Bellatrix LeStrange walked timidly into Lord Voldermort's chamber. He was sitting at the head of a table looking both reflective and troubled. Bellatrix sat down across from him.

"My lord? Is everything alright?" She asked, sitting down across from him. He looked up.

"Bellatrix, I summoned you here because I have a question for you."

Bellatrix thought back over the past few weeks. She couldn't think of anything she might've done wrong.

"Bellatrix, what does love feel like?" The Dark Lord asked suddenly.
A blush spread across Belatrix's face and her heart sped up. "L-love? Well, it's a very pleasant feeling. It can be painful too, though."
"How so?" Voldermort asked.

"My lord, am I to believe you've never been in love?"
Voldermort shook his head. "Never."
"Your parents must have loved you."
"DON'T mention my parents. Please, I don't even want to think about that." Voldermort said. "There's a difference, though, between familial love and being in love?"

Bellatrix nodded. "Yes. I love my family-most of them anyway. I've been in love once-well, twice. My husband and…well, someone that didn't return that love."
"What became of him?" Voldermort asked. He couldn't possibly imagine Bellatrix taking rejection lightly.

"Oh, he's still around. I work with him."
"A fellow Death Eater?"
"Yes." Murmured Bellatrix. "The only thing I've ever wanted that I never got."

She looked longingly for a moment at the Dark Lord and then cast her gaze to the floor. Voldermort raised an eyebrow.

"So, why are you asking me this? I'm not really an expert." Bellatrix said.

"I trust you for these…personal matters. They've been saying lately that love is the power I know not. I don't much care for not knowing things."
"How about when you were in school? Did you have any crushes?"
Voldermort thought back to his school days. Those memories were hazy. "There were a few girls that caught my eye. But a crush? No, not really. Did you have any crushes, Bellatrix?"
"Yes, after school though, my lord."
"Who?"

"My lord." She replied, feeling a bit cheeky.

"My lord what? Finish your sentences."
"You, my lord, were my crush. You never reciprocated though, so I just assumed you were…" She trailed off.

"I was what?" Voldermort demanded.

"I assumed you were gay." She then flinched, expecting to be punished for her impudence. Much to her surprise Voldermort burst out laughing.

"Bellatrix! Are you really so arrogant as to assume that every man that doesn't show immediate interest in you is gay?"
Bellatrix chuckled. "Yes, I suppose it was arrogant of me. I was vain back then."

He seemed to appraise her. "You have good reason to be vain."
Bellatrix's face turned a deep shade of red and a giggle escaped her lips.

"You are beautiful, Bellatrix. I trust you as a servant. I wonder if I do love you."
A thought struck Bellatrix. "My lord, have you ever had a hug?"

Voldermort shook his head. "No, I never have."

Bellatrix stood up and opened her arms. I hope I don't look like a bloody fool.

Voldermort stood and walked over to her. She wrapped her arms around him and he, hesitatingly, placed his arms around her. He felt a strange sensation. It was pleasant. He closed his eyes and focused on the feelings. It was true; he still couldn't quite understand it. But Bellatrix did make him feel something. It made him feel weak and foolish, but somehow strangely good. He held her closer, and then pushed her away. They couldn't look each other in the eyes. She had felt it too.

"That will be all, Bellatrix. Thank you for answering my question."
"Anytime, my lord." She whispered back before leaving her lord to his darkness and his loneliness.