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Bella

Bellatrix Black stared at herself in the floor length mirror; she couldn't help but acknowledge her beauty. Her usually wild black curls had been tamed, pinned back at the front with only one loose tendril on either side, the rest of her locks cascading gracefully down her back. Her lace dress hugged her figure perfectly, the skirts flowing out behind her for a few metres, buttons lined up the back. She sighed as she reached for her wand, casting a charm on her arm to disguise her Dark Mark; though she knew she was among friends-most of whom were Death Eaters or supporters anyway-she couldn't take the risk.

"You look beautiful, Bella." Narcissa smiled from her position on Bellatrix's bed.

"Hmmm..." Bella sighed. "Thank you, Cissa. You're a very beautiful bridesmaid yourself."

"I know." Cissa grinned.

Bellatrix rolled her eyes, reaching out to the small photograph on the side beside her. The intricate silver oval frame framed something far more precious than the fine emerald gems encrusted into it: a smiling little girl with bright pink hair who was giggling as she played with a toy wand which, to her great delight, shot out sparks every few seconds.

"She'll be okay, Bella...she's safe now, right?" Narcissa stood to be next to her sister, resting a small hand on her shoulder.

"Yes...she should be safe with me though." Bellatrix looked away from the frame, pocketing her wand in the folds of her dress before walking over to the fire. "I swear, Narcissa: I will not have another child."

"B—but Bellatrix, that's why you're marrying Rodolphus; it's your duty." Narcissa looked to her sister in shock.

"That man does not deserve children." Bellatrix glared at the fireplace. "If he had any bone in his body that was capable of caring for children, he would never have made me get rid of Nymphadora."

"Okay," Narcissa sighed, picking up Bellatrix's bouquet of flowers and handing it to her.

The two witches sat in silence for a few moments before they decided it was most likely time to go down to the grand hall of Lestrange Manor for the ceremony. To Bellatrix's great distaste, Cygnus Black was stood outside the door, a cold smirk on his features as he watched over his two daughters proceeding towards him. Bellatrix hadn't spoken to her father since she had left Black Manor, determined to never talk to the man again in her life-though in this matter she had no choice. He was her father and he did have to walk her down the aisle, or else risk bringing shame on the Black name. Bella couldn't help but scoff at the idea: the man had brought more shame to his family than any of their ancestors, though to the rest of the world he seemed the perfect respectable Pure Blood. What utter shit.

"Bellatrix," Cygnus nodded to the girl before he took her arm in his own. "You look...passable."

"And you look like the bad side of a ghoul's backside." Bellatrix kept a straight face as she stared ahead of her, though she didn't miss Narcissa trying to hold in her laugh at the remark.

"Be grateful I can't have you going into that room with a red mark on your face, girl." Cygnus glared at her, holding her arm uncomfortably tightly now.

"Be grateful I can't kill you with this many witnesses," Bellatrix replied.

"Come on," Narcissa sighed. "The music is already playing."

With that, Narcissa opened the doors, walking ahead of the pair. Bellatrix took a deep breath. It wasn't as though she was nervous; she simply didn't know how to seem happy to have herself be signed away to one man for the rest of her life. As soon as she saw Rodolphus Lestrange, a smile on his face like that cat that caught the cream, she found the answer. As she slowly walked down the aisle, imagining every single last way she could murder the man, a smile soon hit her lips. She imagined him squirming underneath her in agony as she removed each and every one of his bones, as she Cruciated him to the brink of his sanity, as she carved intricate lines into his perfectly smooth chest. She barely noticed as her father let go of her and she was soon holding Rodolphus' hand. The man smiled at her innocently—he was far too happy for her liking. With not a moment's hesitation, she opened her mind, letting him see a brief glimpse of her imagination running wild. She smirked at the wince that earned, the smile soon faltering from his face.

She seemed to spend the rest of the day in her own little world, switching between thinking of the various ways to dispose of her new husband and father to thinking of what Nymphadora would be doing right now. She would have made a beautiful bridesmaid or flower girl. Bellatrix could just imagine the frustration on Narcissa's face as she would try to convince her that emerald green dresses did not go with bright pink hair. Nymphadora was a feisty little thing, the only person she had ever decided to pay much attention to being her mother. Bella wondered how Andromeda would convince her to behave, laughing to herself as she felt a gentle tug on her hand.

"Bella..." Rodolphus sighed as he pulled his new wife to her feet, "we must dance now."

"Fine." Bellatrix followed her husband to the dance floor, wincing as he pulled her close for a slow dance. "I don't do slow dances..."

"Well, you do today, Bellatrix," Rodolphus sighed, placing one of his hands on the small of her back.

Bellatrix glared into the fabric of her husband's robes as she placed one hand on his shoulder, letting her hair hide the fact she was digging her nails painfully deep into his flesh through the thin material of his robes. She wondered if she would ever learn to love Rodolphus—there was no doubt she had feelings for him at one point in her life, though that was before he had made her sacrifice the one thing in her life she had ever truly loved with all of her heart.

Within a few minutes the song was over, and with a sigh and a flick of her wand, she sent the signal for the band to change the music to a different style. If she was going to be forced to act the dutiful wife, she would do it her way. Bellatrix had mastered many styles of dancing as a child, though she was unsure if Rodolphus would be able to keep up with her. Perfect. She couldn't keep the smug smirk off her face as Rodolphus rolled his eyes at the sound of the tango. This marriage, though one of convenience, would surely turn out to be entertaining in some shape or form to the young witch.

Mere months later, Bellatrix sat in the grand hall of Malfoy Manor. She swirled her finger around the edge of her wine glass absentmindedly as she watched her youngest sister fondly. It had been a beautiful wedding so far: Narcissa truly was happy and in love with Lucius; that was easy to tell. Bellatrix was convinced Lucius had a tear in his eyes as he said 'I do' to her sister, though as she teased him for it later on, he relentlessly denied it. As she watched her sister sway around the dance floor, her head lovingly nestled in her new husband's robes, she couldn't help but envy the pair for the simple, happy marriage they seemed to already have.

"Mumma!"

Bellatrix's head snapped around so fast she was sure her neck would break, though as she looked up to see a three-year-old blonde girl running over to her mother, she soon realised that it was not the cries of Nymphadora she was hearing, just some other pureblood couple's child. Without a second thought, she stood from the table, snatching up her wine glass and leaving the room to seek fresh air in the vast grounds of Malfoy Manor. Bellatrix closed her eyes as soon as the cool summer breeze hit her, sipping her wine before she decided to walk over to the marble bench. The Dark witch stared out at the dark grounds for a few moments before she downed the last dregs of wine from her glass, placing it down as she reached for a small locket hidden on a long chain that fell to rest the silver piece between her breasts. She muttered her daughter's name as she stared intently at it, a charm she had put in place so only Bellatrix could ever know its true contents. A sad smile played on her lips as she looked at the picture inside: Bellatrix was sitting on her bed, Nymphadora between her legs as she morphed her hair to match her mother's perfectly. The witch stared at the picture for a few moments before she clasped it shut, pressing her lips to the cold metal before letting it rest between her breasts yet again.

"Bellatrix," Rodolphus called out as he walked over to his wife. "Why are you here? You need to be inside."

"You need not tell me where to be, Rodolphus. I shall go where I like," Bellatrix snapped as she stared out at the grounds, refusing to look at him.

"You are my wife, Bellatrix!" Rodolphus hissed. "You need to learn to do as you are told!"

Bellatrix clenched her fists, standing from her seat to turn to her husband, a furious glare on her features. "I have already done enough of that; I will never do as you say again."

"Must you still go on about that inbred brat!?" Rodolphus yelled.

"How dare—!" Bellatrix went to yell before without warning a spell shot from her husband's wand. She clenched her teeth, screwing her eyes shut as she felt the familiar sensation of the Cruciatus Curse run through her. She reached out for the back of the bench, slowly lowering herself onto the seat as she refused to yell out in pain, refused to give him the satisfaction.

"You will do as I say when I say it!" Rodolphus growled. He continued the Curse until Bellatrix fell backwards to lay on the bench, panting with exhaustion as he released the curse only to storm at her, grabbing her small neck in his large, rough hand. "You will give me a child, you will shut up about the brat, and you will be a good wife. Understood?"

Bellatrix glared up at him, still twitching at the aftereffects of the Curse, unable to speak.

"Good." Rodolphus kissed her head deceivingly sweetly before he grabbed her by the wrist. "Let's go home—we can get to work on that first part."

And with that the pair were gone. Bellatrix was beginning to wonder if she had made the right choice, if she would have been better off running away with her daughter...no. She couldn't leave Narcissa alone, she couldn't survive with only herself and Nymphadora, and she could not turn herself into a blood traitor. She knew deep down she had made the right choice and that one day, she swore she would return to her daughter.