Bellatrix looked at herself in the mirror, feeling slightly nervous. She decided that she looked alright. Her hair looked lovely, as usual, falling in long curls to the middle of her back. Make up was always easy, although her mother made comments if she wore too much lipstick so she'd taken it easy on that today. Something to do with red being the colour of whores. Bellatrix rolled her eyes at the thought; red was just a colour that suited her.

It was her robes she had that upset her. They made her look like a sixteen year old. Which, of course, she was. She wanted to feel like an adult though. Still, she had some lovely stilettos that she could wear with ease and her mother didn't seem to mind them.

She fiddled nervously with her hair. She'd been betrothed several before, but this was the first time she'd actually been introduced to her intended. She wasn't sure if it was because she was older now, or if this betrothal was a serious one. All she knew about Rodolphus Lestrange is that he was good looking, and she'd only heard that through some of the idiots at school, and that he was in his mid twenties. That part didn't worry her, though. She'd heard of girls her age being married off to much older men.

Distantly, she could hear her name being called, and she knew she had to go. With a sigh she left her bedroom, trying to walk down the stairs with as much dignity as she could muster. Narcissa and Andromeda had been confined to their rooms for this visit, as the three of them so often were. She knew her mother and father often entertained the Dark Lord and his followers, and that her father regularly met with him. It irritated her that she had yet to meet him and that she was forced to sit in her room, knowing he was in their house.

She'd heard stories about his good looks too, but she didn't think that they could be true as he had been a few years below her father at school. That would make him old.

As she entered the parlour, she could see her mother's scrutinising gaze upon her, but she ignored it – as she always did.

"Mr Lestrange will be here shortly," Druella told her. "He comes from a good family."

Bellatrix nodded, smoothing down her robes. "Mother, I was wondering if perhaps I might have some more… grown up robes, now I will soon be of age," she said, knowing her mother probably wasn't going to like that.

To her surprise, Druella nodded. "Yes, certainly," she said, coldly as usual. "I will have my dressmaker attend you later."

Bellatrix smiled slightly. "Thank you, Mother," she murmured. "Will Father be joining us?"

"No," Druella said, slightly shortly. Bellatrix wondered what the matter was. "He is busy today. But we have decided that you should spend a little bit of time alone with Mr Lestrange today, so you might talk freely. Your wedding will take place after you have finished school."

"Straight after?" Bellatrix asked, frowning slightly. She didn't want to become a wife straight away, she wanted to join the Dark Lord and prove that a woman could do more than bear children and look after a house. That left her with a year from now until she would be married.

Druella glared at her slightly. "That will be decided later. It would not be proper to mention that to Mr Lestrange."

"Of course not, Mother," Bellatrix responded, trying not to roll her eyes. She could suddenly hear footsteps coming towards the parlour, and she realised that the elf must have let Rodolphus in. She inhaled sharply as the door opened and he entered.

He was good looking, those rumours were true. He had light brown hair, fairly pale skin, dark eyes and was tall and well built. Bellatrix swallowed as their eyes met, before hastily looking away. She didn't want a lecture from her mother.

"Mr Lestrange," Druella said, moving forwards to shake his hand. "Thank you for coming."

"It is a pleasure," Rodolphus said, smiling slightly.

"I'm afraid my husband has some business to attend to today."

"Of course," Rodolphus responded lightly. "This must be your daughter," he continued, gesturing to Bellatrix slightly. She could see he didn't look particularly comfortable.

"This is Bellatrix," Druella said, stepping away from them slightly. "I'll have some tea sent in," she said, before leaving the room and shutting the door.

Bellatrix swallowed, not expecting such an early departure from her mother. She smiled slightly at him, seeing that he was looking at her carefully. "Shall we sit, Mr Lestrange?" she asked awkwardly after a moment.

"Yes," Rodolphus replied, his deep voice gruff. They sat down on separate armchairs, facing each other. Bellatrix noticed two cups of tea appear on the table, together with some biscuits. She gestured to them, picking her cup and taking a sip. It was hot and burnt her tongue slightly. She winced, trying to hide her clumsiness.

"Do you work in the Ministry?" she asked after a long moment of silence.

He looked up at her, smirking slightly. "I don't, no."

Bellatrix was unsure what he meant. "How do you know my father, then?"

Rodolphus took a bite of his biscuit, looking at it with a certain element of dislike. "Through a mutual friend," he said, looking back at her.

"That's a relief," Bellatrix said, trying to smile at him. "I hate those Ministry wife types." Rodolphus didn't respond. "You went to school in France, didn't you?"

"Yep," Rodolphus replied, looking at her again. "A long time ago now." Bellatrix bit her lip, feeling uncomfortable again. He must have noticed. "Well, not that long really. Seven years ago." Bellatrix swallowed. Seven years ago she had been nine years old. That was a terrifying thought. "Your father said you have one year left at Hogwarts."

"That's right," she said softly.

"He says you're a good student." Rodolphus reached for his tea, his sleeve riding up slightly. Bellatrix gasped as she saw a hint of a green tattoo.

"You're a Death Eater?" she exclaimed.

Rodolphus looked up at her, before sitting back and drinking some of his tea. "Is that a problem?" he asked, slightly coolly.

"Not at all," Bellatrix said, trying to maintain some decorum. "I am a strong believer in the Dark Lord and his followers."

"Why is that, then?" Rodolphus asked, sipping his tea again.

"I believe in the dominance of wizards and witches over muggles and mudbloods," Bellatrix told him, knowing her mother would go mad if she ever found out she was saying this to her betrothed. "Our blood is being tainted and diluted and someone had to put a stop to that." Rodolphus nodded, his expression slightly warmer now. "I…" Bellatrix hesitated; knowing her mother would actually kill her is she overheard this. "I would love to join him."

"There aren't any other women, and certainly not any wives, in his ranks," Rodolphus replied, raising his eyebrows at her.

"I could be the first," she said, putting her cup down and looking at him.

Rodolphus smiled back, slightly warmer again. "What about bearing heirs and looking after my house?" he said, slightly sarcastically.

Bellatrix shook her head. "I…" She looked back to him, before noticing his smirk.

"There aren't many clever pureblood girls like you out there," he said, setting his teacup down too. "Why would I want to waste your talent, when it is plain you would be an asset to our force?"

Bellatrix gasped. "You mean it?"

"The Dark Lord would have to decide, of course," Rodolphus said, nodding. "He will come to our wedding and he can decide."

"That would be…" Bellatrix couldn't find the words; she was so excited at the prospect.

"You're not like I thought you would be," Rodolphus said, after a moment.

"What did you think I'd be like?" Bellatrix asked, frowning at him.

"Boring as fuck," Rodolphus told her, his expression changing as he realised what he'd said.

Bellatrix sniggered. "You can swear, I'm not a baby."

Rodolphus smiled back at her, and Bellatrix was certain it was the first genuine smile she'd seen on his face. "I should hope not," he said. "How offended do you think your mother would be if I had a smoke?"

"She doesn't need to know," Bellatrix replied, grinning at him. "Did they teach you magic at that school in France or not?"

She watched as he pulled out his cigarettes and lit one with his wand. "They did," he said, pulling on it. "But less helpful spells and more duelling." He looked up at her, before offering her the cigarette. Bellatrix shrugged, before taking it from him. "Hogwarts is tame. I'll have to teach you some real spells."

Bellatrix laughed, before taking a puff from the cigarette. She was pleased that she didn't cough or embarrass herself in front of him. Then she handed it back. "Sounds good," she said, smirking at him. "And then you'll have to learn how to be beaten by a girl."

Rodolphus laughed, sitting back in his chair and looking over at her. "We'll see, won't we." He quickly finished his cigarette, before waving his wand slightly to get rid of the smell. "So maybe in a couple of weeks you'd come out to dinner with me?" he asked, looking slightly awkward again.

Bellatrix nodded, smiling at him. "I'd like that," she said with a nod.

"I know you're not seventeen for a couple of weeks yet, but I don't see any harm in us having a few drinks and seeing where things go," he said, his voice slightly lowered. "I'm not a Malfoy type," he continued, looking at her closely and sitting forwards in his seat. "I don't do courting. Either you're my girl, or you're not."

Bellatrix laughed softly, sitting forwards in her seat as well. She was relieved. "I'll have to think about whether I want that or not," she said, grinning cheekily at him. "I'll make my decision when I see where you're going to take me out."

Rodolphus nodded, smirking at her. "You'll definitely want me then," he said, his voice slightly dark. He shifted towards her and pressed a rough kiss against her lips. Bellatrix was slightly taken aback, but she didn't mind. She grinned at him again.

"Mr Lestrange…" she began.

Rodolphus shook his head at her. "We're beyond that now."

"So soon?" Bellatrix asked, raising her eyebrows at him.

"Is there a need to be formal?" he asked, finishing his tea and standing up. Bellatrix stood too.

"For now," she said, rolling her eyes. "My mother…"

"Every single man in the country knows what your mother is like," Rodolphus responded, shaking his head. "So the sooner we are married, the better."

"Agreed," Bellatrix said, nodding. "Well, I await your owl."

Rodolphus smirked at her. "I'll think of you later," he said, his eyes flicking up and down her body. "Nice shoes." He was still smirking at he left the room, and Bellatrix heard a pop of apparation as he left. Slowly, she picked up the tray and headed to the kitchen where she knew her mother would be waiting to hear every detail. She knew she was going to have to be very artistic with the truth about what they had talked about.

Bellatrix couldn't believe her luck.

x-x

It had been over a week, and Bellatrix was feeling pretty depressed that she hadn't heard from Rodolphus. The family always had breakfast together, so that morning she decided that she was going to ask.

She swallowed slightly, picking up her teacup. "Mr Lestrange was going to write to me," she said, trying to keep her voice disinterested.

Druella looked up from her paper. "Lestrange?" she asked, frowning slightly. "We've cancelled your betrothal to him," she said, looking at Cygnus.

"Cancelled our betrothal?" Bellatrix asked, feeling very disappointed. "But why?"

Druella looked up at Cygnus, and Bellatrix could see it had been very much his decision. Her father shook his head. "He wasn't good enough for you, Bellatrix."

Bellatrix frowned. "I liked him."

Cygnus looked slightly uncomfortable. "It's the right decision."

Bellatrix looked back down at her breakfast, trying to stop her chin from wobbling with tears. She had spent the last week imagining her future with Rodolphus, and now it was in ruins.

"I was thinking of a trip to Diagon Ally today, girls," Druella said after a moment.

"I don't feel so well, may I be excused?" Bellatrix said, desperate to escape the table. She could see Narcissa and Andromeda looking at her funnily, but she didn't care.

"You may," Cygnus said, quickly. Bellatrix could hear Druella sighing at her behaviour, but she didn't care.

Hastily, Bellatrix fled from the table, running up to the top of the stairs and shutting herself in her room. She flung herself down on her bed, crying quietly. She hated how her mother and father thought they could ruin her life like this. Rodolphus was going to be her ticket to the Dark Lord and a life of freedom and now it was all so uncertain again. She wondered who she could end up with now and hoped fervently that she wasn't going to end up with Lucius Malfoy. Although he was betrothed to Narcissa, she could still see herself as an option for Malfoy as she was a year older than Narcissa, and therefore could be married a year sooner.

There was a gentle tap on her door. "Bellatrix?" It was her father. She ignored him. "Your mother wanted to know if you are going to go with them to Diagon Alley. They are ready now."

"No," Bellatrix replied, hoping her voice didn't sound to teary but it came out weak.

"Alright," he said. Then she could hear his voice, slightly quieter. "I've got a visitor coming, someone you should meet. Will you make yourself presentable and come down shortly?"

Bellatrix sighed, but she couldn't help but wonder who it was going to be. Perhaps it was Rodolphus, come to beg to marry her. "Yes, father," she responded, hearing his footsteps moving away from her door. As soon as he was gone she stood up, making sure her hair looked good and putting on some makeup. She could hear a different male voice in the hall, and she was excited, certain it must be Rodolphus.

She glanced at the tube of red lipstick. Her mother was out of the house and her father didn't mind, as long as she was happy. She picked it up, applying it to her lips. She smirked at her reflection when she was done, certain this was going to make Rodolphus want her very badly. She stepped into her new stilettos and headed for the door.

Her father was in his study with whoever this man was. She lingered in the hall for a moment, before finally the door opened.

It wasn't Rodolphus standing there.

The man, whoever he was, was gorgeous. The most gorgeous man she had ever seen. She could feel her jaw dropping open as she looked at him, struggling to breathe from the shock of seeing him. She must have looked foolish, standing in the middle of the hallway and gaping opening at him.

Then he smiled, and she was aware of a very dark aura coming from him. She suddenly noticed that he didn't seem to be able to take his eyes away from her, either. She hoped, with every fibre of her being, that she was now betrothed to this man.

She didn't notice, but her father was just leaving his study. He was watching them with a smile on his face. Cygnus knew very well that the Dark Lord was the perfect man for his daughter in every way. He would die a very happy man indeed if he could see her married to him. Bellatrix was his prize jewel – and he was desperate that she should have the very best. Things had worked out perfectly.

x-x

Lloyd gave me this idea. Thanks, Lloyd! I do kind of like the Bellatrix x Rodolphus ship so this was fun to write.

Also I should just mention that for the purposes of this world Narcissa and Andromeda have swapped ages, and Andromeda is the youngest.