A/N: I NEED HELP!

Please PM me or review with a funny, witty T-Shirt legend that rips off the Ministry, Umbridge, or Pureblood bigotry (No vulgarity please). I need it for the chapter I'm currently writing.

On another note, here's chapter 3! In this chapter the relationship between Bella and Harry will be expanded upon a little more; giving you an insight into their lives (specifically Bella's), and just why Harry is attracted to 'ceo55', it's reviews like yours that keep us fanfic authors writing, thanks a tonne!

Moreover, for a review from 'alichi' thank you for the constructive criticism - it's reviews like yours that keeps us fanfic writers on our toes, and yes I have royally screwed over the previous timeline. Quite frankly I seem to excel at it, and for coherence's sake we will assume that the 'couple of year' differences, however glaring, are AU and entirely intentional...completely, undeniably intentional. But as a compromise Bella is now 44 years old, as suggested by 'GenoBeast', and chapters have been changed accordingly. I'm still not admitting I was wrong though :-p

Anyways, I hope you all enjoy the chapter!

Bellatrix awoke to the smell of fresh bread and ham, and heard her stomach growl shamelessly. She blushed a deep red, even though she knew that Harry hadn't heard, and pulled back the covers to look at her naked body. She couldn't help but remember the embrace that Harry had pulled her into the night before. She had been his for the taking; naked, helpless, and weak in his arms; only a thin sheet separating him from her – and he hadn't taken the chance. She had wondered at first if it was because she was ugly, but the thought was quickly wiped from her mind when she remembered his words and expression when she had walked out of the bathroom the previous night. She didn't know what she was feeling, and she was confused and frustrated.

She was just about to get changed into the bathrobe from the previous night when she caught sight of a neatly folded pile of clothes at the end of the bed, and she picked up the small scrap of paper that lay on top.

Hope you don't mind; Hogwarts and I worked together on this one!

Harry.

She couldn't help but smile at the nearly illegible scrawl; and that one, simple gesture reassured her of his genuine care. Her fears and suspicions of him seeing her only as a toy were laid to rest. She slipped into the comfortable clothes and then frowned at the slippers – having never seen them before. She tentatively slipped her feet into them and sighed gratefully when she felt the soft, comfy inners; her blisters would be healed in no time at this rate.

She padded through to the kitchen, and Harry's Auror reactions alerted him to her presence. He turned around and smiled; a piece of toast clamped in-between his teeth as he tended to the ham he was cooking. He picked it out of his mouth and smiled warmly at her, causing her to do much the same and take a seat at the table. "How did you sleep?"

Her smile faltered for a moment as she thought of her distrust in the young man in front of her, but smiled genuinely after a moment. "I slept better than I have since I was fifteen."

His eyebrows raised at that, and he leant his back against the bench. "Since you were fifteen?" She nodded and lowered her eyes, and Harry frowned before quickly serving up their breakfast and setting it on the table. She looked down at the food, and although her appetite had disappeared, begun slowly eating. Harry didn't speak for a while, but eventually leant forward slightly. "Do you want to talk about it?"

She nodded, and then met his eyes sadly. "I do, but I've just met you."

He cursed himself for not thinking of that sooner, and nodded reassuringly at her with a smile before sitting back in his seat and taking a sip of his tea. "It's fine; I understand completely." He chewed his mouthful before continuing. "It took me over three years to trust…" he trailed off slightly and Bellatrix frowned as he forced a smile; it didn't suit him. "Well anyway, I know what you mean."

She was silent as he ate his breakfast, but she spoke just as he was starting on his toast. She didn't know why she did; she simply couldn't explain it to herself; she had kept everything to herself for over fifteen years, and now she felt the urge to share it with a man she had known for only one day. "I don't know why, but I want to tell you." He looked up, shocked, and she smiled at him; a warm, genuine smile that came from deep inside her – for the first time in her entire life she felt as though she could truly trust someone. "I trust you."

He was still for a moment, but his expression softened and he leant over to take her hand which was resting on the table. She jolted slightly at the contact and he smiled at her. "I'm won't betray the trust that you've put in me."

She nodded again as he removed his hand to continue eating, while she debated where to start with herself. "I was sorted into Slytherin, as I'm sure you know," at his nod she continued, "and my family was happy about that; because we were a dark family. I thought that I would finally be accepted for who I was in my house, but I wasn't." She looked up at him and found his eyes locked firmly to hers, completely unwavering. "I was shunned even more there than I was in my own home; I was smart, I could be devious, I always thought of what I would gain before I did anything; I was a true Slytherin, but it was what I wanted that always made me different." She couldn't look him in the eye as she spoke her next words; too shy to face him after her revelation. "While others thought about how much money they would get out of something, or how much fame or power, I looked for how much friendship I could gain.

"The other Slytherins thought it completely trivial, and so I never really had the friends I craved." She hazarded a look up at Harry, and nearly smiled at his look of genuine attention. "It was when I turned fourteen that my father told me that I was to be married to Rudolphus Lestrange."

Harry gaped. "Fourteen?"

She nodded darkly. "Fourteen. I remember my father calling me into his study and telling me that I would be marrying a pureblood to continue the line, and to strengthen relations between our families." She looked wildly at Harry, "I tried to object, I really did, but he wouldn't let me have any say whatsoever!" She took a few deep breaths to calm herself, and Harry sat silent, allowing her to do so. "When I returned to Hogwarts nothing was ever the same. It was expected of me that I be of service to Rudolphus, in any way he wished."

Harry growled lowly and gritted his teeth, forcing himself to calm down just as Bellatrix had. "He forced himself on you?" She nodded, not meeting his eyes, and he took a moment to collect his thoughts. It all made more sense now, her words the previous night, and her flinching at his touch, and he made a mental note to be more careful in the future.

"H-he couldn't, you know, do it until we were married; it was part of the contract." She scoffed angrily. "He didn't have to wait long though; my father had us married halfway through my fourth year." Harry didn't need her to continue for him to understand what happened as soon as that occurred, and reached over the table; his hand hovering over hers and a questioning look on his face. She smiled thankfully at his caution and nodded, and he intertwined his fingers with hers – letting her know that she he was there, and there was no way in hell that anything like that would ever happen again. Her smile widened and she relaxed in her chair before continuing.

"Thanks. So it just went from there; it got worse and worse, and I never really slept the same again." She lowered her eyes guiltily. "I think that's when I started to turn to the Dark Arts as a refuge; I wanted revenge on the world that made his rape of me possible – no matter the means. After I left Hogwarts, Rudolphus joined the Death Eaters, and I saw it as my chance to focus on my revenge without getting in trouble; for my revenge to be appreciated and recognized." She was silent for a moment. "It twisted me, and what I wanted faded after a while, until I was blinded by revenge – and I couldn't see anything else. I forgot who I was." She turned to Harry and smiled at him, "I remember when you stuck me in that bodybind on the battlefield; I was so furious, I wanted nothing more than to slice your head from your shoulders – and when the Aurors took me away, and I knew where I was going, I wanted to die." She squeezed his hand then, and he looked at her, surprised that she was smiling while speaking such words. He found out why a moment later. "I did die; the me that wanted only revenge, that only had hate, simply couldn't survive in Azkaban and I found the real me again."

She brought her hand up and brushed her lips against the knuckles of Harry's hand, and he shivered, delighted and warmed by the gesture. She noticed his reaction, and felt a heat deep within her; he reacted like that because of her. The thought that he actually found her attractive enough to garner such a response made her feel cherished for herself for the first time in her entire life. She had bared her true self, the woman that wanted to be accepted, and loved, and he hadn't shied away, nor had he shunned her want- no, her need, in the slightest. She lowered his hand away from her lips, and she saw his eyes gleam in slight disappointment before they snapped back to the comforting warmth that they had displayed throughout her story.

There was no pity in his eyes, nor sympathy or worry. It was as if he was assured of her strength, and that he knew that the last thing that she wanted was pity. She discovered why a moment later. "I'm not going to pretend that I know what you went through, because I don't; I know that you're not comfortable enough to share it all with me, and I appreciate that." He sat back in his chair, taking his hand back and smiling at her before taking a bite from his toast; still hot thanks to a nifty little charm he knew. "I find this easy to talk about now because I've talked about it before; it all started when I was dropped off on my relatives' doorstep…"

Over the next three hours Harry told his story to Bellatrix, and her eyes widened further and further as he went deeper into his life at the Dursleys. "God Harry, I never knew!" He nodded and she continued, "Voldemort always had us believe that you were this wealthy, arrogant, stuck up bastard of a wizard, and yet you lived like that?"

He nodded. "I'm not surprised that I was portrayed like that; in all honesty I could have been like that." At her questioning frown he continued. "Bella, my vaults hold more gold than I could ever hope to spend in a hundred lifetimes, and up until the point that I was incarcerated in here I was still getting donations from families that wanted to thank me for ridding them of Voldemort. I could've turned out to be Potter version of your nephew quite easily." He looked at Bellatrix and cocked his head. "You still haven't asked why I'm in here yet."

She shook her head and shrugged, a lopsided smile on her face. "You're in here because people are afraid of your power." He looked surprised and she laughed, "Come on Harry, if you can do this," she motioned to the room around them, "without a wand, then god knows what you can do with one. In all honesty, I know that even with my wand I couldn't hope to defeat you as you are now." She smiled at him, but it soon dropped from her face; a hopeful, and a thankful expression on her now-healthier looking features. "But thank you; thank you for trusting me with that."

He smiled and reached over to pat her hand before grabbing her plate and taking it over to the sink. "I trust you; there's no need to thank me for that." She sat, watching him wash up, and didn't notice the affectionate smile that spread over her features until Harry turned to her, and smiled back. She blushed a deep red and quickly looked away, causing Harry to chuckle lightly. He moved past her to the lounge area and sat down on one of the arm chairs – motioning that she should do the same.

She did, and sighed happily as the leather curved around her; hugging her with its warmth and softness. Harry had done much the same, and the two dozed for the majority of the day; Harry because of the hectic, draining five days beforehand; and Bellatrix for the four years of missed sleep during her stay in the hell that was Azkaban. The awoke fully at nearly the same time, and Bellatrix had a sudden thought. "What are we going to do?"

He frowned. "What do you mean?"

"Well, I mean, if everything had stayed as it was, and we were still in that cell-"

"We are still in that cell."

She scowled at his innocent smile, and continued. "If we were still in that cell, with the Dementors, then what we would do for the next ten years would be quite simple; we would relive our worst, most fearful memories, and we would try and survive by eating anything; mould if necessary."

Harry frowned. "Did you do that?" She lowered her head in shame, and he hurried to reassure her. "Bella, look at me." He had to repeat himself a couple of times before she raised her eyes, and when she did they were filled with shame, insecurity, and self-disappointment. He knew right then what he was going to spend the next ten years doing. "I don't hold you in any less regard; in fact I just respect you more."

"Harry, you don't have to say things like that to make me feel bett-"

"I'm not!" Her eyes widened at his outburst, and she looked up at him. "You wanted to live Bella, even in this hell of a place you wanted to live; you didn't give up on life, which meant that you had recovered your dream. Even though you thought it unattainable, you still lived for it!" She was amazed at the passion in his voice, and she had no doubt at all that he was speaking what he truly thought. "I wouldn't have that strength, at least before."

"You're stronger than me!"

He scoffed. "Magically, yes; physically, yes; mentally, I would debate that; emotionally, no." She was about to interrupt, but he continued. "Up until five days ago, I had something to live for; I had two friends that I loved like a brother and a sister, and I wanted to help them achieve their dreams; that was my dream." By this point his voice was cracking, and Bellatrix was shocked; the saviour of the Wizarding world was breaking down in front of her very eyes. "Up until five days ago, I thought that I had achieved my dream of having people that appreciate me, and who are loyal to me." He looked up at her, and the pain in his deep, green eyes was palpable. "And then five days ago, the two people who I trusted more than anybody stabbed me in the back and got me sent here with their betrayal." He chuckled humourlessly. "What a bloody fool I was; I should've seen it coming; I never noticed Ron's loathing looks, or Hermione's jealous ones, probably because I wanted so badly to think that I had achieved my dream."

"Harr-"

He smiled at her, his dark emotions vanishing in almost an instant. "I have achieved my dream though; on the boat ride over here I found out who my real friends are; they say that you don't know what you've got until you've lost it – I didn't know what I had until I lost what I thought I had." He stretched out and groaned happily as his muscles relaxed. "And now you have given me a new dream."

She pointed to herself, surprised. "Me? How did I give you a dream?"

"By that look in your eyes." She froze and stared at him. He stared right back, his tone firm, but warm. "That look which says that you feel worthless, powerless, useless, unloved, unwanted. You shouldn't feel that at all."

She felt a surge of anger at him when he said that, and started screaming at him. "I shouldn't feel that should I? Well excuse me Mister I've-Had-Damn-Near-Every-Woman-In-Hogwarts-In-My-Bed; I've had my wand snapped, I'm worthless; I can't do wandless magic, I'm powerless; I couldn't lift more than a bloody pint of milk, I'm useless; all my family either hates me, or is dead, I'm unloved; and there's nobody on this fucking planet that would want a goddamn murderer like me!"

He stood up from his chair, his face set and his fists clenched by his sides as he approached her. She knew that look from her husband, and she immediately cowered into the furniture, wishing that she could take back what she had just yelled. He raised his fist and she clenched her eyes firmly shut-

"You have no idea just how much I want to slap some sense into you right now." She cracked open her eyelid and found him standing above her, both of his hands at his sides. "You stupid bloody woman." She would've flinched but for the warmth in his voice, and she looked up in shock – her eyes drinking in the sight of his slightly sad, but warm smile. "Do you have any idea just how lucky I consider myself at this very moment; since the moment I stepped in here to be exact? I'm stuck in my dream apartment, with no journalists wanting an interview, no fans stalking me, no responsibilities, and no deadlines. I'm stuck in here with the best food Hogwarts can provide, with a bed comfier than my own in my apartment, and a beautiful woman with a wonderful personality who just needs time and help to heal."

He grinned at her. "You're in here with a man who can perform wandless magic like it is nothing, and you think I can't teach you the same? You can't lift more than a pint of milk? No shit Bella; you've been stuck in a five by five meter cell and have had a quarter of the food required to survive for over four years; no wonder you can't lift more." He held up three fingers. "Three months and you'll be lifting up the damn table. Your family? They have never met you, so how could they hate you? I know for a fact that you and Tonks would get along like a house on fire, once she had gotten over your uncanny resemblance to a Death Eater, and I have a feeling that Andromeda would forgive you, or the old you, for what you have done.

"And as for being unwanted," he took in a deep breath and closed his eyes. "When you kissed my hand this morning, do you have any idea just how much I wanted to lean over the table and press my lips against yours?" He opened his eyes and made a tiny, almost invisible gap between his thumb and forefinger. "I was that close to doing it, but I know for sure that you aren't ready for such a thing, and in all honesty if I had've kissed you, I would've regretted it." He held up his hands before she could even think about feeling disappointed. "Not because you're ugly, because you're stunning; not because you're not a nice person, because you bloody well are; but because I want you to be completely comfortable with me before I do that." He frowned and hummed thoughtfully. "And no, I haven't slept with every woman in Hogwarts; in fact, my running total is zero at the current time."

She didn't even really hear the last sentence, and her eyes were wide. "How the bloody hell could you want me? You could have any pick of any woman or girl in the entire wizarding world!"

He shook his head and walked back to his chair, falling down into it with a smile. "Not now I couldn't; god, people will be giving me one hell of a wide berth when I get out of here – me being the next Dark Lord and all."

She growled, "So that's the only reason you want me? Because I'm the only one that would have you?"

He hung his head to the side and raised his eyebrows. "Bella, I have never once been on a successful date, let alone had sex with a woman – and before now I've had plenty of woman that would've had me; but I wouldn't have them." She blushed at her quick, and clearly very incorrect assumption, but eeped in surprise when he spoke next. "But it's nice to know that you've at least entertained the thought of having me."

She stammered for quite some time after that, much to Harry's immense amusement, but finally righted herself. "I'm twenty years older than you for goodness sake!"

"Twenty years…don't care!" he replied cheerfully, and she spluttered.

"I look like a walking corpse!"

He frowned, "Well I wouldn't go quite that far; you look like a very pretty, starved woman to me – nothing a few months of good food won't fix, I'm sure."

"I haven't washe-"

He laughed, and waggled his finger disapprovingly. "Now now, that's not true anymore; you showered last night." She stammered for another excuse, but found herself frozen a moment later when she was engulfed in a warm, caring embrace. He held her for a moment before speaking. "If you don't want me to hold you just say so." When no reply came for several seconds he continued. "I'm young and naïve, I've never been in a real relationship, I've never been on a date. Best I got was a week of snogging, which doesn't really count for much in my book." He rested his chin on the top of her head. "And now I've found a woman who I'm truly interested in, who I consider to be the most beautiful person on this Earth, who I think has the most wonderful personality, minus the insecurities, but they won't be sticking around for long, and who has an interest in me.

"Hell, you are the first person outside of Ron, Hermione and Neville that I have told about the Dursleys, and you still hold an interest in me." He pulled back and smiled down at her. "If that isn't worth living for, and if being with you isn't something to want and desire, then I don't know what is."

Please R&R, and remember the suggestions for a T-Shirt legend as stated at the top A/N!