Summary: Bellatrix makes a bet with Lucius - she has to seduce all four Marauders in four weeks.

Pairings: Bellatrix/Sirius, Bellatrix/James, Bellatrix/Remus, Bellatrix/Peter, Bellatrix/Lucius. (My, she's flirty, that Bellatrix)

Author's Note: For the sake of the story, I made it so that Lucius and Bellatrix were both in their seventh year at Hogwarts while the Marauders were in their fifth, so people wouldn't hammer me later on about the fact that it is non-canon compliant. If you don't like that, then don't read. You've been warned. Otherwise, enjoy and leave a review! ;-)

"Checkmate." uttered Lucius in satisfaction as his queen smashed Bellatrix's knight to bits and kicked the pieces away "Alas, dear Bella, it would seem that I win, yet again."

Bellatrix glared at him "How many times have I told you not to call me Bella?"

Lucius flashed her a smile, exposing all his brilliantly white teeth "More times than I care to count."

Bellatrix barely supressed the urge to pull out her wand and hex his manly bits off. But considering that she already got told off by Professor Slughorn once today for using a rather nasty jinx on a first-year who dared mock her, she thought better of it. Instead, she proceeded to watch as Lucius removed the remains of the chess pieces from the board and looked up at her "Want to play again?"

"I think I'll pass." Bellatrix leaned back in her chair and bent backwards, her impressive chest bulging forwards, and at that moment in time the eyes of almost every passing Slytherin boy flickered towards her, desire clearly visible in them. As Bellatrix straightened up again, everyone who had been staring instantly turned away, pretending to busy themselves with something else. None of them noticed a knowing smile playing on her lips as Lucius commented "You truly know how to get people's attention, Bellatrix."

Bellatrix smirked "Including yours, Lucius."

Lucius held his hands up "Guilty as charged. Say, have you finished that Transfiguration essay for tomorrow?"

Bellatrix's eyes widened in horror "Oh damn..."

Lucius rolled his eyes "No surprise there. I'd expect you have been too busy testing out Rodolphus' stamina the previous night."

"How did you know about tha...?"

"I was walking past the girl's dormitory whilst you were at it, Bellatrix. I'd consider putting a Silencing Charm on the door next time. I could hear your moaning all the way from here."

Bellatrix blushed furiously, glaring daggers at Lucius in the process, but he ignored her and continued "And I'm not even talking about last week when you went for that idiot, Amos Diggory."

Bellatrix gagged "I never...!"

"A broom closet isn't quite as inconspicuous as people like to think. And I thought you had better taste than that, Bellatrix."

"You know perfectly well I only did it because of that bet with Rabastan. Although I will admit, Diggory is quite handsome, not to mention that he's quite talented as well..."

Lucius screwed up his nose in disgust "Spare me the details, Bellatrix. What you've told me is already enough to give me nightmares for weeks."

"Serves you right for spying on me." casually shot back Bellatrix. She enjoyed bantering with Lucius, as it often provided a minor form of entertainment and amusement when both of them were bored out of their minds.

"There is no need for me to spy, Bellatrix. Your reputation already precedes you."

"And one day you might just get to find out how I got that reputation, Lucius." said Bellatrix in a coy voice. She snatched her bag with all her books in it, off the nearby table and made to stand up, but the sound of Lucius' voice stopped her.

"Then surely you would want to keep up that reputation, wouldn't you Bellatrix?"

Bellatrix sat down abruptly again and fixed Lucius with a stare. He had that mischievous gleam in his eye, the one that she knew all too well well. A little distance away from them, Severus Snape was rapidly scribbling down on a piece of parchment, a copy of Advanced Transfiguration open on the table in front of him. Lucius held Bellatrix's gaze for a little while more before he spoke out "I am curious, Bellatrix...would you say you could seduce any boy here at Hogwarts?"

Bellatrix snorted and tossed her lengthy dark hair back. As far as she was concerned, that was more of a rhetorical question than anything else. There was not a single male student at Hogwarts that would be able to resist the charms of Bellatrix Black "You doubt me, Lucius?"

"No, not at all, my dear Bellatrix. I don't for one second, doubt that you have certain talents..." He drawled out the last word "But I think it's time someone put those talents to the real test."

"Meaning?" Bellatrix's eyes narrowed.

"To phrase it in more simple terms, a bet."

Bellatrix leaned forward in eager anticipation. If there was one thing she liked, it was a good challenge "I'm listening, Lucy."

Lucius winced slightly. He hated when she called him that, just as much as she hated him calling her Bella "I assume you are familiar with that group that call themselves the Marauders?"

Bellatrix rolled her eyes. How wouldn't she? Her younger cousin, Sirius, was part of that very same lot...that traitorous, family-disowning, lowly scumbag...he thought he was above the Black heritage and traditions and ideals...not to mention that he had inherited that classic charm that all men of the Black family possessed, and was devilishly handsome to boot...

Bellatrix quickly interrupted that train of thought as Lucius spoke out again "I'll take that as a yes then."

"What have those lazy layabouts got to do with it?"

"I want you to seduce them."

Bellatrix was taken by surprise by this direct statement, especially having it come from the likes of Lucius "Excuse me?"

"You heard me, Bellatrix. I'd like you to seduce them. "

Bellatrix did not respond, still staring at Lucius with a dumbfounded expression on her face. No, she must have misheard. There was no way that Lucius (granted that he was in the right state of mind at the time) would ever challenge her to sleep with a bunch of Gryffindors. Them being the Marauders, no less. Lucius smirked, twirling a lock of golden hair around his thumb, and spoke in a more quiet tone, since Snape was now looking curiously in their direction "Why so silent, Bellatrix?"

"If you want to crack a joke Lucius, you'll have to do better than that."

"I wasn't joking. But seeing as you still have that bewildered look on your face, I'll take that as a declination of my offer."

"What exactly does this bet entail?"

"Meaning?"

"What do I get if I win this bet of yours?"

Lucius' eyes lightened up "So you are interested then?"

Say no, say no, say no..."Possibly."

Lucius leaned back in his chair with a satisfied expression "I knew you wouldn't be able to resist, Bellatrix. You are far too competitive for your own good."

"I'm not the one who locked myself in my bedroom and sulked for three hours because I missed out on being made Head Boy." Bellatrix took some pleasure in seeing Lucius flinch as she spoke those words "And you still haven't answered my question, Lucius. What do I get if I win?"

"Ah, fifty Galleons should just about cover it."

"Lucius!"

"Fine, I'll throw in that new magic carpet Uncle Alfarad got me for Christmas as well."

Bellatrix frowned "Aren't carpets illegal here?"

"Smuggling."

"Oh."

"So, do we have a deal?" inquired Lucius as he reached out with his hand for a handshake. Bellatrix did not respond, but simply continued to gaze at him with a suspicious look "What?"

"You haven't told me what happens should I lose the bet."

"Oh, that." Bellatrix could have sworn that Lucius nearly smirked again "Well, you remember those rather embarassing photos of yourself at Halloween dressed in that ridiculous attire?"

Bellatrix's face paled slightly "I destroyed those."

"Oh, certainly you did. However, should you happen to lose our bet, I will ensure that the surviving images make it into the hands of every single Slytherin student here at Hogwarts."

Lucius had to admire the fact that Bellatrix was somehow managing to keep herself composed despite what he just said, even though her face had gone chalk white. Finally, she spat out "That's just childish, Lucius."

"Agreed, but seeing you in a maroon wig and blue tights pouring Firewhisky all over yourself gets me everytime. I've lost count of how many times I've been rolling on the floor after seeing that image."

"How did you get those pictures anyway?" demanded Bellatrix "I thought I destroyed all of them!"

"Regulus." bluntly answered Lucius.

"That slimy brat..." hissed Bellatrix, making a mental note to torture the hell out of Regulus when she got the chance, preferably when no one was looking.

"Of course," continued Lucius "This applies only on the condition that you accept the bet, my dear Bella."

There he was again, calling her that. Bellatrix had to muster all her willpower to stop herself punching Lucius, and stared coolly into those grey eyes. Somewhere in the depths of her mind, a little voice was continuously chanting refuse, refuse, refuse, refuse...Bellatrix bit down on her lip. She knew that refusing would be the most reasonable course of action...but unfortunately for her, Lucius knew her far too well. She could not refuse, because she hated backing away from a challenge. Especially if it meant seeing Lucius walking around with that smug and satisfied look on his face afterwards. And it didn't hurt that she'd be getting fifty Galleons and a magic carpet too if she won "Well, Bellatrix?"

Say no, say no, say no..."Yes."

Lucius clapped his hands, his eyes shining with anticipation "I knew you'd agree."

"Counting on it, more likely." muttered Bellatrix under her breath, but Lucius didn't hear, as at that moment, a group of nearby third-years decided to begin a game of Exploding Snap, drowning out her words "There'll be conditions of some sort, I assume?"

"Certainly. First of all, no cheating. That includes using love potions and the Imperius Curse."

Bellatrix snorted. As if she'd have to resort to such crude methods of gaining the Marauders' attention.

"Secondly, there'll be a time limit. Four weeks. One week for each Marauder, that only seems fair."

Bellatrix nodded. That indeed seemed fair.

"And thirdly, Bellatrix, you have to seduce each and every one of the Marauders completely and utterly. Having them merely show some affection towards you doesn't count. Each one of them has to be completely smitten with you, even if that means going all the way."

As he stretched out the last few words, Bellatrix's eyes widened in alarm as the image of Peter Pettigrew crawled into her head "All the way?"

"Yes, Bellatrix. All the way." Lucius smirked once again "I assume that will be no trouble to someone as experienced as yourself."

Bellatrix hated Lucius right now. Really hated him. It would probably pass by tomorrow morning, but right now she had the strongest urge to jinx him into a slobbering jelly "No."

"Then we are settled." Lucius leaned forwards in his chair, and stretched out his hand again for a handshake. Reluctantly, Bellatrix shook it, but nevertheless she held Lucius's gaze without blinking. He winked at her and rose from his chair "I think I'll head off to bed. You can start tomorrow. Good night, Bella."

And there, he said it again. For a fleeting second, Bellatrix fought the urge to fling something heavy at Lucius' retreating back, but thought better of it. As she gazed into the flickering fireplace beside her chair, she reflected on what she had just agreed to do. And no matter how much she pondered on what bout of insanity had caused her to agree to this bet with Lucius, she was determined to see it through to the very end.

She would start with Pettigrew first thing in the morning. And with any luck, she wouldn't have to go all the way, as Lucius put it, with him.

Ending Note: So what did you think? Leave a review and let me know! Constructive criticism will be much appreciated. Compliments will be too. ;-)