happy (late) birthday Jemennuie!


you and me could write a bad romance

I want your love and I want your revenge

I want your love, I don't wanna be friends

-Bad Romance, Lady GaGa


There's something about her, and the way she kicks her cousin sharply for no apparent reason, and how she laughs when he cries out in pain. Rodolphus watches admiringly, even as her mother reprimands her- he's eight years old, and he's only ever seen girls pretend to play the part of their mother- a typical pureblood princess. He decides he likes how she acts much better, and determinedly strolls up to her.

"Hi," he says, thrusting out his hand. "I'm Rodolphus Lestrange."

She looks at him mistrustfully and declines to take his hand. "Bellatrix Black."

"Going to be a Slytherin?" he asks, smirking slightly.

She rolls her eyes. "'Course. Aren't you?"

"Of course," Rodolphus says coolly. She doesn't seem impressed, and he thinks frantically that he has to salvage this meeting somehow. He decides to mimic his father's aloof and disinterested air. "I'm sure I'll be seeing you, Bellatrix Black." He raises his eyebrows at her, and turns to walk away.

"I'm sure," she murmurs dryly, and something in her tone makes Rodolphus spin around, offended, but she's already off, playing with her little sisters, having forgotten all about the boy she just met.

Rodolphus' mother comes up beside him, and Rodolphus turns to her, outrage written across his face. "Mum," he says, in the imperial, demanding voice he learned from his father. "I want her."

~.

He gets his wish, of course. When they're sixteen, their parents throw a massive party to announce their engagement that has been in talks for years. Everybody who's anybody is here and Rodolphus finds himself pushing through the masses of purebloods to find his fiancée. He finds her gossiping (rather cruelly) with her sister, and throws her a meaningful glance as she looks up at him.

She immediately smirks. "I do believe my fiancé would like a word. If you'll excuse me, Andy." Raising her eyebrows at her sister, she allows Rodolphus to sweep her into an empty room. He has her silky black hair in his hands for a moment, and then she slips away, laughing. "Musn't get too carried away, Rod. Our wedding isn't for another year, you know. Some girls wouldn't even allow you to touch them until that night." She raises her eyebrows tauntingly, as she neatly steps out of Rodolphus' grasp.

"You're not some girls," he says, smirking despite himself. "You can try to act hard-to-get but I know you want me just as much as I want you." He steps closer and runs his fingers up and down her arm. "And I want you, Bella."

She shivers involuntarily, and allows his lips to graze her own. She pulls away slightly, her teeth flashing as she laughs softly. "You make an awful lot of assumptions about me," she breathes. "Who's to say you're not wrong about them all?"

"I'm not," Rodolphus says with certainty, closing the distance between them. Bellatrix raises her eyebrows, but she doesn't pull away.

~.

They arrive home that night, and Bellatrix's eyes are bright with galaxies and constellations. She looks like she's walking on air as she spins into the room, and Rodolphus privately thinks she's never looked as beautiful as she does now.

He's not entirely happy with the reason behind her current beauty, and so he keeps that thought to himself, and instead, snorts. "Congratulations," he says dryly. "First female Death Eater. Quite an accomplishment."

Bellatrix admires her arm, failing to acknowledge his tone. "Thanks," she says, flashing him a quick smile. "I've never been as happy as I am now."

Rodolphus feels as if someone has stabbed him in the gut, and from the laughter in Bellatrix's eyes, that was her intention. He refuses to rise to the bait and merely tosses her a smile dripping with venom. "Good. I pulled a few strings of course; you would never have had a chance if it wasn't for my word, but…"

In an instant, she's right before him, her eyes dark. "Take that back," she whispers dangerously, fingering her wand. "That's not remotely true; your word doesn't seem to have much meaning to the Dark Lord."

Rodolphus flushes angrily, and draws Bellatrix towards him, his fingers tightening around her arms. "Oh, Bella," he whispers, enjoying the flickers of both lust and fury in her eyes. "You just became a Death Eater today. Do you really think the Dark Lord regards you as anything more than an extra, disposable body for the cause? You have to earn your worth, dear Bella, so I wouldn't be too cocky if I were you. Especially to one," he tightens his grasp a little more, "who has already curried favor with the Dark Lord. I have earned my place in his circle, Bella. You haven't. Not yet."

Bellatrix twists in his arms, but he's relentless. She throws her head back and looks at him distastefully. Her eyes are smoldering. She opens her mouth to speak, but Rodolphus hurriedly cuts her off.

"But with me, Bella, you've already earned your worth," he breathes into her ear, and she suddenly goes still. "I want you, Bella, and lest you forget, I have you."

Bellatrix's eyes flash, and she squeezes his leg sharply. "And I have you," she whispers, as he flinches. "Don't you forget that."

"I wouldn't dream of it," he tells her, smirking slightly, and draws her closer to him. She pulls away, smiling sweetly, enjoying her power, and then, like an old familiar dance, her lips descend upon his, and finally, for this instant, he's hers and she's his.