A/N: Written for Syndic-Machiavelli on the occasion of her birthday.Even though I'm writing in third person, I'm trying to capture a bit of what it's like to be a four-year-old with the style. I guess, for easiness, I've made Bella a bit precocious, although far more innocent than she ever has been shown before! Hopefully it's still believable!

Chapter 1: Baby Steps

That man was always at her house. He was as thin as a lamp-post and as pale as one of Uncle Abraxas' peacocks. He always wore the most interesting things. Once he had come in wearing a huge gold oval locket with an "S" on it. Another time he had worn a shiny ring with a black stone. Sometimes his cloak was held together by a silver clasp in the shape of a snake.

Her mama and papa called him "Master Riddle", which was odd, because Bella thought he was their age. Papa had also instructed his three girls to do the same, although Bella was the only who could talk clearly. The three of them – Bella, Andy and Cissy – usually were hustled away into their bedroom shortly after guests arrived for dinner, but this time, Bella sneaked out and wandered downstairs. Master Riddle was not talking to anyone, so she went up to him. He was about three times her height, but she was not afraid.

"Hello Master Riddle," she said, bobbing a curtsey just like princesses did in stories.

He looked down at her. "And what might your name be?"

"Bellatrix, sir," she replied.

"Bellatrix? That's a beautiful name. Do you know what it means?"

Bella shook her head. She was beginning to feel slightly nervous, for he did not stoop to speak to her face like most grownups did. And now her neck was starting to hurt.

"It means 'warrior maiden'."

"What's…what's that?"

"A very powerful woman."

"Oh. I should like to be a very powerful woman one day."

But just then her mama scooped her up off the floor. "Bella! You naughty girl, what are you doing down here at this hour? Being a nuisance to this nice young man?"

Now that she was almost level with him, Bella could see his face more clearly. He had bright red eyes, long black hair and a funny little nose. She squirmed in her mama's grasp.

"No matter, Druella, she's no nuisance. She is a most engaging young lady!"

The Riddle man lifted Bella out of her mama's arms and sat down in an armchair by the fire.

"Where are your sisters?" he asked. "Narcissa and Andromeda?"

"In the nursery upstairs," she replied, curling up cosily on his lap.

"You don't play with them?"

"I don't. They're babies. Cissy can't walk and Andy can't talk. Both of them are still in nappies. You wouldn't want them on your lap. They might leak."

"And how old are you?"

"I'm four," she said proudly. "I'm a big girl now."

"Very right," he agreed. "Very soon you'll be going to Hogwarts."

Bella had heard about Hogwarts before. It was where young wizards and witches like herself went to learn magic. There was a cabinet in their house which had a few medals and trophies engraved with a big letter "H" surrounded by a badger, a snake, an eagle and a lion. Her mama had said that these were school prizes from Hogwarts. But apart from that, she didn't really know much about Hogwarts. "I can do magic already," she said.

"Really? What can you do?"

"I can't do it all the time," she said, "but sometimes, when I'm mad, things happen. Dinner-plates explode, and flowers die, and people get set on fire."

He laughed. "Sometimes I do that too!"

He had a very high laugh for such a great big man. He stroked her hair, and she examined the clasp of his cloak at last. It was in the shape of a big silver snake. "You like it, don't you?" he quizzed her.

"It's pretty," she cooed.

"I have it because I'm a descendant of Salazar Slytherin, who founded Hogwarts. That means," he caught her puzzled expression, "that he was like my great-great-great-great-great-great-grandfather."

Bella yawned. "I'm tired," she announced. "It's been nice talking to you, Master Riddle, but I think I will go to bed now."

He kissed her hand. It made her squeal. He produced a toy tiara out of nowhere for her and bid he good-night. As she made her way back to her bedroom, she stopped for a moment to stand on tip-toes and peep into a mirror on the wall.

"The warrior maiden," she whispered to herself.