Bellatrix was more on edge than ever. Any slight mistakes Rodolphus made resulted in a screaming match. The house elf had been set on fire dozens of time in the past week, only to be rescued by darling husband at the last moment. The thing's memory had been modified so many times that it was getting quite pointless, and Bella wished she could just kill it. Unfortunately, the creature was a relic of the Lestrange family, and Rodolphus vehemently put his foot down that it was not to be harmed during one of her bursts of rage.
As if he could stop her.
She left Snape's in a horrible mood, and only satiated her fury by slaughtering the family who lived next door. Hopefully they had been on good terms with Snape, and he would take their death on as a form of guilt. He had caused it, after all. The wife, husband and children were all strewn around the house, disfigured and almost completely unrecognizable, because Severus fucking Snape wanted to keep his little mouth shut on his business with the Dark Lord. Most would admire him for it, but Bellatrix felt a distinct betrayal that would remain for years after the incident. Who was he to keep something like this from her? It was important. The Dark Lord was preoccupied, even obsessed, with something, and it was eating Bellatrix alive to not know what it would be. Had she not proven her worth? Had she not earned the right to know something if it was so instrumental to the man's wellbeing? Of course she had. Bellatrix had earned her battle scars, and she had risen higher than anyone in the ranks. She knew she was the best. There were other women, and none of them found a spot in her master's bed. Not now, not ever.
Thinking about it sent her off into spirals of hate, throwing things about the house and insulting anything with a pulse. Rodolphus took the brunt of it, and for the better part of a week he endured her fits without retaliating. Finally, he did the one thing that he was sure would keep her calm; he summoned Narcissa. Her sister showed up on a bright Sunday morning, a scowl on her face at the wreck Bella's house had become, and dragged her out of bed. That was almost enough to start off one of her moods, but it was Narcissa. Bella had yet to ever let her baby sister become the target of true rage, so she took a few calming breaths, had a warm shower, and allowed her sister to take her over to the Malfoy Manor for lunch. It was, apparently, later than Bellatrix realized when she arrived. The sun was high over their pristine courtyard, and the last of Narcissa's summer garden greeted Bella cheerfully as she stalked behind her sister.
Narcissa was a vision in her off-white summer gown, cinched around her waist with loose sleeves to her elbows. She was the delicate image of a wife that every man desired. Bellatrix followed, her footsteps heavy and uncouth, robed entirely in black, despite the heat, and knew that was finally the complete opposite of her sister. Somehow, the angel of the Black family managed to keep her in line, and as Narcissa took her sister's traveling cloak and stuffed it into her house elf's grubby hands, Bella knew that her patience would be limited if she knew everything Bellatrix had done over the week.
"If you set Dobby on fire, you will have to buy me a new one," her sister informed her dangerously, holding up a warning finger in a way that made her look remarkably similar to their mother. Bella wrinkled her nose, and then sighed with a dramatic roll of her eyes.
"They are all replaceable."
"Not all are completely up to date with the running of my household," Narcissa fired back, her eyes narrowing a hint. "That is the only warning I will give you, Bella. Rodolphus has told me how you've been lately… I'll have none of it."
"Why do you think I would subject you to my mood swings?" Bellatrix inquired sweetly, wrapping an arm around Narcissa's slim waist as they sauntered toward the dining room, "You're the real love of my life, Cissy."
"Oh, Bella," her sister chided playfully, rolling her eyes in a manner that matched her own, "you really are the most confusing woman I've ever had the pleasure of knowing."
"Really?" Bella mused, cocking her head to the side, her dark black hair intermingling with her sister's loose blonde waves, "I had thought mother was worse than I."
"If you continue destroying your house, I think you might take her place," Narcissa muttered, shooting her a bit of a look. "So, to keep you from killing everyone you live with, I thought it would be best to get you out of the house for the day."
"Oh, Cissy, it's not them I'm cross with," Bellatrix groaned.
"Well, what is your issue then?" her sister demanded as they entered the dining hall. Bellatrix looked up to spot Lucius seated at the head of the table already with Draco in an ornate wooden highchair beside him. He looked up to acknowledge their presence, but seemed quite focused on keeping her nephew from dumping his drink on the floor.
"That can be a conversation for another time," she said dismissively. Naturally, she had no intention of telling her sister all the intimate details of her insanity, though she had a feeling that Narcissa knew more than she let on. Her younger sister had always been annoying observant, even if she pretended to be dumb as a post on occasion. The manipulative shrew always knew how to play her personas, unlike Bellatrix, who thought everyone should see her for what she truly was on all occasions.
"Good afternoon, Bellatrix," Lucius greeted when she finally took a seat at his left, her sister settling into the chair at his right. He stopped fussing over Draco when his wife returned, and Bella watched her sister masterfully take over the situation by popping a cup topper on top of Draco's drink, and then letting him knock it about as he saw fit.
"Ingenious innovation, Cissy," Bellatrix grinned. "Who would have thought a toddler would need a lid on his drink?"
"He's normally quite good," Lucius grumbled irritably as he helped himself to a bowl of potato salad in front of him. "Is it safe to assume you've only just risen to join the rest of us?"
"I have the luxury to sleep in," Bellatrix retorted as she shot him a look. "If I didn't know any better, I would think that you're jealous… Those are awfully large bags under your eyes."
"Bella," Narcissa said sharply, clearly in no mood for fun and games today. Bellatrix made a show of pouting a little, and then helped herself to some pre-made sandwiches and vegetables.
A silence settled over the trio as they made up their lunch plates, and Bellatrix started to feel suspicious. Both of them looked quite tired, and she knew the blame couldn't be put on Draco alone. Something else was wrong in this marriage, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it. While Narcissa looked beautiful in her summer dress, now that Bellatrix had a moment to examine her physical appearance, something was off. Her hair hung loose, there were bags under her eyes too, and her cheeks looked sunken. Had they been fighting? Bellatrix glanced back and forth between the pair and noticed neither was looking at the other. That had to be it. It wasn't even five years into their marriage, and already they were on edge with each other. Her parents had had a look like that for years, and it was actually a little surprising to see on a woman who desperately adored her husband. Perhaps a little counseling from Bella could set everything in order…
Leaning back in her seat, she studied her sister and her husband for another moment, and then pursed her lips, "Are you two still having sex?"
Her sister glared heatedly at her as Lucius choked on his drink. He set his cup down and coughed a few times into his napkin, but she could tell he was glaring at her too. She shrugged her shoulders, "What?"
Narcissa looked pointedly down at her son, who was happily stuffing some mashed goop into his mouth, and Bellatrix rolled her eyes, "Oh, he doesn't even know what we're talking about."
"That's hardly appropriate table conversation," Lucius ground out coldly, "or any of your business."
"You both look awful," Bellatrix argued. "Something is wrong here-"
"And that's the first thing that came to your mind?" Narcissa demanded, shaking her head at her angrily, "Do you have no boundaries, Bellatrix, or do you just not care?"
"I'm expressing my concern," Bellatrix said simply, popping a carrot in her mouth. She chewed thoughtfully for a moment, "After all, that's usually the first thing to go in a marriage."
"I don't even know why I bothered to bring you over here," her sister snapped, throwing her napkin down on the table dramatically. "Something is clearly wrong with you if you don't even have the decency to maintain a normal conversation with your family."
"I didn't mean for it to be insulting," Bella quipped, her frustration tickling the back of her throat. "It was the first thing that came to mind!"
"Five minutes into lunch and you've already managed to ruin it," Narcissa spat, pushing herself away from the table and rising to her feet. Bella stared at her, jaw ajar, as her sister stormed out their ridiculously large dining hall. Draco suddenly seemed to sense the tension, and he emitted a pitiful whimper at the departure of his mother. Lucius responded by peeling his sandwich apart and setting the bread in front of the boy, who was immediately distracted.
"You really are a piece of work sometimes, Bellatrix."
"What?" Bellatrix demanded, "I just wanted to know-"
"We are facing inquiries from the Ministry," Lucius said sharply, cutting her off. "They've been investigating allegations made by some recently arrested Death Eaters who have named me… It's been going on for about three weeks, and it has your sister in quite a state."
Bellatrix blinked, stunned at the actual situation, "Who would name you?"
"None of us are kind to the underlings," he mused, shaking his head a little. "A few boys from Brighton were arrested last month, and then the Ministry showed up at my door. I… I've done my best to pay off everyone I can, but they seemed set on making an example of me."
"Why hasn't she told me?" Bella demanded, glancing back to the door where Narcissa had disappeared into, "I could help-"
"We both know you would only make it worse," Lucius insisted. His voice dropped lower, "Severus told me recently of your… visit. Are you losing your mind?"
"That's none of your business," she sneered, and he scoffed at her.
"Funny you should say that…"
Bellatrix was only half-listening. Why hadn't Narcissa told her? This was something that was clearly important to her home life, and yet she kept it to herself. It couldn't have been that she didn't want to worry Bella. After all, Bellatrix did far more things in her spare time that Narcissa ought to be worried over. An investigation from the Ministry was serious, but not to the point where they ought to lose sleep over it.
"The Dark Lord would never let them arrest you," she told her brother-in-law with the highest level of certainty. Then, as if that settled the issue, she resumed eating her lunch, only to feel him staring at her.
"He has let many go to prison, unfortunately," Lucius murmured. "Narcissa fears he will do nothing for me if I am arrested. She doesn't sleep, Bellatrix. She barely eats… She's constantly worried about our family ending if the Ministry gets enough to arrest me."
"Ridiculous," Bella insisted. "You're in the inner circle. Don't you tell her the position you have in his ranks?"
"I try, but-"
"I suppose she'll think you're trying to coddle her," Bellatrix mused, dabbing the corners of her mouth before setting her napkin down. "I will deal with this."
And here Narcissa thought she was going to fix Bellatrix on that fine Sunday afternoon. Ha! No, it was clear to her that her sister needed to be sorted before they even considered discussing her issues, if one could call them that.
With her lengthy, but light, dress in her hands, Bellatrix hurried out of the dining hall in search for her sister. When she heard some voices in the entrance foyer, she turned directly there. Even if the Malfoy household suddenly had visitors, Bellatrix was more than happy to send them away to discuss this recent misfortune with her sister. After all, that's all it was – a misfortune. Lucius would buy his way out of this, or use his aristocratic charm to win the hearts of all those against him. In the meantime, his lovely wife ought not to worry. It distressed Bellatrix somewhat to know that her sister had stopped eating. This wasn't something serious enough to warrant self-harm.
As she came around the corner, Bellatrix stopped dead in her tracks, a breath hitched in her throat. Near the main entrance, she spotted her sister and the Dark Lord, who stood far too close to the blonde for Bella's liking. She felt her eyes narrowing by the way he cupped her sister's chin, though to Narcissa's credit, she stood remarkably still, her arms limp at her side. Bellatrix stared for a moment, feeling like she was intruding on some intimate moments, and her insides burned. Was this why he hadn't come to see her? Because he found companionship in someone a little prettier?
Unwilling to let her lover be taken from her, Bellatrix stepped out of the shadows, her shoulders back, her head held high, and smiled brilliantly when he spied her over Narcissa's shoulder.
"My lord," she greeted as he released her sister. "What a lovely surprise this is! Would you care to join my sister and I for lunch?"
She linked arms with Narcissa, patting the younger woman's cold hand as she shot her something of a dangerous grin.
"I am actually here to see the Master of the house," he purred, "but perhaps another time."
"He's in the dining hall," Narcissa replied meekly, her eyes cast down. "If you would like to wait in the first floor study, I can fetch him for you."
"Always the courteous hostess, Mrs. Malfoy," the Dark Lord mused, giving the women a quick smirk before he vanished into the confines of the manor. Narcissa tried to turn away, but Bellatrix held her in place, a jealousy she had never felt consuming her.
"Why was he touching you?"
"You'll have to ask him," her sister replied stiffly. "It was unwelcome, at best."
She looked at her younger sister, who met her gaze, and Bellatrix decided that there was some semblance of the truth in her answer. Her grip loosened, and Narcissa moved away, back in the direction of the dining hall. However, before she too disappeared into the household, she turned back and gave Bellatrix a hard look from across the hall.
"Come along, Bella," she ordered, an evenness returning to her tone. "He wishes to see Lucius."
"I'll keep him company until your husband is finished wiping baby food off his shirt-"
"Bella," Narcissa called as she started to walk in the direction of the staircase that the Dark Lord had taken. "Please don't bother him. Come with me."
"I think I'm perfectly capable of making my own decisions," Bella snapped irritably. This was the first time she had seen the Dark Lord in an informal setting in what felt like years, and she wasn't about to let anyone spoil it for her. However, her sister called her name again, and when Bellatrix glared at her, she saw the woman seemed quite distressed about the whole situations. Her cheeks were flushed and she wrung her hands together as if they needed to be dried. She cast a look back at the stairs, and then sighed noisily. If she couldn't see him now, she would see him when he finished his business with Lucius. It was only a matter of time before she was back at his side.
She rolled her eyes, "Fine."
Moments later, she followed Narcissa back into the dining hall, her arms folded across her chest. She then took a seat back in her original chair as Lucius rose and went to her sister's side, glanced back at Bellatrix, and then left them alone. Draco seemed to be finished with his pieces of bread and moved onto slightly messier material, including some potato salad that he had smeared all over his face. Narcissa sat down beside him quietly and began wiping his mouth, something he seemed greatly opposed to. After the boy finished fussing, Narcissa returned to her plate, pushing her food around in silence.
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"Tell you what?" she asked, arching a blonde eyebrow with her eyes remaining downcast.
"About the Ministry and the inquisition. I could have helped."
"I don't want your help," the woman remarked frankly, finally looking up at her. "I don't want anyone who I love trying to fix this because then they'll be at your door too."
"Stop being melodramatic, Cissy," Bellatrix moaned, throwing an exasperated look her way. "I mean, really. Your husband, as much as I think he's a bit useless sometimes, actually has a good position with the Dark Lord. He's not about to let him get arrested, is he?"
Narcissa turned away and spooned a few potato bits into Draco's mouth, her lips in a thin line, and she shrugged, "I don't presume to know what he does and what he will not do."
She stared at her sister for a moment, and then shook her head, "You should have more faith in him."
"Don't tell me how I should feel about him," Narcissa snapped. "Don't you dare, Bellatrix. I won't tell you how I think you should feel about him, so don't."
Her nostrils flared indignantly, "And how should I feel about him?"
"I'm not doing this with you."
"Doing what?"
"Telling you who to love and who you shouldn't," Narcissa told her. "You're right. You're a grown woman, and you make your own decisions. You don't need my opinion just as much I don't want you sorting out our Ministry issues."
"Fine," Bellatrix hissed. She had had enough of this. When she left her home this morning, she had no idea this day would turn so hostile with the one person she rarely ever had issues with. She pushed away from the table, "Though, I will say, you should start eating again. You're starting to look dreadfully ill… Soon I suspect no one will want to touch you, whether you find it unwelcome or not."
As she stormed out of the dining hall for the second time in less than a half an hour, she heard Draco start to fuss again. Although the Dark Lord had arrived to discuss something with Lucius, he wasn't quite the favourite that Severus Snape was. Therefore, she ought to have no problem joining in on the meeting. Perhaps she could even swing it so that Lucius was kicked out and she and the Dark Lord could have a few moments of private.
Unfortunately, her daydreams were dashed when she spotted a figure moving quickly toward the main entrance as she entered.
"My lord," she called, making him pause. "You're leaving so soon?"
He looked back at her, a decidedly neutral expression on his face, and then glanced down at his wristwatch, "I am a very busy man, Bella."
"Of course," she whispered, hurrying toward him, "I don't mean to keep you. It's just… It's been so long since I've seen you."
"We have seen one another at meetings-"
"Alone, I mean," she clarified, stopping in front of him. She licked her lips as he looked down at her, and then tentatively touched his arm, "Can't you stay a little while longer?"
"I have things to do," he told her shortly, making her retract her hand. "My life does not revolve around bedding you, believe it or not."
Her jaw dropped a little, but she quickly shut it, shaking her head and swallowing thickly, "I know. I… I miss you. That's all I wanted to say."
"Noted," he said dismissively.
Without another word, he gave her a nod, and then turned around the door. She stood silently in his wake, hugging herself and longing for him to give her something... anything to show that nothing had truly changed between them. It was then that he paused with his hand on the doorknob and turned back to her. She tried to say something more, but he bore down on her so quickly that she gasped, his lips to hers. It was so incredibly brief and with such force that she stumbled back.
With a blink it was over, and he carried on out the door as though nothing had happened.
AUTHOR'S NOTE:
Baahhh I don't like writing Bella and Cissy fighting. They are kind of my favourites, but Bella can be a liiiittle sensitive, and clearly mean. This muse hit me today while listening to some music, and I had to write it before it left.
I'm going to be starting a Narcissa companion fiction to this series in the very near future. It will start at the same time as Lovers in a Dangerous Time did, and will carry on to match this one, and the (estimated) two more stories I have planned after this one. So. I'm set for a long time in this universe and with these characters. HURRAY!
So if you're interested in the tension between Narcissa and Voldemort, you can check out the series… whenever it gets written (hopefully soon!). Though, I personally think he lacks boundaries, and will do anything to make someone uncomfortable when he senses weakness. Let's go with that.
Much love to all the reviewers and readers!