Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by J.K. Rowling. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended. Song's not mine, quote's not mine; how often do I have to say this?
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"She's been running through my dreams
And it's driving me crazy, it seems
I'm going to ask her to marry me." – All Time Low, "Remembering Sunday"
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The hazy glimmer of summer sunlight illuminates every inch of Lestrange Manor and its immediate surroundings, particularly, the meadow located behind the family's estate. It is an area that deserves much admiration for its overall untouched and natural beauty. In addition to its overall splendor, the delicate rays of warming sunshine pierce through a sparse canopy of trees; the many different wildflowers result in loose, colorful petals that dance gently in the wind; the rainbows that swathe the grassy ground radiates happiness and contentment.
Looking around at their surroundings, Rodolphus reassures himself that he has chosen the perfect location for what he is about to do. For the past few weeks, he has secretly been planning this moment, and so far, everything is running smoothly. Trying to appear relaxed, he casually comments, "I think that perhaps I should speak to your father."
Stretching in an almost cat-like fashion in the grass, Bellatrix asks lazily, "About what?" He secretly suspects that she is not actually paying attention to what he is saying. Instead, she is twisting blades of vividly green grass around delicate fingers, until they snap into pieces of ruined perfection.
Fingering the edges of the small red velvet box in his robes – it contains the ring he had purchased three days prior; the diamond is especially impressive, to the point when if it had been any larger, it would have crossed the line from ostentatious to plain vulgar. His Bella would have nothing but the best, and he prefers to keep it that way. Keeping his tone even, he replies, "About our marriage."
"WHAT?!" She leaps to her feet, letting out a shriek that shatters the peacefulness of their surroundings. Her voice is at a volume more fitting of a response to an argument, not a proposal - which it is, brought up as subtly as he could manage without trying to sound too eager, or bringing about a sense of confusion.
He can tell she is furious, because as of now, not counting her previous outburst, she is still speechless. And her silence is worse than if she had immediately started screaming at him, because it simply means her anger is too great to be put into words. He winces inwardly, wondering why she is so upset at something that usually brought joy. Most women would be thrilled with a proposal, or so he had heard; obviously, this would not apply to Bellatrix.
When she recovers from her silent disbelief, she yells, "HOW DARE YOU! You…why must you…"
A look of bewilderment appears on her face, and she is unable to finish the thought. Instead, she backs away slowly, muttering what sounds suspiciously like invectives under her breath. And then she does something that Bellatrix Black never does; she turns and runs away - from him, and the problem he has inadvertently created. Not moving from the spot he is standing in, he watches her until she is beyond his line of sight. Chances are she is making her way back to the Manor, where she can access the Floo Network to her own home safely; at least he doesn't need to worry about her in that aspect.
Meanwhile, in his mind, he is going over everything that led up to this and trying to figure out what had gone wrong. It probably wasn't the question that was the problem, so what was it? Was it the way he had initially imagined it? His mind instantly fills with image of Bellatrix throwing her arms around him and accepting his offer. He immediately shakes his head, as if doing so would clear his mind; no, that was not what he had thought. Actually, he didn't even know what he had thought; he had concentrated so hard on the location and the question that he had neglected to consider how she would react - that was a huge mistake.
For crying out loud, it was Bellatrix bloody Black that he was asking; why had he been naïve enough to think that it would be a simple task to ask for her hand in marriage? Although she is the only one that he considers both his equal and a candidate for marriage, why hadn't he asked himself if there was a chance that she feels the same way?
He suddenly realizes that there is no purpose in standing in the meadow any longer, and he slowly starts to walk back towards the Manor. Now, in addition to having a proposal to deal with, he would have to figure out what had gone wrong and fix that too. He sighs; why did women have to be so confusing? And it was just his luck that he had to be in love with the most confusing of them all. Bellatrix was well-known for her spontaneity and her unpredictability, but he had thought he knew her better than most people did. After today though, he would have to reconsider that notion.
He would understand if she had been disbelieving or scornful. He would understand if she had said she didn't want to think of such matters yet, and that she might reconsider it in a few more years. He would understand if she had abruptly refused with a mocking laugh, saying that she had the same offer from her many, many other suitors, and what was another to her? But she was angry. Undeniably, irrevocably angry. And for the love of Merlin, he could not understand why.
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LYSANDER: The course of true love never did run smooth.
- Shakespeare, A Midsummer Night's Dream, I.i.134
Author's Note(s): If you review, I'll give you a chocolate chip cookie. Or if you're a Sweeney Todd fan, a nice, juicy meat pie (no human flesh included, of course). =] I'm working on the next chapter of this, and *hint* reviews make me write faster, so... Wow, I can't get any more obvious than this, can I?
