4 September, 1968
Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry
"Your attention, please. Your attention, please! Silence!"
Dumbledore's amplified voice made the Great Hall fall silent. Everyone had finished dinner, at the plates were clearing. Dumbledore stepped up to the podium and said with a happy smile,
"This year, the first of my tenure as Headmaster, I wish to begin our school term on a very happy note. Therefore, we will all of us partake in a Start of Term Ball."
He waited for the titters and whispers to die down. Bellatrix glared at him, and he glanced at her for a moment before continuing matter-of-factly,
"In order for our school to feel like a family, attendance at the ball is mandatory."
"Mandatory?" Bellatrix hissed. "He can't do that."
"I'm sure you go alone," Calla whispered, but Dumbledore held up a hand and said simply,
"Furthermore, I ask that you kindly say yes to the first person who asks you to attend as their date. Turning down a request will be punishable with lost House points, as I view this rudeness to be quite unacceptable. We are all of us Hogwarts students, and we shall all celebrate together."
"No," Bellatrix whispered, shaking her head. She narrowed her eyes up at Dumbledore. He smirked then, flicking his eyes to her, and he told everyone,
"Dismissed."
Everyone began racing about then, asking one another to attend the dance with each other. Bellatrix started shoving her books into her rucksack, desperate to get out of the Great Hall before anyone could ask her. She started to hurry away, but of course Rodolphus Lestrange appeared in front of her. He had a cheeky smile on his face, and he shrugged.
"Well, Bella?" he said. "It's just a ball. Will you go with me?"
"Apparently, I have no choice," Bellatrix snarled. "Fine. Keep your damned hands to yourself, Lestrange."
"Meet you in the Common Room on Saturday, then," Rodolphus called after her as she rotated on a foot and stomped up toward the Head Table. Dumbledore seemed to be waiting for her. She glared at him as he gave her a very peaceful look in response.
"Good evening, Miss Black," he said, and she growled,
"It's Madam Riddle. Sir."
"Ah, yes." He nodded and tipped his head. "My condolences on having to marry so very young. How fortunate you are to be able to let loose with a boy your own age at a fun little party, hm?"
"It's illegal," Bellatrix informed him. "I'm married. You can't make me dance with another wizard. That's adultery."
Voldemort raised his grey brows. "Who said anything about dancing, my dear? You're attending as his date. Nothing more. I'm sure Tom would understand entirely."
"Oh, you're sure of that, are you? Sir?" Bellatrix asked, feeling very angry. Dumbledore stared at her over his half-moon spectacles and said slowly,
"Watch that tone, Miss Black."
"It's Madam Riddle," she said through clenched teeth, "Sir."
"Well. I think Mr Lestrange will enjoy whatever time you spend with him as friends, Madam Riddle," said Dumbledore. Bellatrix shook her head and stomped off, the last student out of the Great Hall.
It doesn't sound as though Dumbledore gave you much of a choice. Just make yourself look pretty and dance with the boy. I know where I stand.
L.V.
Bellatrix read the letter he'd replied with for the sixth time. She sighed and stared into the full-length mirror in the Slytherin girls' dormitory.
"You look so beautiful," Opal said enviously. Bellatrix glanced over to where Opal stood, plump and a little lumpy, in her jade green dress. Calla looked pretty in fluffy pale pink. Bellatrix had opted for a strapless, form-fitting black silk dress that hit her knees, along with elbow-length black gloves. She'd pulled her hair back into a twist and had worn the black pearl earrings Voldemort had sent her. She had also pulled on the matching pearl pendant that had come by owl this morning, a gift from her husband to wear to the Start of Term ball.
"I don't want to go," Bellatrix complained, and Opal rolled her eyes.
"He's not even here, Bella."
Bellatrix shook her head and touched at her necklace and earrings. "You couldn't understand."
"You haven't even slept with him!" Opal exclaimed, and Bellatrix lowered her eyes. The silence in the dormitory was deafening, until Calla asked quietly,
"Have you?"
"None of your business," Bellatrix mumbled. Opal gasped, and Bellatrix insisted loudly,
"It was once. Once. Right before we left for school. It was just over a week ago. It was… you couldn't understand."
"He's not meant to do that," Opal snapped, and Bellatrix whirled on her.
"Stay out of my marriage, you fat cow."
"Bellatrix!" Calla cried, and Opal went red-faced and slapped Bellatrix's cheek hard.
"Whore!" she said. "Can't even last until December. And he's a damned pervert."
Bellatrix shoved Opal as hard as she could, sending her catapulting against the post of Calla's bed.
"Stop!" Calla shrieked. "Stop, Bella, no!"
Bellatrix had pulled out her wand, and she was aiming it, shaking, at Opal, who scowled and insisted,
"My father works for the Ministry. I'm going to write to him and -"
"You make an enemy of my husband, and you'll regret it forever," Bellatrix informed her. "Your brother Thorfinn desperately wants into the movement. You want to ruin it for him, Opal? You want to make the Rowle family enemies of the future?"
"You think awfully highly of Tom Riddle," Opal said, standing up and straightening her mussed hair. She sniffed. "But from what I've heard, he's struggling to make friends and get funding. I'm writing to my father. Telling him that Tom Riddle is a pervert who -"
"Silencio!" Bellatrix cried, and Calla Greengrass marched up and snatched Bellatrix's wand right out of her hand. She aimed her own wand at Opal and said,
"Finite Incantatem. Bellatrix Riddle, fifteen points from Slytherin!"
Calla was a Prefect, and Bellatrix narrowed her eyes at her as she grabbed her wand back and shoved it into her Expanded handbag.
"So sorry, Opal," she mumbled, and she stormed out of the girls' dormitory. She practically dashed down the corridor to the Common Room, and out there she found Rodolphus Lestrange waiting for her.
"Let's go," she said.
"You look pretty," Rodolphus told her, and Bellatrix snapped,
"Shut up."
She refused to dance with Rodolphus at the ball. She sulked in a corner, glaring daggers at Opal and Calla and Rodolphus and Dumbledore. She chugged Gillywater-Cranberry punch until she needed a lavatory, and then she stomped out of the Great Hall.
When she came out of the bathroom, Rodolphus was waiting for her.
"What do you want?" Bellatrix asked, and he reached for her elbow as he said quietly,
"You don't have to lose your freedom."
"Get away from me," Bellatrix snarled, going for her handbag so she could get her wand. Rodolphus put his hands on her shoulders and pushed her gently until she was up against the stone wall, and Bellatrix shoved roughly at his chest. He was entirely too strong.
"Get away from me!" she exclaimed again, and Rodolphus started to bend his face like he meant to kiss her.
"No!" Bellatrix screamed. "Get the hell away from me!"
"Mr Lestrange!" burred a Scottish voice. Rodolphus turned around, and Bellatrix panted as she saw Minerva McGonagall, the new Transfigurations professor, standing with her wand aimed at Rodolphus.
"Madam Riddle, if you'll kindly wait here," she said. "Lestrange, come with me. Now."
Bellatrix shook where she stood, and she looked around the corridor in silence as McGonagall led an angry-looking Lestrange into the Great Hall. A few moments later, Dumbledore came out with Rodolphus, leading him away, and McGonagall was back. She carefully took Bellatrix down the corridor to a quieter spot, and she asked,
"Do you require a medical examination of any sort?"
"Medical… no." Bellatrix shook her head, her eyes welling. "No, ma'am."
"What did he do to you?" McGonagall asked patiently. Bellatrix started to cry then, despite herself. She was full of rage, and yet the tears came. She'd have mascara running down her cheeks, she thought distantly.
"He told me I didn't have to… to lose my freedom," Bellatrix said honestly. "He pushed me up against a wall. He… was… about to kiss me."
"Against your will?" McGonagall asked, and when Bellatrix nodded, McGonagall said very regretfully, "I suppose… erm… we'll have to notify your father. Or… well, it'll have to be Mr Riddle."
"Notify him?" Bellatrix felt afraid all of a sudden, and McGonagall nodded.
"Professor Dumbledore will write to him, asking him to come, and the three of you will discuss the matter. Owing to the fact that you are still sixteen and, under the terms of a provisional marriage, Mr Riddle is your legal guardian."
"Wait." Bellatrix shook her head. "You're going to bring my husband here? To meet with… with Albus Dumbledore?"
McGonagall put her lips into a straight line and tipped her head. "Believe me, Madam Riddle, I'm not exactly thrilled about the idea. Now. Let's get you to the Infirmary. You may not realise it now, but you're going to want some Draught of Peace."
Author's Note: Dumbledore and Voldemort meeting to discuss the fact that Bellatrix got assaulted by her date a ball that Dumbledore made mandatory?
This should go well.
