In the weeks following their engagement, Lucius tried to get to know Bellatrix better, and to find something other than sex that they had in common. He made an effort to have dinner with her at least twice a week as he searched for some common ground between them. Sadly he made no progress as everything he was interested in, Bellatrix was uninterested in. Although Bellatrix didn't seem at all concerned by their lack of compatibility, and the one time Lucius had mentioned it, she'd merely laughed at him and told him they were compatible where it mattered – in the bedroom.

Even with Bellatrix's dismissal of their compatibility issues, Lucius was still determined to find some common ground with his wife to be. And since Bellatrix wasn't relenting and showing an interest in his hobbies and the things he liked, he was making an effort to try and bond with his fiancée over the things she liked to do.

In an effort to bond with Bellatrix, he'd agreed to accompany her to one the underground clubs she frequented, but as he got ready for the evening ahead, he wasn't quite as sure. Lucius was comfortable in almost any social situation, but he had no idea what lay ahead of him that evening. Bellatrix had been pretty cagey about the club she was taking him to, all she would say is that it was one of her favourite places to spend the evening.

By the time Bellatrix arrived at the penthouse, which he was using rather than taking her back to the manor, Lucius was a bag of nerves. Not that Bellatrix helped as she swept into the penthouse and immediately ordered him to change.

"What's wrong with what I'm wearing?" Lucius asked, looking down at his black trousers and pale blue shirt.

"It's too light," Bellatrix replied. She herself was in a tight fitting, deep red dress, which trailed dramatically on the floor. "Dark is the way to go this evening. At least change your shirt for a black one or a very dark one."

Deciding it was easier not to argue, Lucius retired to the bedroom and changed into a black shirt. Now he was dressed completely in black, so unless Bellatrix was going to complain about his hair, he couldn't get any darker.

"Perfect," Bellatrix crowed when he returned. "Very sexy."

Lucius couldn't help but smirk at the compliment. He and Bellatrix might not have had too much in common, but he had to admit she knew exactly what to say to keep on his good side. He suspected that if she truly disagreed with him, she would tell him so, but for now her tactic seemed to be to flatter him as often as she could. Although Lucius's instincts told him that Bellatrix wasn't to be underestimated, and if he messed up she could be a formidable witch to take on.

"Shall we go?" Bellatrix asked eagerly.

"Yes, let's go," Lucius agreed, checking he had everything.

Since Bellatrix was the one taking them to the club, they first had to leave the penthouse before she could apparate them to another part of London. When they arrived at their destination, Lucius was distinctly unimpressed to find they were merely in Knockturn Alley, the street known for its dark arts which was located behind the main wizarding shopping street of Diagon Alley. Lucius had visited Knockturn Alley both with his father and on his own, but he'd never really been a fan of the place as he thought it was too dirty. He knew you had to be careful dealing with dark arts, but he still thought the street could have been properly looked after and made more appealing. But then again, maybe the fact it was a complete dive kept those who didn't practise the dark arts away, and gave those that did some cover.

"I wasn't aware there was any sort of night life in Knockturn Alley," Lucius remarked, glancing around at the closed shops.

"It's a secret," Bellatrix replied with a teasing smile. "Only the chosen few know about this place."

"And just what sort of club is this place?" Lucius asked.

"There's a bit of all sorts," Bellatrix replied. "But you'll see soon enough."

Taking hold of Lucius's hand, Bellatrix dragged him down the street to a small green door. Lucius assumed the door led into one of the nearby shops, but when Bellatrix knocked three times, a small section of the door slid open, revealing a pair of dark eyes.

"Password," the person behind the door barked.

"Snake Eyes," Bellatrix answered.

The opening in the door snapped shut without the person behind it answering, but almost immediately the green door swung open. Bellatrix led the way through the doorway, and Lucius found himself standing in a dimly lit hallway. Standing just inside the door was a dark haired wizard wearing a black mask which covered the top half of his face.

"Have a nice evening," he said, handing both Bellatrix and Lucius a mask of their own as he slammed the door shut.

"We will," Bellatrix replied, tying the mask around her head. "Put it on, Lucius," she whispered when her fiancé made no move to wear his mask.

"And why are we wearing masks?" Lucius asked as he tied his own mask around his head. Not that he thought it would disguise who he was with his very recognisable platinum blond hair.

"Not everyone who comes here wants to be recognised," Bellatrix answered. "Besides, it's sort of sexy, don't you think?"

"I can't say masks do it for me," Lucius muttered as his fiancée took hold of his hand again and pulled him down a set of dark stairs.

At the bottom of the stairs, Lucius found himself in a bar area. Unsurprisingly the décor was all dark, with black being the main theme and the splashes of colours coming from the bits of dark green, dark blue and dark red furnishings. A large dark wooden bar ran along the back wall, with several members of staff behind the bar, serving the customers. Everyone in the room were wearing masks, including the bar staff, and low music was playing in the background.

"There's some other rooms we can explore, but this is the main bar," Bellatrix explained as she led the way to the bar.

"And what's in the other rooms?" Lucius asked.

"There's usually a card game going on in one room," Bellatrix answered. "And there's also rooms focusing on various dark arts. The Dark Lord might even be here."

"The Dark Lord?" Lucius questioned with a frown, never having heard the name before.

"Lord Voldemort," Bellatrix whispered, clearly in awe of the name.

Now Lucius had heard of Lord Voldemort. He was a rumoured dark wizard, and legend had it he was descended from Salazar Slytherin himself. Back in Hogwarts, Lucius had heard stories about Lord Voldemort, and how he'd adopted the name in his later years of school and gathered fellow students around him who had a fancy for the Dark Arts. Lucius had also heard a few rumours that Lord Voldemort had continued to recruit like-minded people to surround him.

"You've met him?" Lucius asked. He wasn't sure he had any interest in meeting Lord Voldemort, but it was clear that the wizard was an idol of Bellatrix's.

"I have," Bellatrix replied with a wide smile. "You'll love him Lucius. He encourages people to embrace their inner darkness. He thinks the dark arts shouldn't be banned, and that they're only labelled as dark by people who don't understand them and fear them."

"I agree on that," Lucius said. "So called Dark Arts are all about perception. What's dark to one person isn't to another. It's all to do with the person who is defining the magic as dark."

"See, you're just the sort of person The Dark Lord would love to meet," Bellatrix enthused. "Let's grab a drink and go and see if he's here."

Lucius bought the drinks, moaning about the high price, and the pair settled down in a corner to drink them. Several people who passed greeted Bellatrix, despite her mask, indicating that she was a regular in the club. Bellatrix also pointed out a few people to Lucius, including the wizard she almost married, Rodolphus Lestrange, and his brother Rabastan.

"Let's explore," Bellatrix said once they'd finished their drinks.

Even though he would rather leave than see more of the club, Lucius followed his fiancée as she headed towards the door that led out of the bar and into a corridor lit with a dim green light. Bellatrix pointed out the room where the poker game would be taking place, as well as rooms were dark arts were been practised, but her focus was on the room at the end of the corridor. Striding over to the door, Bellatrix straightened her dress before knocking on the door.

"Enter," a deep voice called.

Bellatrix shot Lucius an excited grin as she took hold of his hand and pulled him into the room. The room looked remarkably like the Slytherin common room, and everywhere Lucius looked he was reminded of his former house at Hogwarts. Settled in an armchair in front of a roaring fire was a dark haired wizard with strange red eyes, and Bellatrix made a beeline for him.

"My Lord," Bellatrix greeted, bowing her head in the wizard's direction.

The wizard nodded in greeting and gave Bellatrix a small smile. "How nice to see you, my dear. Is this the fiancé you've been gushing about?"

"It is," Bellatrix replied.

"Welcome to the club," Lord Voldemort said to Lucius. "We don't use first names here, but I do know who you are."

"And I know who you are," Lucius replied.

"Good," Lord Voldemort said with a chuckle. "I do like to be recognised. Now sit down and we can talk."

Lucius figured he had no choice but to take a seat opposite the dark wizard. Bellatrix settled down beside him, and Lucius soon discovered that not only was she a regular in Voldemort's room, but that she was also a favourite of his. If Lucius didn't know better, he would have said the pair were attracted to each other, and were even flirting at times. But surely Bellatrix wouldn't flirt with another wizard when he was sitting beside her.

After an hour, Lord Voldemort was distracted by another couple of people entering his room, and Lucius used the opportunity to persuade Bellatrix they should go home. He'd actually enjoyed talking to Lord Voldemort, and agreed with a lot of what he said, however he could see an edge of insanity in the older wizard and he instinctively knew getting too involved with him could be dangerous. Now what he needed to do was get Bellatrix out of his grasp, but he knew he would have to move slowly with his fiancé to avoid upsetting her.

"So what did you think?" Bellatrix asked when they arrived back at Lucius's penthouse.

"It was different," Lucius replied.

"Would you go again?" Bellatrix questioned.

"I'll think about it," Lucius answered, pulling Bellatrix into his arms. "But right now, I don't want to talk about the dark arts or Lord Voldemort, or anything else to do with the club."

"So what do you want to talk about?" Bellatrix asked with a teasing smile.

"How about our wedding," Lucius replied. "We haven't set a date yet."

"I forgot to mention, Mother picked the date," Bellatrix said. "We're getting married next April."

"April?" Lucius frowned. "But that's a whole year away? Why the delay?"

"Preparations take time," Bellatrix answered with a shrug. "There's no way a wedding could be organised for the summer, and Mother dislikes winter weddings."

"And we must do what your mother wants," Lucius muttered. "Who says we have to have a big wedding."

"You know a small wedding isn't an option," Bellatrix chuckled. "Be patient, Lucius. I'll be your wife soon enough. And luckily for you, I'm not opposed to giving you all the perks you're going to get as a married man."

"What sort of perks are we talking about?" Lucius asked, his hands drifting down Bellatrix's back towards her backside.

"The sort of perks that involve being naked," Bellatrix responded, connecting their lips.

Even though the evening had left him feeling even more distant from his fiancée, Lucius was more than happy to take Bellatrix into the bedroom and spend a couple of hours rolling around in bed with her. Afterwards, Bellatrix drifted off to sleep, but Lucius found himself unable to settle. Quietly creeping out of bed, he pulled on a pair of pyjama bottoms, grabbed himself a glass of firewhisky and settled down in the front room.

More than ever, he was having doubts about his marriage to Bellatrix. The evening had shown him that Bellatrix was on the verge of being swallowed into the dark arts. He'd thought she just dabbled, and he had no problems with that, but he didn't want her involved with Lord Voldemort. The man was dangerous, and Lucius did not want his family to be involved with him.

Although family was another thing on Lucius's mind as try as he might, he just couldn't picture Bellatrix as a mother. Having children was something Lucius knew was expected of him, and his wife would have to be able to deliver. However, he just couldn't see Bellatrix as the maternal sort. Even if she did give him a child, he just couldn't picture her being the loving mother he'd known in his youth. Lucius may not have had a mother for long, but he'd had one long enough to know what sort of mother he wanted his son to have, and Bellatrix did not fit that picture. Not that there was anything that Lucius could do about it. He would just have to make the best of things, and hope he could turn Bellatrix into the wife he wanted, and the mother his son deserved.

Lucius snorted slightly at the idea of changing Bellatrix. Shaking his head, he finished his firewhisky and headed back into the bedroom to join his fiancée in bed. Changing Bellatrix wasn't a likely outcome, so he would just have to deal with what he had. Bellatrix might not be the mother he would have picked for his future son, but she was the mother he was going to get, and all Lucius could do was hope that when the time came to start a family, Bellatrix's hidden maternal instincts kicked in. Maybe Bellatrix would surprise him and she would end up being the perfect wife and mother, but Lucius wasn't holding his breath.