A/N: It seems I have grown a soft spot for Mrs. Bellatrix LeStrange lately. Huh. Not sure if it's because I saw Sweeney Todd and pitied Lovett, or if it's feeling bad for Charlie's mother in Wonka- or if the Tonks in my head started remembering "she's still my aunt." So I have an interesting little thought that hit me while laying awake in bed one night- if I get reviews, I will continue.
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It started harmlessly with letters left in opportune places. Sirius would find a note on his doorstep when he went out for the paper in the morning, a perfectly hand-scripted note or possibly a juicy bone. Bellatrix might see a tiny package on her pillow as she turned in for the night- a necklace or some other trinket, wrapped in paper that held a single pawprint. It was a way of communicating to each other, of showing some form of family connection even as neither could really talk. A simple hint of recognition: showing that somebody was there.
No. It started before that, when Bellatrix attended Sirius' graduation from Hogwarts in her own quiet way. In reality, she was there in order to try gaining new members for Voldemort's forces- she found none, but did find Sirius. Her first realization was that he was infinitely handsome, even more so than the quiet Potter boy who stood beside him, and certainly much more so than her own husband. Second, she noted the fire in his eyes as he proudly accepted his honors and left the school for the last time. She had left her first gift for him in the compartment he shared with his friends as a graduation token. He had smelled her on the item, and reciprocated.
It was a secret to those around, and both received many jokes about their "secret admirer" though neither would trade those silly items for the world.
On the occasion of Draco's birth, Sirius was able to get near enough to the home to look Bellatrix in the eyes once again. Her body language urged him to meet her on the street, and so he waited for the next twenty minutes before his cousin appeared on the sidewalk beside him...
Bellatrix was a beauty to behold, though not in the traditional way. Hers was a dark charm, a Black beauty.
Sirius loved her for it. At the age of 21, he finally fell in love.
They talked for an hour before Bella felt the fever pitch of passion and kissed him.
The gifts stopped after that night, and a series of meetings instead started. At first, Sirius thought it quite out of character so forced Bella to meet him on neutral ground where they could talk. Not until they'd been wandering for a month did he realize what a different person his cousin was, that she had been hiding behind a mask and going her own way- doing not what others told her, but what she felt could help the most. By now she had done too many things, such terrible things, she could not imagine being accepted ever again. Sirius felt for her, held her.
Brought her back to his flat.
When life changed so drastically that October, it was hard for Sirius to cope. He had been betrayed by Pettigrew, who he had underestimated- never even thought to ask, and Bella hadn't known they were friends until it was too late.
Bellatrix was caught not long after, quietly allowing herself to be dragged into Azkaban. Her brightest star was nearby: she could hear Sirius, and sometimes even see him, from her own cell. Sirius watched her turn from a beauty into a woman void of hope; still, he continuously caught her gaze and tried to instill some form of joy into her world. Joy that was fleeting, but available all the same.
Life in Azkaban was hard. But they had each other.