Written for The Houses Competition, Year Two, Round Four.
House: Hufflepuff
Year: 5th
Category: Drabble
Prompt: [First Line] To my (fill in the blank), I leave…
Wordcount: 491 (Google Docs)
Title: Gods Above All
Summary: "Bellatrix was a queen, carrying the child of a god."
Betas: Aya, Angel. Thank you!
"To my dearest husband, I leave…"
Eenie, meanie, miney, moe…
Bellatrix rubbed the bump on her belly and giggled. What would she leave to her husband when she was gone? What did she have to her name that was worth anything?
"What are you doing, my love?" Her husband of many years stood a respectable distance away from her, as not to be impolite and eavesdrop over what she had been writing on a blank piece of parchment. He had been as devoted to her as she had been to him over the years, which wasn't saying much. Still, they stood together when it counted, and that was something.
"Oh, I'm making a grocery list, my love," she said back, putting more emphasis on 'love' than she'd ever felt for the man. Perhaps she had never loved him, but how would she have known what love really was, having been betrothed before she could put two words together? For most of her life, she had felt like a pawn, being traded from one domineering household to another.
It didn't matter. Now, she was a queen.
Catch a tiger by its toe,
Bellatrix worried the tip of her quill between her teeth and thought about what she was really writing. Her Lord had left the terms of her separation with Rodolphus in her own hands. A small part of her wondered if it was fair to leave her husband without explanation. Would he want to know what she carried inside of her? Would he want any part in raising a child that wasn't his?
If he hollers, let him go.
Bellatrix had shrugged off the nagging sickness, pushing through the nausea to serve her Lord and Master as if nothing was wrong. That's what he demanded of her, and that's what she gave him.
Unconditional devotion.
It wasn't any wonder that she couldn't give the same thing to Rodolphus. Could anyone give themselves to more than one person, fully, completely and totally?
My mother said to pick the very best one...
The quill seemed to work on its own, expressing in clear terms the manner in which Bellatrix would leave her husband and what she would take with her. Since the sickness had passed, she had been filled with a steadily growing euphoria.
Why would she want to contain the best thing that had ever happened to her? Bellatrix completed her task, writing only what was necessary to make her point known. It wasn't the kindest letter that she had ever written, but then she had never been known for grace or tact.
"Pick me! Pick me! Oh, yes, I'm very, very good."
And she was. She was eager and zealous and had been rewarded. Bellatrix cooed to the life growing within her. The world would be His, she would stand beside Him, and they would be gods above all.
Lord Voldemort had chosen her, and found her very, very worthy.