Author's Note:

Thank you to all who reviewed! It gives me a lot of support. I value all of your opinions, so again, thank you!

I would like to address two issues brought to my attention - if you don't care, feel free to skip to the story! :D A shout-out to Amber and Jessica Parker for pointing the following out:

First, I want to address the question of age. I know that there is probably an error in the ages of some of the characters, as I addressed in the endnote of the last chapter. Like you, I've read that Bella was nine or ten years older than Sirius, but then I got confused because in the books (I'm pretty sure in HBP, but it might be Deathly Hallows), it is mentioned that Bellatrix was part of the group of future Death Eaters that Snape started to spend time with at Hogwarts, thus separating him from his friendship with Lily. This means that they would have to have a seven-year age difference at most in order to be at Hogwarts at the same time. I'm not sure which is considered canon, because JK herself made the statement about the large age difference... But then again she also wrote the books the way she did before then! Finding it hard to imagine 7th-year Bella associating herself with ickle-1st-year Snape, I just kind of assigned ages in my head that made sense with what I knew to be true (Bellatrix is the oldest of the Black sisters, Snape and the Marauders are the same age). They're probably not right, but that was my lengthy train of thought... just so you know the reason behind what I've written.

Now it's sort of too late for me to change it in my story, but I'll keep it in mind for possible future fics.

Another issue is some of the spells that I've been using. For example, how did Bellatrix know Muffliato? Erm... that was one of the half-blood prince's spells wasn't it? ...Oops! Ooh ooh I know, maybe she knew it and Snape learned it from her and wrote it down...nope, that's just me improvising myself out of an awkward situation. To be honest, I clearly didn't think this through. So... suspend your disbelief for this one? Please? :)

Also, I'm sorry if any of you thought that last chappie was too much! The last thing I want to do is offend anyone, but face it Bella can be pretty offensive. I thought the rating would be ok at T, but feel free to let me know if it should be M.

And lastly, to those of you who want to friend me on Pottermore, I'm JinxThestral192 :) And I'm in Slytherin. Surprise!

Now back to the story. On to mischief and mayhem! (both of which I own. Doesn't mean I own the characters, though. I don't.)

Chapter 11: In Control

"'Dromeda. 'Dromeda!" Bellatrix hissed.

Andromeda awoke with a start at the sound of her older sister's voice. The sun was just rising, and it was much too early in the morning for her to be awake. Still, at the sight of her fearful sister, she sat up in bed almost obediently.

"Yes?" she peeped, a bit louder than she meant. Bellatrix was not exactly the person with whom she wanted to start off her day.

"Shh!" Bellatrix scolded, gesturing around the common room. The other Slytherin third-years who shared a dorm room with Andromeda were still asleep. Bellatrix picked this time of day to ask her favour of Andromeda just for this reason; she would not be able to argue with her and then huff off as she normally did around her eldest sister. She would have the upper hand, something that, regarding Andromeda, seemed to have been slipping away from Bellatrix. It may have been a low blow, but she much preferred Andromeda when she was younger and did as she said without question. "So… how are you?" Bellatrix asked almost sweetly, perching herself at the foot of Andromeda's bed.

"What?"

"How have you been?" Bellatrix grimaced through her façade of compassion. She was being as convincing as she could, and Andromeda didn't seem to buy it.

"Uh… fine. Tired. What is it, six in the morning? Can we um… catch up later?" Andromeda lay back down on her bed. It was so early because Bellatrix had to wake up early to retrieve her cloak and stolen supplies before her morning Potions class. To Andromeda's annoyance, Bellatrix lied right down beside her. Andromeda rolled over to turn away. She was very uncomfortable around her older sister. She didn't like her attitude, and she didn't like the way she treated people – especially Andromeda herself. The one quality she did admire in her was her independence from their overbearing parents and her willingness to rebel; but the fact that both she and Rodolphus were missing late last night left her with other impressions. Perhaps Bellatrix had decided their arrangement wasn't so bad after all. But mostly, Andromeda hated looking into her sister's face and seeing herself reflected right back at her. It was strange to see her own mouth pronouncing spells that hurt other people, her own hair tossed to the side to show carelessness and apathy towards people for whom Andromeda herself cared deeply.

"Can't I just have a chat with my favourite sister?" Bellatrix asked, feigning hurt. She rolled on her side and propped her head on her arm. She rolled over Andromeda, who was drifting back to sleep, both to wake her up and make her face her.

"We both know I'm not your favourite," said Andromeda, thinking of how she absolutely fawned over Narcissa. Were it not for this, Andromeda would have thought her incapable of any loving emotion.

"Ok, second favourite," said Bellatrix, loosing her patience. In an effort to show some tenderness, she reached over and stroked her sister's hair, causing the latter to shudder ever so slightly. Unlike Andromeda, Bellatrix liked looking at Andromeda and pretending that she was someone else looking in on her own life. They really looked so much alike that it was almost an out-of-body experience. Sure it was strange, but that made it all the more exciting. Until, of course, Andromeda opened her mouth and started on about some stupid boy or the like.

Breaking from her thoughts, Bellatrix started talking. "If you're not going to talk to me, I might as well get straight to the point—"

Suddenly remembering how Narcissa had hounded her last night about the next day being Bella's birthday, and not wanting to deal with a whiny Narcissa were she to forget, Andromeda proclaimed "Hey, happy birthday."

This caught Bellatrix by surprise. Since when did Andromeda care? Then she was annoyed. Why did people have to attach so much importance to birthdays anyway? She was just another year older, another year closer to the end of her life as she knew it. Another year closer to marriage.

But she couldn't let this spoil her act. "Oh that's today, is it?" Wait, she could use this to her advantage. "I need to borrow something of yours."

"What is it?"

"Your Comet 360."

"What? But I just got it, it's new!" Andromeda pouted.

"You got it nearly four months ago! And besides, I only need it for two days. I'll give it back. Promise." Seeing no change in Andromeda's expression, she added "it is my birthday after all."

It was true that Andromeda had forgotten to get her anything, and Narcissa would be sure to berate her about that again. She could certainly be annoyingly controlling for a younger sibling.

"Fine." Frankly, if Bellatrix wanted something there was usually no means that she wouldn't take. Andromeda considered herself lucky that she was getting off so easily. Then she remembered something. "You can borrow it, but only if you're here tonight, in the common room."

"Where else would I be?" asked Bellatrix, afraid suddenly that Andromeda had noticed her absence.

Andromeda sensed her fear, but decided not to bring up her liaisons with Rodolphus until another time. "Nowhere. It's just that Narcissa's planning something for you. Don't tell her I told you. She just told me to make sure you were here," she said quickly.

"Oh." Bellatrix relaxed. As different as she and Andromeda are, they both shared an annoyance with their younger sister's enthusiasm about such events. And as much as she hated her birthday, she would brave the social and celebratory aspects of her birthday for Cissy. She had planned it, after all. She could be so thoughtful, especially considering how she hadn't associated with her much since she threatened her. Suddenly, she remembered something. "I can't! I have detention tonight."

"On your birthday?" Andromeda asked. She scarcely ever engaged in a normal conversation with Bellatrix, so she might as well enjoy it while it lasted. Probably the only reason they weren't cursing each other was so that they wouldn't wake up her roommates.

"As if Slughorn knows my birthday. Or cares," she added. At least she would have an excuse to keep away from Rodolphus, Bellatrix thought. "Tell Cissy for me. I'll come by after." She was right back to giving Andromeda orders, as usual.

Too tired to argue, Andromeda nodded and closed her eyes.

"Oh, and 'Dromeda," said Bellatrix, feigning sweetness once again, "bring your boyfriend. I think it's high time one of the family meets him." With that she walked out of the room, a slight sneer dancing on her lips.

Andromeda's eyes shot open.

Bellatrix's feet dragged as she walked up the stairs to the Potions classroom. Other students complained about Potions being so far down into the dungeons, but it was nothing compared to the Slytherin common room.

Normally she didn't mind detention. She even looked forward to it, because it was a good excuse to avoid other people. Certain professors were notorious for making students do menial tasks and dirty work, but Bellatrix almost always got away just sitting out her allotted time. They wouldn't admit it, but many professors were uncomfortable around her, especially alone and after hours, and others found it to not be worthy of their time to argue with her. That dirty, Squib of a man Filch let her be because he wouldn't have much protection against her magic anyway, while Dumbledore had seemed to give up on making her do actual work, preferring to talk with her about whatever she had done to get detention and determined to find out why. She never answered his endless streams of questions about her motives, her family, and her childhood; frankly, she found them useless, annoying, and prying. But, detention with Slughorn was definitely always a drag. As head of Slytherin house, he had the most power over her than any other professor. And while he wasn't particularly wealthy, he was known in the pureblood community to which she belonged and wouldn't hesitate to contact her parents.

"There you are, Miss Black. On time, I see," greeted Slughorn. "We might want to try that a bit more in the future, now wouldn't we?" He patted her on the shoulder, welcoming her into the classroom. "Have a seat."

She sat down, finding it strange that he wasn't put her to work straight away. "What, no cauldrons to scrub?" Bellatrix asked sarcastically. She was off to such a good start being on time, but somehow couldn't bring herself to be polite. Not today.

Luckily, Slughorn did not often pick up on such subtleties of speech. "Oh there will be plenty to do, no need to worry Mss Black. But I think I should wait to explain it to both of you."

Brilliant, they were expecting company. Just when she wanted to be alone. "Both of us?" she inquired.

"Yes, you and Rodolphus, my dear. I thought he ought have told you," he said, leaning forward for the last bit to show that he knew of the 'happy' news of their engagement. He was not invited to the announcement ceremony at Bellatrix's request – nay, demand – even Andromeda agreed that having a professor there would be very strange. How did he know?

Her heart skipped a beat. Not in a good way, as when one is excited, but in a bad way, as when one is filled with dread. "What?"

"As you know, you got a detention for being incredibly late to class last week." Bellatrix rolled her eyes at his statement. What does he know of her life? The night before was… well, she preferred not to think about it. "Rodolphus was also late, but not nearly as late as you," Slughorn paused, to make sure his words were being absorbed by Bellatrix, who was actually listening attentively to hear what Rodolphus had done. "I didn't want to give him detention, I do try to be lenient for only a few minutes of tardiness, as was the case with him," Slughorn rambled, "and you do know how hard it is for prefects when they get too many detentions. It can really hurt their chances for the next year, and I'm not the only one responsible for his position…" Slughorn carried on. Suddenly he leaned forward. "You know, he actually requested that I give him a detention, so as to make an example of himself for other students. Fine upstanding young man…"

Bellatrix stopped listening. He asked to be in detention with her? She was instantly suspicious. While it was sickeningly believable that he would make such a perfect prefect example of himself for the so-called benefit of other students, she knew it was so he could be alone with her. Damn him! The only time she gets to be alone, and he ruins it.

At this unpleasant thought, Rodolphus stumbled in, breathless. "Sorry sir..."

"Not to worry, young man," Slughorn cut him off. Bellatrix rolled her eyes at his obvious favouritism towards Rodolphus. This went unnoticed by Slughorn but very noticed by Rodolphus, who instantly laid his eyes upon her as he had walked in. He smiled. He thought she was cute when she was annoyed. This is fortuitous, because she often was.

"Tonight I need you to organize my ingredients, in the cabinets in the back. Like ingredients combined, jars labelled, ingredients alphabetized…" Slughorn tittered on. Bellatrix wasn't listening because she didn't care. Rodolphus wasn't listening because heard only her light breath, somehow seeming much louder than the instructions in his mind.

When Slughorn had stopped, he looked back at the two for confirmation. "Yes, sir," Rodolphus said with confidence. Bellatrix didn't say anything.

"Right. Wands," he stated affirmatively, with his hands outstretched. That was the downside of detention with Slughorn. He wanted to make it as hard as possible.

Bellatrix and Rodolphus handed over their wands begrudgingly. "Right. I'll leave you to it, I just have to go discuss something with another student…." And he was gone.

Bellatrix walked over to the cabinets, dragging her feet. Breaking the silence, Rodolphus said, simply "What did he say? Somehow I didn't catch that."

She shrugged. "No idea." She started moving around jars in the cabinets.

"What are you doing, then?"

"Got to look like we've done something. Anything. He won't care. He won't likely remember what he asked us to do. It's Slughorn."

Rodolphus laughed. Bellatrix didn't. "Is this how you get through your endless stream of detentions?"

She rolled her eyes. "One can easily make it look like you've made progress by doing absolutely nothing." She dumped a jar into another, and put it back.

"Bella, those are porcupine quills. "

"So?"

"You mixed them with billywig stings," he exclaimed.

She shrugged again. "They look about the same."

"That could mess up someone's potion!"

"I hope it does." She snorted. "Come off it, porcupine quills? Billywig stings? You should be able to tell the difference. Only some stupid first-year will screw it up." She laughed.

Rodolphus thought of reminding her that such a naïve first-year might be her own younger sister, but decided the better of it. He remembered the last time he brought up her family.

"Okay, fine." Rodolphus helped her mess up the cabinet beyond any foreseeable repair. Only they would remember what they changed and what they mixed. They agreed that by the time Slughorn found out, he wouldn't suspect them. It was a risk for Rodolphus given his stature as prefect, but he would risk much more for his Bella. If wreaking havoc in the potions classroom in detention was the way to her heart, then he would try his best.

She almost smiled as she saw him focused so hard on how to disorganize the jars and which ingredients to contaminate. Almost. But she caught herself. "Don't hurt yourself there, Rod," she said sarcastically.

There it was again. Rod. His heart skipped a beat every time she called him that.

"I think this one's done," she said, proudly reviewing their work. "Any more and he'll catch us for sure."

"That leaves us with loads of time, even if we do the other two closets," he observed.

"How do you think I relax?" she asked, as if it were obvious. "In detention. If you finish fast, you can have the rest of the time to do nothing."

"That sounds boring," he teased.

"It's deceptively amusing," she retorted, sitting on one of tables. Bellatrix often used such time to reflect on her problems. Her family. What she should do about Rodolphus. If she were to ever run out of things to worry about, she, luckily, had a brilliant imagination.

There was a silence, as Rodolphus didn't respond. Bellatrix seemed unabashed by the lull in their conversation; she was unaware that Rodolphus was mustering up every bit of courage he had in him.

"Bella," he whispered. Whether she didn't hear him or she was ignoring him he didn't know. He cleared his throat. "Bella!" he said, a little too loudly. Her eyes snapped up as she was dragged from her reverie. Rodolphus reached into the pocket of his robes and approached her. "Look, this is no way to spend your birthday."

"Oh I don't care. The only one who does is Narcissa; she had this whole thing planned out…" she trailed off as she saw Rodolphus pull out something small and silver from his robes. "What's that?"

"Your—your birthday present," he stammered. "Sorry I didn't have time to wrap it up." He held it out to her.

For lack of anything else to do, she took it in her hands and examined it. The chain was anything but dainty, a thin but heavy silver mass. On it hung a pendant of a small skull fashioned from metal. Bellatrix usually hated jewellery. She usually hated her birthday and getting gifts. But, much to her surprise, she loved it.

"I—I made it," Rodolphus said. "I mean, the chain I had to buy, I got it in Knockturn Alley, at that one little store that's always crowded with things like this," he rambled. "But the skull I made."

Bellatrix was still examining the skull. It may be small, but it was edgy. It was fierce. It was strong.

She loved it. She loved it, because it was like her.

"You hate it." Rodolphus broke the silence.

Bellatrix looked up at him. "No! No, not at all." She mustered a small smile. It wasn't too forced. "No, I love it."

Rodolphus face brightened as his heart swelled. He had been thinking about what to get for her for ages, and finally decided on this. It was something he'd been working on for awhile, but after he finished it he realized he had made it with Bellatrix in mind all along.

It was amazing how detailed it was, how gently it had to have been made to not fall apart. She didn't tell him any of this. But she did wonder to herself how someone that she assumed to be as bumbling as Rodolphus could have made something so beautiful.

Seeing that she was struggling to clasp it with her untidy hair in the way, Rodolphus went behind her to help. He swept her long black mess of hair to the left side, revealing the nape of her neck. He took the necklace and clasped it, but his fingers lingered on her warm, soft skin. He couldn't resist when he leaned forward to brush his lips against her neck. He kissed her lightly, making his way slowly down the right side of her neck. One of his hands tangled in her hair.

Bellatrix tensed in reaction to his touch, and turned her head to face him. She opened her mouth to say something, anything to break the silence, but instead found Rodolphus' lips pressed to her own. He lingered there for a moment, and then pulled away to look into her eyes. This closeness made Bellatrix feel uncomfortable. She leaned in for a second kiss to break his stare, but as soon as he felt her response she felt him grab her waist with his free hand, spinning her around on the desk and pulling her under him. His hand moved lower as he pulled her leg around his waist. Bellatrix reached for her wand, just in case she needed it, until she realized with horror that Slughorn had taken it. She didn't have it. This time, Rodolphus was in control. It made her feel very small.

His movements seemed rough and rushed to Bellatrix, in contrast to his gentle manner the way this started out. She really needed to stop being surprised by Rodolphus. He obviously wasn't going anywhere, especially not at the moment. So with nothing to curse him with, the only thing left to do was kiss him back. This could be fun, she thought begrudgingly. And at least it was definitely rebellious. She closed her eyes. She reached up to his neck with one hand and tugged onto his hair with her other. Apparently he liked it rough. Pulling him fully on top of her, her kisses deepened. She wrapped both of her legs around him and thrust her hips onto his. At this point she didn't care how far it went. Rodolphus didn't mean anything to her, but she was getting used to having him around: if only to have something to play with. As his lips frantically moved against hers, she reached under his robes to pull it off. She quickly loosened his tie and unbuttoned his shirt, pulling it off after. She got a glimpse of his strong body, his muscles twitching under his skin as he moved above her. Her hands ran up and down his back, over his smooth skin and toned body. He fumbled with the clasps on her robes and then went to the buttons on her blouse before he finished with her robes, pushing up her bra and fondling her breasts. Her breath quickened. Her body was responding to him in ways she didn't expect it to, and suddenly she wanted more—

Neither of them had heard him enter, but both of them heard him exclaim: "LESTRANGE!" Slughorn rarely yelled.

Bellatrix gasped. Neither of them had expected him to be back so soon. They were frozen in that position; well, Bellatrix didn't really have anywhere to go, but Rodolphus couldn't seem to move.

"Lestrange, get off of Miss Black IMMEDIATELY," Slughorn stated firmly.

Bellatrix freed him from her legs as Rodolphus hopped to his feet. She rolled on the desks so that she was turned away from Slughorn, rapidly fixing her bra and doing up her robes. She could fix her blouse later. Slughorn went over to her, but she averted his gaze. This was possibly the most awkward situation imaginable. He patted her on the shoulder, leading her to the door. "Go to the common room, Miss Black."

She was confused; knowing Slughorn, she was expecting more punishment. She looked up at him. "Aren't I in trouble?" she inquired.

For once, she saw a look of genuine concern in his face; almost like the looks Dumbledore would give her. She recognised this look: it was pity. And she hated this look. "No, Miss Black. Of course I don't blame you. I – I should have left you with this," he said, handing her wand back to her. "Go ahead." Slughorn left it at that, practically pushing her out the door.

Before she left this part of the dungeons, she heard him yell again at Rodolphus. And he rarely yelled. She considered staying and waiting for him, but decided against it.

As she descended farther in the dungeons to the common room she took deep breaths. She was suddenly quite aware of her appearance, hoping that no one would be able to guess what she'd been up to. Did her untidy hair look a little too untidy? Her clothes just too dishevelled? She stopped at a mirror in the hall and straightened herself out a bit more. She really looked awful. What was she thinking? She reached under her robes and buttoned up her blouse and tried sweeping her hair to one side. And then she caught another glimpse at the glimmering bird skull around her neck. She brushed her fingers over it, and an image of Rodolphus flickered before her eyes; but for some reason she imagined him not as he was in the potions classroom, but rather as he was at their engagement party. Shy, anticipating, and a little bit cocky, he danced with her before her eyes, twirling across the dance hall.

"Bella!" Narcissa pulled her from the depths of her mind. "Bella, there you are! I'd just been to talk to Professor Slughorn, to convince him to let you out early, and I didn't think it worked! He didn't even talk to me for long before going back to the classroom. But I guess it worked, because here you are! Happy Birthday, Bella!" She wrapped her arms around her waist and squeezed her.

So she was the student Slughorn had to go talk to. And she was the reason he came back to soon. Thanks a million, Cissy, she thought. Instead she squeezed her back and gave a small laugh. "Yes, Cissy, he let me out early." She mustn't know the reason why. Not her little sister.

"Well come on!" she exclaimed, slipping her hand into hers. "Let's go!"

Bellatrix wanted to be about anywhere else right now instead of at a party. Well, maybe except Slughorn's office. She wondered where Rod was. And then she wondered why she even cared.

The sight inside the common room was amazing. It was all decked out in Slytherin banners and streamers including silver and green balloons. For not being very amenable and very particular about her 'friends,' Bellatrix apparently had a lot of admirers. She didn't consider many of these people to be friends, but unbeknownst to Bellatrix they all held a certain fascination with her. She was the first of the younger generation to come from the famed House of Black: a family that was incessantly discussed and admired in such communities. There was so much folklore associated with the Blacks, and not all of it good. Without trying, she was a bit of a legend. This was probably another reason she got away with murder. Well, almost.

It was noisy, and Mulciber and Avery greeted her right away. "Surprise!" they yelled, knowing full well how much she hated parties.

"Shut it, boys," she scoffed, as affectionately as possible. They understood. She didn't even need to talk much around them. This is why she usually preferred being around boys rather than girls, but recently Rodolphus made this very hard for her. Mulciber and Avery flanked her as she made her way around the room. Even though they were idiotic, she appreciated having them as companions for times like this.

As she began eating a slice of a magnificent cake in the shape of Hogwarts itself – how in the world did Cissy come across it? – she looked up to see Andromeda sitting quite by herself on one of the couches. She motioned for her impromptu bodyguards to stay where they were.

"'Dromeda," she said sitting down next to her middle sister, who jumped slightly as she noticed her.

"Hey Bella. Happy Birthday."

"Well, where is he then?"

"Where is who?"

Bellatrix rolled her eyes. "Your one true love," she mocked. "Your boyfriend. Bring him to me."

Andromeda let out a breath she had been holding. "He couldn't make it tonight Bella." She continued what she had rehearsed. "Please don't be angry with me," she squeaked. "I tried to get him in, really I did, but no one from another house can get into the Slytherin common rooms! There, I said it. He's not a Slytherin. But he's wonderful, and if you could just see him another time you would see how wonderful he is too…" she trailed off, trying to read the expression on her eldest sister's face.

"So you finally admit it!" Bellatrix said triumphantly. "I knew he wasn't a Slytherin. He's that boy from the train station! You've been going behind our backs!"

Andromeda looked terribly disappointed. "If you knew, then why did you put me through that?"

Bellatrix ignored her question and simply sniffed, tilting her head back. "Whatever his house, he must be worthy of you."

Andromeda smiled. "Oh he is, he really is, Bella. You'll see when you meet him."

Little did she know how much she had misinterpreted Bellatrix's words. They were not meant as a compliment, but rather as a warning. She would soon find out, just not tonight.

Mulciber and Avery dragged Bellatrix off the couch and into a corner, interrupting her conversation. Andromeda looked relieved. She was ready to slap them when Avery put a finger to her mouth, asking her to be quiet. She looked at Mulciber, who pulled something from out under his robes. It was a dusty bottle.

"Firewhisky," he whispered.

"We can really get this party going," added Avery.

Bellatrix was actually impressed. "Where did you get that? How did you get that in?" she asked.

"Not important. The important thing is that you have a good time," said Mulciber.

"And us," added Avery. "Snape tried to stop us, the little git. You'll notice he's not here right now."

She hadn't. But she looked around, and indeed he wasn't. "What did you do?"

"Don't worry. We'll remember to untie him by morning," Avery said. They both guffawed.

She rolled her eyes. "Give me that." She popped out the cork with a wave of her wand and took a long swig. It burnt like hell when it went down her throat, but she felt like she needed something like that to deal with what happened earlier. She'd tasted firewhisky before, but never this much.

"Hold it, save some for us!" Mulciber said.

They passed it around in their small circle, taking long drinks until they finished it. She had never been drunk before. Bellatrix's head was already delightfully fuzzy. She needed to remember this more often. Everything seemed brighter, but out of focus. Everything seemed louder but incoherent. For the first time in months, she felt light.

Avery cheered as a new song started up, getting up and grabbing Bellatrix with him. "Let's dance!" he yelled, leading her to the middle of the common room, which had temporarily been converted into a dance floor.

"I hate dancing!" she cried back.

"So? Me too!" He spun her around, knocking her into Narcissa. She was dancing with a blonde boy that had hair down to his shoulders.

"Bella! I knew you would have fun if you gave me a chance!" Narcissa yelled over the music in delight.

Bellatrix just laughed, very uncharacteristically so. She hadn't laughed in a long time. For once, whirling around was fun. She wished she had had some of this stuff for her engagement party. Even thinking about that didn't bother her. Although she was starting to feel sick by the end of the song. She stumbled away from Avery, and was caught by Mulciber.

"You can't leave yet!" he said, spinning her around.

"Mulciber, I know you hate dancing as much as I do."

"Ok, so lets go sit down then!"

They stumbled over to the couches and plopped down on them. She leaned back on him, wishing very hard that he ceiling would stop moving.

"I wish the room would hold still."

He laughed. "That's you, Black." He put an arm around her shoulder to steady her. She felt comfortable with his touch. It was nice to be around someone who had absolutely no romantic interest in her.

They sat there for a long time, as the party went on around them. She didn't feel any better yet. Avery was going absolutely mental, running around the room and dancing with everyone. Soon he came over to them and brought them a second bottle. He had already helped himself, and had them finish it. His tie was around his head and his shirt was off. At this rate, it was only a matter of time that someone would find out and put an end to their little party, so she might as well drink up. She tried getting up to see if she would feel better. She didn't. And she tumbled forward. But a pair of strong arms caught her.

Looking up, she saw Rodolphus. Even in her state, she noticed a marked bruise above his left eyebrow. Did Slughorn harm him? That seemed rather unconventional.

"Hello, Rod," she said, slurring her words. "What did he do? Just there?" she pointed to his head with an unsteady hand.

"Bella, what have you been drinking?"

"Pumpkin juice," she answered sarcastically.

"Bella. I'm going to have to report this."

She snorted. "Oh, excuse me, I forgot I was in the presence of a prefect. Now this couldn't be the same boy I was with earlier. No. He had a sense for trouble."

"Shh!"

"Don't tell me what to do!" she yelled.

"Bella, you're being loud. You wouldn't want anyone to know." Rodolphus took her head in his hands. "Bella, you're drunk."

She just laughed. She couldn't think straight anymore. Suddenly, she remembered how she felt in the potions classroom before they were interrupted. How much she wanted him. "Can't I finish where I left off?" she slurred. She clung on to his neck and kissed him.

"Bella…" he whispered as she pulled away. Rodolphus was torn. He wanted her more than anything, but she was drunk. This isn't real, he reminded himself. She isn't real.

"Oh come on, you seemed plenty happy before," she pushed him over to the couch. He backed away from her and, backing up a bit too far, fell over the arm onto the couch. He didn't think she could be so bossy and controlling. She climbed on to the couch, straddling him. She leaned into his face. "You know you want this, Rod." She snogged him as hard as she ever had before. She slipped her tongue in his mouth. She was being sloppy with rough movements, but she instantly incited Rodolphus anyway. He couldn't form rational thought with her on top of him like this.

In such a crowded room, they could have possibly gone unnoticed. That is, if it weren't for Avery's loud wolf whistle and gesturing towards them. The whole of the common room gasped. They had their suspicions. Word had gotten around about their engagement, and many other nasty rumours were circling about them. All of these seemed to be confirmed by this display. Several boys cheered. Many of them were jealous of Rodolphus; they always thought that Bellatrix Black would be impossible to crack, to bring down from her pedestal. Yet here she was. Of course, they didn't know that she was completely pissed.

"Bella!" cried out Narcissa as she saw them. She was incredibly confused.

"Cissy." The soft voice that spoke belonged to Andromeda. "Cissy, you did a wonderful job, but I think it's time for bed."

Narcissa protested, hated being domineered by her middle sister. She peeked behind her as Andromeda led her to bed. Narcissa had never seen her sister act like that. That's not how they were raised. They were meant to be proper and refined, qualities that, even at age 11, Narcissa revered.

Rodolphus was able to break away to breath between her kisses. The sudden attention of the whole room made him think rationally again. He reached into her robes and took her wand so she couldn't curse him. The firewhisky had slowed her down enough so that he beat her to it. This was possibly the worst situation for him to be in, but his mind went directly to Bellatrix. It would be worse for her, being a girl. Slughorn may have confused his actions to be one-sided, but given what everyone just saw there was no doubt that Bellatrix was responsible as much as he was. And he wanted to make it better for her, which started with getting her away from this crowd.

He sat up, spinning her around so that she was on his lap – but at least no longer straddling him. "Silencio," he whispered, jabbing his wand to her back. Her muffled protestations stopped. She was just as vocal drunk as she was sober. Then he addressed the common room. "Look," he began. "This party is after hours, loud, and some of you are pissed out of your minds. That could be detention for everyone and even higher disciplinary action for some of you." He tried to remain composed, but it was hard with Bellatrix perched on his lap. "I, as your prefect, am willing to ignore that and let you get away with it this once, on the condition that you forget what you just saw." Of course, people weren't going to forget. But they could damn well keep their mouths shut. "Neither I nor Bella—Miss Black—want to hear anything about it in the future."

The music had started up again, and those who were still paying attention nodded in consent. While Bellatrix was generally not threatened by Rodolphus, he was quite an imposing figure amongst the other Slytherins. Many of the students feared him, and they agreed with him right away. Mulciber stumbled over to them and tried to lead Bellatrix to the dormitories. When she kept falling over, he picked her up and carried her. Rodolphus followed them, and the party continued as if nothing had happened.

Mulciber tried to get in to the girl's dorms, but couldn't advance more than the door. "Hey Lestrange, help me out here. You're a prefect, you can get past these barriers right?"

Normally prefects were allowed in the girl's dormitories for safety reasons, while all other boys were prevented from entering. Until recently, Rodolphus could have entered. Tonight, Slughorn revoked that privilege from him. "Erm, no. I—I can't. Look," Rodolphus said, unsuccessfully trying to walk through the door.

"What do we do?" asked Mulciber. "Her sisters already went to bed." He shifted uncomfortably. While Bellatrix had stopped trashing around in his arms, her weight was beginning to be too much for him in his state. "Should we go get another girl to take her?"

"No," was Rodolphus' response, almost immediately. Mulciber raised his eyebrows. "I really don't want anyone else involved."

"Well, you're the boss." Mulciber was sarcastic even when he was pissed. "But we can't just leave her here."

"No…" Rodolphus' face lit up. "No, but girls can come into the boy's dormitories. Perfect!"

"What are you on about?"

"I'll take her." Rodolphus scooped her up. She relaxed in his arms. "Erm, thanks, Mulciber."

"Have fun, Lestrange." He winked. "But hurt her and I'll kick your ass," he said darkly. "Goodnight!" At that, Mulciber went to join the others in the common room.

Rodolphus trudged to his floor with Bellatrix in tow. He didn't lift the silencing charm until he reached his room, but it wasn't needed anymore. Bellatrix had drifted into state of comfort and drowsiness. He laid her down on his bed. He shuddered to think what Slughorn would do to him if he found her here with him. He already used some unconventional methods of punishment today. Were professors allowed to curse students? But he wasn't going to touch her. He just wanted her to be safe tonight from the imminent ridicule and rumours of the other students. From which, hopefully, his little speech tonight would save her.

He was tired. He undressed and slipped in under the covers beside her. As he was closing his eyes, Bellatrix rolled over to face him. "Rod?" she whispered.

He stroked her messy hair. He couldn't help think that she would never let him be this gentle with her when she was in her right state of mind. He wrapped his other arm around her waist. "Try to get some sleep, Bella."

She closed her eyes and breathed out heavily, relaxing in his arms. "Rod…" she whispered again. "Rod… you know, I was thinking. About us. And you're not so bad."

Rodolphus' heart swelled. From Bellatrix, this was like I love you. Albeit an I love you from a drunken Bellatrix. Whatever it meant, Rodolphus knew at least that somewhere, deep down, he finally met with her approval. Even with Slughorn's punishments and the dreadful party scene, he had never been happier than he was today.

He pressed his lips to her forehead. "I love you, too," he whispered. But she was already asleep.

Author's Note: I've been working really hard on this chapter, and then got really busy… and for some reason couldn't get it just right. Well, I like it now, so I hope you enjoy! Let me know what you think! And thank you again for your patience! Reviews for drunken Bellatrix! (Not sure if I like her… she should definitely stay away from the bottle…)