AN: Sorry y'all I had to take everything down due to computer issues...but now it's back up, and hopefully I'll post some updates soon!

PART ONE: Love and Misery

Chapter 1

"Aw look what we have here, boys – little Snape here has got himself a girlfriend!" I turn around in time to see James Potter raise his wand and send Severus Snape spiraling into the nearest tree, only to be stuck hanging there by his feet. I spy Snape's friend, Lily, looking on in horror. Of course; stupid bully of a boy Potter is so jealous of Snape's friendship with Lily that he has decided to humiliate his newest victim. Lily begins to fuss at James, and he revels in the attention. That pig. Fed up, I march over to the scene.

"You all right?" I call up to Severus, and he nods, thoroughly embarrassed. The sound of my voice distracts James from his avid flirting with Lily. "Hello, Bellatrix," he smirks at my exasperated expression, "Come to admire my handiwork have you?" I ignore him until I can figure out a spell that will safely get Severus down; then I turn back to James, who's laughing about his little prank.

"What is your problem, Potter? It's only the first day of school, and you're already such a pain. It's a wonder anyone would want to be friends with you!"

"Interesting that you say that, Black. I seem to have already made a new friend who shares your name." With that, James moves aside to show me someone standing behind him: Sirius Black, my cousin. My cheeks feel like they're burning hot as I glare at Sirius and the rest of Potter's little gang.

"Congratulations, Sirius. So nice to see you're one of Potter's merry little followers after all," I huff. "Come on, Severus, who needs these jerks?"

"Bella wait!" It's Sirius. He's left his new 'friends' behind and is running after Severus and me.

"Honestly, Sirius," I say, "We're already in our sixth year. I don't see why you have to befriend those idiots now."

"Because I'm sick of not having any friends! You don't get it Bella – you're in Slytherin! But my parents are always telling me to avoid the other houses – that our family is just pure-blooded wizards and that I only got put in Gryffindor because I'm rebellious…Well I'm tired of listening. I don't care, at this point, if James and his friends aren't perfect. They want to be friends with me, and they're in Gryffindor, so I see a lot of them – which is more than I can say of you, Bellatrix." With that, Sirius stalks off toward Potter and his friends. Honestly.

"If there's one person in this world I absolutely loathe, it's Potter," complains Severus behind me.

I turn around. "I don't understand why you let him treat you like that."

"What else could I do? He's got his whole bloody pack of mindless dogs behind him. I hate them all."

"Severus?" It's Lily, jogging up the path toward us. "Hey I'm really sorry about what James pulled back there. I asked him to stop, but he's a jerk, so…" She trails off as she notices my icy glare. It pisses me off what she's doing – using Severus for a friend when he really likes her and she obviously likes James. I don't have the heart to tell Sev – he likes her so much – but all the same, being around her is making me want to blurt out the truth to him. So instead, I tell them that I have to get to class. (Not entirely a lie…I'll just arrive to Defense against the Dark Arts super early. Wonderful. This year is shaping up to be bloody wonderful.)

I saunter into the classroom, expecting it to be dull as usual. Most of my professors are ancient and seem to love lecturing us half to death. Except for myself and one other student, the room is empty. Fantastic – I'm that early. I take a seat off to the side and begin to drum my nails on the desk out of sheer boredom. The other student glances up at me, curiosity apparent on what I can now see is a lovely face.

"Bored already?" he asks. His lips twitch as if threatening to break into a grin. It seems that my lack of patience is amusing him.

"Let's just say it's already been a long day," I reply, taking in his appearance. He must be about six feet, muscular but not stocky. His hair is a floppy mess of brown waves, but his eyes are what stand out to me. They are the most penetrating blue I've ever seen, and immediately I look down, feeling flushed and embarrassed without really knowing why.

"Sorry to hear it," he says, coming to lean on the desk next to mine, and he does sound it. "Any way I can help?"

His question startles me. "Thanks, but it's nothing really. You don't even know my name," I point out.

He chuckles and extends a hand. "Rodolphus Lestrange," he introduces himself.

"Bellatrix Black," I return with a shy smile. Maybe this year won't be so bad after all; my first class hasn't even started yet, and it seems that I've already befriended the hot guy in Defense against the Dark Arts. Other students begin to file in, and I grab my books from my bag as Rodolphus walks up to the front of the classroom. What on Earth is he doing standing at the board? Is this some kind of prank?

"Hello, class, and welcome. My name is Rodolphus Lestrange, and I am your new Defense against the Dark Arts professor.

Please review!