherings her parents dragged her to. "I should be punished right away."
"Alright then." Smirked Rodolphus, breaking character immediately. Bellatrix shook her head, wild curls flying into her face, before grabbing one of the small pillows nearby and hurling it at his face.
"Behave." She scolded teasingly, sweeping her hair out of her eyes while Rodolphus recovered from the pillow hitting his face, missing when he threw it back to her.
"I've got no choice," he responded, a tone of underlying disappointment sitting amongst the amusement. "I'm surprised your mother even let me in here."
"If I pretend to be enthusiastic about the wedding I can get away with a lot." Explained Bellatrix, getting a mischievous snicker in response from Rodolphus. There was nothing lacking in the physical aspects of their relationship, in fact one of the reasons that their relationship seemed so strong was because they were very attracted to one another. People often mistook displays of lust as signs of affection, agreements for romantic gestures, no one questioning the dynamics of their relationship, which was just how they liked it. Nobody needed to know that they functioned on compatibility rather than passion, that beneath the surface they were just two similar people trying to do what's best for themselves.
"They're all too involved in the planning to even notice, it's embarrassing." She spat, letting out a heavy sigh. "I just want the whole damn thing over, I never wanted it in the first place."
The words felt like a dull knife scraping Rodolphus' insides as they left her mouth, but he tried not to take it personally. He'd known that she'd never wanted to get married, that the thought of it was like a thorn in her side that she could never remove, he knew she only agreed to marry him because she couldn't stand the thought of it being anyone else, but neither could he. He knew he wanted her from the moment they met, that he'd never met anyone like her and never would again. Their personalities together were like a lightning storm, powerful, damaging, commanding the attention of everything in its wake. He'd never met someone so fascinating, someone who matched him almost perfectly. Their friendship had been strong and fraught with excitement, and he couldn't picture this with anyone else.
"At least you chose the best possible candidate." Rodolphus continued, using a tone of self-satisfaction to hide the truth that essentially, that's all he is, a good candidate. He still earned a laugh for his troubles.
"I mean it could've been worse." Bellatrix mused, more to herself than to Rodolphus. "Mother and Father could have chosen for me and left me with some brain-dead oaf with more money that sense." She was right, this definitely could have been worse. Bellatrix was adamant that she would choose her husband herself, despite her mother and father's constant insistence that making a selection for her would be much more practical. They were impressed when she announced her intentions to marry a Lestrange, a family with as much wealth and nobility as their own. Bellatrix had been aware of this the moment Rodolphus introduced himself to her on their first day of Hogwarts, the only person in her small friend group who came close to being her equal. It was a bonus that she found him extremely attractive and their personalities were similar, that he almost understood her. It made the thought of marrying him much less unbearable. She supposed that her choosing him was inevitable, she'd known that when their friendly rivals relationship moved into friends with benefits in their last few years at school. It was inevitable due to the lives they lead, and she found herself wondering if they would ever be lovers in another life, agreeing that yes, they would, but they would eventually move on without an unescapable marriage to trap them.
"True, you could be marrying Goyle." Rodolphus joked as Bellatrix laughed. She always did enjoy his jokes, particularly when at others expense.
"It would be better if you could stay," she said. "I don't think I could survive being left alone with them."
"I could sneak back later." Rodolphus suggested, thinking of all the times since their graduation that he'd flown up to her window in the middle of the night, and she'd let him in without a sound, her parents and sisters none the wiser.
"Too risky," Bellatrix replied with a wince, as if recalling an unfortunate memory. "Last time Cissy almost caught you." It was now Rodolphus' turn to grimace.
There was then a shrill calling of Bellatrix's name from downstairs. Rodolphus felt the misery fall back in to her, like she physically deflated, before she started making an attempt to follow the voice.
"At least this makes you as miserable as it does me." She said as she reluctantly opened the bedroom door, the only consolation in all of this. Another voice now called for Rodolphus.
"Let's go be miserable together." He added, closing the door behind him, the familiar twisting feeling in his stomach returning when he thinks of how marrying Bellatrix Black makes him feel so far from miserable that she couldn't even comprehend.