Chapter Ten

"Hello, I understand that it is Christmas, and you're preparing for the Christmas feast, but I was wondering if you would perhaps help me get some better clothes for my friend. And a hairbrush." Bellatrix was speaking to a house elf down in the kitchens, where several of the elusive creatures were busily cooking various foodstuffs. Rose stood there, unsure of what to do. The short creatures with large ears and eyes bustled around, carrying trays and platters. The kitchen smelled delicious, and it reminded her of something, but she hissed when a sharp pain shot through the base of her skull.

"Does miss need a potion?" an old elf asked. She was wearing a potato sack dress, and her eyes were almost shut, she was squinting so hard at Rose. She nodded numbly and mumbled a thank you. Bellatrix frowned at her and snatched a glass of milk that had appeared on the large wooden table next to her, passing it to Rose. There was a quiet pop, and another elf offered her the aforementioned clothes and simple toiletries. Rose thanked this elf, who tugged an ear nervously before padding off to help with the holiday feast preparations again.

"I could have gone to my dorm you know." Rose said quietly, but just loud enough to be heard over the din of clanging dishware. Bellatrix looked pained for a moment. Weird.

"Yeah, well you looked pretty miserable on those stairs. I figured you needed help. But I suppose if you don't-" Bellatrix huffed, and Rose swallowed her potion quickly with a gag before shaking her head.

"No! No, thank you, that was really nice of you." she paused "Did you get my letter by the way? And your sisters? Did you guys like your gifts?" Rose asked nervously, putting the glass of milk down and wringing her hands. Bellatrix muttered something under her breath before heaving a sigh.

"Yes, we liked your gifts. Now, go get changed so you can eat breakfast with us." Bellatrix waved her hand dismissively. Rose's heart leapt into her throat, and she couldn't help a small smile.

"I'm eating breakfast...with you guys? Isn't that going to be a little weird? I'm not in Slytherin." she could feel herself blush, but she hoped that the other girl would just chalk it up to the fact that it was uncomfortably warm in the kitchen. Bellatrix was making her way towards the door when she shrugged.

"There's practically nobody here, it won't matter." she left Rose alone in the kitchen. The Gryffindor took the pile of clothes and voiced another "thank you" before hurrying out and following Bellatrix. The curly haired girl was wracking her brain for answers. Clearly, this was another one of Rose's episodes, but it must have worn off, because her concern about the Christmas gifts seemed sincere. She was busy muttering to herself, and she didn't even notice that Rose was walking beside her and brushing her hair out, still wearing her pajamas. The sound of the brush tugging and pulling through her hair made Bellatrix wince, and she gave Rose a dirty look.

"That's an enchanted brush you know, you shouldn't have to scalp yourself like that."

"What? Oh no, my hair is just really long, so I have to do this to get all the snarls out."

"The what? Nevermind. Give it here. You're making your hair all frizzy." Bellatrix sighed and took out her wand, tapping it a few times on the brush before handing it back. "That should be a lot smoother. Ugh, there's hair all over your shirt." she wrinkled her nose. The brunette pulled the brush through her hair again, and discovered it was in fact much easier to use, and her hair became smooth and glossy. Was that how Bellatrix got her curls to look so perfect?

"You should probably change." she reminded the girl who was running her fingers through the miraculously silky strands of hair. Rose snorted, a noise that Bellatrix wasn't used to hearing from the Gryffindor.

"Bellatrix, it's Christmas. I think I'm going to stay in my pajamas." she looked around and put the clothes that were given to her on a stone bench along the wall of the dungeon corridor. Bellatrix looked down and saw that Rose was also barefoot.

"So you're just going to walk around without shoes?" Bellatrix raised an eyebrow. Rose shrugged and nodded, again saying that it was Christmas and she would do what she wanted. It wasn't like there was any class, so who cared?

"I suppose." Bellatrix hummed. The brunette sucked in a sharp breath, and blinked rapidly.

"You alright?"

"Yeah, just my head."

"So why are you here? I thought you were staying home for Christmas?" Bellatrix asked carefully, but she saw Rose's eyes glaze over, and a pained expression crossed her face. They didn't speak as they walked, and Bellatrix didn't try to push her any farther. Something was clearly wrong, but she didn't want to risk another outburst.

Back in front of the Great Hall, Bellatrix adopted her proud demeanor and strode out ahead of Rose, who couldn't help a ridiculous grin as the Slytherin girl tried to make herself look threatening to the few people in the hall. Her very presence scared the living daylights out of most students, she didn't have to up the ante any more. Nobody was at the Gryffindor table when Rose looked, so she just followed Bellatrix over to the Slytherin table. A few Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws cast curious glances, but a look from all three of the Black sisters made them turn to their plates quickly. Narcissa's imitation of Bellatrix's sneer dropped immediately when she saw Rose, and she let out a whoop of joy, startling Andromeda.

"Rosie!" she cheered, practically leaping across the table to try and hug Rose. The brunette balked a little at this, and wondered when she had been close enough to any of them for a hug. Andromeda smiled broadly at her and gestured for her to sit across from her, while Bellatrix xat across from Narcissa. Andromeda looked at Rose's shirt and squinted.

"Who are the...Salem Snallygasters?" she looked at the grey fabric, which had a fearsome looking creature on the front, which had the legs and tail of a dragon, but the upper body and wings of a bird, with very sharp looking fangs. Rose pulled the shirt taught from the bottom so they could all get a better look.

"That's my favorite Quidditch team. They've never been able to beat the national team, but they always make in into the running for a finalist spot." she explained "I used to go to their matches a lot when I still lived in the U.S." she picked up a goblet of pumpkin juice. Muttering a silent spell, she changed it from pumpkin juice to a steaming cup of hot chocolate with a dash of cinnamon. Narcissa took a large pastry off the tray in front of her and tore a piece off with her fingers.

"Bella plays Quidditch! She's very good!" the little blonde hid an impish smile as Bellatrix seemed to lean over the table in an attempt to strangle her. Rose gave Bellatrix a look of surprise.

"Oh yeah? What position? You seem like you'd be a good Seeker." Rose chuckled at the idea of Bellatrix hexing other players as she easily caught the Golden Snitch. Bellatrix seemed to puff out her chest a little and looked around the room pridefully.

"Why, yes I am in fact the Seeker for Slytherin. Quite possibly the best this school has even seen and will see." she said

"Well, let me know when your next game is, and I'll come watch." Rose said evenly, but Bellatrix almost spat out her pumpkin juice in shock. First the letter, and now she even wanted to watch a game? Andromeda had an eye on her older sister, and smirked a little.

"Rose do you play?" the middle sister asked casually.

"Oh, hell no. I'm fine on a broom, but not good enough for any teams. I like dueling better anyway. Sucks that Hogwarts doesn't have a dueling club. Back at Ilvermorny, I was pretty good." she changed her beans and sausage into a pile of waffles with strawberries and whipped cream, much to the three sisters' surprise and delight.

"Oh! Do that with my food!" Narcissa begged.

"How did you do that so easily? You didn't even use your wand." Andromeda appraised the classic American breakfast from a distance. Rose looked at Narcissa's plate and it also changed, much to the younger girl's delight. Bellatrix pulled her own plate away from Rose's gaze.

"I don't get how you guys can eat beans for breakfast. It's always thrown me off." she laughed, and tucked into her own meal. The raven haired witch to her left squinted suspiciously at her. She knew that Rose had a pretty good grip on magic, but this was something else. She could only imagine how good she was in a fight. That is, a fight where she didn't get all weird and glassy-eyed. Bellatrix snuck a glance at the American next to her. She seemed happy enough now, talking with her sisters and eating her food like everything was fine, except it wasn't. Rose had explicitly told her that she was staying in Glasgow. Her letter even suggested being penpals. And now she was on the stairs this morning? How had she even gotten to Hogwarts? There were anti-apparition wards up, so did she walk through the snow that morning? Something certainly wasn't adding up. She felt a kick under the table, and she looked at Andromeda, who tilted her head towards Rose, who had enchanted the napkins to fold themselves into a snake and lion, which raced each other around the table as Narcissa cheered the small animals on. Bellatrix scowled at her younger sister.

"Honestly Bella, sometimes I think I'm the eldest…" Andromeda muttered before getting Rose's attention. Rose looked around up from the table and rolled her shoulders nervously.

"Rose, I'm assuming you'll spend Christmas with us?" Andromeda asked. The brunette immediately blushed and coughed.

"No, no. I was just going to hang out in my dorm. I don't want to mess that up." she said with a weak chuckle. Bellatrix couldn't help a devious grin at how uncomfortable the other girl was, and so she leaned her elbow on the table and stared directly into her hazel eyes.

"You should spend Christmas with us, we insist." she put extra emphasis on the last word, and she saw Rose recognize defeat. Her gaze flickered over Bellatrix's face for a moment before she stood up quickly, much to the surprise of everybody at the table.

"Sure. Just let me get dressed. I'll meet you…" she trailed off.

"You'll meet us in the dungeons. Bellatrix hasn't finished opening her gifts." Andromeda finished. Bellatrix snapped to attention, nostrils flaring as she struggled not to hex her sister.

"Perhaps not. Cissy wanted to go sledding, remember, Andy?" she looked between Rose and Andromeda quickly. Rose seemed a great measure more comfortable with this suggestion, and she agreed to meet them by the training fields when she was ready. After Rose was well out of earshot, Bellatrix whipped her head to face her sister, voice dangerously low so only they could hear.

"Don't you remember what happened the last time she went in the common room? It wasn't good, Andy. I'm not too keen on a repeat incident." she seethed, teeth clenched. Andromeda just smiled and nodded sagely.

"Oh good, you care for her safety. Maybe you could be friends after all. Would finally get you out of our hair." she chuckled, mahogany curls bouncing. The napkin animals scampered past their plates, and Bellatrix slammed a fist down on them, ending the enchantment. Without a word, she got up and left, curls billowing. She was sure Andromeda meant well, but right now, she was too irritated to think about anything other than Rose. It must have been the Imperius curse, unforgivable and dark. But who would have cast it, and why? Was it because Rose was a new student and they simply didn't like her? Her little cronies on the train reported that Rose had been talking to her snake, and seemed otherwise untroubled, and Rose wasn't always acting empty, so how was the spell cast? She would need to test legilimency on her when she got the chance. Sure, it would be an enormous breach of privacy, but if it could help, she would try it.

Only about a half hour later, Rose was dressed in a thick sherpa coat with another horrendous pair of brown corduroys that Bellatrix had come to despise. It looked like Rose was wearing pants made out of cheap sofa fabric. Was that what Muggles wore in the states? The Gryffindor was smiling proudly next to four ordinary looking wooden sleds. The runners were polished until they gleamed, and a deep red cushion was on each. Bellatrix looked at them, making sure they were actually safe to use.

"Where did you find these, Damonne?" Bellatrix crouched a little in the snow to look at the wood.

"I transfigured them out of some brooms." she answered happily. Bellatrix gave her a suspicious glance. The sleds were identical and...perfect.

"There's no way, on Salazar's life, that you transfigured these." she protested. Rose actually looked a little hurt by this accusation. Then a smirk flashed across her face as she pulled a stone out of her pocket.

"Name something. But nothing crazy, like a castle." she commanded.

Bellatrix gave her a shrewd glare, holding as she spoke "Okay, fine. A spoon."

"Easy peasey." Rose grinned, and all of a sudden the stone was a spoon. Again, she didn't even use her wand.

"Damonne how do you do that?" Bellatrix took the snatched the spoon away and looked it over. It was a fine silver spoon, with delicately carved flowers on the handle.

"I practice. A lot." was the cryptic answer.

"It's any wonder you have friends, then. This would take hours to get so perfectly without words or a wand." Bellatrix snorted.

"Explains why you're not half bad at magic either." Rose retorted. They stood there and stared at each other for a minute. Bellatrix had to admit, Damonne had become emboldened in her stay at Hogwarts. Probably the repeated stress of being a ghoul half the time instead of a normal student. Hardship could change people, she supposed. She frowned at the sleds suddenly; there were no hills on the training grounds besides the path, but that had been cleared of snow.

"Damonne, where are we supposed to go sledding?"

"Wherever we want." was the snarky reply. Rose turned and waved to the last two Black sisters approaching them from the castle, wearing their finest fur cloaks. Rose could see Narcissa in silvery grey while Andromeda wore a deep reddish brown color. The older witch made a chuckling sound under her breath, and just shook her head.

"I think it's funny you all have your own color schemes." she said after a minute, watching the sisters trudge through the snow. Narcissa's hair was pulled into a bun, and stuffed under a little round fur cap. For a moment, she almost didn't look like she was twelve, until she squealed with delight when she saw the sleds. Without pretense, she sat down on one, despite being on level ground, and picked up the red rope that was attached to the front. She gave it a little tug, probably assuming nothing would happen, but oh something indeed did happen. The sled shot forward a few feet, eliciting a shriek from the little Slytherin. Andromeda and Bellatrix jumped in surprise, and went to their sister's aid.

"Guys, the sleds are fine." Rose laughed, and she boarded one, before gently tugging on the rope to pull alongside Narcissa, who was now eyeing the cord in her hand warily.

"You just have to pull a little if you want to move forward. Lean and pull to one side to turn. Give it a little slack when you want to slow down or stop." Rose explained. Bellatrix watched as Narcissa zipped by on the sled, a fast learner, giggling maniacally as she hit them with a spray of snow. Sputtering, Bellatrix growled and got one of the last two sleds, chasing down Narcissa after a lurching start. Andromeda huffed at being left behind, and got on the last sled. In an attempt to sled next to Rose, Andromeda instead slammed into the back of the older girl's.

"Whoops!" Andromeda laughed. Rose tossed some snow at her good naturedly before she yanked on the sled rope and took off in a flash, going much faster than any of the sisters. Bellatrix cackled with glee as she did loops around Narcissa, who was swerving wildly to avoid getting mowed down by her overzealous sister. Andromeda caught up and got dangerously close to Bellatrix, who eased away from Narcissa and instead set her sights on Rose. The Gryffindor was heading away from the group and carving a path to the wide open space next to the Quidditch pitch. The dark witch followed and cast a quick glance at the tall stands. What she failed to notice was an enormous glowing apparition in the shape of a bear loping towards her across the top of the snow. Yanking the rope with a shriek, she tried to maneuver around it, but it easily caught up, and relayed a message.

"Try and catch me, slowpoke." with a girlish chuckle, the bear retreated back to its caster. Flummoxed, Bellatrix could only guess that Rose had cast the patronus. Something akin to envy rose in her gut, and at the challenge, she pulled as hard as she could on the sled rope, nearly snapping it as icy wind whipped her hair and stung her face. Rose was doing loops in the snow, creating a large ring that she went around several times, the bear patronus sitting in the middle and watching its caster calmly. Bellatrix stopped her sled and balled snow in her hand before lobbing it at the brunette, who stopped and dodged it easily.

"Teach me to cast a patronus." Bellatrix demanded without pretense.

Rose couldn't help a quick laugh."Yeah okay."

"You having a laugh? Teach me how to cast the patronus charm, Damonne. If you teach me...I'll tell you something about me." the dark haired girl bit out. That should work, she thought. A useful spell for just some harless mundane information. Rose shrugged, but a ridiculous grin spread across her face. Bellatrix scowled at her and threw another snowball. Rose redirected it back at Bellatrix with a flick of her wand in a single fluid motion. She scowled harder; Damonne was actually pretty good with magic.

"You said you dueled back at Liverspot-"

"Ilvermorny"

"Whatever. How good were you?" she asked, curious. Rose seemed to mull the answer around in her head and squinted a little.

"I was the President of the club, and had been the champion since my second year." she said finally. Bellatrix almost choked on her spit and gawked at the other girl, who was just throwing snow and watching her patronus chase it. She seemed unphased by the fact that she was a better duelist than most people at her own school. Then Bellatrix smirked; she might have been good at that stupid American school, but Bellatrix happened to be the best that Hogwarts had seen. She supposed. There wasn't an actual club set up at Hogwarts, but she could probably wipe the floor with all of the brats that crossed her path.

"Okay, let's duel." she said, catching Rose by surprise. She looked around nervously at their surroundings.

"Are you sure? Correct me if I'm wrong-"

"You're wrong." Bellatrix said flatly "We can have a little fight, as long as we don't draw too much attention to ourselves." she finished. It was Rose's turn to look stunned, but then recognition dawned on her.

"Ohhhh! You read my mind. Oh. Oh." she muttered quickly, and a delightful shade of Gryffindor red colored her face. Luckily, Bellatrix was inspecting her nails, looking bored, but she was in fact bursting with pride.

"Mmm, yes I can. I've been trained in Legilimency and Occulemancy. Mind you, I'm not as good as some, but I'm far better than you." she said haughtily. She looked up and frowned "What, misfired heating charm, Damonne?" the brunette shook her head vigorously and prayed that the other girl didn't see anything else in her head.

"Who taught you?" she asked, trying to throw Bellatrix off the scent. The girl tossed her impressive mane of curls and huffed instead of answering. Andromeda and Narcissa finally caught up with the two seventh years, their cheeks pink from the biting wind.

"Okay, Bella I'm cold now." Narcissa whined. Andromeda nodded in agreement, although she didn't say anything. Instead, she stared wide-eyed at the patronus.

"Rose, you can conjure a corporeal patronus? How? They don't even teach that here!" she exclaimed. Rose coughed into her arm bashfully.

"Ah. Well I mean I taught myself over the summer. Would have learned at my old school this year but you know." she gestured vaguely around her. Andromeda couldn't help being a little suspicious, but she kept her thoughts to herself, as well as away from Bellatrix, who shot her a look. Narcissa huffed again and turned her sled.

"I'm cold and going inside." she said grumpily. Bellatrix stuck her tongue out before calling after her "We're bloody witches, just use a blasted heating charm!" and she chased Narcissa back. Again, it was now just Rose and Andromeda. The middle Black sister, who looked almost identical to her older sister save for the brown hair, grabbed Rose's arm before she could scoot away.

"Rose, is everything alright?" she said quietly. Her words didn't carry over the wind, but Rose still heard it. Smiling, she just nodded and followed the other two. Andromeda frowned; why was she back at Hogwarts so soon?

…...

Rose stood in the dungeons hesitantly before the Slytherin common room door. She wasn't totally up for going back in there, but the calming draught she took after leaving the Great Hall still seemed to be working.

"Come on Rosie, I don't want to go in your common room." Narcissa wrinkled her little aristocratic nose, holding the older girl by the wrist and tugging her towards the green glow of the lantern.

"Salazar." she said clearly, and the door opened. Rose couldn't help a laugh at this, causing all three sisters to shoot her a look.

"That's your password?" she chuckled to herself. Bellatrix bopped her on the head with the flat of her palm, the brunette only laughing harder. While there wasn't any natural sunlight, Rose now noticed that there were actually windows in the common room. But there was water outside, and was that a squid? Running past a large painting of wizards and witches along the wall and past an enormous fireplace, Rose couldn't help her curiosity as she looked through the dark waters. She turned to Bellatrix, who had a look of mild amusement on her face. Her arms were crossed over her chest, her hips cocked at an angle.

"Are there Grindylows out there?" Rose asked, moving away from the window. Bellatrix shrugged, but she moved on the brunette quickly, causing Rose to back up and bump into the window.

"Okay, my favorite color is black. Now teach me." she demanded. Rose gently tried to push her away, not looking into the dark witch's pitch black eyes.

"I'll teach you if you let me breathe." she snickered. Bellatrix jumped back suddenly, as if she weren't aware of how close she was. Andromeda and Narcissa took off their coats and laid them carefully on the long leather sofas before sitting down with their various presents and playing with them, paying little attention to the two older girls in the room. Rose moved back to the fire and took off her coat and scarf as well, leaving them on the stone floor before taking an impressive stance and pulling out her wand. Bellatrix walked and stood on her left, also pulling out her own crooked wand.

"Now, the trick is to think of something that makes you happy. Like, ridiculously happy." Rose said. Andromeda coughed, and Bellatrix scowled at her.

"Something to say, sister?" she sneered. Andromeda just flashed an impish grin before going back to writing in a small journal. Rose waited for her impromptu student to stop acting like a child before resuming her teaching.

"Okay, so think of something good, and then hold on to that feeling. Then just say the incantation." Rose took a split second before saying "Expecto patronum." and her patronus leapt from her wand. It looked around for a moment before lumbering to the other end of the room, snuffling.

"Damonne, why is your patronus a bear? Aren't they supposed to be scary?" Bellatrix asked. Rose didn't know if she was trying to insult her, but she answered the question nonetheless.

"Your patronus displays your innermost tendencies and emotions. Or sometimes, it's just your favorite animal. My favorite animals are snakes, honestly, so I have no clue where the bear came from."

"Bears represent familial love, bravery, and protection." Andromeda answered from the sofa. Bellatrix pulled a face, but Rose thanked her for the clarification. Narcissa leaned over to see what Andromeda was writing, but her older sister just swatted her away. Rose turned to Bellatrix and gestured to the room.

"Think about something that makes you happy. And boom, patronus. Sort of. It might take a few tries."

"You doubt my skill?"

"No, but I'm just saying that it isn't easy."

"Says you." Bellatrix snarked, and got into position. After repeating the incantation and waving her wand, it only produced a feeble blue glow. Frustrated, Bellatrix threw a book at the bear across the room, where it phased through and hit the wall with a splat. The bear didn't seem to mind.

"That wasn't bad for the first go. Just make sure you think of a really good memory. Otherwise, it's pretty weak." Rose explained. The dark witch rolled her eyes and stood with her hips cocked, wand still gripped tightly in her hand. Rose cast the temporus charm, and saw that it was around lunch time.

"Well, this has been fun, but I'm going to get food. And then go read in the library if any of you want to come." she thanked the sisters, but she wanted to get out of that common room as soon as she could. Her head was pounding by the time she had finished instructing Bellatrix, and she could only assume that it came from being in a spot associated with her first major act of violence.

"I'll join you." Bellatrix startled the Gryffindor with her statement, which was probably supposed to sound more like a suggestion. Rose gave her a timid smile. Bellatrix looked at her briefly, and succeeded in not smiling back, instead saying that Rose should be honored. When they stepped back into the corridor, Bellatrix looped her arm in Rose's, again surprising the girl.

"I'm only doing this in case you forget your potions again." she hissed, although there wasn't anybody around who could have heard them.

"Thanks, Bellatrix, I appreciate that." Rose laughed. She noted how the dark witch didn't move to unloop her arm, and they walked back to the Great Hall, the whole way trading half-baked jabs and commenting on how underwhelming Professor Slughorn was.

"Huh. I just remembered I was supposed to attend a Slug Club meeting of some sort. Oh well." Rose shrugged.

"That little party of his is just a way to earn favors from people he thinks will become influential. If he were a little sharper, he'd make an excellent Ministry puppet." Bellatrix snorted. Rose just nodded and listened. Bellatrix was being unusually talkative, and she was going to accept what she could get.