"Could this party get any more boring?"
The young man, asking no one in particular, was leaning against the hard stone wall, swaying a glass of wine in his hand while observing the people in the grand hall. The annual Christmas ball of the Blacks was crammed full like every year. Family members, important ministry employees, purebloods, family friends – everyone was present. It was all about seeing and being seen. A superficial trifle for all of them. A group of young people in their mid-20s had gathered in a corner of the room, a bit aloof from the others.
"You'd do well to remember that this party is hosted by our parents, Dolohov. You should better watch your mouth!"
The woman who had spoken in a harsh, cold tone, was Bellatrix Lestrange. Her wild black curls were artfully pinned to the top of her head and she was jamming her hands into her hips that were covered by a dark red silk dress.
"Sorry, Bellatrix, nothing against your family, but this party really needs to get a little livelier."
"Well, any ideas?" Rodolphus, Bellatrix' husband, interfered in the conversation. Dolohov's mood immediately seemed to brighten up. He smirked at the rest of the group.
"Of course. We could play a game!" he announced.
Bellatrix sceptically raised an eyebrow.
"What are we, 5 years old?" she asked.
But some of the others quite obviously liked the idea of anything which would make this party a little more enjoyable.
"Do you have any particular game on mind?" asked Avery, a tall man standing next to Rodolphus. Now Dolohov looked like the cat that just got the cream.
"Strrrrip poker!"
Bellatrix rolled her eyes at him and snorted.
"Are you serious? Either you're gay or you can't count, but as far as I can see, I'm the only woman here – Cissy, you don't count," she interrupted her sister before she could even open her mouth to protest, "so what exactly would be the point of this game?"
"I agree with Bella!" Rodolphus said, putting his arm possessively around his wife.
"Of course you do! Have you ever not agreed with her?"
"I agree with her as well," said a man with long blonde hair who had been rather quiet all evening.
"Now that's a first, Lucius. I can't believe you're actually the same opinion as Bellatrix for once."
"We could play truth or dare," Narcissa, holding onto Lucius' arm, suggested.
"Cissy, we aren't children any-"
"I think that's a great idea!" Dolohov said. "Come on, Bella. Let's empty the bottle together and I'm sure you'll enjoy the game a lot more afterwards."
He winked at her and received a murderous glance from both, Bellatrix and Rodolphus. It was certainly no secret that Dolohov wouldn't mind having a little 'fun' with Bella. Just as it was no secret that Bellatrix absolutely despised him for being an 'arrogant idiot'.
"Ugh, I'd rather shag the giant squid!"
"Oh, I wouldn't mind watching that." Dolohov winked at her. Bellatrix could feel Rodolphus' grip around her arm tighten, and she grabbed his hand to keep it from moving closer and closer to the wand in his pocket.
"Could we please not talk about Bellatrix' sexual preferences?" Lucius said.
"Yeah. As interesting as they are, I'd also prefer to spice this party up now," Avery agreed.
"Fine, let's play this fucking game then," Bellatrix hissed at them.
"Language, Bella, dear!"
"Shut up, Dolohov, or I swear I'll torture you into oblivion right here and now. And I don't care if I'm going to Azkaban for this, believe me!"
"Come on guys, let's go to the parlour before Bella loses it," Rabastan said, knowing that one more stupid or suggestive comment from Dolohov would make his sister-in-law explode.
"And don't forget the bottle!"
After they had emptied the champagne bottle, they sat down in a circle around it and Dolohov explained the rules of the game. "I'm sure everyone knows the usual rules? A person spins the bottle, and the person it points at has to choose between truth and dare. To make this a little funnier, I put a spell on the bottle, so if someone lies or fails to complete the dare, they'll be turned into a snake for the rest of the week."
"Why does it have to be a snake?" Narcissa whimpered. "I don't like snakes!"
"You're a Slytherin, Cissy, so shut up!"
"Bellatrix, are you on your period or something? You seem to be particularly aggressive tonight," said Lucius. "Rodolphus, really, you should teach your wife some manners!"
Avery sneered at Bellatrix and said: "She's just upset the Dark Lord didn't turn up at the ball."
Bellatrix' cheeks turned red and she looked ready to attack Avery with her wand. "Shut-up, you stupid little-"
"Entertaining as this is, could we start the game now?" Dolohov interrupted. "I'll start." He leaned forward and spun the bottle. When it stopped spinning, the bottle pointed to Regulus.
"Truth or dare?" asked Dolohov.
"Truth, of course! After all, I'm not stupid enough to pick dare when it's your turn to choose the task."
"All right. Who's the most attractive person here, in your opinion?"
"Great question, Dolohov! The only two women here are my cousins."
"Not that this has ever stopped the Black family," commented Avery and received murderous glares from Bellatrix, Narcissa and Regulus.
"And remember not to lie, Regulus." Dolohov smirked smugly.
"Well, as I don't have a choice... I'd say the most attractive person in this room is...hm..Narcissa."
Narcissa stared at him in shock, and blushed.
"What? I had to choose between you and Bellatrix!" Regulus tried to defend himself. "Sorry, Bella, but you're just not my type."
"No offence taken, really," Bellatrix replied, looking a bit bored.
"Your turn next, Regulus."
The bottle was spun again and this time it pointed at Rabastan who picked 'truth' without even being asked.
"When was the last time you failed the Dark Lord and what was your punishment?"
"Regulus! You know exactly we're not allowed to talk about our work for the Dark Lord!" Bellatrix said, looking at him sharply.
"There are only Death Eaters in this room, so calm down, Bellatrix. Even if he found out, you'd still be his little favourite, don't worry," said Dolohov.
Bellatrix wanted to reply something, but Rabastan interrupted her.
"The last time I failed the Dark Lord was...uhm, last month. As a punishment I got tortured."
"By whom? Surely you're not important enough to be tortured by the Lord himself."
"By Rookwood..." answered Rabastan and earned some appreciative murmurs from the Death Eaters who knew what it meant to be tortured by Rookwood.
"Can the next person pick 'dare'? This is getting a bit boring," Lucius said.
The bottle pointed at Avery, who indeed chose 'dare'.
"I have a good one!" Dolohov said. "Give us an impression of the Dark Lord."
"Oh, no! You don't! That would be just plain disrespectful and if the Dark Lord finds out, we're all going to be punished!"
"Awww, Bella doesn't like the idea of someone making fun of her Lord," Dolohov mocked her.
"He's not my Lord...well, he is, but not in the way you were suggesting." Bellatrix had turned a crimson red and Dolohov wasn't sure if it was out of anger or embarrassment. When it came to the Dark Lord, she was really bad at hiding her emotions. They all enjoyed teasing her about her all too obvious infatuation with their master. Little did they know...
"Come on guys, is no one interested in my impression of our master?" Avery said, feigning disappointment, and everyone turned their attention to him except for Rodolphus who didn't seem to enjoy this game at all. None of the other men could understand how he could keep this quiet while they were accusing his wife of having an affair with another man. They didn't know the real reason he didn't say anything was that he himself had no idea whether the accusations were true or not. He'd spent enough evenings and nights alone to know Bellatrix wasn't the naive loyal housewife like the wives of the other Death Eaters. She had never actually confirmed an affair with the Dark Lord and he still clinged firmly to the last bit of hope that their master would think himself above such a trivial act like sex. But deep inside he knew their marriage was broken. It had been broken even before they had married. And it hurt him to hear how the other Death Eaters talked about her, some of them even lusting after her, his wife. He wasn't as weak and useless as everybody thought. He just didn't want to interfere because he knew Bellatrix wouldn't like it. Although she was a woman, she was strong enough to defend herself.
Avery's voice interrupted his thoughts.
"You!" He pointed at Dolohov, imitating the Dark Lords high and cold voice. "You have disappointed me!" He circled Dolohov like the Dark Lord would, like an animal circling its prey. Some of the others, like Avery and Rabastan, roared with laughter while some, like Lucius, only smiled frostily. Bellatrix had crossed her arms and looked far from being amused. "You know that the Dark Lord doesn't easily forgive. You deserve a punishment."
"Hahahaha, wow. You're a brilliant actor, Avery." Dolohov applauded him as he took a mock bow and then sat down again. Avery leaned forward, taking the empty bottle and spun it once again. This time it pointed at Rodolphus who didn't look very happy about that, but quickly decided to pick "truth."
"Very well...very, very well," said Avery. "What saucy little thing do we want to know about Mr Lestrange's marriage?" Bellatrix shot him a warning glare, but he ignored it and continued with a smug grin on his face. "Oh, the possibilities... Hmmm, I guess I'll go with...what was the kinkiest thing you ever tried with your wife in bed?"
"Or outside of bed," snickered Dolohov.
"You two disgust me! What Rodolphus and I do in our bedroom is absolutely none of your business, you perverts! Especially not with my little sister being in this room."
"I'm 20!" Narcissa protested.
"I don't want to know either what my brother's up to in the bedroom," said Rabastan, grimacing.
"Too late, Bellatrix. And Narcissa can't leave the room or she'll turn into a snake. These are the rules."
Bellatrix muttered something that sounded a lot like "arsehole."
"Do I...really have to?" asked Rodolphus, obviously not feeling very comfortable in his skin.
"Unless you want to spend this week as a snake... Although I'm sure Bellatrix wouldn't mind." Almost everyone knew what he was playing at.
Rodolphus looked helplessly at Bellatrix. "Bella...I...sorry."
"Just tell them. I'm sure they'll be jealous that their wives aren't as creative."
"All- all right." He gulped. "Sometimes we...we go on a raid. Muggle or mudblood hunting. And then we...we have sex."
"What do you mean "and then you have sex"?" asked Avery. "You get turned on by killing people?"
"Yes," Bellatrix interrupted, smirking mischievously at him. "We get turned on by their screams and their blood on our skin. That's what you wanted to hear, isn't it?"
Narcissa's face had turned quite pale and Lucius looked utterly disgusted.
"My my, I always knew you were a sadistic bitch." Avery smirked back at her.
"You better watch what you're saying or next time we'll include you in our raid...as the victim," Bellatrix countered and earned a laugh from him.
"To be honest, I didn't think you had any sex at all...at least not together," said Dolohov.
"You know, Dolohov, I'm sure the rules of this ridiculous game don't forbid me to hex you into oblivion," she said, playing with the wand in her hand, pointing it playfully in his direction.
"As much as I'd like to see that, would you be so kind and spin the bottle, Rodolphus? Contrary to what Avery and Dolohov may think, your private life isn't that interesting," said Regulus and Rodolphus happily obliged.
Narcissa turned even paler than before when she realised that the tip of the bottle was pointing straight at her. Without giving his question much thought, Rodolphus asked: "Who in this room do you fancy?"
"That's a stupid question, Rod," Bellatrix pointed out. "She fancies Lucius of course!"
However Narcissa looked like she'd rather be killed right then and there than having to answer the question. She couldn't speak.
"Cissa, darling, what's wrong?" Lucius asked, sensing the slight panic in her. She was on the verge of tears and when she opened her mouth, she almost sobbed: "I'm so-so sorry Lucius. I do- I do fancy you! I lo-love you! But..."
"But?" Lucius looked at her in confusion, not quite understanding what she wanted to say. Everyone stared at her; Bellatrix had raised one of her eyebrows.
"I also fancy..." she whispered. Her voice had been so quiet no one except for Lucius had heard what she'd said. He looked at her, bewildered.
"What?"
"I fancy Rodolphus!" she repeated, trying her best not to look at anyone in the room, especially not her brother-in-law. They all were more or less shocked.
"You fancy your sister's husband?" Lucius' voice sounded high-pitched and unreal. "He's...handsome. But I love you, Lucius!"
"Well, this is awkward," stated Avery.
"I think we should end this game," Bellatrix said to no one in particular after she had recovered herself. "I need a firewhiskey."
"End this game? Are you kidding? It's just starting to get fun!" Dolohov exclaimed.
"No!" Bellatrix jumped up, her hands curled into fists. "You had your fun! This is private!" she roared.
"Sounds like you have something to hide, Bella," he sneered, causing Bellatrix to finally snap. She drew her wand and backed him up against the wall. "Shut up!" Her hand was trembling and sparks flew from her wand. Narcissa had started crying uncontrollably and Lucius, though still in shock, tried to comfort her.
The smirk had disappeared from Dolohov's face and he anxiously eyed Bellatrix' wand.
"F-Fine. We'll take a break from the g-game. Now put that away, Bellatrix."
"Don't give me orders!" she screamed. "I don't want to take a break from the game, I don't want to ever play it again!"
"Un-unfortunately that's not possible," said Avery. "You have to spin the bottle at least ten times. That's also one of the rules."
"What? Are you telling me that we have to spin this bottle five more times or we'll all be turned into snakes?"
"Uhm, yes."
Bellatrix closed her eyes, slowly counting to five and trying to calm herself down. She looked at Dolohov. "You will pay for this, I swear." Then she lowered her wand and he let out a sigh of relief.
"All right." Bellatrix turned around. "But first we'll take a break. I really need that firewhiskey."