A little fluff(?) for you guys, something sweet before things go sour. Just want to thank you for so many views on my this story! We hit just over 600 yesterday. I never expected to have so many readers, it's astonishing.
Remember, leave a review if you want, even if it's bad! I cherish any and every reaction.
I AM NOT PROFITING FROM THIS. ANY RECOGNIZABLE CHARACTERS, PLACES, OR EVENTS BELONG TO J.K. ROWLING
Chapter Eleven
Much like detention, Rose spent her Christmas vacation cavorting with the Black sisters, but she focused most of her attentions on Bellatrix, who was steadily opening up to her. Rose didn't want to jinx it, but she was even becoming a bit more of a likable person. One afternoon, she was lazing around in Bellatrix's dorm, laying on her stomach at the end of the bed and doodling snowflakes and small fairies while Bellatrix read a book at the other end.
"Would you rather...own a thestral, or own a unicorn?" Rose asked, adding small faces to her sketch. Bellatrix looked up from her book.
"Thestrals? They're not real."
"No they are, you just have to be exposed to death and destruction to see them." Rose said bluntly. Bellatrix looked at the Brunette carefully, trying to find evidence of her being damaged in any way.
"I see them wandering at the edge of the Forbidden Forest sometimes. I never did before, but now I know that there's at least one herd in there. They look like their skin is stretched really tight over their bones, and they have bat wings, but kind of bird beaks for mouths." she thought it had something to do with Tom. Or maybe it only had something to do with her now. She frowned, stopping the drawing in the middle of a large intricate snowflake.
"Unicorn." Bellatrix decided.
"Why?"
"Because I can bloody see them. And according to you, thestrals are walking nightmares, so no thank you to that." the dark witch said like it was obvious. Rose shrugged.
"Runespoor, or Basilisk." Bellatrix asked, and turned her book of magical creature so Rose could see a diagram of both. Rose didn't even glance "Runespoor."
"But a Basilisk is so much cooler!" Bellatrix argued.
"Ah yeah, but I could never look at it! So what's the point? I would have to keep it locked away and hope it doesn't kill somebody. And then there's the risk of it getting out. Plus, they're so big. Where would I even put it?" she felt a twinge in her head, and stared into space as she said this. That was weird.
"Okayyyy I guess. But three heads just means more work." Bellatrix argued.
"And I would cherish them until my dying breath." Rose smiled. Bellatrix scoffed, but a playful grin was on her face. Peeking at her doodle, Bellatrix had an "ah-hah" moment where she leaned over the edge of the bed and brought a box back up after shuffling around. Rose balanced herself on her forearms and watched, curious.
"You always drop your drawings, so I kind of picked them up and kept them together until I could give them back." Bellatrix explained as she took a few pieces of paper out and then pushed the box towards Rose. The brunette moved a braid out of her way and sorted through the doodles before smiling broadly and shaking her head. Bellatrix felt her heart stutter, and she looked away, hoping Rose wouldn't see her blush.
"You don't have to give these back. Honestly, I'm surprised you held on to them at all." Rose closed the box and pushed it back. Bellatrix, still clutching her other papers, looked at the other girl, a look of pure outrage on her regal face.
"They're amazing! Why wouldn't anybody want to hold onto them? Look at this!" she reopened the box and shuffled through, pulling out some very good sketches of professors, students, and even a few creatures. Rose silently thanked herself for not being nearly so careless with her other sketches of the Slytherin girl herself.
"They're not that good. Seriously." Rose pressed. Bellatrix looked like she was at wits end. Scooting forward, she sat closer to Rose, took her by the shoulders, and jostled her int a sitting position in front of her.
"Damonne, if there's one thing I've noticed, it's that you have no bloody self-confidence," she said bluntly "and it makes you look weak. Frankly, that's a good tactic if you're looking to be misleading, but otherwise, it's pretty sad." she let go of Rose's arms. The Gryffindor rubbed her arm bashfully and avoided eye contact.
"Well, that's just because I feel like...plain I guess." she said quietly. Bellatrix furrowed her brow, her mouth a thin line. A few minutes of silence went by before the raven haired witch clenched and unclenched her fists.
"You're not plain. Take my word for it." she said simply. Rose looked up at her through a film of tears that threatened to fall but didn't. She looked uncomfortable, but she produced a hankie from her robes for Rose to wipe her tears with.
"I'm going to tell you something. But you have to promise not to tell anybody, or I will actually kill you, Damonne. I'm trusting you." she said in a grave tone once Rose had finished drying her face. Getting into a more comfortable sitting position and crossing her arms, Bellatrix hunched a little and took a few deep breaths.
"If it's something that bad, you don't have to say anything." Rose said quietly, voice wavering a little. If this was going to be a struggle, Bellatrix speaking, then she didn't want her to push herself.
"No. I'm going to talk." she hissed through clenched teeth "So you remember when you somehow knew about my arranged marriage." Rose nodded. It was actually Tom who had said it, although how he had known was also a mystery.
"I'm supposed to be marrying some bloke named Rodolphus Lestrange. After I leave Hogwarts. I'll go home, they throw a big stupid party, I pretend to be nice. Then the wedding is the next day. And my life is over, just like that." she spat bitterly.
"Can't you just say no?" Rose hated asking such a stupid question, but Bellatrix clearly needed to talk about it, judging by how quickly she spoke.
"No, because then they'll cut me off from the family fortune, blast me off the family tree, and I'll be a disgrace. A laughing stock. A bloody mistake, and a mockery of a pureblood. The most ancient and noble House of Black, and I would be the reason it falls to shambles." she picked at a small pull on the silk sheet they sat on. Rose fiddled with the handkerchief.
"I'm sorry, but I don't get the whole blood thing. Why does anybody care?" Rose asked. Bellatrix looked at Rose like she had grown three heads.
"As anybody knows, purebloods are far superior to mudbloods and half bloods. We have vast reserves of wealth, and are skillful beyond your wildest dreams. As such, we hold the majority of the power. But that comes with a lot of tradition and old blood rituals-"
"Blood rituals?" Rose cut the girl off.
"Yes, blood rituals. Now shut up, I'm trying to explain this to you." Bellatrix grumped "Anyway, we have certain ways of doing things that muddies just don't understand. Arranged marriages are one of those things. It keeps the Sacred 28 pure, and the magic strong."
"Okay, I'm pretty sure it's offensive to call them 'mudbloods'. And arranged marriage is not a new concept. No-Maj's had it, and probably still have it in some places where they haven't totally caught up with the rest of the world."
"Are you saying that we're somehow less than a bunch of Muggles?" this seemed to incense Bellatrix, and Rose quickly threw her hands up in defense.
"No, no I'm not saying that! It's just that they have ways of making up what they can't do normally with magic. Like, music for example. How do witches and wizards listen to it?"
"Enchanted instruments. Although, there are those ridiculous giant record players. They have terribly clarity. You're better off just hiring a musician." Bellatrix said.
"Okay, well No-Maj's also have record players, but they're so much better than magical ones."
"As if," Bellatrix scoffed "Nothing is better than magic."
"Come on, I have a player in my dorm. And I have a bunch of No-Maj music you can listen to. You'll love it." Rose got up and waited by the door for Bellatrix to crawl off the bed hesitantly.
"I highly doubt I'll like it. It can't nearly be as refined as a live orchestra could be." she sniffed, although she was intensely curious now to see just what Muggles had been up to. Her parents told her that they all lived in caves and lived in their own filth. A majority of the mudblood students gave her that impression.
"Oh I don't know. I have quite a bit of music, I'm sure I'll find you something. Also another thing with the marriages," Rose lowered her voice "You guys are all totally related in one way or another at this point. You are literally marrying each other and that's only going to cause problems down the line." she snickered, and Bellatrix bristled, swatting the Brunette on the back of the head.
"Shut up you! You're just saying that…" but Bellatrix literally could not think of an argument for this. More pureblood families were producing squibs, and their descendants were developing some unsavory quirks, such as insanity. And blindness. And some of them started looking more like toads and less like proud pure wizards. Shaking away the mental image of the last family reunion, Bellatrix walked with Rose to Gryffindor Tower, where there did happen to be at least one or two students staying.
"Here, let me just do this real quick." Rose waved her wand at Bellatrix, and all of a sudden, her glorious dark curls were replaced with some very lackluster light brown hair, best described as mousey.
"Unbelievable." Bellatrix growled.
"Your hair would get noticed in seconds. This is just in case somebody from my house sees you, at least they won't be too suspicious. Trust me, if I had hair like you, I would be upset if I had to hide it too." Rose sighed enviously, and Bellatrix couldn't help but beam at the compliment. Luckily, the Gryffindor had already stepped through the portrait hole ahead of her, and Bellatrix quickly schooled her face back into its usual unimpressed mask. The two remaining Gryffindors in the common room just gave Rose and her friend a polite nod before going back to whatever they were doing. Wizards chess probably. Bellatrix looked around and resisted the urge to vomit. Lots of red, yellow, and gold adorned various surfaces, and the mismatched furniture sprawled about the common room gave it a reckless feel. Something she might have appreciated if it didn't look completely idiotic.
"Cozy." Bellatrix snickered as they walked up the winding staircase in the tower to Rose's dorm that she shared with four other girls, all of whom Rose told Bellatrix were gone for the holidays and that nobody bothered her anyway.
"Well, that's good. I feel that if people got to know you any better, they'd never leave you alone." the dark witch sighed as she changed her hair back.
"Was that a compliment?" Rose quirked a brow playfully as she kicked off her tennis shoes and went to her bed, where she pulled out a shrunken crate. Placing it on her bed and bringing to a normal size, Bellatrix watched as Rose began to deftly sort through various vinyls. Bellatrix took this moment to glance around the room quickly. There were five nearly identical four poster beds with red duvets. Each of them had some sort of trinkets near or on them that identified the owner somehow. Rose had a Salem Snallygaster pinny tacked to the wall above her headboard.
"I don't know if you would be into...hmm this should be good. Let's just jump into the fun stuff." the brunette pulled out one of the vinyls and gently removed the record, with a sort of care that showed just how much she adored these things.
"Where's the record player?" Bellatrix looked around the room but couldn't find it. Rose snapped her fingers instead, and a small, worn brown trunk got out from underneath the bed and shuffled to the middle of the dorm room, where it snapped open to reveal several dials and an arm.
"That's the record player?" Bellatrix couldn't help but crouch down and look at the comparatively streamlined object before her. It looked well-loved, but it was more compact than the absurd contraption that Professor McGonagall kept. Once Rose had put the record on, she moved the needle to a particular spot before a jaunty guitar rift started up at a high volume. Rose couldn't help bobbing her head in time to the beat as Bellatrix listened intently for a minute before a man's voice grated into the microphone
Get your motor runnin'
Headed on the highway
"Motor? Highway?" the dark witch asked over the music. Rose shook her head and put her finger to her lips as she started dancing around the dorm, swept up in the feeling of one of her father's favorite songs. When the chorus belted out, Rose whipped to face Bellatrix and pointed at her as if she were singing, mouthing along with the words
Like a true nature's child
We were born, born to be wild
We can climb so high
I never wanna die
Watching Rose jump around the room and make absurd strumming motions in the air, Bellatrix stifled a laugh. She had never seen the girl look so carefree and genuinely happy. It was contagious, as Bellatrix stood on her feet and began hopping in place, a little uncertain.
"Yeah, come on! Loosen up, I know you can!" Rose laughed and took her by the hands, goading the Slytherin into her little jig. Together, they laughed and danced, Bellatrix making sounds that somewhat resembled the lyrics. The guitar, keyboard, and drums pounded on as they shimmied and kicked and swung their arms. To anybody looking in on this spectacle, they would have looked like two large birds caught in a fishing net, but they were having fun. Licorice curls flashing, Rose stepped back as the witch began her own little mad dance that was equal parts hysterical as well as entrancing. Something in her chest pulled as she watched Bellatrix twirl and jump and swing her hips, and she had to sit on her bed to take a breather as the song ended. Panting, Bellatrix looked at Rose, her eyes wild.
"Another. Put another on." she demanded, her voice shaking. Rose broke into a grin and looked through her records again as Bellatrix gingerly removed the previous vinyl and put it back into the sleeve.
"Let's slow it down a little bit. I hope you like this one just as much. Hey Jude…" Rose looked at the back of the vinyl thoughtfully. Bellatrix looked at her bewildered.
"My name is Bellatrix." she said flatly.
"Yeah I know. Now hang out and listen to this while I get food. Do you want anything?" Rose put the record on and left it at the beginning to start. There were only two songs on it, but she hoped she would back quick enough to see the other girl's reaction.
"No, no that's okay…" she trailed off as she sat by the record player and stared at the spinning object as Paul McCartney began the verse. Rose closed the door and made her way down to the common room, where most of her classmates stashed various No-Maj snacks in a cabinet. Despite having a witch for a mother, Rose had been raised primarily No-Maj apart from going to Ilvermorny. Her parents had both agreed that it was good for her to keep in touch with both ends of the spectrum, and it gave her a healthy dose of perspective. A flicker of a frown crossed her face as she remembered reading articles about the war in Vietnam. It made her sick, and she hoped that she would never have to personally witness a war of any sort. She felt too fragile. As she rifled through, the two Gryffindors by the fire popped their heads over the top of the couch and snickered.
"What are you two snickering about?" Rose asked, a little humor coloring her voice. They were two twins, both ginger. Rose couldn't really remember their names.
"Gideon, I wonder why she brought a Slytherin passed the portrait?"
"I don't know Fabian? Why did she? Maybe an elaborate prank?" they chuckled and walked around the sofa to come stand by her at the cabinet. Ah yes, Gideon and Fabian Prewett. They were Molly Prewett's brothers.
"So, Rose. Have you got some tricks up your sleeve? Anything we should know about?" Gideon asked, casually scratching his patchy beard.
"And would you be willing to divulge said information? We're raring for a good laugh, and we would be willing to help with whatever it is." Fabian smiled, his dark blue eyes sparkling mischievously. Rose took out a few packets of cheese and onion chips, which she found revolting, and a packet of something called Angel Delight, which claimed it was instant standing, she looked at the tall gangly brothers and gave them a polite grin.
"No tricks here boys. Just hanging out with a friend. Why are you still here? Is your sister here too?" she asked looking around but seeing no more ginger siblings milling around.
"Aw Molly? No, she's with that fellow, Arthur. Bloody peculiar, he is-"
"But he treats her right, so he gets to stay. Weasleys and us have decided to have a big holiday party for the new year." Gideon finished.
"We, however, have been unceremoniously banned because we put frog spawn in the punch last year. Pureblood parties are awfully boring, you know." Fabian chuckled at the memory.
"Also, we're failing potions, so mum wants us to study over holiday."
"I'm guessing that you haven't been studying?" Rose smiled.
"Nope!" the two brothers answered in unison, and clapped each other on the back. Rose shook her head and gave them a sympathetic smile before excusing herself and going back up the winding stone stairs. Through the oak door, she could hear that Bellatrix had put on a different record, another rock and roll record. Pushing open the door, she watched Bellatrix as she danced quietly to herself, not nearly as high energy as before, but she still listened intently to the words. Rose was glad that she had found something the other girl enjoyed so much, and she unloaded the food on her bed, picking out the strange packet of pink powder. Hearing the crinkling of packaging, Bellatrix stopped swaying and turned, head tilted in an inquisitive manner.
"Muggle food? I thought you meant pies or something." she said, her lip curled in disgust. Rose conjured a bowl and a whisk and called a house elf for milk, who delivered it and promptly disappeared without a second glance at the Slytherin student in Gryffindor territory.
"Nope. I didn't feel like eating anymore beans and meat pies because honestly, that stuff gets boring." Rose poured the pale rose powder into the bowl with milk, and charmed the whisk to to whip up whatever the hell this snack was supposed to be. Bellatrix picked up a bag of chips and squinted.
"Are you sure this is edible?" she asked. Rose took the bag and opened it, putting a chip in her mouth, and chomping down loudly to prove her point. Bellatrix rolled her eyes as Rose sipped some water to wash down the flavor of cheese and onions.
"So I take it that this No-Maj music isn't awful?" she smiled and watched as the bowl floated around the room as the whisk whipped up the pink confection. Bellatrix put some chips in her mouth and nodded. Then she looked thoughtful, her perfectly sculpted brows furrowing as she pondered.
"What's a hurdy gurdy?" she quickly downed the small bag of chips and wiped her hands off on Rose's bedspread before picking up Donovan's vinyl and handing it to her. Rose frowned at the crumbs on her bed, but took the record and put it on to the song Bellatrix was talking about.
"My dad told me it was this big ridiculous instrument that's kind of like a piano? Nobody uses it anymore. I don't know if it actually has anything to do with the lyrics." she took the bowl and began whisking it herself as the low hypnotic humming began, and then the hollow short strumming of the guitar. Entranced, Bellatrix came to sit next to Rose as they listened.
"I don't think this song is supposed to be loud." Bellatrix said quietly as she turned down the volume on the player. Time seemed to escape them as Donovan's voice carried their minds to different places, yet they still knew the other was there keeping them company. Rose remembered why she was back at Hogwarts so soon, and her heart wrenched. How could she have been so foolish? Tears began to fall, her mixing stopped, and she sat numbly next to the dark haired witch, listening to the whines of the guitar and tambura. Bellatrix seemed to be a million miles away as she leaned against Rose's cold frame, lost in the thoughts of how she had no control over her life, no matter how desperately she wanted to try and rebel against it.
Her destiny was not her own, and this was a feeble attempt to wrestle her fate back into her hands. She didn't see Rose crying, but she felt the shivers, and reached an arm around her waist and held the brunette closer as the guitar and drums beat on. She could smell something distinctive that had been on Rose and around her bed. It was like sunshine, fresh morning dew, and something lightly sweet and citrusy. When it had finished, Rose blinked her tears away and rubbed her face.
"Bellatrix," she said, muffled through the sleeves of her jumper "we're friends, right?" her voice sounded choked. She was still shivering, and she looked pained. Bellatrix watched as the record spun on an empty track, skipping and popping.
"Yes. We're friends." she said finally. Warmth bloomed in her chest, and she felt a little overcome with emotion. Friends. Companionship. It seemed like the sort of escape she needed. Somebody she could talk to that wasn't Andromeda or Narcissa. Rose let out a nervous chuckle, and Bellatrix realized she was still holding onto her. Pulling back as if she were on fire, Bellatrix pointed at the bowl of pink mush.
"That looks horrendous." she stated flatly, which elicited hysterical laughter from Rose.
"I—hahahahah—I guess it does!" she laughed, doubled over, tears streaming down her face. Bellatrix didn't see what was so funny, but a she cracked a smile, and grinned like a fool at nothing in particular.
"Come on, let's give this to the twins and then go do something fun. I don't want to listen to music anymore." Rose stood and began packing away the records and player. Bellatrix stood and straightened her skirt.
"What kind of fun?" she asked, a Cheshire grin on her ruby lips.
"No idea. I was thinking I could brew up a potion that makes you speak backwards in Latin every time you think about sunshine." Rose said nonchalantly. Bellatrix stopped grinning and stared, a little dumbfounded.
"I'm kidding. That would be way to time-consuming. Did you have any ideas?" she snickered, and Bellatrix batted her on the shoulder as they left her dorm with the pink pudding.
"Nothing academic, I can say that much." she scoffed "Perhaps a few pranks?" she suggested, arching an eyebrow as her dark eyes flashed deviously.
"We could, but there's like, nobody here." Rose sighed. Down in the common room, Gideon and Fabian were smacking a miniature quaffle back and forth with their hands, and they gave a friendly wave and said hello in unison when Rose and Bellatrix went to the cabinet to put back the snacks they didn't eat.
"Hello, cousins." Bellatrix sneered, arms crossed. Gideon seemed a little surprised, and got whacked in the side of the head when the quaffle hurtled towards him.
"Well well, Damonne is sneaking around with Bellatrix Black! That's something you wouldn't expect!" Fabian laughed, and his twin on the floor joined in on the laughter.
"You guys are related?" Rose gawked. They looked absolutely nothing alike. Well except that the three of them were absurdly pale, Bellatrix's unruly ebony curls greatly contrasted the flaming red of the Prewett twins.
"Distantly. But yes, still related unfortunately." Bellatrix sighed irritably. Gideon and Fabian began tossing the quaffle back and forth again.
"So, you guys are bored as us?" one asked
"Because we have some pranks in mind. First one involves messing around with Pringle." the other grin deviously. Bellatrix cocked an eyebrow, clearly interested. Rose by now had heard about Apollyon Pringle, the borderline evil caretaker of Hogwarts whose punishments were infamous for inflicting more pain than any school-issued punishment realistically should have. Getting caught could spell certain doom. Bellatrix saw Rose tense uncomfortably out of the corner of her eye.
"Maybe another day boys. We're just going to go to the library and...read." Bellatrix sniffed, and looped her arm in Rose's, leaving the common room together with a little wave over her back to the two bemused gingers. The Gryffindor didn't say anything as they walked, but she was grateful for the escape Bellatrix had so helpfully provided. She couldn't help a small smile; this friendship was already proving to be fruitful.