This has been a little project of mine.
I watched Bellatrix from across the table, a bruise was blossoming bellow her right eye. Narcissa kept stealing glances at me; she was as shocked as me. We had watched as Rodolphus Lestrange dragged our sister across the room, my mother had ordered him to do it. Watching a man 5 years my senior beat my sister in front of me was terrifying. I had my arms around Narcissa who was crying while Bella screamed her wand useless against her future husband.
Bella sits at the table, silently drinking blood red wine. Mother keeps looking at her but Bella won't look at her, she just pushes her food around her plate. She hasn't eaten a thing but she's on her second glass of wine. Narcissa and I just eat and talk pleasantly; we drink our spiced pumpkin juice and avoid eye contact with Bella and Mother.
After dinner Mother hurried from the room. I pretended not to notice Bella stealing a bottle of Firewhisky. "Go and make sure she's alright" Narcissa begs me as we stand outside of Bellatrix's bedroom door. I agree and Narcissa runs to her room. I knock on Bella's door "Bella" I call softly. There's no reply, I push the door open and go in. Her room's dark and apparently empty. Bellatrix's sitting against her bed on the floor drinking firewhisky from the bottle, when she sees me she looks up and says "Hello Dromeda" her voice is shaky and cracking. She pats the hard wood floor next to her; I come and sit with her. I look at her, her mascara is running down her cheeks and her eyes are puffy. She holds out the firewhiskey to me, I take it. I take a tiny sip out of curiosity, it burns. My throat is on fire, I cough and cough. Bella laughs "Dromeda your soo inexperienced" she's slurring her words as she takes the bottle and gulps it down "How can you do that?" I ask, the pain in my throat is now a dull pain.
"I" she announces before she pauses "Am determined to get drunk"
"I can see that" I raise an eyebrow.
"Dromeda, do you remember the girl we saw Knockturn Alley?" I'm surprised she can still hold her head up.
"The one passed out in the gutter we saw when I was 12?" I still remember how mother made us all walk round her, holding Narcissa close to her.
"Yeah, I want to get in that state" Bella says, she sound determined. At least she's safe in her room and not in a gutter in a seedy alley.
"Well if you insist" I don't feel 16 anymore I feel older, more like Bella's friend than sister. Narcissa seems so young, 14 is barely old enough to understand why Bella wants to get drunk. I understand though, she wants to forget. Forget that she has to marry Rodolphus, 18 and trapped. "Damn" she must have finished her bottle.
"Dromeda go and get the gin from downstairs" I can't do that, mother would kill me. But I think Bella does need it, she needs to forget. I nod and silently go downstairs, creeping around like a house elf in disgrace. I reach the Drawing Room, mother's not there. Thank goodness. I grab the bottle of gin and run upstairs to Bella's room, her head's on her shoulder. When she sees me she holds her arm out. I give her the bottle; she pulls the cork out and immediately starts drinking. I sit back down next to her "I don't want to marry" Bella slurs, crying "I want to serve the Dark Lord"
"I know" I sympathise with her although I don't agree with her cause. I understand her pain; I know I can't marry the man I love without anyone saying so. So we sit there to sisters, both trapped. "Go" Bella tells me. I go; I can't stand looking at her misery.
I sit in my room, reading a book I smuggled home from Hogwarts. Ted gave it to me; it's a muggle book name Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. He told me that it's nonsense, but it makes more sense than my life at the moment. I can't wait for the summer to be over so I can go back to Hogwarts, back to Ted and away from blood mania. I know ultimately that I'll have to leave; I'll try and wait, so that I won't leave Cissy alone.
After 2 hours I go and check on Bella. When I go in she's past out of the floor, the empty gin bottle in her hand. She'll be fine I tell myself, I put a blanket over her. She seems happy, she wanted to get drunk and pass out. Now she has. I go to bed, content that my sister got what she wanted.
When I wake up in the morning everything seems quiet, but it's the calm before the storm. Mother finds Bella at 8 am. She screams for us, Cissy and I run to Bella's room. Bella is still past out, lucky her. She doesn't have to hear mother lecturing us, Cissy seems shocked, seeing Bella on the floor. "One of you must have been with her last night. Who was it?" mother demands. I don't say anything, neither does Cissy, we just look at our sister, her hair is covering her face. "Will I have to get the Veritaserum?" mother almost shrieks.
"I put the blanket on her last night" I admit "I thought she had just fallen asleep" there is no way I'm going tell mother that I gave Bella the means to get herself into that state.
"Fine" mother says grudgingly, she waves her wand and Bella stirs waking up "Get up you stupid girl"
"No" Bella refuses. She lies there not moving, her head must hurt like hell. Mother pushes out the room, we can hear them shouting as we go to my room. Narcissa curls up on my window seat "Is Bella ok?" she asks. Bellatrix has never been "Ok" she's always been unpredictable and frankly mad. But Cissy's scared so I'll lie to her "Yeah, she'll just have a wicked headache. Narcissa smiles briefly before she looks away and out the window. I decide I can't leave her with Bellatrix.
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