A/N: Thanks for the review, Steph, and thanks for subscribing, Beatriu, I appriceate it! xD

CHAPTER TWO - RODOLPHUS.

"On a mountain he sits, not of gold, but of sin,

Through the blood, he can learn, see the lifes that it turn,

From council of one he'll decide when he's done,

With the innocent on his face is a map of the world,

A map of the world, on his face is a map of the world,

A map of the world. . ."

Some people have often quoted to me that the first day of love will never return. At the time, I didn't believe them, because in all honesty, I was a happy man. I had money, I had a beautiful wife, and best of all, I was feared throughout the society of message, for I was a Death Eater, and proud of it! I had always given Voldemort my respect, even when Bellatrix would hang on his every word. I would reprimand her about it - privately, obviously - but she would ignore me, shake her beautiful head, and roll her eyes in a dramatic way.

Time has passed and with it, so have my feelings for her. I care about her, obviously, but I always knew he was the one she adored. And yeah - it did make me angry. I won't deny it; I would be considered a fool if I did. I tried to let go of the truth, and look were it has gotten me? She can barely look at me anymore. She was truely a beautiful lie to believe in; around her, back in the day, I felt like ... we were not just two people, but brought together as a whole.

I, perhaps pityingly, confided in Narcissa, and she advised me to let go of the past. This would of taken more effect, had she not been whining about how unfair it was that Draco had been roped into being the one to finish off Dumbledore. Lucius had then entered the domain and I left; I knew only too well should he discover any information it would be straight to the Dark Lord; considering the Malfoy family are skating on thin ice with him at present.

That night, I returned home, from a long walk in the moonlight, past the beach were I had contemplated possiblity on how to end things, when I finally decided it was time to return home. I apparated directly outside our house, before murmuring the password (something other than pure-blood) and entering. I approached the lounge, where I knew she would be, when I heard muffled voices. A conversation. It was him.

My hand gripped on the door handle, and for a moment, I considered not entering. But why should I not? It was my home. I had nothing to hide. And with that decided, I opened the door. Bellatrix was sitting, quite alone, and I wondered if I had jumped to conclusions. No, I had not. She was sitting as if she had just been leaning on somebody, and she fell backwards slightly, now the force that had been holding her had gone, and some of her wine slipped out of the glass. I fixed a bored, wary expression upon her.

"What?" she snapped, regaining some of her usual attitude. I glared at her and turned away, slamming the door in her face. But then I heard a sob mingled with a sort of gasp, and so I opened the door once more. She was sitting there, with tears threatening to fall down her face. I wanted to comfort her, but it did not deem appropiate. I approached her, hesitantly, and drew up an armchair opposite her. I sat in it absent mindedly, my expression not leaving hers.

"Oh Rod," she said, dropping the wine glass and launching herself at me. The glass shattered, but a house-elf shortly appeared to retrieve it, before disappearing with a soft pop. She flung her arms around my neck, and it was all I could do to support her, as I gently ran a hand over her tear stained cheek. We did not speak; but she looked at me with a blazing expression, and I knew that she knew what I was thinking, and vice versa. "I'm so sorry Rod," she said, taking a deep breath, "I just..."
"I know," I told her, careful to control any anger and emotion.
She smiled bitterly. "You're angry, aren't you?"
I did not answer.
"I am to blame . . ." she said, more to herself than me, "And I'm sorry for everything."
I nodded briefly at her words, and for a moment, I wanted to kiss her. But it subsided, and so I held her close and said quietly: "So am I."