Disclaimer: I don't own the books/music/libretto mentioned here apart from the actual one-shot and I don't make money in any way from this, yes. Also, the Royal Opera House is real, located in central London, I don't own it/get paied to advertise it or anything.
To be able to follow this, being familiar with the opera La Traviata or at least with the book 'La Dame aux camélias' by Alexander Doumas, fils, is kind of important. In general, it's about a young courtesan, Violetta, who suffers from tuberculosis. She lives a frivolous life supported by many generous lovers, until she falls in love with a long-time admirer of her, Alfredo. At first she is reluctant to follow him, because she likes to be free, but changes her mind and they both live a quiet life in the suburbs of Paris, with money getting tighter every day. Their happiness is interrupted by Alfredo's father, who informs Violetta that her reputation is being a burden to his family. Out of love for him, she leaves Alfredo and goes back to her old life. In the end of the story Violetta is dying from her illness, when Alfredo storms into the room. They both proclaim their love for each other and then Violetta dies in his arms.
"That is amazing, Bella," Tom Riddle said quietly.
He was holding a file that had CONFIDENTIAL written on it in bold red letters. It contained all the dirty secrets and facts that would help him gain control of the British Bank, the largest, most influential bank of Britain, a move that would send his very own companies to the top of the economic food chain. Founding the company that provided the most cutting-edge technology in the world was one thing, but controlling the very money that flooded the global market was another.
He smiled triumphantly at the young woman standing before him. Bellatrix was breathless, looking at him under her eyelashes and with an almost evil smirk on her crimson lips. She knew of course that what she was providing him with was priceless, not only because of the power this knowledge would bring, but also because there were just a handful of people who could offer it. Not even his money, influence and reputation of richest businessman under 35, world-known inventor and owner of the company from his teenage years could buy him that amount of information; that took centuries of connections with the wealthiest, most ancient families for trust to be established and, finally, be taken advantage of. And she had chosen to give all this to him. Because he had asked her to.
"Thank you," he continued softly, raising a hand to cup her cheek. "This will-"
"-help you dominate the world?" Bellatrix finished his phrase delicately. She kissed the inside of his palm looking slightly dazzled by the closeness, but then her usual smirk found its way to her face again.
"Don't worry, it's not for free, that's for sure."
"Oh. But you know what you want, yes?" he smiled easily. "I like that."
"I have a couple of ideas," Bellatrix nodded in a fake pompous tone. "Actually," she let his hand fall, "given the greatness of my actions, the personal risk and the mental pain it caused me, I intend to get paied during an extended period of time- starting tomorrow."
"Tomorrow?" he repeated, his devil-smile reflecting hers.
"Precisely. I would like you to escort me to the Royal Opera House, a very rare and excellent production of 'La Traviata' will be performed, amazing artists, just for one night. I say I am doing you a favour really for-"
"-dragging me to the opera house one day before my birthday?" It was Riddle's time to interrupt. It wasn't what he had been expecting and, in all honesty, he was not thrilled at all. He was a stone-cold genius, yes, but his musical ear was more or less in an infantine state.
"No-o," Bellatrix stretched the word into two syllables, as her mouth took a comical O shape. "Not dragging at all. You'll just wear a nice suit, that makes you look smoking hot, by the way, and you'll be strutting the halls showing off how smart you are and how gorgeous your girlfriend looks."
"You're not my girlfriend," he corrected her in a suddenly professional manner, "and we won't have time to celebrate my birthday with the New Year's Eve Ball." Now he put his arm around her chest so that he immobilised her completely and continued in a seductive whisper. "I can think of a few ways you could give me my present. And they all require much less clothing that the gown you'll have to wear at the opera house."
Bellatrix laughed smugly. The way he was holding her would look perhaps even dangerous to an outsider who was oblivious to the nature of their respective characters and the exact texture of their relationship, but for her it was all part of the game: when he got rough and possessive, that was when he felt he didn't have the upper hand and she knew that so well.
"Oh, don't act like it's the only time you'll be able to undress me, I didn't come to your house tonight just for the stunning view," she pointed out of the vast window where all of London unraveled before their eyes. "We can always have sex, but that's really a once in a lifetime chance!"
"Chance of what exactly, Bella? To witness the heartbreaking story of a common prostitute discovering 'real love' when she meets some good-for-nothing romantic who never worked or put an effort in his life? There is a chance it could work, but it's a fact that I have no heart."
Bellatrix rolled her eyes and threw his arm away.
"The story is not the point, Tom. The point is the music and its magic, how it makes you travel and experience emotions you never knew existed, how you can see colours with your eyes closed and express all these feelings you have been bottling up for so long!" Her cheeked now were scarlet and her eyes had a peculiar shine of excitement in them. He didn't like that; usually her body would react like that to his presence and only.
"Too bad for me that I understand Italian then. How am I supposed to focus to all that you say, when I hear some fat singer telling me how love is the meaning of life in a high-pitched voice?"
"Oh, you think the opera's meaning is love or some other ridiculous concept? These are mere excuses to write such spectacular music, no one pays attention to what the songs actually talk about!" Bellatrix sighed elaborately. "And why would that make you annoyed or distracted, anyway? It's laughable, yes, but why should it be a reason to get angry at a man who has been dead for a century and a half?" Now her dark blue eyes opened with keen interest.
"Because it is a completely idiotic idea, because it is deceiving and even dangerous to portray a life-limiting illness or the life of a prostitute as something worth beautifying, because a simple feeling is never enough to make us overcome our basic dri- why are you laughing?"
Indeed, Bellatrix had started laughing somewhere in the middle of his little speech and was now swinging shamelessly on the spot, her hand over her mouth to cover fits of laughter."And you are the humanitarian, then?" she giggled a little more.
Tom had to admit that sometimes dealing with such a young girl was draining him. The sex was great, she was brilliant and had proven herself to be the only person who could, from time to time, get him; only kindergarten teaching had never been an ambition of his. He opened his mouth to answer in a dignified manner, but Bellatrix spoke again:
"I did leave everything behind to follow you here. Perhaps I don't suffer from TB and my past is not as sinful as Violetta's, but I did abandon a great deal of my old life back, and there have been many who have come here to convince me we are both better off alone." She was not laughing anymore. On the contrary, she looked quite solemn.
"But you're right, the opera did make an annoying mistake: I'm not going back, not for them, not for me, not for anyone. Not even for you."
A/N: Thank you for reading, please let me know what you think.
The British Bank mentioned is a fictional bank.