"I look silly."

"You do not look silly; you look absolutely beautiful."

Bellatrix stared into the mirror where she sat in Narcissa's boudoir and frowned. She'd opted for a low-cut gown of black silk with Grecian-style crisscrossed silver ribbon on the bodice. Narcissa had styled her curls into a rather ridiculous updo with silver ribbon twined round the curls. Bellatrix wore her diamond pendant and diamond stud earrings from Rodolphus to complete her look. For her part, Narcissa looked gorgeous in silver lace with her hair down in silky waves.

"I can't believe the wedding is here at the manor," Bellatrix mused. They'd been informed just the day before that Rabastan's wedding was being held at Malfoy Manor. It was the largest space for an indoor winter wedding where the entire community had been invited. It was also by far the most secure space, warded up like a prison against enemies.

Whilst the girls were getting ready, final preparations were being made downstairs. Aurora had been given the burgundy parlour to dress in her wedding gown. Bellatrix tipped her head and wondered aloud,

"D'you think Aurora will wear a gown designed to disguise her bump? It's got to be a little bit obvious now, don't you think?"

Narcissa twined her hands together and mumbled,

"I find I don't much care what Aurora does to hide whatever baby bump she's managed to accumulate."

Bellatrix turned round on her boudoir stool.

"Oh, Cissy. I'm so sorry. How insensitive of me. It must be awful for you, seeing people cradling their newborns, walking around with round bellies."

Narcissa looked like she was going to cry, and she shrugged.

"Lucius says we should take a little break from trying. So we can just relax and be married for a little while. But that's a secret."

Bellatrix mimed stitching her lips shut. "Your secret is safe with me. And I think Lucius is right. You could use a break from worrying over it. Give yourself a few months to just be with him."

Narcissa straightened her back and tipped her chin up bravely. "Tonight I mean to drink Champagne and dance with him. And there's me being insensitive, because I am not the one who has to attend my brother-in-law's wedding without my husband. Sorry, Bella."

Bellatrix winced, her mind filling with flashes of Rodolphus.

"A difficult occasion for us both, then," she said softly. She rose from the boudoir bench and joked sourly, "You know what Mummy would tell us to do if she heard us complaining. Soldier on, girls."

Narcissa giggled wildly at that and said,

"D'you remember when I was six or seven and I was climbing a tree and fell from it? I broke my arm and the Healer was on his way, and Mummy just kept telling me to soldier on. I thought you were going to punch her in the jaw."

"She is ridiculous," Bellatrix grumbled.

"Well, you're a real soldier now," Narcissa noted. "Soldier on, Bella."

Bellatrix thought about the fact that the past few weeks of soldiering had been rather dull and quiet. The attacks on the Mudbloods had dominated the Daily Prophet for a solid week. The Wizarding Wireless had droned on about it all ad nauseam. The Ministry appeared to have gone into panic mode about it, issuing emergency protective measures. Voldemort had been quite pleased at the debriefing meeting. But they'd gone quiet after that.

Bellatrix had spent her time in pensive solitude, for the most part. She had taken a few trips to Diagon Alley and Knockturn Alley to Christmas shop. She needed gifts for Narcissa, Lucius, Abraxas and Adelaide Malfoy, and her parents. There would be no gift for Rodolphus this year.

She'd seen Voldemort only in passing. He'd been at dinner a few times. He'd stared at Bellatrix as the others talked, and he'd conversed quietly with her about light, meaningless topics. One time, he'd come into the library when she'd been reading. He'd asked about her gloves, which were still leather, and he'd seemed fascinated by the permanence of his own Transfiguration work. But he hadn't put his hands on Bellatrix, nor had he kissed her, since the night she'd killed Isla Asher.

"I wonder if they'll wear tuxedo robes today," Bellatrix thought out loud.

"Who?" Narcissa asked. "Abraxas and Lucius? I've already told Lucius that he hasn't a choice; this is a formal event."

"Right," Bellatrix nodded. "And what about the Dark Lord?"

Narcissa's pale brows furrowed in confusion. Why would her sister care what Lord Voldemort wore to a wedding? Bellatrix quickly dug herself a deeper hole.

"He despises bow ties, so…"

"How do you know that?" snapped Narcissa.

Bellatrix's cheeks went warm. "He told me so. At Cecilia's wedding. No. Wait. Before it. Anyway. He finds them constricting, but he wears them when he hasn't a choice. I presume he'll be in tuxedo robes like the rest of the wizards."

Narcissa gave Bellatrix a very odd look, and her eyes narrowed. Bellatrix's cheeks were searing hot now.

"Let's go downstairs," she insisted. "You're a hostess of this manor. Wouldn't do to be late."

Down in the ballroom, the chairs had been arranged into two neat columns with a decorated platform and podium at the front. Narcissa and Lucius were seated with Abraxas and Adelaide Malfoy in the second row, because they were the hosts of Malfoy Manor. Bellatrix took a seat further back, next to an old Slytherin classmate, Zeus Selwyn, and his pretty wife, a Ravenclaw whose name Bellatrix couldn't remember.

"Hullo, Bellatrix," Zeus grunted, and that was that. He didn't say anything else, choosing instead to talk quietly to his wife. Now Bellatrix could see why Rodolphus had never closely associated with Zeus in school. He was as interesting and personable as a brick.

The aisle seat beside Bellatrix was empty, and she imagined Rodolphus sitting there. She imagined chatting with him the way Zeus Selwyn was chatting with his wife. She brushed her fingers over the chair and sucked on her lip, remembering a wedding she'd attended with Rodolphus where her husband had made her silently laugh through the entire ceremony by whispering into her ear. He'd mocked everything and everyone until Bellatrix had commanded him to stop by pinching his thigh and giggling, earning them both the glares of the bride's parents. She smiled a bit at the memory of Rodolphus' impish behaviour. She'd always liked that about him.

"He's coming! Get up!" hissed Zeus' Ravenclaw wife. Bellatrix turned to see Voldemort stalking into the ballroom, and she flew to her feet with all the others. Everyone stood in respectful silence as Voldemort nodded to acknowledge a few of his closest associates. He was indeed wearing tuxedo robes with a neat black bow tie. His eyes settled on Bellatrix, then on the empty chair beside her. He swept wordlessly into that chair, sitting down and clearing his throat. Bellatrix was immensely confused as she took her own seat with everyone else.

"Master," she whispered, as conversation buzzed around her, "I would have expected you to sit up front, as is your right."

He turned his head toward her, his expression blank. "I shall sit where I damn well please. Have you some objection to my presence?"

She shook her head. "Of course not."

He smirked. "Good. Glad that's settled."

He tugged a bit at his bow tie, and Bellatrix struggled then to keep a straight face. Voldemort glared at her, tipping his head, and announced,

"It really does feel like choking."

Bellatrix tried to give him a kind look and suggested, "Perhaps you tied it too tightly, My Lord."

He tugged again and then curled up half his mouth, parting his lips with a comeback ready. But just then, enchanted strings at the front of the ballroom began to play. The wedding was beginning. One of the smaller doors into the ballroom opened, and Rabastan's good friend, Lancelot Greengrass, walked in, followed by Rabastan. The two young wizards were trailed by an ancient man, the officiant, Redmond Avery. The three wizards waited at the platform as the music continued.

From the back of the ballroom, two little girls in fluffy white dresses came toddling in, clutching sparkling white rose bouquets. Holding their hands was Aurora's teenaged sister, Ava, who was clad in a modest cream-coloured dress. She handed the girls off to their parents and waited at the platform as the strings finished off their piece. Then herald trumpets enchanted to play themselves sounded a fanfare, and everyone slowly stood. As she rose, Bellatrix caught a whiff of books and leather from Voldemort's robes, a heady scent that set her heart to racing.

Aurora Travers came walking in steadily to the sound of bagpipes and drums. She had opted for an empire-waisted chiffon gown that showed the very gentle swell of her belly. She held her father's arm and a bouquet of cream roses and made no effort to hide her condition, seemingly unashamed of being pregnant. She grinned broadly at Rabastan, who appeared to be genuinely happy as he smiled back at her. Aurora and her father paused to bow their heads as they walked by Voldemort, who nodded so they could continue up the aisle. At last, Aurora reached the front and her father passed her hand to Rabastan, and everyone sat.

Redmond Avery droned on for a long while about how sometimes people were brought together by circumstances they did not expect. Bellatrix thought of how Aurora had been married to a much older wizard who had abandoned her, the way the witch had accidentally become pregnant with Rabastan's child and now was taking him for her husband. And yet, the two of them seemed so very happy. Rodolphus would be elated to see this, Bellatrix thought. To see his brother settling down at last with a witch like Aurora, with a child on the way. Then Bellatrix realised that Rabastan had known about this for weeks prior to Rodolphus' death. Had he told his brother? Had Rodolphus known about this before he'd been killed? Bellatrix wasn't sure if she wanted to know. She shut her eyes as Aurora's father made his way up to the platform and trilled out his assigned reading in his thick Scottish accent.

"Wherever ye are, there shall I be. If ye shall be ill, I shall be there to tend to ye. If ye shall be happy, I shall be with ye to share in the joy. Through storms and through sunshine, we shall see it together, ye and I."

Natalia Lestrange went up next, and Bellatrix was suddenly taken to Rodolphus' funeral. Natalia had been drugged, just like Bellatrix. She'd made it through readings marking her son's death. Bellatrix trembled a little where she sat. Voldemort looked to her, as if he understood what she was thinking, and he nodded. She met his eyes and was somehow comforted by his gaze, which she held all through Natalia's reading.

"There is nothing in all the world more precious than the love shared between husband and wife. It is, undoubtedly, the strongest bond one can imagine. It is flesh. It is heart. It is soul. It is mind. It is an all-consuming love which devours us completely in the most important and beautiful way."

Bellatrix broke her eyes away from Voldemort's as Natalia sat back down. She wasn't shaking anymore. She wasn't thinking of Rodolphus anymore. She was thinking of firewhisky, of touching her master, of kisses in the library, of gloves that stubbornly stayed leather.

"Do you, Aurora Travers, take Rabastan as your husband in perpetuity?" Redmond Avery was asking.

"I do." Aurora smiled beautifully and touched at her belly.

"Do you, Rabastan Lestrange, take Aurora as your wife in perpetuity?"

"I do." He seemed very happy then. He swiped a tear from his eye as he laughed a little and nodded vigorously. Bellatrix grinned.

"The rings?" Redmond Avery coughed a little as Lancelot Greengrass produced the rings from the pocket of his tuxedo robe. Rabastan pushed Aurora's ring onto her finger, and she put his ring on his hand. Then, together, they chanted the ancient vow.

"I make you my heart. I make you my own. You make me your heart. You make me your own. Forever together and never alone. Bound up, united, stitched up and sewn. Husband and wife now, our flesh and our bone."

"I pronounce these two husband and wife, married now and always. Mr Lestrange, do kiss your bride," said Redmond Avery. Rabastan drew Aurora into a deep kiss as everyone stood and began to cheer. Voldemort rose but did not clap, much less cheer. His eyes flicked to Bellatrix, who was holding up far better than she'd been expecting to do. She flashed him a little smile, grateful for him being beside her. Somehow it seemed like she wouldn't have made it through this wedding as well without him near her.

The ballroom was transformed then. House-Elf magic vanished the chairs as people milled about, and tables full of food and drink appeared. Owing to the crowd and the logistics of the space, this wedding would not feature a full sit-down meal. Rather, there would be hors d'oeuvres, drinks, and dancing. Bellatrix meandered into a line of people waiting for food as Voldemort was swamped by people wanting to speak to him. She took a plate and filled it with meatballs, bacon-wrapped asparagus, and a few stuffed mushrooms. She walked by a table of Champagne flutes and plucked one up for herself.

As she stood at a high table alone eating, she watched Voldemort chatting with her father. She should have a closer relationship with her parents, Bellatrix thought. But, then, she didn't like her parents very much. They were exhausting. They were social climbers, petty and obnoxious. Bellatrix turned her attention to where Rabastan was dancing with his new wife. He looked enraptured by Aurora. He was in love with her, Bellatrix realised. If he hadn't been in love before, he'd fallen in love out of necessity. It was absolutely beautiful to watch.

She felt eyes on her and turned her gaze to see Voldemort watching her as her father spoke to him. Voldemort muttered something to Cygnus Black III and appeared to excuse himself from the conversation. He began to walk rather determinedly toward Bellatrix, who rushed to set down her speared meatball and swallow her bite. She swigged some Champagne to clean her mouth and steadied her breath as he approached. He was five paces away when the Malfoys swooped in like hawks on prey.

"My Lord," simpered Abraxas Malfoy, "she's too shy to ask you herself, but I wonder if you would grant a dance to the lady of the manor."

Adelaide giggled quite nervously. Bellatrix frowned. He didn't like to dance, but how could he say no? Adelaide Malfoy hosted his living quarters and his movement's headquarters. She was the hostess of this wedding. Voldemort licked his lip delicately and said,

"Oh. Adelaide. Yes, of course."

He walked a pace ahead of Adelaide toward the dance floor, and Abraxas watched on with pride as the Dark Lord pulled his wife into a dancing stance. Voldemort held Adelaide at arm's length, moving stiffly through the waltz the strings were playing. Bellatrix stared at them, but they didn't appear to be talking much. She huffed and chomped through her mushrooms and asparagus. Why did it make her stomach hurt to see his hands on someone else?

At the end of the waltz, Voldemort bowed politely and moved away from Adelaide, but as he did, Rabastan proudly handed over Aurora. Voldemort appeared reluctant, but how could he reject the bride? Bellatrix scowled, finishing her Champagne and shoving her empty glass and plate at Dobby when he went walking by. At last the song ended, and Voldemort didn't even bother bowing this time. He just hustled off the dance floor. Bellatrix walked over to a table stacked with cream puffs, and she used the tongs to pile half a dozen of them onto a dessert plate. She popped one into her mouth and chewed, wondering what the blazes was the matter with her.

"I'm famished."

She looked up to see Voldemort before her, and he plucked a cream puff off of her plate and distractedly ate it. She laughed a little and gestured to the mountain of cream puffs on the table behind her.

"They've got a whole load of them, Master."

"Then you won't mind sharing," he said, raising his eyebrows and taking another off her plate. For some reason, the act of him taking something of hers, of them sharing food, made her tingle. She wasn't sure quite why.

"Did you quite enjoy your time with Mrs Malfoy and Aurora, Master?" Bellatrix took a cream puff and chewed it. Voldemort shook his head.

"No. You know very well that I do not care for dancing."

"Not ever?" Bellatrix was pressing him, she knew. He gave her a serious look.

"The circumstances have to be precisely correct."

"Circumstances," Bellatrix repeated, and Voldemort pursed his lips.

"The dance partner."

"Oh, I see." Bellatrix's heart accelerated just a little as she dared to ask, "Might you ever get those circumstances just so, My Lord? So that you could enjoy yourself?"

He pulled the plate of cream puffs away from her and set it on the high table beside him. He held out his right hand and asked gently,

"May I have the next dance, Madam Lestrange?"

Bellatrix was utterly lost in him then. She just nodded, struck dumb like a fool. She put her fingers into his palm, shocked by the way he walked her out to the dance floor with her hand carefully placed on his. Everyone was watching them. She felt every eye in the ballroom upon her. He put his hands on her confidently this time, with no boyish hesitation like he'd at at her cousin's wedding. He grasped her hand firmly and placed his other palm straight onto the small of Bellatrix's back. His fingers clenched a little, pulling her much closer than he'd pulled either Adelaide Malfoy or Aurora. They began to sway to the slow, easy music. For a while, they just stared at one another, until Voldemort said almost aggressively,

"You are the most beautiful witch in this ballroom."

Her mouth dropped open at that. He just nodded, seeming quite sure of himself. Bellatrix squeezed his shoulder and his hand and whispered desperately,

"I want you, Master. I've wanted you for these last few weeks, badly."

"Bella." He looked dizzy and hungry at what she'd said, at her confession, and he was thrown off step for a moment. He regained his composure quickly, blinking a few times and drawing Bellatrix's attention to the glaze over his eye.

"May I ask you something?" she blurted quietly. He shrugged.

"That very much depends."

She looked around, making sure no one was listening, and whispered, "Can you see?"

"Sorry?" He didn't seem to understand the question. Bellatrix clarified,

"Your eye. The cloudy one. Can you see properly from it?"

"Oh." Voldemort scoffed, shaking his head. "No. That one's blind."

"You're blind in one eye?" Bellatrix hissed, for this was new information to her. Voldemort seemed utterly unaffected.

"It was an adjustment at first. Pouring things, writing, range of vision are affected. I'm quite used to it now."

"I'm sorry," Bellatrix mumbled. "Sorry it happened and sorry I asked."

He shook his head. "I'm sure you wonder where all my scars and damage come from."

Bellatrix said nothing. She just pondered the white rivulets running around his flesh, the way his lip looked like it had been sliced, the way his cheekbone seemed to have been shattered. She thought of how her mother had told her that Tom Riddle had been the most handsome boy in all of Hogwarts. What had happened to Lord Voldemort?

"Perhaps someday I shall tell you," Voldemort said quietly. "It is rather a long story, but rather an interesting one."

"I'm sure it's fascinating," Bellatrix nodded. "You are fascinating."

Voldemort stared at Bellatrix's lips, then her eyes, and huffed a breath. He kept swaying, tightening his hands on her.

"Right now, what I am is a wizard who finds himself in somewhat desperate need of the rooms upstairs."

Bellatrix frowned, confused. "The… the rooms upstairs, Master?"

His tongue wet his lip, and he nodded. "I am going to take you upstairs."

The song ended then, and Bellatrix stopped dancing. She hesitantly let her hand slide down Voldemort's chest off his shoulder, and she let go of his other hand with great reluctance. He was going to take her upstairs?

"Now?" she whispered, and he choked a laugh.

"No, you silly girl. I can not walk out of a party to go… to go do that. People will notice the conspicuous absence of the Dark Lord, won't they?"

Bellatrix was hot-cheeked and overwhelmed then. Sex. He wanted sex. He wanted to take her upstairs and have sex with her. Did he mean her rooms or his? Why did that bit matter? Bellatrix gulped past the knot in her throat and panted where she stood.

"As soon as this nonsense begins to die down, I shall come find you," Voldemort said in a low voice. "And then, Bella, I shall take you upstairs and do what every fibre of my being is shrieking at me to do right now. Mmph. Kindly go somewhere else."

She blinked up at him, seeing that his cheeks had flushed and that his breath was coming hard and shallow.

"Are you cross with me, My Lord?" she asked meekly, but he shook his head and insisted,

"No, it's… I am liable to kiss you, right now, here in front of everyone, if you keep standing where you are. So go eat some more cream puffs or something."

She hesitated for just a second. She didn't want to walk away from him. She wanted another dance. But Voldemort shut his eyes and said in a voice that left absolutely no room for debate,

"I shall come and find you when I am ready."

"Yes, Master." Bellatrix curtsied, though his eyes were still closed, and she hurried away. As she did, she passed Narcissa, who was staring at her with a look of deep, curious suspicion in her pale eyes.

Author's Note: Ten points to your Hogwarts House if you recognized the dream from the very beginning of the fic in this chapter. So, Rabastan got his happily ever after, Bellatrix and Voldemort got some cute chat time, and there is definitely a major lemon headed our way in the next chapter. What do you think - will Voldemort be firmly dominant and assertive since he's the Dark Lord, or will he be gentler and easier on Bellatrix given the fact that she's still in mourning? And will they be going to Voldemort's rooms or Bellatrix's?

Thanks so very much for reading. Please let me know your thoughts!