Chapter 1 - Small Seeds

Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry was quite cold this time of year. The school's location to the far north made certain that its students were wrapped in their winter cloaks and scarves as early as October. The hustle and bustle of the third week in the term had ended and now the anticipation was building for the very first Hogsmeade trip of the year. The clouds overhead seemed to share in the excitement, practically screaming at the children below that they planned on snowing all over their outing that day.

Rodolphus Lestrange glanced up at the sky and frowned slightly, he did not dislike snow, but it was far too early in the season for the white flakes to start falling with the amount of force the sky was threatening them with today. It was too cold on top of it all; it was already looking to be a cold winter and that was something the young man was not looking forward to. It made him grateful that he had chosen to not indulge in Quidditch when the Slytherin Captain had approached him in his fourth year. Flying was uncomfortable enough, he was not going to purposefully go out in the stormy weather and freeze to death trying to win a bloody game. No, there were other things he was interested in, and so many other things he would choose to do before Quidditch that it had been a struggle not to laugh at the offer.

The teenager glanced around at the crowd of fellow students, not even bothering to glare at the over-zealous third years who bumped into him on their way to turn in their permission forms. They scattered out of his way once they realized who he was, at any rate. Rodolphus was in his fifth year at the prestigious school, and was not well known in truth by many students, but he certainly intimidated many. He blamed it partially on his little brother. Rabastan was in his third year and Rodolphus knew that he looked up to him, despite their closeness in age. Rabastan like to talk; he was much more social than Rodolphus and the older boy would not have been surprised to hear his brother telling stories about him.

As he continued to survey the crowd, Rodolphus frowned slightly; he did not see his brother, or the witch he had been looking for. He wondered if they had slipped past him while he had been distracted by a pair of confused Slytherins that looked like they were his brother's age. The Carrow twins, he thought they were. Not that it mattered a whole lot.

"Looking for Bella, Dolph?" A familiar voice sounded from behind him.

Rodolphus turned around to face his friend. Antonin Dolohov was in his sixth year at Hogwarts and had become fairly good friends with him throughout their years at Hogwarts.

The wizard snorted, "No. You know as well as I do that she's as crazy as her Aunt Walburga."

Antonin laughed, "Well, she's looking for you."

Rodolphus grimaced and without looking to see if the other wizard was following, he immediately set off with the crowd for Hogsmeade. He could hear Antonin laughing behind him and rolled his eyes. He walked quickly, not wanting to run into the eldest Black sister today. Of all the people he would like to avoid, she was close to the top of the list. In fact, most days, she was the list. If playing Quidditch could keep him away from her forever, he might consider it. They did not often have run-ins in their daily life, but ever since the Black family had come over for a small dinner party earlier that summer, Bella seemed to appear much more often than he was comfortable with. He knew what she was doing; his father wanted him to marry one of the three Black sisters, and Cygnus Black seemed to be partial to the idea as well. Rodolphus just didn't want it to be Bellatrix.

"Who were you looking for?" Antonin asked him quietly once they had reached the village.

"I—" Rodolphus cut off when he saw her, her black hair swinging with her steps as she walked casually up to the Three Broomsticks with a pack of their housemates. One of the girls must have seen him watching, because the black haired witch turned to look at him, donning a sweet smile before turning back toward the pub. Her friends were giggling.

Rodolphus had the grace to blush slightly at the interaction.

Antonin stared at him in amusement, running a hand through his own dark hair. "You just don't want Bella to find you ogling her little sister." The other wizard glanced at the door to the pub and grinned, "You certainly got her attention, Lestrange."

Rodolphus frowned, "Father says I have to marry one of them. I am not going to marry Bellatrix." The teenager shuddered at the prospect. He would not marry the witch, no matter what his father said; not as long as her sister was around. Everyone knew about Bellatrix's reputation for being more than a little unhinged, even as a child. Andromeda Black, on the other hand, was very different from her sister. They looked nearly identical, but the middle Black girl had an energy about her that was cheerful and full of life. She seemed to get so much out of every piece of life; and she had seemed to enjoy his company when they had spent some time together in his parent's manor. Bellatrix Black did not seem to enjoy things as much as she merely obsessed over them. Not at all the kind of woman he had imagined himself marrying; not that the fifteen year old had done very much of that in his lifetime. He didn't think it had even crossed his mind until his Father had brought it up after the Black's visit earlier in the year.

Antonin grinned suddenly, "What about Narcissa?"

Rodolphus looked aghast. "She's nine, Antonin! Nine!"

The older wizard merely laughed and clapped him on the shoulder.

Rodolphus glowered slightly at his friend, normally, the other teenager was quiet. He never seemed to say anything unless he thought it was necessary. He held a quiet confidence that hinted on being dangerous; a quality that Rodolphus strived to acquire as well. It seemed to come naturally to the older boy. Rodolphus himself was quiet, but struggled to form a real presence in a crowd. Of course, it may have had nothing to do with personality and everything to do with the fact that his friend was a Prefect. Of all the Prefects currently at Hogwarts, Antonin Dolohov was not one that anyone wanted to run into after-hours.

Antonin began to walk toward the inviting door of the Three Broomsticks. When Rodolphus did not immediately follow him, he turned around, his dark eyes gleaming. "You aren't going to get anywhere out here, durak."

Quietly following Antonin, Rodolphus was suddenly too nervous to berate his friend for his use of insults in his native tongue. He had never had an issue with girls before, but the sudden prospect of going up to a gaggle of Slytherin girls was daunting.

The sound in Three Broomsticks was almost deafening. Students crowded in behind them, all seeking warmth and shelter from the long, cold walk from Hogwarts. He continued to follow Antonin to a table, not wanting to argue with the older boy's determined face. His jaw tightened and he glared at his friend when he realized they were sitting directly across from Andromeda and her friends. He glanced over at her and froze when he found her looking back at him. At a loss for what to do, he sent her a small smile before a sharp pain struck his shin. He bit back a yelp and glared at Antonin from across the table.

"You're acting like a bloody Gryffindor, Dolph. Merlin. Stop Staring."

Rodolphus frowned, he knew Antonin was right. He was better than the ways of the other students. He was a pure-blooded Lestrange; he knew his manners, and was going to use them, by Morganna. He was not going to lose his head over a thirteen year old girl. Well, he might, but he was not going to let anyone see it. He tried not to think of her as the barmaid arrived with the drinks he assumed Antonin had ordered while he was distracted. Hot butterbeer was always welcome at this time of year, and both boys enjoyed theirs thoroughly.

For some reason, Rodolphus could not get the bright, black-haired witch out of his head; even after he refused to glance her way. The giggles coming from the table the girls had sat down at were enough to keep his eyes firmly fixed on his drink.

The two young wizards had left the pub when Rodolphus heard quick footsteps behind him. He turned to see Andromeda Black running up to them. Her bright brown eyes shone up at him and she smiled. He wondered why she wasn't still surrounded by a gaggle of Slytherin girls, but the thought did not last long.

"Are you going back to the castle? I have an essay to write and I don't want to walk back by myself." Her big eyes were captivating to the boy, and he could only stare at her.

Antonin chuckled under his breath and said, "I have some purchases to make at Scrivenshifts, but I'm sure Rodolphus has some homework to be doing as well."

Rodolphus quirked a small smile as the wizard left the other two Slytherins alone on the street. For the first time that day, the young wizard actually remembered his manners and held his arm out for the witch to take. He felt slightly more at ease when she wrapped her small hand up in his arm without hesitation. The two set off back toward the castle at a leisurely pace.

The witch was quiet for a few minutes as they walked. Rodolphus realized that he ought to start the conversation; she was from a pureblood family and was probably expecting it. He was not certain what exactly he was going to talk to her about. He didn't really know what she liked. He couldn't very well come out and ask her what she liked to do; that would be far too forward of him. He was a Slytherin, damn it, and he was going to act like one. Going with a safe but still inquisitive option, he casually asked her what her essay was about.

"Potions," she replied with a grimace. "My Confusing Draught exploded yesterday and Professor Slughorn is making me write an essay about what went wrong." Her face had a look of fierce determination on it that Rodolphus struggled not to smile at.

"Would you—" Rodolphus took a deep breath, suddenly nervous at his own thoughts. He heard his father's voice in his head, telling him to compose himself. "I'm fairly decent at potions. I can help you, if you'd like." He finished, his speech was a bit stiff, but it did not seem to matter to the witch on his arm.

Her eyes brightened as she looked up at him, "I'd like that a lot."

He nodded and gave her a small smile. He looked at her long black hair that trailed down her back and the way the cold put a bright flush on her cheeks. He knew she was young, but she was already so pretty. As he realized he was staring once more, Rodolphus turned his head to concentrate on where he was going and tried to ignore the presence of the girl at his side. They walked in an almost comfortable silence all the way back to Hogwarts.

That was the beginning of how Rodolphus began to really know Andromeda Black. He helped her figure out what had gone wrong with her potion; she had chopped her sneezewort too finely and instead of giving the mixture a small bubbling effect, the resulting reaction had exploded in an eruption that spewed the hot liquid all over the classroom. He had laughed when she recounted the story to him. She had frowned at him initially, but eventually she was laughing too. He did not see her as often as he wanted to, but he did continue to tutor her on a weekly basis. It was always a nice reprieve from the time he was forced to spend with her sister.

Bellatrix Black was also fifteen, which meant they were in all of the same classes. He probably spent a good four hours every day in the same room as the eldest Black sister. He managed to avoid her as much as he could. She did not seem too interested in him, but to the eldest Lestrange, even a little interest was too much. He had not really thought about why the girl seemed half-mad, but he knew he did not like it. It was not until one particularly wet day in November that he began to understand what was wrong with her. He had been avoiding being her partner in Charms class and ended up instead partnered with her cousin, Evan Rosier.

"She's got an unfortunate mix of blood, that one." Evan had said to him quietly during class. "She's always been like that...Even when we were little. I think her mother spoils her." The other boy shrugged, but then laughed, "She's bloody good with a wand, though." The boy dropped his voice further, "You should have seen her hex Mulciber the other day! I wouldn't want to be on her bad side."

Rodolphus had glanced over at blonde Slytherin Evan had mentioned. Octans Mulciber had what looked like the remnants of red scratches across his face and was glowering across the room at the crazed Black girl.

He watched as Octans leaned over to his partner Marcus Avery and a dark grin enveloped their faces. "I don't think you need to worry about Mulciber," he chuckled darkly. He was certain Bellatrix was going to have something coming to her in the next few days, and the only reason he may have cared was if her younger sister found out that he had known about it.

She had. Rodolphus had no idea how Andromeda had found out he was even vaguely aware of Mulciber's revenge hexing of her sister, but she had. She may have weaseled it out of Rosier, which was likely. Andromeda was very demanding when she put her mind to something. He did not care either way himself; in his opinion, if you weren't able to handle yourself in a battle, you shouldn't start one. It was true that they were at school, and dueling was off limits, but he still held that belief. It was something his father taught him from a young age: If you can't win a fight, Rodolphus, don't start it. The teenager tried to remember when he had first heard his father utter those words; he hadn't been very old. He recalled his father holding a cup of Firewhiskey in his hand; something he only did when he had been fighting with Rodolphus' mother. He must have lost that fight, whatever it was about.

The fifteen year old turned back to the girl who still bore a heavy frown. He knew this was a fight he couldn't win. "Yes. I didn't know what he was going to do, but I did not stop him, Andy."

"You knew he was going to hurt her?" she demanded, rising from her seat to meet his eyes. She was barely taller than the top of his head when she stood, trying to tower over him.

"I suspected something." He shot back quietly, "Your sister can handle herself. Did you see what she did to him?"

She sunk back into her chair and drooped at his words. He did not think he had been harsh, but suddenly the girl looked tired.

He looked up from his book questioningly.

"She shouldn't be here—" The black-haired girl whispered; her voice was so quiet he thought he had imagined her words. "It's just making her worse."

"You'd best be careful, Andy," he said, not bothering to keep a vague threat out of his tone. The words his friend was uttering were dangerous in the wizarding world. What she said may have been true; he did not know either of them well enough to say either way. He had no reason to doubt the girl in front of him, but if Andromeda revealed that her parents sent Bellatrix to Hogwarts knowing she was unstable, which was something he had suspected for a while, the whole family would be denounced.

She looked at him with wild, fiery brown eyes, but they softened once more with his next words.

"I won't tell, Andromeda, but you can't trust that others won't," he cautioned. He knew his housemates, and he knew himself. The only reason he hadn't said something before was the girl sitting across the table from him. Revealing Bellatrix's apparent madness would only hurt her sisters; Rodolphus was not going to be responsible for that. Everyone saw it, but no one was going to say anything. There was too much at stake, whether right or wrong.

A/N: Here it is! I was originally going to only write little snippets, but this story has taken on a life of its own. It was originally intended as a little Rodolphus backstory to explain some of his actions in Instincts, but I may take it further than that. I've kind of fallen in love with it a little bit.
Also, if you haven't already noticed, this story is sad. I mean it. I was writing some of the chapters further in and I was crying just trying to put them together. If you want fluff, this is not the place for it. Go read Instincts, there's way more fluff in that than I intended ;)

Enjoy!