~*~Evil's Daughter~*~
by Hatter of Madness

Bellatrix Lestrange wasn't sure if it was coincidence that it happened to be raining that day, but the precipitation coincided with her tears. She had loved him...that was a sign that she cared. No, Bellatrix Lestrange never became attached to anything or anyone...her falling in love was completely out of the ordinary.

And Bellatrix knew she had definitely bargained for too much that bittersweet night. He had shown affection to no one, and he was so caught up in his own plans that destroying what little Bellatrix had left seemed like child's play. She had had an affair with him, and her husband had found out and left her alone: Not only had he kicked Bellatrix out on the street, but he also left her with nothing but the clothes on her back and a wand, which he only reluctantly let her keep. It would seem easier if he had just snapped it.

Bellatrix arrived that day, soaking wet, in the home of her sister, Narcissa. She and Narcissa were close, and they grew closer still once their sister, Andromeda, became a blood traitor and married Ted Tonks. She and the stupid Mudblood were a disgrace to the Black family. Her picture had been burnt off the Black family tree.

Malfoy Manor, where Narcissa lived, along with her husband, Lucius Malfoy, was dark and foreboding. Bellatrix got chills just approaching it. She walked into the house without knocking, then started calling for her sister. "Cissy..." Bellatrix said, trying to sound strong, when, in reality, she was falling to pieces. "Cissy, it's me...it's Bella..."

Narcissa came out from her bedroom in shock. She was five months pregnant and was definitely starting to show. She wore loose, skimpy clothes, however, in a desperate attempt to hide the bump in her stomach. "Bella?" she asked in surprise.

"Yes, yes, it's me, Cissy," Bellatrix said, a bit too casually. She had her arms wrapped around her own stomach, though Narcissa couldn't tell why. She also had no idea what was wrong with her sister, because, naturally, given her tone, something wasn't right. "Oh, Cissy, I need to talk to you. It's an..." She wrapped her arms tighter around herself. "...emergency."

Narcissa raised her brows instinctively, then brought Bellatrix to the sitting area. They both sat on the couch. Bellatrix avoided looking at her younger sister. That was when Narcissa finally noticed one thing that was terribly, terribly wrong about her sister, and that was...

"Bella, you're not wearing your wedding ring?" Narcissa asked. The silver ring was, indeed, missing from her sister's finger. In its place was a single white strip, part of Bella's skin that had faded from wearing the piece of jewelry. Her skin on her finger was near snow white, which was quite a sight, as Bellatrix was not the tannest person in the world.

She looked sadly at her hand. It almost seemed like she was expecting the ring to reappear there and would wait patiently for its return. However, she knew that that would not be happening in the near future. "About that," she said, then stared at her sister. "I'm going to have a baby, Cissy."

Narcissa was happy for her sister, but, it seemed, her sister was not happy for herself. "Wonderful, Bella," she said, trying to see what her older sister's reaction was. Now, her own child could have a cousin, and, perhaps, he or she would have a playmate. However, Bellatrix's eyes started to water. "Bella, is something wrong?" Narcissa asked. It felt odd to be comforting her older sister; it made her feel like she was the older one.

"It's just...the father, Cissy..."

Narcissa was troubled by what Bellatrix said, but tried not to let it show. "I know full well who it is, Bella," she said. "I take it Rodolphus didn't..."

"It's...it's not Rodolphus's child, Cissy," Bellatrix said.

"I'm well aware of that, Bella, let me finish," Narcissa said. "I take it Rodolphus didn't take it well when he found out, Bella?"

"I didn't tell Rodolphus," Bellatrix said, again wrapping her arms around her stomach. "I'm not wearing my wedding ring because he found out about the affair, not the child. But if he knew...well, I'm sure he wouldn't be too afraid of casting one of the Unforgivables, Cissy, even if I am going to have a baby. He's changed me."

"I'm sure the...the other man would have changed you more, Bella," Narcissa snapped coldly. Bellatrix cringed at her words. She was not used to such treatment, even from her husband. No, ex husband, she reminded herself. She knew Rodolphus would do anything to make it seem like Bellatrix had left of her own accord... Anything so that he would not be ridiculed.

Bellatrix fully noted how cold the room truly was after Narcissa's scathing remark. The truth was, Rodolphus had changed her. Before, she had been cold and heartless; that, she was aware of. She knew she had been awful, abusing her status of 'pureblood', looking down on people for their ancestry, feeling superior for all that she had done in her life. But that was when the beatings started, which was reason enough for her to start the affair. Rodolphus had left her permanently scarred, emotionally if not physically. She had fled to the other man after that, afraid of what would happen if she didn't have someone else. At first, it was to make her feel like a real woman again; she had never meant to fall in love.

And that was true, she had fallen more in love with him than she had ever been with her husband. But he didn't care. No, he took advantage of her, using it to his own personal benefit. Then she returned to her husband, and he knew all about it. But he didn't know one crucial detail, one she did not plan on sharing.

"It's certainly true he did have a part in my metamorphisis," she said, nodding. "But Rodolphus, Cissy, he...he did things to me, Cissy..."

"I know what he did to you," Narcissa said; for a moment, Bellatrix wondered whether her sister could read her mind. "You have nowhere to go, do you?"

"Rodolphus made me leave," Bellatrix said sadly. The room was still very cold. She started to shiver in spite of herself.

"Return to Rodolphus."

"I could never."

"Do you want to stay here?" Narcissa asked, completely disgusted with her sister. She wasn't serious, naturally, but it seemed that Bellatrix must have taken it the wrong way.

"Yes, actually," Bellatrix said; Narcissa snarled. "Please, Cissy. I have nowhere to go. I wouldn't get in your way, I promise, I would respect you and Lucius and your child, I would take care of my own child, should I decide to keep it..."

"'Should'?" Narcissa said. She had less respect for her sister. She sighed. Obviously, Bella had no normal thought running through her mind. "You stay here on one condition."

"Anything."

"Keep the child."

"What good will that do?" Bellatrix asked, moving her hands from her stomach to her arms, trying to give herself extra warmth. She was getting especially curious, practically living on her sister's every word.

"What do you mean, what good will that do? You need something to live for, Bella."

"If you can even call what I'm doing 'living'," Bellatrix said, but she was so grateful for her sister.

Meh, lame ending? I know. This is an idea I had when my friend said she was "dating Malfoy" (jokingly, of course!), and I was like "UH UH THAT'S MY COUSIN", and our inside joke is that a certain HP character is my dad because I had a dream where he was my dad, so...ta da? Please review? Also, check out my other two HP stories, Texts From Last Night and Fearless? TFLN has no reviews and Fearless hasn't been reviewed during my last two updates. In fact, no one's really looked at either according to my traffic stats.

-Hatter of Madness