7th February 1976

The garden of Malfoy Mansion was elegantly decorated with black and red flowers. It was snowing and several tables with beautiful centrepieces were arranged under a large tent, protected by a warming charm. Flickering candles were floating along a red carpet leading to the altar.

At four o'clock people started to arrive. The guests were mostly purebloods, but some important half-blood figures were also tolerated. Narcissa Black was in one of the large rooms of the mansion, sitting in front of a dressing table with her mother and sister Bellatrix.

"No! This isn't the right colour!" Narcissa cried out. "And my hairdo, it's just not right!"

"Stop being dramatic, Cissy. This colour works very well with your skin tone, and you hair is fine!" Druella exclaimed as she adjusted her daughter's sleeve.

"This is my wedding mother! I want it to be perfect!"

"You look perfect!" She turned to Bellatrix who was sitting on the bed behind them looking at her nails, bored. "Doesn't she look perfect, Bella?" She asked, almost threateningly. Bellatrix looked up at her mother and then at Narcissa.

"Sure." She shrugged and started looking at her nails again.

"See! This is not the kind of reaction I'm expecting from people."

"Narcissa, calm down!"

Bellatrix rolled her eyes. She just wanted this day to be over with. She let her body fall on the bed, and started to think about the previous night she had spent on a mission with her master.

Meanwhile, Rodolphus was outside in the garden holding Kali. A blond woman with long legs kept on staring at him, smiling. He thought she was probably a Malfoy. He smiled back.

"I still can't believe you're a father." Rodolphus turned around surprised to where the voice had come from and smirked. He saw his friend Evan Rosier, along with another of his fellow Death Eaters, Augustus Rookwood. Evan gently rubbed Kali's head. "It's nice finally meeting you, Kali." Kali made a weird sound and stared at him with her big blue eyes.

"I know, I still can't believe it either. Isn't she beautiful?"

"She is." The other wizard agreed. "You my friend, will have a lot of trouble with that one." He grinned smugly making Rodolphus frown.

"Yeah, I really don't want to think about that. I reckon that's the worst part about having a daughter. Thankfully, I still have a couple of years before having to worry about that."

"Worry about what? Men like you?" Rookwood teased. Evan laughed and Rodolphus rolled his eyes.

"My mother wrote to me last week. She blathered, inches and inches of parchment, about how I should already have found a suitor for Kali. I mean, she hasn't even bothered to visit yet." He told bitterly.

"To ungrateful parents." Evan raised his glass of champagne.

"I think you should listen to your mother young man!" A female authoritative voice came from behind the three men. They all turned around and saw an elegant blonde woman, who should be in her fifties. She was wearing a long black dress with a heavy fur coat over her shoulders.

"Mrs Malfoy, it's nice to see you." Rodolphus greeted her politely.

The woman was now looking at the baby condescendingly.

"There is no time to wait! You must make the decisions on their behalf or they will end up marrying muggles and mudbloods." She said still looking at Kali, who seemed to be more entertained by her father's cloak. "All my daughters had respectful marriages, there is no shame upon my family, which is something you cannot say about your mother-in-law."

Rodolphus quickly turned his head around and was relieved that his wife was nowhere to be seen. If Bellatrix had heard that woman talk about how her sister disgraced her family by marrying a mudblood, this would end up bad, really bad.

"And today my son is getting married to a pureblood woman and accomplishing his duty." She added proudly.

"Yeah, love is beautiful. You must be so proud." Rookwood said in a mocking tone, with both hands lazily stuffed in his pockets. Contrary to the two other men next to him, he had come from a poor family. But his brilliant mind and skills had led him to become a respectful ministry employee. Therefore, he had zero interest in sucking up to old and snobby women like her.

Rosier tried to hide his laugh behind his glass and Rodolphus turned his head away from her. Only Kali giggled happily. Mrs Malfoy looked at him with her glassy eyes a bit surprised, as if she had just noticed him there.

"And you must be?"

"Augustus Rookwood, ma'am. I work at the Ministry."

She looked at him up and down and snorted before leaving.

"Lovely woman."

"Yeah, she scares me a little bit." Rosier said.

When the ceremony started, Rodolphus was standing next to Bellatrix. The blonde woman with long legs was standing next to Mrs Malfoy and another man, that was holding her by her waist, she was most probably one of Lucius' sisters. When her eyes met Rodolphus', she smiled provocatively at him. Smiling, mostly to himself than to her, he murmured 'Respectful marriage my ass.'

"What?" Bellatrix asked him. He turned to face her and smiled.

"Nothing, dear." Bellatrix grimaced and turned her attention back to her sister, who looked like a fairy-tale princess.